Lucky Us by Amy Bloom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Let's just say I am glad that it was a quick read. The book was simply OK. There isn't anything real special about it. The characters were bland....Even desipte their hectic-ness.

I am not always a big fan of authors who incorporate letters/notes/correspondeces into their work. It seems kinda like a cop-out. Like, you just summed it up and didn't have any things else to add, creatively. I had to back track once or twice because I wasn't exepcting things to happen so fast and it came from a letter. I thought some of it would have been better in detail.

I can't wait to hear the discussion at my work book club in a few weeks.

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Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the book but loved the series more. The series is more dramatized though and is only based off the book. But I gotta say I really fell in love with the show and it's characters even in the book! I felt connected to some of the people.

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Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Eh....I just couldn't get into it. I hear it gets better but I have simply moved on...Maybe in the future I will give it another try.

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Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It is a craptastic world we live in.

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Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What can I say?? I absolutely feel in love with this book from beginning to end. I laughed. I cried. It was so emotional and yet witty. It was a beautiful story. I read it in 2 days! It has been some time that I felt so connected to a book.

Every character was amazing. I loved Will and Lou and Nathan. They were such a good team once they fell in line with one another. I highly recommend this book to ANYONE. It is a rollercoaster ride full of emotion and just life in itself! So go. Go read it and weep!

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Resistance by Samit Basu
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I won this on Goodreads Giveaway and it sounded great but it was really hard to get through the majority of the story. I found out that it was a sequel to another book Turbulence, which I didn't know....(Maybe I sould have read more into it but it sounded great and I jumped the gun)But since it was a sequel there was a lot I did not understand.

The beginning was difficult but then it got alittle better towards the middle-end which made it more intriguing and held my attention longer.




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You Are One of Them by Elliott Holt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am not really sure how I feel about this book. Did I hate it? Love it? I think I just got through it Okay and will make the best of it. I liked the whole idea of the story line but felt kind of robbed... There seemed to be a lot left out or kind of rushed. The ending really wasn't a surprise for me. I kind of expected it. I think the whole book built up to it. A growing period for the main character. It was kind of a stepping stone into adulthood after all she had to go through. The world was not what she thought it to be.

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Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Did I miss something??? I was sooooo bored. I just couldn't get into it. I think I will stay away from this author. I didn't really like Room too much either but at least that one I read 'til the end. I was hoping for something more but I got less......

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The Director by David Ignatius
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I won this book on Goodreads and to be honest it is not my usual kind of genre and it was a little tricky getting through it but once I got into the middle it flowed fairly well and I started to get more into it. Def a good read.

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Insurgent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Divergent was much better but I still enjoyed this one. This kinda seemed more all over the place. Divergent seems more focusesd and explainitory (as it should have been). Insrugent just seemed like it had so much to tell and tried to squeeze it into 500+ pages. But still I don't think Four will ever make me upset. So excited about the films but hate the wait!!!

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Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was a very interesting read. It's all about race, class, caste, and so on. I see some humor in it but also some seriousness. Her writing and thoughts are straight to the poinnt which makes this an easy and caturing read. It is definitely a book open for a serious discussion so I highly recommend it for book clubs.

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Bird with the Heart of a Mountain by Barbara Mariconda
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I won this book in one of the giveaways here on GR and I admit I enjoyed it but wanted more. The book held my interest and I read it pretty fast. I understood the plot and characters but there was so much left unsaid. I wanted to know what happened to the others in her life. I wanted to know more about the gypsies. There could have been more to the story. I felt that it was just cut off. I just wish there was more story in the book.

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The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting and kept me wanting to read more.

I didn't think I would like this book because I am not really a fan of Jodi Picoult but she surprised me. I really was engaged and was excited to to read on. It is a fairly large book but it kept me going and I really did enjoy it and would totally recommend it.

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A Review

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I only rate this 2 stars because it was too emotional. I sided with both families and just couldn't bare either one. I couldn't choose a side and I definitely hated the ending. It was an emotional rollercoaster and I am not to keen on books such as these. I have 2 girls 4 and 5 and the books just took it's tole on me.

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Review: Jay's Journal - Anonymous (Edited by Dr. Beatrice Sparks)

Genre: YA Literature
Pages: 229
ISBN: 9781442419933
Format: Paperback
Published: August 2010
Read: September 2012
Rating: 2/5 Stars

I feel kinda felt guilty giving this book such a low rating because of the situation but then I got over it because I will blame it on the editor, Dr. Beatrice Sparks. I guess I had high hopes for her since she edited Go Ask Alice, which was in fact good read considering....

the book is in the 70's so I really could relate and he was Mormon in which again I could not relate. BUT I did feel like I understood the pressures of society and family and so on. I did enjoy the fact that we was in part a genius and that gave me comfort because geniuses and artist totally see the world in a different way and it gave a little insight to that. It also says "stay away from drugs"! I really can't say much on the book except that I think it would have been better if the edits were left out and if I could read the real book and see the handwriting to give it more of a homely and personal feel.

Review: Blue Nude - Elizabeth Rosner

Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781439173084
Published: September 2010
Pages: 200
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Read: September 2012

I really could not get into this book. I felt like I was reading the same pages over and over again except now and then something good would happen and I would get all excited and then I would turn the page and it was the beginning again. Maybe my pages were stuck together?

