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It finally rained in California!!!  I love the rain because it means getting cozy, staying indoors, and reading books!  This month went so fast, but I managed to read 7 books.  This is way less than the 12 books I was planning on, but I am still pleased with my progress.  I also did 27 blog posts, and start crafting again.  Plus my holiday shopping for most of the family is complete!  

Books Read this month:

 My favorite book of the month has to be Unrooted by Naomi Novik.  It was a YA book that was so original and gripping that I couldn't put it down.  Crossing To Safety by Wallace Stegner, was also a favorite because it has so much to say about long-term marriages and the hopes and disappointments of life. I like reading a variety of genres each month and these two really epitomized the best of their book type.

What was your favorite read of the month?  Did you meet your reading goals?  Let me know in the comments.
   

   

This is the season of parties:  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa,  New Years Eve.  They are all occasions to talk to your friends about books!  Asking someone what they are currently reading is a great conversation starter and is sure to bring about a lively discussion.  It is also a great way to get recommendations for your TBR list.   I am constantly whipping out my phone to jot down a title of a book that everyone (but me) seems to know about.  Here are three books to read and recommend to your friends:


Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller:

This is a devastating memoir about one messed up childhood.  The author grew up on a farm in Africa in the 1970's, but that is not the reason her early years were so twisted.  She had a mother who turned to alcohol after a tragedy and the effects of this were neglect and chaos.  This time period also coincides with a time of upheaval in several African countries.  It seems that as one revolution occurs, the family moves to another political hot spot.  It's a wonder she survives to adulthood, given what happens to her.  When I meet another person who has read this book, we knowingly nod as though we experienced these things ourselves.  To those who haven't read it, I will talk it up incessantly.  It is SUCH a great book!


The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan:

This is the true story behind the Manhattan Project that built the first atomic weapon during WWII.  Usually, we hear about the male scientists who worked on the project.  But this book focuses on the women (and men) who were the support team working just as tirelessly to help end the war.  Most of the people involved never really knew what was being developed.  They only thought it would hasten the end of the war.  Since almost everyone had a family member in the military, there was a strong desire to do whatever it took to win the war and bring their guys home.  This was also a fantastic opportunity for women to enter the workforce for the first time.  This brought new freedom for women.  I like to recommend this book for it's unique perspective on an important time in American history.  It is a fascinating story that more people should know about.

 Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman:

This book has special meaning to me as one of the mansions is a home in Santa Barbara, California, where I spent my childhood.  We often wonder about the lives of the super-rich.  What must it be like to own a bunch of homes and just have them waiting for you to show up?  What would you collect if you had unlimited means?  How would you spend your millions? This is a story of one wealthy family and their attempts to deal with their good fortune.  At first, it would seem these people would have it made.  But what happens is that their vast wealth creates a barrier between them and  the rest of the world.  It would be difficult to trust anyone when you know that so many people want a piece of what you have.  Couple this with family squabbles, lawsuits, nannies, and con-artists, and you have a cautionary tale.  It is an intriguing read.

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October was a pretty good month for Reading!  I was able to read nine books, which is better than I thought I would do.  With work, kids, and trying to blog, I had a tough time finding moments to read.  I also was able to do 24 posts on my blog, adding the Stacking The Shelves weekly feature to my repertoire.  This has been a great way for me to keep track of my progress and keep me on track.  I was also able to read and review three ARCs and meet one of my favorite authors, Leigh Bardugo.  Here is a summary:






I think my favorite book of the month was Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo.  It takes place in the Grisha universe, which is from the Smoke & Bone series, but has completely different characters.  I loved the gritty setting and people.  The heist, which is the heart of the story, was fun to follow.  I can't wait for the next book!  Probably my least favorite book was The Tiger Rising.  This was primarily due to the fact that the story was so short.

What was your favorite book of the month?  Leave your answer in the comments section below.

It was a golden age of flappers, prohibition, and disillusionment.  The decade of the 1920's was a period of immense social change.  Following the end of WWI, soldiers streamed back into the U.S..  After seeing more of the world than they ever dreamed, many were discontented and unenthusiastic about going back to the farm.  Women, as well, shed social norms and let loose.  Who knew what tomorrow would bring?

The 1920's was also a golden age of literature.  There were many memorable books of that era, but these three really encompass the social upheaval of the times.

1.  The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton:

This book concerns itself with the gilded age of America and takes place in the 1870's.  The story centers around the impending marriage of young gentleman Newland Archer.  He is about to be married to the picture perfect May Welland.  But after meeting her cousin, Ellen, he begins to question many of the assumptions he has been taught about marriage.  Written in 1920, it's commentary on marriage and society and is an indictment on the social conventions that young people were beginning to question following the end of WWI.  With this book, Edith Wharton became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize.  

