Arlo The Blue, Blue Whale

You know what's amazing? When an old (and also brilliant) friend from high school emails you up to let you know she and her sisters have started their own creative agency and that agency has published a children's book written by her mother and illustrated by her sister, and she wants you to have a copy!

Soooo... an all women's creative agency start up that's family run and a children's book inspired by Andy Warhol with a positive message? 

Um, yeah, sign me up. Immediately.

Arlo The blue, blue whale was inspired by the Warhol quote, "I think everybody should like everybody." A message on kindness, acceptance and friendship that I was thrilled to share with my kids. 

The book is very fun and the illustrations are darling. My kids all really liked it, but especially Oren. Arlo's earned himself some prime real estate right at the front of this kid's bookshelf, so I know he's serious. Oren's been bringing it to me every night since it arrived as his first choice for a bedtime story. And for a kid who has just entered kindergarten and is just beginning to navigate a world of new faces and new friendships - this book could not be more appropriate. 

I wanted to give a big thank you to Katy for sharing Arlo with us and let you know that if you'd like to pick up a copy for yourself you can order it here. There's also a super fun app you can download as well to go along with the book and lots of other fun goodies on the website.

And Arlo, we like you buddy. Keep on spreading that message of kindness.

A New Favorite Series

Have you heard of the series of books by Italian author, Elena Ferrante called the Neapolitan novels? I've been working my way through them these past of couple months and I just finished book four the other day. I haven't been so engrossed in a series like this in ages. From what I understand, these books and their author have quite the cult following in Italy and now abroad as well. Adding to the intrigue the author's true identity is unknown and Ferrante is only a pen name used to protect her privacy. The novels read like an autobiography but it's hard to know whether they are the true story of Ferrante's life since so little is actually known about her. The books follow Elena Greco (possibly Ferrante) and her friend Lila from early childhood through late adulthood. They are incredibly written; a detailed look into the private lives of two friends as they navigate school, the Neapolitan neighborhood they grow up in (and return to again and again), jealousy, love, heartbreak, failed marriages and aging. The writing is different than anything else I have ever read. Ferrante is so honest, so real in her description of  the dichotomy of female friendships that what she describes is both familiar and shocking. She writes the things we think but never say. If this isn't an autobiography Ferrante's ability for story telling is unsurpassed. It feels incredibly real. If this is autobiographical than the author has given us a voyeuristic view into the deepest parts of her life and relationships in an incredibly vulnerable way. 

The books are long, and Ferrante writes the story of Lila and Elena with meticulous care. It's a slow, delicious unfurling of their lives that left me wanting more even after consuming four books and hundreds of pages.  Have you read them? Would you? They're all I want to talk about now that I've finished them. If you have, let's discuss! Hit me up in the comments!

Books!

I realize it looks like I've plowed through a ton of books recently, which, I guess I have...but these were all, for the most part, short and sweet. And there are some really good ones in this group too, so get ready to fire up that library card.

First up, The Quiet American! I'd read the paperback version before but when I realized I had access to the audio version I couldn't resist revisiting it one more time. This one is an oldie but a goodie. One of those anti-war novels that everyone should read at some point. It's dripping with symbolism and heavy in ideas and ideals. You can't go wrong here.

Someone, somewhere recommended this book to me and I wish I remembered who to thank because as soon as I started this book I became totally engrossed in it. A memoir of sorts about the author's experiences while expecting a baby with down's syndrome. It's part inspirational, part terrifying, funny, honest, touching, all that good stuff.  I'd highly recommend this one

So I listened to this one on Audible as well because I'd read Joanna's post on her favorite audiobooks and this one was on the top of her list. It's super short, like under four hours, but it still lost me time and again. I must have re-started it three times before I finally sat with it and focused hard enough to understand what was going on. In the end, it was interesting with some really beautiful writing, but the pace and format just weren't for me. 

 

I can't say I loved or agreed with everything in Roxane Gay's collection of essays that make up Bad Feminist, but I definitely enjoyed reading them. Until I didn't. Because sometimes this book is filled with so much negativity that it becomes too hard to enjoy. And that's okay. That type of writing and reading has it's place and is necessary. Sometimes reading is for pleasure, and sometimes you just have to read the hard stuff too. This book is both. 