It is a very poetic story, in which I like on occasion, but this just dragged. Every page was about painting and drawing and about her body and how she (Merav) was a model and why and blah and blah. I liked the "historical" parts but then it faded and we were back to art. Maybe others would like this book but as for me....not so much!

Review: A Reliable Wife - Robert Goolrick

Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781565129771
Published: January 2010
Pages: 290
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Format: Trade Paperback
Read: September 2012

A "Tale of Love and Madness" is a pretty good summary. I also enjoyed the quote from the  book "A story of despair". I really don't know what I expected when I thought about reading it but when I started to I was taken aback. I really wasn't expecting such a tale. It is a sad story with no real happy ending. I did enjoy it, however, I kinda wish that it had more UMPH! It jumped a lot and moved so fast that I felt like it was a short story rather than a 290 page one.

It is a poetic story mainly focusing around 2 people with another 2 mixed in. Truit, sometimes, Ralph, who was a wealthy sad man who had a hell of a past and just wanted comfort in just a cold, dreary town. Catherine, who too, had a crazy life who was super intelligent and just wanted to help people and be loved. Antonio, or Tony, the"son" of Truit who really just had a effed up childhood and really what just messed up. And Mrs. Larsen who was the housemaid, so to speak, who just did everything and seemed to be spoken about in every chapter.

These were the characters but there is more to it then just that but it pretty much sums it up. There is a story behind them and it all comes together but I would rather you read it to understand and you can read it because it is such a fast read.

Review: Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) - Diana Gabaldon

Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 947
ISBN: 0440215625
Series: Outlander #2
Read: August 2012
Published: December 1993

At first this book was a little confusing because it started from the "present" (1968). I didn't quite understand where it was going. I thought that the story was ruined that way, until I finished it of course and I began to understand. It took me some time to read this only because it was summer and there are many things to do and sadly reading was not one of them. I always tried to put it first but then I had a family.

Anyways, there are so many people in this book that I forgot who was who. I even read the books back to back but it seems that the ones who I thought were not so important in the first book became important in the next.

Oh, Jamie! How does one not love him? The whole Jack Randall thing is just...crazy great. I hate his character but I love his character. It makes sense. Believe me. I just love the way Jamie thinks and I always say that men are not like him but then again it is way before there time.

This series is just wonderful and it's hard to find great books that mix up all the wonderful things that I like into one beautiful and suspenseful tale(s). What made this one so great was how well Gabaldon fused the past and present into one ball and made sense. Both came together wonderfully and just made beautiful sense. It is just hard to explain all the things that make this series great I am just hoping that it can stay great. I have only read the first 2 and I believe that there are 8 thus far...I hope Gabaldon can continue her great masterpiece.

Review: Time and Again - Jack Finney

Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 399
ISBN: 9780671242954
Format: Large Paperback
Read: June 2012
Recommended by: Jean (co-worker)
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

I did enjoy this book but it moved rather quickly and then stopped and kinda dragged. The beginning happened so fast that I didn't even realize that he went back in time. I wish that part was more clear of how they did it. They just did!

I like the idea that they could go back in time and witness the past. I also loved that it was set in NYC because that is where I work and live so I knew of most of the places he spoke about. I also loved that it was illustrated letting the reader really picture what he "saw".

The book was simply OK. Many people loved it and maybe I just didn't get it but I didn't feel that it was all that great. It was definitely interesting but that is all. The characters had no real depth. I do, however, recommend this book to those who like to read about NYC history and time travel.

Outlander #1 - Diana Gabaldon

Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 1991
Series: Outlander #1
Pages: 850
Rating: 5/5 Stars
ISBN: 0440212561
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Read: May/June 2012

I loved this book from start to finish. Of course there are many MANY coincidental things but I really don't care. I was so intrigued by the story that I couldn't really rely on that issue. Not even half way through the book I went out and brought the remaining books within the series (well, whatever was in paperback anyways).

This book brings in everything I love about reading: History, time travel, mystery, romance, murder and all else you can imagine. Sorry there are no faeries nor are there any vampires but that's what makes it so wonderful. It's so real and yet it's not. The characters were superb and how Diana Gabaldon came up with these wonderful characters is beyond me. I am super curious as to see how the story goes especially since there are 13 books (and counting) within the Outlander series and all of them are well over 800 pages!

Now back to my beloved characters....

I loved Jamie from the start. I loved his ruthfulness. His courage. His immortality. His Innocence! He was my hero from the start. Don't get me wrong I loved Frank when I first heard him speak but many pages later, after I got over his mourning and sorrow, I kinda grew apart from him. I love how both of these men love Claire. They both adore her. I believe their love and it didn't bother me that Jamie always showed up. It is crazy all the horrific and strange things that had happened to him and I am sure will continue on. I believe that Jamie (whether he likes it or not) is fairly immortal! God what he went through but I love his willingness and determination. He may have given in at some point but having a great woman behind you always works magic!


This is the best depiction of Jamie yet. YUM!

http://youtu.be/F_dVolYyDRo