2.  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald:


Often mandatory reading in high school, everyone should read it again (and again) as they get older.  It epitomizes of the decadence of the times:  the extravagant parties, the gaudy mansions, the garishness of folks suddenly flush with money from bootlegging and a skyrocketing stock market.  The story concerns Jay Gatsby, the poor young soldier who vows to become rich and win the hand of his first love Daisy.  But Daisy is already married to the boorish Tom Buchanan.  Can Jay recapture the sweetness of a long lost love?  Or is it too late to go back?  It is amazing that, although it was written in 1925, the book seems to foretell the looming disaster of the Great Depression.  I re-read this every few years to remind me of the fleeting nature of wealth and infatuation.

3.  The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway:  


Written in 1926, this book initiated the term "The Lost Generation" to describe the disillusionment of young people who went into WWI thinking war would be heroic only to discover the terrible human cost of battle.  In the book, a group of expats living in Paris seem to stumble from place to place drinking and looking for the next amusement.  Jake Barnes is a journalist who works in Paris and is in love with Lady Brett Ashely.  Due to a war injury Jake is impotent, so Brett seeks out various other lovers.  His group of friends all seem to have unconventional relationships and behave in a shallow way.  I think this is a book that would give one insight into a time period of great social flux throughout the world.  The book The Paris Wife by Paula McLain,  chronicles what was happening in Hemingway's life as he was writing this book and how the people he knew at that time populated his masterpiece.

Over the last few weeks, I have been on a rather morbid streak of Death and Scariness.  Now I am ready to laugh.  There are many books that have a lot of humor, but these three abound in it.  Try them out for a light-hearted reading experience.


1.  Where'd You Go, Bernadette? By Maria Semple:


This is such a fun book!  In this sendup of suburban life in an exclusive Seattle neighborhood,  multi-tasking supermoms populate the landscape.  Bernadette seems to be a master at running the lives of her little family with flair.  But is she actually getting lots of help behind the scenes?  Is her life really so perfect, or are anxiety, secrets, and infidelity lurking in the shadows?  All is not what it seems in the perfect life of the main characters.  There was so much I could personally relate to in this book, particularly the scenes about the seriousness of school fundraisers.  These situations may seem outrageous,  but if you live in certain privileged areas, the craziness abounds when it comes to raising money for your kid's school.  I loved how Bernadette takes outsourcing to new heights.  This social satire will have you laughing and crying all at once.

2.  The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion:

I loved this book for it's wit and fun premise:  a socially awkward scientist sets out to find a wife.  With the aid of an hilariously inappropriate questionnaire,  the main character, Don, attempts to weed out incompatible potential mates.  It is implied in the book that Don has Aspergers, so when he meets the quirky and unpredictable Rosie he immediately writes her off as a possible mate.  Rosie is looking for her biological father.  Being that Don is a geneticist, he takes on the task of helping Rosie gather DNA to weed out who could be her dad (it is not at all because she is attractive, no).  As Don gets to know Rosie, he begins to let go of some of the order in his life, and let in spontaneity, fun, and love.  This is a book full of laughs, but also empathy for Aspergers people.  It is close to my heart.

3.  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams:

This is a classic and one of my teen's favorite books.  Arthur Dent starts out the day squabbling with the government about demolishing his home to make way for a highway bypass, and ends the day on an alien space ship!  How can he even wrap his head around this new reality?  He can begin to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, coincidentally written by his friend, Ford Prefect (an alien passing as a human).  This novel is full of British-style humor (which I adore).  As Arthur tries to navigate through his new reality, he meets strange species such as the Vogons, and tries not to get killed!  This is the start of a fun series.  I think all of my kids went through a British humor phase and this fed their addiction.  Silly fun!

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It's that time of year where everyone enjoys getting a little creeped out!  When I think of scary books, these three easily come to mind.  Each author creates a sense of dread that forms an eerie mood for the reader.  I hope you will read at least one to get you into the Halloween spirit.

1.  We Were Liars by E. Lockhart:

This is a strange story that seems to start off as a coming of age tale but turns out to be extremely creepy!  It is narrated by Cadence, a privileged teen who spends her summers on a private island with the many members of her extended family.  Something is off as Cadence can't seem to remember any of the details of an accident she has and no one will talk to her about it.  What happened?  Why have some of the buildings on the island been rebuilt?  Will Cadence ever remember what happened or does she want to forget all about it?  This is a sharply crafted book that will make you want to reread it to see if you can pick up on the subtle clues that lead up to the stunning conclusion.