 

Now this one is pleasure reading all the way. I LOVED THIS BOOK. Dystopian YA gold, folks. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Even after I finished I just kept revisiting scenes in my mind and thinking about what happens next. If you're a gamer, fan boy or 80's pop culture nerd then this book is definitely for you. If you're none of those things, this book is still probably for you. It's just so good. Read it now.

So how about I've never read any Rainbow Rowell books until now? After hearing so many good things about her, I had to pick up her first novel to see what all the fuss was about. I gotta say, it was pretty much pure fun, fluff reading and I totally enjoyed it. Nothing about this book is that particularly believable. Not the plot, certainly not the ending and especially not the character of the perfectly honorable/handsome/smart/sensitive male lead. But hey, that's the fun of fluff reading, right? I'm ready for the next one.

What are you guys reading? I'm trying my hand at another Mary Roach book. I loved Gulp and can't wait to see what she does with this one!

A Boatload of Book Reviews

This was my first time reading a Murakami novel and I didn't know what to expect. Even after finishing it I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about it.  It was strange, surreal and imaginative but it's also a massive book and was sometimes long winded. I found the author often revisiting the same plot points again and again, re-hashing the same events from every perspective and honestly, it got a little tedious. Even so, it maintained my interest enough and I powered through to the end. I've read that this isn't the best representation of his work so I'd be willing to give another one of his books a go. If nothing else just to see if I can figure out the Murakami craze because I still feel like I must be missing something.

So I hate to give an all out bad review but what it really comes down to is that this novel was predictable, a little cheesy and honestly, not worth the time. 

From the first moment this little compilation of writings showed up on my doorstep I had a hard time putting it back down. Mama, bare is a collection of pieces on motherhood, written by new mamas about those first few weeks and months after a baby's birth. That emotional time of transition from girl to mother that can be both excruciatingly painful and mind-blowingly joyful. I can't imagine how any new mother wouldn't relate to a least a few of the pieces in this stunning collection. The stories inside span the wide breadth of motherhood experiences from despair to delight and I highly recommend this for the new or expecting mothers in your life.

Much like Murakami I had to jump on the Gaiman band wagon to see what all the fuss was about. I know it's strange that it has taken me 32 years to finally pick up one of his books, he's like, a legend. But, I finally did it. Now, I have friends that practically worship at the alter of Gaiman so I was a little surprised after finishing this one that I just sort of liked it and thought it was "pretty good". Huh? I was expecting a life altering read here, or at least a new author to obsess over whilst wildly downloading every title in his library. But I'm just like, it was fine. I think I need to read another. I've got my sights set on Neverwhere but point me in another direction if you've got a better suggestion.

So you would think that as a blogger I would be familiar with Jenny Lawson a.k.a. The Bloggess but to be honest I hadn't ever really read anything she's written before picking up her memoir. I say "picking up", but what I really mean is listening to it on audible. Which, I gotta say, I think is the way to go with this book. She reads it herself and she is hilarious. Her accent, her intonation, listening to her actually tell her own stories, it makes them all that much better in my opinion. This book was truly funny and I really did laugh out loud a few times. A fun and easy read (or listen) that I'd definitely recommend.

And this one was just a big, fat, whopping disappointment. I'm sorry Ann Patchett, but it's true. A ridiculous story of strangers held hostage by quasi-pacifist/super easy going terrorists? Just so unrealistic. But even that I was willing to let slide until I got to the end and then HATED the ending. Hated it passionately. I can't really get into it without spoilers but if you've read this WTF? Seriously. Hit me up in the comments to discuss.

What I'm Reading, the #blacklivesmatter Edition

Racism and the systematic oppression of our black american citizens is a tradition in this country that is almost as old as our country itself. In the news lately we have seen case after case after heartbreaking case of how the lives of our fellow black americans are so devastatingly undervalued. Before the emergence of social media how many of these type of incidents have gone unnoticed or unreported in decades past? How many Michael Browns and Sandra Blands have come before? I suspect the number would be staggering. I suspect we would not want to know. I want to be one less blissfully ignorant white american and in taking one tiny step forward to better my understanding of the problem at hand I have been reading books on the subject of race in America.  

