It's Monday - where did July come from?!?

Here we are again - a new week!
This past week has been pretty quiet with the exception of celebrating my grandmother's birthday. But this week coming up should be a little more interesting. I'm back to work on Tuesday. Thank goodness we have off on Thursday for July 4th! It makes easing back into a work week a bit easier. We are also psyched that our sister (aka former foreign exchange student) will be here for the next month from Germany.
Now to the books!

Read This Week:

The Betrayal
By Helen Dunmore

Reading Now:

The Interestings
By Meg Wolitzer

Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Reviews of Monsters of Men and March

Up Next:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
By Rebecca Skloot


What are you reading this week?

Review: March

March

By Geraldine Brooks

Penguin 2005

280 pages

From my shelves

Millions of young readers have fallen in love with the little women of the March family and the novels that tell their story. But Little Women focuses heavily on the children themselves. While Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy grow and change, their father is absent for most of the book and their mother is presented through the worshipful eyes of children. In March, Geraldine Brooks imagines the patriarch of the March family as he grows up, falls in love with Margaret Day, and learns about the terrible realities of slavery and war.

When you approach beloved characters and give them a rewrite, you can expect to get some angry responses. Many readers hate the things that Brooks does with the beloved characters of Marmee and Mr. March. But I think she has made them human. In Little Women, Marmee is endlessly patient and loving which is, of course, how we like to remember our mothers. But in this version of their story, Marmee has a terrible temper and is not afraid to use it to stand up for what she believes to be right and alienate people in the process. Mr. March has character flaws as well - he is often oblivious to the feelings of others and acts without considering the consequences for those closest to him. Their marriage is not without turmoil, especially when Marmee learns the details of her husband's past and his true experiences during the war.

Brooks is an incredible writer. She creates rich characters and gives the readers a very true sense of time and place. You may feel like you know about slavery and the Civil War but this author will make you feel anew just how dark and awful that time period was. I've read many books about this era in our country, but still felt like setting down the book multiple times because I was overwhelmed by the cruelty of slaveholders and soldiers and the hopelessness of slaves and the people whose lives were ruined by a terrible war. 

March  is a slight book, but it's not a quick read. Ms. Brooks brings a dark time to life with terrible clarity while focusing on one flawed man, one woman trying to hold a family together, and one marriage that struggles to survive the turbulence of a long time apart and closely held secrets. If you love Little Women, read March to find new depth in a favorite story. If you thought that Little Women was a simplistic book for children, read March to discover what really happened to the parents of one of literature's most beloved families.

Other books by Geraldine Brooks: Year of Wonders, People of the Book 

Review: Monsters of Men

Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking #3)

By Patrick Ness

Candlewick Press 2010

603 pages

From the library

Well, we have reached the end. Three books and more than 1,600 pages later, the story of Todd and Viola comes to a conclusion. Patrick Ness ends his story in a way that will make your heart ache and give you lots to think about. If you want to find out about the beginning before we discuss the end, hop over to my review of the first book The Knife of Never Letting Go. There will be spoilers for the earlier books in this review.



Things have gotten incredibly complicated for Todd, Viola, and the people of New Prentisstown. The town is split into two factions - one ruled by the tyrannical President Prentiss and the other by the guerrilla tactics of Mistress Coyle. A shuttle has landed with two scouts, sent ahead of thousands of settlers who will soon arrive on the planet. And at the worst possible moment, the aliens known as the Spackle descend on New Prentisstown, seeking revenge for the atrocities that humans have done to them over the years. 

As this series progresses, we are given more viewpoints. In The Knife of Never Letting Go, we heard Todd's story. In the sequel, the point of view was split between Todd and Viola. In this final book, we hear from Todd, Viola, and a Spackle who is known as The Return. Each POV is unique. You know that an author has done a good job when you are sad to leave each character, but excited to view events through the eyes of another one. 

"War makes monsters of men," the characters and the readers are told. Todd, Viola, and many other characters must make decisions that will save one and sacrifice many or save many and lose someone irreplaceable. Each one of them think that they must fight for the good of their people until they come to a single moment when the person they love or need most is in danger. Each of them try to do the right thing. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail and sometimes the right thing isn't clear. The fascinating thing is that no one, even the most evil villains, seem beyond redemption and our heroes are always on the edge of doing something horrific when faced with impossible choices.

As I read through this book, I wondered how Patrick Ness was going to neatly tie up an epic story that asked big questions. The answer, of course, is that he doesn't. Things don't get neatly tied up and not every part of the story is resolved. I won't tell you what the ending was but I will say that it was the sort of devastating end you would expect at the end of this series, but it does not leave the characters or the readers without hope.

Chaos Walking is a fantastic series and Monsters of Men is a fitting end to this story of two kids discovering what it means to love, to trust, and how to retain their humanity in the midst of endless violence and fear. 

