Show me your books - August 2018

Well, this month, I had my Readathon in there so this looks like a crazy month of reading... 

but glad for the push ! 

 I think this is the most books I've crammed in a month in a long time.

Into The Water
** 1/2 - (2.5 stars) It was OK

Quick Summary:  A river in a town has women mysteriously dying in it for years & when the last victim is the person who is writing the story of the "Drowning Pool" & about the previous victims, the mysteries start to get unfolded.

This book was a little torturous for me. It just felt SOOOO long & had SOOOO many characters in it. I literally had to keep a note pad of each character before I started the next chapter to see who was talking.  It was just a LOT & felt really long. & in the end, I wasn't even that impressed. I had to hang in there to find out the answer to all the mysteries - but man, there was a LOT of mysteries.  I think that was just my problem with the book - TOO MUCH. Too many characters, too many changes in POV, too many people dying in this "Drowning Pool" & answers for each of them. By the end of the book, I was just exhausted from it all & MEH on finding out the answers to a lot of things.... & shocked that there were still SOME things not answered. Aggravating.

I always feel funny when I struggle with a book so badly & then seen it was voted as one of the top books of 2017 by readers.  I guess it just shows not every book is for every person.

Read if you liked A Girl On A train (same author) or you really like a lot of story in one book or you enjoy mysteries & trying to figure out WHODUNIT?

Beckford is not a suicide spot. Beckford is a place to get rid of troublesome women.

Maybe in Another Life
**** / 4 Stars (Really Liked)

Quick Summary:  Hannah makes a decision on whether to go home with her first love or to leave with her friends.... & we see how each version plays out.

I'm a huge fan of the movie Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow where she catches a train in one version & misses it in another & we see how her life is different because of one small decision, one moment. This book is the exact same way.  It's kind of mind blowing to think how different life can be with one turn of direction.

I enjoyed the back & forth of each version of Hannah's life & especially loves that throughout both stories, the friendship between her & Gabby is what is consistent & the core of each one.  That was special to me.

& I really enjoyed how it ended. At first I didnt - I think because I had Sliding Doors in my head & how that ended - but in the end, I really did appreciate the idea that life has happy endings in whatever choice you make.  Hope that's not a spoiler :)

Read if you enjoy romance & heavy friend based stories, or if you enjoy a light read or if you just enjoy Taylor Jenkins Reid - (she's becoming a favorite of mine)

Maybe one day, we'll get the timing right.  Maybe this is the middle of a longer love story.

Love Does
***** / (5 stars) / LOVED IT!

Quick Summary: Encouragement on what love looks like in this world & how you can make it a MOTION to live out.

I know I am so late to the game on reading this - but so glad I finally picked it up - & devoured it. Read it in less than 2 days. Would have been 1 if I didnt have to go out Saturday night.
It's just full of encouragement & motivation to start looking at the world through different eyes. 

I told a friend that each chapter in itself could be a lesson to just sit & ponder over - but I just had to keep reading because it was just so good. Not too heavy where you can't understand the point of each chapter, but enough to hit you in your spirit where you end each chapter with a big sigh of content. It's not a preachy book too where its feeling like Jesus is being crammed down your throat, but every chapter does reference a relationship with Him and/or biblical examples.  It's just so well done that it doesn't feel overload - I think anyone can really enjoy this book.

I totally can't wait long now before I get his new book.

Read if you want a fast read that will leave you feeling uplifted & renewed.

I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I'm more afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter.

Surprise Me
*** / 3 Stars  / Liked It


Quick Summary: A couple is told they have another 68 years of marriage together & they try to surprise one another to keep the marriage 'fresh' only to unleash some surprises they weren't expecting.

I had never read a Sophie Kinsella book before but have seen her mentioned everywhere. She really does have an ease to her writing.

I caught myself laughing at points, heart broken at others & actually surprise at some twists & turns in the story. All in all, a good read. It wasn't life changing, it wasn't boring, it was just a really enjoyable & interesting read.

I did find it funny that the whole premise of the story was a panic on years of marriage together when you take vows "till death to us part" & you go into thinking & hoping marriage is for many years ahead.  So, getting over that fact, the story was interesting to see how Sylvia & Dan handled the possibility.

& I mention this a lot, but I also love in books when there's a good friend character that is part of the story & is lovable in their own way. I really did enjoy a lot of the side characters - especially the owner of the Museum Sylvia worked in - & makes me want to work in one now myself.

I'll totally pick up another Kinsella book to see how if the same easy writing is something she leaves in each book.

Read if you enjoy romance books, or fun light heart takes on marriage or anything soap opera related.  

"Love is finding one person infinitely fascinating"

Fahrenheit 451
**** / Really Liked it


Quick Summary: The future time has fireman acting not like how we know them but instead they go on runs to destroy homes & books, & possibly people that house the books, in attempt to keep the knowledge of books from the world

This book sort of gave me chills.  First, I'm typically not a fan of books that involve the future & futuristic ideas of what the world could look like.  This book though took some ideas of how culture & society is & I totally could envision it happening. A world where people dont connect with one another, have conversations, really think of their own, but instead a world that revolves around walls that look like TV screens, that interact with you & considering these people your "Family".  & the idea of how offended people are in society that books were destroyed because people felt like it would make things more peaceful.  Man oh man... in our "offendable" culture we live in today, & the way they do ban books so easily for the strangest reason, this really shook me to the core with the idea of it all becoming a reality.