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a fantastic and refreshingly eye opening view on race and culture in America from an outsider's point of view. Fiction, the story follows the life of female protagonist Ifemelu, a Nigerian transplant living in America, as she learns to cope with what it means to be black in America when you come from a country where you have never before been a minority. Near the end of the novel she returns home to Nigeria for the first time in over a decade and says something along the lines of how strange it was to step off the plane and forget for the first time in years that she was black. How much effort it is here for black americans to deal with race -- how freeing it was for her to go back to a place where her race was not her defining characteristic. It was just very revealing and insightful. There is also a beautifully written love story woven into the book and I found it to be an all around outstanding read. Highly, highly recommend this one.

When Toni Morrison is quoted on the cover saying this book is required reading you really have no other choice than to get in line for your copy now. This book is a hard, hard read. Not hard to follow or understand, quite the contrary. It's hard because Coates pulls no punches whatsoever. All of our country's dirty laundry, the inherent and systematic racism we hold so dear is laid out in all it's painful clarity. Written as a letter to his fifteen year old son, it is a devastatingly honest and brutal account of what it means to grow up black and male in America.  There is no sugar coating, there is no happy ending, there is just the hard, unfair, honest truth. 

Ghettoside is probably the best book I have read all year. Non-fiction, the author, Jill Leovy, is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times who embedded herself for years in the LA police division responsible for dealing with the bulk of black on black homicides in the city. Leovy follows the story of the murder and subsequent investigation of 18 year old victim Bryant Tennelle. The book is compassionate and intelligent and backed up with an astounding amount of research and statistics. Leovy really cracks open the issue of black on black crime and shows it for the epidemic that it truly is.  Please read this book, I cannot recommend it enough.

What else could you recommend in this vein? The more I read the more I want to know.

Summer Reading

This is a good group of books you guys. I think I have recommended every single one of these to at least one person since reading them. Are they necessarily summery? Ehhh, not really. But who cares when they're this good.

This was a long one. It kept me busy for quite awhile but I didn't mind one bit. Reading this you really begin to understand just how much Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt did for the people of this country during and after FDR's time in office. For race relations, for women and children, for union workers and veterans, the list goes on and on. It's amazing to me what two people can accomplish in just one lifetime. In no uncertain terms, this world is a much better place for having had them in it. Incredibly inspirational.

You know what I love? Asking someone else who loves books to give you a list of their favorites. Then taking their list and downloading every single one of them to Audible. Which is exactly how I ended up listening to The Rook (thanks Rence!). I think I have best described this book as a cross between (now stay with me here) Men in Black, Orphan Black, Memento and X Men. Maybe that sounds strange to you, but it totally works.  I loved this one.

Let me count the ways I loved this book...

#1. It's sucks you right in. Once you start, you can not stop.

#2. The protagonist is a smart ass and I actually laughed out loud from some of the dialogue.

#3. It is full of math. Like, crazy hard math that someone actually uses in a real-life application (ok, so it's not real life it's fiction, but close enough) proving that all those hours of learning ridiculous math equations in school DO have a purpose in the lives and jobs of at least a very select few (astronauts, engineers, botanists). For some reason I delighted in this knowledge. I mean, I guess I knew it was true, but it's nice to see it working in a practical way for someone. Even if that someone is an imaginary astronaut from a book who's stuck on Mars.

When I got the chance to choose a book to read and review for this blog I could not pass this one up. A non-fiction gem in which a real doctor recounts his first year in practice. He spills all his secrets about mistakes, mess ups, close calls and the whole nerve-wracking experience of finally becoming the one in charge. It was pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about what becoming a doctor is really like and the steep learning curve that they're up against. 