2.  Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman:

This was the first Neil Gaiman book I read and I instantly loved how he created the shadowy world of underground London and the seedy floating market.  A rather bland office worker, Richard, takes pity on a homeless girl and his life turns upside down as he becomes entangled in the lives and problems of the girl (named Door).  She is being pursued by assassins and needs the help of the Marquis de Carabas.  After Richard finds the Marquis, the two disappear, leaving Richard to wonder what happened.  Things turn even more strange when Richard seems to become invisible and no one interacts or acknowledges he exists.  Richard needs to find Door and the Marquis again to understand what has happened to him and try and get his life back.  This becomes a quest-type of story as Richard, and Door seek out who is behind the assassination attempts and the pair must navigate a strange world of monsters to find the truth.

3.  The Cemetery Boys by Zak (formerly Heather) Brewer:

I listened to this as an audiobook but I think I would have liked the printed book even better.  When Stephen's dad loses his job, they need to move to a small town to live with with Stephen's Grandmother.  Stephen meets a beautiful girl named Cara and is instantly smitten.  He also meets Cara's wild brother Devon.  Devon heads a group of boys who like to hang out and party at the local cemetery.  Stephen begins to hear all sorts of strange stories of horrible tragedies that have befallen the town.  There is talk that the only way to get rid of the "bad" luck is to sacrifice a human in order to appease a strange raven-like creature.  Is this real or an elaborate hoax intended to make Stephen look foolish?  How far would Devon go to protect the town?  Would Devon really kill someone to change the town's luck? And what will happen when protective Devon finds out that Stephen and Cara are secretly dating?  Will Stephen be targeted to be the sacrifice?

It's October.  While it's a time to relieve stress by testing our bravery against scary things, it is also a time to reflect on one of the more serious aspects of life:  Death.

Here are three books that have death as a central theme in their book.  Each book uses the theme of death in different ways, but all are thought provoking and (oddly) entertaining.

1.  This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper


Judd's life is a mess:  His wife has left him for a Shock-Jock radio host, he's out of a job (working for the Shock-Jock), and his father has died.  Life couldn't possibly get much worse right?  Wrong!  Judd must now sit Shiva with his very dysfunctional family to honor his father.  This entails everyone staying in the family home for seven days and receiving guests who come to pay their respects.  Can Judd and his siblings manage to get along with each other for a full week?  Will they drive each other crazy or grow closer?  This is an entertaining read full of colorful family situations.  It's like the longest Thanksgiving Dinner in history!  But it is also a touching look at a family that has grown apart and tries to reestablish the bonds that supported them long ago.

2.  A long Way Down by Nick Hornby


Nick Hornby is one of my favorite authors.  With each book, he manages to bring to life groups of people who are both interesting and, often, pathetic.  But it is always done in a way that is entertaining and not a bit depressing.  A Long Way Down follows four people who shouldn't have anything in common:  a disgraced talk show host, a party girl who's father is a politician, a failed musician, and an overwhelmed mother of a severely-disabled young man.  All try to end their lives on New Year's Eve by jumping from the roof of the same building.  After their encounter, they decide to make a pact to stay alive at least until Valentine's Day.  We learn the backstory of why each person was on the roof that night.  I started to care deeply about the characters and hope that each would make it past Valentine's Day.  This is a wonderful book.  It has also been made into a movie (you can see it on Netflix) that I found quite enjoyable, too.

3.  The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe


This is a true story of a mother and her adult son who create an even closer bond through their love of books.  Mary Anne has cancer and while she waits for her many appointments, she reads.  As her son starts to accompany her to the doctor, they start to discuss what she is reading.  Soon both Mary Anne and her son, Will, start to give each other recommendations and a "book club" (of sorts) is formed.  This is a very emotional book for me, as my mother died of cancer and was also an avid reader.  The journey they experience together is profound.  Will learns to see his Mother as a compete person, not just his Mom.  This struggle to have our parent-child relationships morph into adult interactions is one every person goes through.  This is a very moving book.


What are some of your favorite end-of-life themed books?  Leave a comment below and share.

Fantasy books are some of my favorites because they can envelope you in worlds that will never exist.  There is a certain feel of adventure (as if you were traveling) that I get when I start to read these books.  The fun for me is learning all the elements of the worlds in which the book exists.  Is there magic, creatures, superpowers?  The stranger the better, i feel.  Here are three series that helped me to love the genre.