I didnt care for some of the long descriptions & some of the wording of the book, but it was easy to overlook to grasp the deeper meaning of this book.

I've seen it in stores so think this book is making a come back. & I'm actually shocked that this is a book that high schools are having their students read. It does have some violent areas in it & talks of God so I guess I'm shocked, in a pleasant way, that schools are allowing it. But again, it sort of defeats the point to NOT let students read it. Deep stuff.

Read if you like futuristic looks on society, or if you you are someone who supporting reading of banned books.

A book is a loaded gun in the house next door... Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man?

The Vegetarian
* / Did not like it


Quick Summary: The story of a Korean wife who gives up eating meat after a dream & how her family deals with it & how it affects them.

I'm sorry - I just couldnt handle this book.

It disturbed me & I guess you could say that's the power of a book, but I was just ticked off at the end of the book that I wasted my time.

I think it has to do with the culture & the translation of the story, but it just wasn't for me - in the least.

It was bothersome to see how people reacted to Yeong-hye & her decline into mental illness, that manifests when she gives up meat after having a dream. The book is broken out into 3 chapters - one from her husband's view (jerk), from her brother in laws view (perv weirdo) & her sister's point of view (heartbreaking) & I just wanted to throw the book in the end.

I read a lot of reviews on it & a lot of people had a lot of deep insight on it & saw things deeper than I could on this story - in the end, its just not for me.

Read if you enjoy different cultures or a look into how mental illness affects a family - TRIGGER with mental illness and with mental & sexual abuse.

I am convinced that there was more going on here than a simple case of vegetarianism.

The Outsiders
**** / Really Liked It

Quick Summary: The story told from a 14 year old who is from of a side of town that is considered the Greasers & his relationship with his brothers & his street brothers, after an accident involving a stabbing occurs with one of his best friends.

If you havent seen this movie, who are you?
But I've never read the book - & glad I did. Books are always better.

& I have to say, I felt like this one was really true to the movie - or the movie true to the book, I should say.

I totally saw the scenes in my head with every line, with Ralph Machio & Patrick Swayze & C.Thomas Howell... it makes me want to watch it again.

Read if you liked the movie, if you like West Side Story, or any sort of 'rumble' between two different kinds of 'gangs' of life.

Stay gold Ponyboy..... stay gold

Vinegar Girl
*** / Liked It

Quick Summary: The retelling of The Taming of the Shrew & modern take on an independent woman's love of family & getting won over to a ludicrous plan that leaves her softening up & falling in love.

I always love modern takes on old classic stories - maybe because I can never understand the original & I love the fun twists that the new versions give.

This was cute.  Not anything life changing or an amazing story but it was pleasant enough to pass the time.

& I really appreciated the main character Kate. I loved her honesty to others & her honest & in your face personality.

I always enjoy Anne Tyler's writing anyways so this was just another pleasant book of hers.

Read if you enjoy retelling of stories, or fun quirky romances or Anne Tyler's other books.

Beware against the sweet person, 

for sugar has no nutrition.

The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secret to Weight Loss
** / It was OK

Quick Summary: A book that details why insulin & cortisol are the reasons its so hard to lose weight & keep it off.( ...with no real answer at the end)

I've got so many emotions on this book.
It started off full of detailed information - & read easy enough for someone to understand that isn't a doctor or a dietitian. Some facts that were eye opening & it did a really good job of explaining how insulin & cortisol are the big contributors to the yo-yo of weight gain. I even at one point was like, This needs to be a documentary.

It left me sort of feeling defeated reading how badly diets dont work & how its like a loosing fight trying to eat healthy, or watch the carbs, or proteins, & repeating over & over how exercise doesnt work or change anything.

The detail & information was so in depth - & at times, repetitive, which I thought was trying to emphasis the point - so I was so excited to get to the end of the book. The HOW to apply all of this information.  Except at the end, I felt totally let down. Like that Sesame Street Book where "There's a Monster at the end of this book" - only to see its just a let down.

Literally, his answer is to eat a balanced, clean diet. After he pretty much downed it the whole book... & then the BIG SECRET of it all? Fasting.

& I get that it may be something to look into, but we just read over 300 pages about diet & nutrition & how bodies work with insulin & we get one little appendix that says to fast for a few days a week. No big detail or research, except a lot of "people have been doing it for years - even Jesus & Buddha" sort of thinking. & the thing that got me with that, he even says that it will come to a time where you will plateau. Isn't that what he just dogged out other methods of loosing weight for doing?
I'm just frustrated. I felt like it was a total let down at the end. 

& I will say, I am intrigued to look more into intermittent fasting - though he's suggesting going like 36 hours (or longer if you can) just to see how it makes me feel & if there are any changes in my body because of it.

All of this to say, Mr. Fung pointed out so many times in the book how diets in our country were like a good business scam. How America promotes eating 6 times a day, eat breakfast, eat more protein, eat cleaner, eat more superfoods.... why? "Because no body makes any money when you eat less".... but in the end, I feel like this book has a bit of a scam on it as well - just telling you NOT to eat at all for hours on end - even after a chunk of the book is drilled in our head "Eat Less DOES NOT WORK! FACT! ACCEPT IT" That's a direct quote.... 

A lot of contradiction.

“THERE ARE TWO prominent findings from all the dietary studies done over the years. First: all diets work. Second: all diets fail.” 

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