I have quite a few friends who are nurses who tell me all about the harrowing parts of their jobs and I can't wait to pass this book along to them. I assume they will totally relate to McCarthy's experiences and it makes me so glad I don't have a job that involves me saving anyone's life on a daily basis. As we say in the biz (or maybe it's just my co-workers and I) there is no such thing as a drapery emergency. Truly. I like my job and it's interesting and cool sometimes, but it's mostly inconsequential. And after reading this book, I am totally fine with that. 

I'd definitely recommend this one.

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

More Books!

Have I mentioned how much I love the Audible app?  (Just kidding, I know I have. It's practically all I talk about.) It's my desert island pick if I could somehow also bring along headphones and an iphone with an infinitesimal charge. It's the one app I can't live without. Ok, so that's a pretty strong statement, but honestly, it has been a game changer.

(Audible, feel free to start paying me for these endorsements aaaannnnyyyy time ;)

Anyway, of the six books below only one did I actually read a physical hardbound copy. The rest I listened to while driving, folding laundry and applying my morning makeup. It's the only way to get my book fix while having three children and a full time job. I gotta say, it's pretty nice to have someone read ME a story for a change ;)

First up, Maze Runner! Dystopian YA lit, so of course I liked it. I can be pretty predictable as it turns out. This is the first of a trilogy (aren't they all?) so I'll have to get to the other two here eventually. I didn't love it like I loved Hunger Games or even the Divergent books which is why I'm not rushing out to get the next two, but I'm certainly not opposed to finishing the series. 

 

This is the one book of the lot I actually read the hardbound version of. This is written by a blogger I like, Natalie Holbrook and it's her first crack at a bonafide book. It's written a lot like her blog and from her usual pov which I obviously like. But I have to say I was a little disappointed that it was more a collection of small essays (some of which were taken right from her blog so I'd read them already) and lists of things like "what every nest needs..."  than a cohesive book. I guess I was just expecting deeper, or different, or at least longer, more substantial essays?  I dunno, I wanted to like it but it fell a little flat for me.

Now this is a trilogy I can get down with! The audio version came HIGHLY recommended to me and I have to say Jennifer Ikeda's reading of it was as big a part of my enjoyment as the writing itself. She absolutely killed it switching between characters and accents. So, SO good! I'll admit I was a little leery at the beginning since it's not the type of writing I typically lean to - witches! vampires! forbidden love! But by the end of book three I was a believer. These books are long, but even so I didn't want them to end. If you can allow for a heavy dose of suspension of disbelief and a few minor plot holes than these books can be highly enjoyable and really fun reading (or listening as the case may be). Sucked me right in.

This was another really good one, This is a memoir/coming of age story written by a woman who grew up in the mill town of Mexico, Maine. In the book she recounts her childhood, the sudden loss of her father and the way her family of women came together to cope with the tragedy and forge ahead on their own. It's also quite a lovely time capsule for what life was like in the suburban 60s. I really liked this one.

 

 

What have you guys been reading lately? I just started this mammoth beast and I'm pretty excited about it. As always, suggestions welcome in the comments below!

Books, Books, Books.

 

You know what there is to do four (almost five) months in to winter? Nothing. Pretty much nothing when you have a brand new baby and a whole stack of medical bills to keep you from straying too far from home. Next year when she's older, doing more during these sub zero months will be easier and a lot more practical, but this year we've mostly just been staying home. 

Not that I'm complaining. Staring at a baby all day is pretty high on my list of favorite ways to spend a Saturday. I knew having a November due date that this quiet period would follow. Happily home bound with our purse strings squeezed a little tighter than normal for the season. With that in mind, I'm just trying my best to enjoy the slow, the quiet, the predictable days while they last. 

What you can do four (almost five) months in to winter is read, of course. Or listen. Or a combination of both, which is what I prefer. I usually have one audio book cued up and one paper back/kindle on the nightstand at the same time. Although I admit the audiobooks get finished a whole lot quicker since you can listen while cooking dinner, folding laundry or heating up that millionth cup of hot chocolate. Here's what I've been up to lately.

 

This one is right in the vein of The Fault In Our Stars. Young adult, tragic, heart breaking stuff. I can't say I loved it, because it's kind of a hard story to love, but the ending got me good.