1.  The Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare:
Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess

These books cover the backstory of the Mortal Instruments books and I think are a better series.  I know that City of Bones is popular.  There will even be a T.V. show coming in January to ABC Family called Shadow Hunters.   I think I just like the time period better.  Set in the late 1800's, the story follows Will Herondale and his Parabatai James (Jem) Carstairs, shadow hunters in London.  When they meet Tessa Gray their world becomes even more complicated.  This is a fun mystery along with a touching romance.  We see characters that will pop up again later in the Mortal Instruments series and get information that will be relevant later on.  I liked the love triangle and found it to be lovely and bittersweet.  They characters shared common interests and were not simply hot for each another.

2.  The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Lani Taylor:
Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Days of Blood & Starlight, Dreams of Gods & Monsters

An orphan is taken in by demons and earns her keep as a messenger.  Most of the time Karou is a normal high school student in Prague: dating, hanging out with her friends, trying to get her homework done. But then she also has a secret life as a messenger for a demon.  She doesn't question how this came to be, as she is so grateful to not be alone.  Then, one day, her world is shattered when she is cut off from her demon friends.  And is that an angel watching her from afar?  I loved this series as it is nothing like anything I have read before.  Identities and views change quickly.  Worlds are revealed, lost loves found, fantastical creatures are created.  All of it combines to a complex universe that kept me involved up to the amazing conclusion.  There are demons and Angels, but who are actually the good guys?  You'll change your views back and forth throughout the series.

3.  The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo:
Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising

This is another series that I loved due to it's unique settings and powerful characters.  Set in the mythical world of Ravka (which looks a lot like Russia), children are tested to see if they have certain abilities.  These might include manipulating the elements such as fire, or wind.  Or they might be able to heal...or stop a heart without touching the victim.  If they are, they are taken away from home and trained by The Darkling to serve the King.  Hiding her abilities, Alina tries to blend in to stay close to her childhood friend, Mal (who she is secretly in love with).  But Alina's gift is the most sought after of them all: the ability to summon light.  Once The Darkling finds her, he won't stop until he possesses her completely.  The Darkling is at once charming and monstrous.  This leaves Alina confused as she fights her attraction to him and struggles to understand her own worth.  This dynamic has so many parables to real-life abusive relationships that I found fascinating.  There are many other wonderful characters as well such as Mal, Prince Nikolai, and Genya that round out the story and make this series a truly rich experience.

I am starting a new feature on my blog:  Three 4 Thursday.  Each week I will spotlight three books with a common theme in the hope that it might inspire you to start reading one (or all) of them over the next weekend.  I am relatively new to blogging.  This is my original idea and I have not seen this feature on other blogs.  However, since there are no new ideas and I haven't seen too many other blogs, there could easily be other Three 4 Thursdays out there.  If so, please politely contact me and I will be happy to spread the word about your awesome blog.  But I am not actively trying to copy anyone.  Three 4 Thursday just sounds like a catchy phrase to me.  Now on to some good things that come in threes...



1.  Yes, Please by Amy Poehler:


I've always admired Amy Poehler's achievements and confidence.  In her audiobook version of Yes, Please, Amy's positive message of empowerment is enhanced by celebrity voices such as Carol Burnett, Kathleen Turner, Patrick Stewart, and her SNL news partner Seth Myers.  This really brings the stories to life and creates a truly special listening experience.  Amy works hard but you can see (or in this case, hear) how all the connections she has made with others has led to such a successful career.




2.  Not my Father's Son by Alan Cumming:

Alan Cumming's memoir is a searing account of his turbulent childhood and how it shaped the man he is today.  With his Scottish accent setting the scene, we hear the terror of growing up with a violent father and feel the anguish of the aftermath it causes in Alan Cumming's life.  The book follows Alan Cumming's appearance on the BBC television show, Who Do You Think You Are?, the show that researches the ancestry of each episode's guest.   A family mystery begins to transpire as the show moves forward with it's search for Alan's paternal grandfather.  This is a thoughtful, and at times, difficult book to listen to.  I was very touched by how he got past such trauma and learned to move beyond it.


3.  Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari:

When I first downloaded this from the library, I thought this book would be an another amusing comedian's memoir.  But it is actually a real scientific study that Aziz Ansari (with the help of a sociologist) designed to try and understand how romance has changed in the digital age.  It was fascinating listening to him explain why, and how, people use technology to find their soul-mate.  And it was so entertaining, from the very first minute of the book.  This is a great example of how an audiobook can enhance the user experience.  Through music and asides, Aziz Ansari makes us so grateful we were "too lazy to read the book."