It's Monday and I am listening to an audiobook for once!

Welcome to a new week, my friends. How is everyone?

I got a little bogged down with reading The New York Trilogy this week. The three stories contained in the book are connected. I had to balance my desire to take some time in between them and the necessity to read them quickly to keep the connection strong.

I also started listening to an audiobook this week, which I have not done in a long time. With a little guy around the house, it's tough for me to put on a story when I don't know if there is anything inappropriate for young ears. I drove a few hours to visit my best friend this weekend, so I was able to start listening to Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan. I'm not sure when I will find time in an kid-free house to listen to the rest of the story, but I will do my best!

Read This Week:

The New York Trilogy 
By Paul Auster


Loving the Little Years
By Rachel Jankovic


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Top Ten Tuesday - Summer TBR List
Wednesdays with David: Friends Forever
Reviews of The World's Strongest Librarian and All That Is


Listening Now:

Songs for the Missing
By Stewart O'Nan

Reading Now:

The Betrayal
By Helen Dunmore

Up Next:

The Interestings
By Meg Wolitzer

What are you reading this week?

Review: All That Is

All That Is

By James Salter

Alfred A Knopf 2013

290 pages

From the library

My review of All That Is can be read at The Atlantic Highlands Herald.

Have you read Salter's latest novel? What did you think?

Review: The World's Strongest Librarian

The World's Strongest Librarian

A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family

By Josh Hanagarne

Gotham May 2013

291 pages

From the publisher for review

Josh Hanagarne is a librarian. He's also a Mormon...well, a lapsed Mormon. He's a husband and a father. He's an athlete. And he has been living with Tourette's Syndrome since he was six years old. In this incredible memoir, Josh tells readers how all of those things come together to create one complicated, beautiful life. 

I don't think this is a book I would have picked up on my own. Although many of the bloggers I trust were raving about it, I couldn't see myself really getting anything out of a book about a weight-lifting Mormon librarian. I was seriously wrong. Josh Hanagarne has a gift for story and he tells his own with such humor and humanity that you can't help but be drawn right in. 

Each chapter is ordered by the Dewey decimal system, of course. Most of them begin in the library, as Hanagarne reveals his literary loves and some of the bizarre things he sees as a librarian. He then delves into his life as a small child living a life of wonder and imagination, as a young man on his mission for the Mormon church, and as an adult looking to control a disease that is wreaking havoc on his life. 

It would be easy for Hanagarne to look for our pity as he struggles with physical tics, a voice he can't control, and infertility. But he's not looking for our sympathy. Instead, he shows readers how the support of family can hold us up in our darkest moments. Some of the best moments in this book are Hanagarne's memories of his happy childhood with his supportive parents and a merry gang of siblings. 

He also has a heart for others trying to live with Tourette's Syndrome. As he worries that he might pass on the disease, he enumerates the successes and failures that he has had with various medical treatments. In the end, he found the most success with training his body through vigorous weight lifting and training with a former Air Force sergeant. Who knew exercise could be so hilarious? 

This book is a delight to read. It's the perfect choice for librarians, people who love libraries, Mormons, weight lifters, people living with Tourette's or people living with people living with Tourette's. Actually The World's Strongest Librarian is for anyone who loves a great story and an unforgettable narrator. 

To the ladies and gents of the FTC: I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Wednesdays with David: Friends Forever

Toy Story 2: Friends Forever

Step Into Reading, Step 2

By Melissa Lagonegro

Illustrated by Studio Iboix and the Disney Storybook Artists

Random House 2009

32 pages

From our shelves

The story: If you have a small person living in your house, you know this story forward and backwards. Woody is kidnapped by a toy dealer who reunites him with the Roundup Gang. But the toy dealer plan to ship all of them to Japan! Buzz and the other toys must find Woody and bring him back home to Andy.

Mama opines: I don't have much to say about the story here, because what mom or dad doesn't know and love it? Or wish to never hear it again because the movie is on repeat in their home forever? 
What I find interesting is the whole idea of the Step Into Reading books and other series that are supposed to help your child improve their reading skills. I haven't particularly seen them help David improve, but I certainly understand the excitement for a child who finds a book they can read all on their own. What are your experiences with tiered books like the Step Into Reading series? 

Thoughts from David: In Toy Story 2: Friends Forever, Buzz, Woody, and some other of the toys from Andy's house get into some kind of adventure. Although it is quite scary and hard, it is a mission to save Woody. First, they go across the windowsill. Then they walk on the sidewalk to the place where Woody was kidnapped! Next, they go to the building where Woody is. Then they go through the heater vent. Then they go back without Woody because Woody didn't want to go back. He didn't want to leave his friends behind. Then they go back. It will look like they will have a happy day. 

Favorite part: When they go through the heater vent 'cuz Rex uses his tail to swing the door of the heater vent open. 

Happy Reading!