 

 

Wowza. This book totally lived up to all the hype. How is this really someone's life? It makes you fully appreciate how resilient the human spirit can be even under seemingly impossible circumstances. It called to mind the first time I read Man's Search for Meaning. Very inspiring. Also, (captain obvious here) wars are just generally a terrible idea. Just throwing that out there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one came recommended to me from a friend (hiya Kate!) and I really, really liked it. This is so out of the realm of things I typically read. First of all, it's written by a man and I typically gravitate toward female authors 95% of the time. And it felt like it was a man's man kind of book, but also totally great. It's a thriller/mystery and had a few good plot twists and shocking moments. Highly recommend it.

 

Here's another author I'm embarrassed to admit it's taken me 31 years to get around to reading. Didion's writing is all about the craft. She's a writer's writer. The story and structure were interesting, following the downward spiral of a Hollywood starlet and underscoring the emptiness and superficiality life in LA has come to represent. But to be honest, it's so far removed from my actual life and experiences that I kind of just observed it from afar. That said, I'm totally up for more and I've got Slouching Toward Bethlehem cued up and ready to go next.

 

This one I really enjoyed. But then again anything Rachael recommends is bound to be good. An unfurling mystery and a walk back though time, full of secrets and aha moments.  It was just really fun. Plus, I happen to live in a hundred year old house and it made me think about all those people who have inhabited it before us and what stories this house would tell if the walls could talk.

Whoa, this one. You guys, I was totally not ready for that ending. I am not going to give anything away here but hooooooly mooooooly. So this book was one of the Daily Deals on Audible and was purchased on a whim. I hadn't heard about it before but mention Frank Lloyd Wright and I'm in. It's a novel but it follows the true life of FLW's mistress, Mamah Borthwick. It's based on true events so don't go googling her if you don't want spoilers. I'd definitely recommend this one. It delivered so much more than I expected.

 

And that's all for now. I'm currently reading The Maze Runner, dystopic YA lit, so you know I'm into it. What have you all been reading?

What I'm Reading

It's been a little while since I've done a book round up and I've got a few to share today if you're into that sort of thing. I think I listened to every single one of these on my audible app which has proven once again to be invaluable to me. Being home with a newborn these last few months this totally fed my book addiction while I was nursing the baby or folding laundry or any of the other things that kept my hands too busy for a real paperback. But there are some good ones in this batch, so let's get to it!

 

Well, this was a weird book. I think I liked it? I went in to this one blind and it took me AWHILE to figure out what was even going on. But as you know, I love me a good dystopic storyline, so I was pretty quickly won over. There's some really good writing in this book and at it's core it's basically a book about feminism, sexual politics and fundamental human rights. I'd say give it a whirl, it'll get you thinking if nothing else.

 

 

 

 

 

Alright, so this one was heavily discussed in an online book club I'm part of (hi, Allie!) and I think most of us came away with the same general reaction in the end. It's a little slow in parts and the characters are hard to like, but it's beautifully written and eventually it sucks you in. I thought it was a little pretentious at the jump off, I mean a book about talented, beautiful ballerinas and how hard their lives are. Boo-hoo, right? But once the story starts to come together it really begins to get complex. I'd even say it's a little shakesperian in how interwoven all of the character's lives become. The ending makes it worth it.

 

 

 

 

I really liked this one! It's kind of a fluff mystery type of book, but man did it keep me wanting more. It was really hard to stop this one once I started it, and although I guessed the ending before it was fully revealed it was still fun to see how it all unfolded. Definitely recommend. 

 

 

I. LOVE. ELIZABETH. WARREN. So does Josh. She's his celebrity crush so that should tell you something about my husband. But he read this book first and recommended it to me (of course he did). But she's just so great, you guys. So inspiring and brave and hard working and takes absolutely no shit. However, reading this book will make you feel like a lazy s.o.b. who's done nothing with your life, so fair warning. Warren for president is all I'm saying.

 

 

Amy's book was pretty much exactly what I expected. This book will also make your boring life seem pointlessly uneventful and not at all worth living, so you're just gonna have to get over that right now. She's funny (of course) and surprisingly sweet and vulnerable in her writing. Basically she just makes you really wish you could be her bff and call her up crying with all your life's woes and she'll take you in her arms and comfort you with sage advice and gentle humor whilst stroking your hair and telling you how pretty you look.

 

 

 

And that's all I got for this round. I'm alllllmost finished with We Were Liars (another book club recommendation) and I'm reserving judgement on that one until I find out the ending. After that I think I'll try out Descent (thanks for the tip, Kate!) and of course with all the hype surrounding it I MUST read Unbroken as soon as humanly possible. Anything else you guys can think to recommend? If so, hit me up in the comments!

 

 

Books I've Read

Time for another edition of books I've recently read. Ok, so I physically read two of them and listened to the other three on Audible. Which is the best thing ever invented for someone like me who loves books and clocks a lot of driving time. Two birds, one stone! Nothing like a long morning commute with Lolita to keep you company.

This book. THIS BOOK. AHHHHH! It is so frustrating. Of the five books here that I'm reviewing today this was the first one that I started with and I'm still not done with it. I'm listening to this one and it's about 21 hours long. I still have 7 hours to go and I CAN NOT make myself finish. It's such a weird book. It's interesting enough but at the same time, it's going nowhere. I'm 14 hours in and I still don't get the point of it. I've read so many things about how this is such a classic, must read and how it's so many people's favorite book and I'm just like WHAT IS HAPPENING? I was powering through despite my uncertainty until (**spoiler alert**) the main character's young son is killed and then I just threw up my hands like, enough already! I can not handle that shit. Same thing happened to me when I was really into watching Rescue Me, as soon as they killed off Tommy's son in the second season I was like, nope, I'm done. I'm not sure I'm actually, really done with this book. I mean I've invested 14 hours into this thing and it seems a shame to not finish it. But, ugh. Has anyone read this? Is it worth finishing? More importantly WHAT IS THE POINT?!

Oh, David Giffels. Do people not from NE Ohio read Giffels? I'm not sure how far reaching his books actually are but he's sort of our hometown literary hero round these parts. I loved his first book but this one was was just sort of ok. It's actually a collection of short essays rather than a full, cohesive book like All The Way Home was. Some of the essays were really good, others kinda boring. All pretty much saying the same thing. The whole collection focuses on life in our shared hometown of Akron which was fun for me to read being from here and all, I'm just not sure how interesting it would be to people from places other than Akron? If you're from Akron, or really any sort of working class mid-western city I'd totally recommend it. If you're not, I'd love to hear how you'd review it.

So can you believe that it took me 31 years of living before I finally got around to reading Lolita? How does that even happen? I'm not sure. And now that I've been privvy to the inner workings of a certain Mr. Humbert Humbert's brain, I'm more disturbed than ever. I can see why this book is such a classic, but I'm not sure it's ever going to be one of my favorites. It's sort of like Schindler's List, you do it because you have to and you should and of course you appreciate it for it's brilliance, but is it something you really enjoy? Ehh, probably not.

Now this book sort of happened by complete accident. Josh started listening to it on longish car ride we were taking and then I was hooked. As you may (or may not) know Penn Jillette is one of the most outspoken modern day aethiests and this book is all about that. It's a quick read (or listen as may be the case) and it's funny and out there and just very entertaining. He looses me a bit when he gets into some of his Libertarian rhetoric and sometimes he goes way, waaaaaay off topic, but overall this book was a fun one. Don't read it if you're offended by strong language, lude subject matter or aethism in general. You gotta go into this one with an open mind and also not take it too seriously. If you can do that, I think you'll enjoy it.

And this one, I just loved. I could not put it down. It's about the life of a depression era teen girl in the midst of family turmoil who's sent away to boarding school against her will. It's nothing earth shattering but it's sexy and suspenseful and just a totally engrossing book. I've been wanting to stumble upon a page turner like that for awhile now and it was just a really satisfying read.  Two thumbs up and I'd definitely recommend it.

And that's all I've got for now! What are you guys reading these days? I just started this one and so far I'm just lukewarm on it, but I've heard it's great so we'll see where it goes. And after that (like everyone else on the proverbial bandwagon) I've got Yes, Please next on deck.

If you have any other recommendations, as always please share in the comments!

What I Read This Summer

This last batch of books were my summertime picks. Ones I thought might be a little easier to get through, a bit of lighter reading compared to the type of books I typically choose. (I love a book that makes me cry!) So, these were some of the maybe "fluffier" books I had loaded onto my Kindle/audible app and I figured this was the perfect season to give them a whirl.

Obviously I started with this baby. I mean, does a title even get any fluffier than that? Nevertheless, this was pretty good one. And even though this book did maintain an overall air of lightheartedness, it wasn't pure fluff. It's actually set in the channel islands post WWII and it follows the lives of the citizens of Guernsey Island immediately following the end of the german occupation when everyone is just pulling themselves out of the post war haze. It's a book that makes you smile, but it also has it's moments of depth and tragedy too. And it was far more emotional than I thought it was going to be, which is always a good thing.  It's worth a read and I'd totally recommend it.

This was such a good one. I know they made it into a movie awhile back but I'd never seen it, so I didn't know much about this book going in. It was really, really well done. It's a novel, not a real memoir, but it seemed SO real. I mean up until the last few chapters (when things took a bit of a fairy tale ending twist) it was such a convincing description of Geisha life you'd have thought it was a true story. Albeit a true story told by someone who remembers an incredible amount of detail over many many years, but still. I was totally sold and totally engrossed in this book. Makes me wanna see the movie now.

Another one that's been made into a movie I've never seen. This one was just sort of eh for me. I KNOW it's about people who run off with the circus and everything but it just seemed way too far-fetched to get behind. The characters and how they immediately seem to fall into love and hate with not a whole lot of explanation as to why - was just not believable. I think if this book was maybe twice as long and and if the author would have fleshed out each character a lot more it would have done more for me, because the story is entertaining for sure. If the relationships in the book would have been given time unfold more naturally and with all the complexities they do in real life, I would have been way more into this whole thing. But as it stands, the book just felt really rushed. Has anyone seen the movie? I'd love to know how it compares.

This one was surprisingly interesting. It's a novel, so it's not a true story but it is about the life of former first lady, Laura Bush. Names have been changed and a lot has been added and imagined to create a cohesive story but it also does follow loosely the actual events of her true life, which I found really fascinating. It's clear that the author has done his homework and I think tried his best to get into her head and really see things from her point of view. To think about growing up in an average, middle class family and somehow ending up thrust into the spotlight as the wife of the president of the united states, it's messy and complicated and hard to imagine. You even start to empathize with her a bit by the end (even if you did vote for the other guy). So props to Sittenfeld for making a Bush seem likable, that's gotta be soooome talent ;)

This one was...not my favorite. It's about an adolescent girl who, after her mother (a bi-polar ex-beauty pageant queen, of course) tragically dies is sent down south to live with her wealthy and kind great aunt whom she hardly knows. It's so far fetched it's kind of ridiculous. This is the kind of story that could only be made up and is therefore completely un-relateable. And what's worse, it reminds me of "The Help" wherein which the characters of color are so blatantly and boringly stereotyped it's annoying. Hoffman literally describes one scene where the house cook (a black woman, obvs) is "cooking collard greens and singing a song about Jesus."  Really. I think I'll leave it at that. 

And at the completely other end of the spectrum, we have "Gulp". This was like reading a documentary! It's all about the fascinating inner workings of the human digestive system. Which might seem weird, but I promise is actually really interesting and totally engrossing. It's a hard one to explain, but the author basically gives you a tour of the entire digestive system from mouth to, well, you know. All the while citing interesting facts and studies and scientific experiments related to each stage of digestion. There are also fun little anecdotes thrown in about history and celebrities. Like, for instance, did you know Elvis did not actually die from a drug overdose but from complications of having a mega-colon? I'm telling you, this book is totally worth a read. You may never think of your the colon the same way after this. 

So what about you guys? Did you have any good summer reads? I'm stock piling titles for maternity leave now, so any recommendations are hugely welcomed (as always)!

xoxo