Dear Santa, Part II

Once I hit "publish" on the post about Nora's Christmas list, I realized that I neglected to include some very important wish list items... like movies and BOOKS!

I've mentioned before that we don't let Nora watch a lot of TV--although she is exposed to some daily in the background at daycare--but we're still starting a collection of Disney and other animated movies for her (and any future siblings). We discovered on our recent roadtrip to Virginia that she enjoys movies far more than we thought she could at this age. Rio is her favorite thus far. She "dances" to the music, which is pretty much the most hilarious thing I've ever seen.

(No, we don't normally let her stand that close to the television. And sadly, Nora clearly inherited her dance moves from her less-than-coordinated-on-the-dance-floor parents. Sorry, baby girl.)

We've always read books to her on a daily basis, but now it's even more fun, as she's really "into" them. She's actually choosy about which ones we read to her; we'll pick a book from her rack for bedtime, and if she isn't in the mood for that particular story, she'll push it away. Who knew that she'd be so opinionated this early in life? And I don't know if it gets any more cute than seeing her sitting on the floor by herself, quietly flipping through the pages of a book. MY HEART.

One of her current favorites is The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is possibly a "boring" favorite, since it's such a classic. But she can't get enough of sticking her little pointer finger in each and every one of the holes in the board book.

Anyway, with all of this said, we couldn't really pass up an opportunity to add to her growing movie and book collections. Here are some of the movies and books that made it on Nora's list:

(Disney's The Lion King, Amazon.com)

We've been buying the Disney classics as they've been made available again. Last year, Nora got Beauty & the Beast for Christmas. The Lion King was one of our favorites as kids so we wanted Nora to have this one as well. I'm REALLY looking forward to the re-release of The Little Mermaid, though. Get on it, Disney. My little girl needs some Ariel in her life. :)

(Disney's Tangled, Amazon.com)

We've also been taking advantage of some of the "new classics" from Disney as well. Nora received Toy Story 3 for Christmas last year, and this year, we asked her grammy to buy her Tangled. We haven't even seen this one yet, but have only heard good things.

(Despicable Me, Amazon.com)

A Cyber Monday deal that couldn't be refused. We've heard good things. :) We look at these movies not as an opportunity to plop Nora in front of the TV for some peace and quiet, but as something for us to enjoy together as a family as she grows.

Now, for books, you'll notice a theme:

(The Night Before Christmas by Tom Browning & Clement C. Moore, Amazon.com)

CLASSIC. A must-have for every child, I think. I'm surprised we didn't end up buying this last year. I'll give ourselves a pass since Nora was only three months old for Christmas 2010. :)

(The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, Amazon.com)

Another Christmas must-have. Just a beautiful, beautiful book. The story, the illustrations... love. We were lucky enough to have this one arrive in the mail the other day from Nora's "Secret Santa" in a children's book exchange I signed her up for. (Thanks again, baby Cooper!)

(Merry Christmas, Little Critter! and Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad! by Mercer Mayer, Amazon.com)

OK, as you can probably tell by now, we did an informal audit and determined that we didn't think Nora has enough Christmas-themed books. We're looking to make up for that. Anyway, I absolutely loved the Little Critter books when I was growing up, so we've been introducing Nora to them as well. We have a few that I took from my childhood book collection at my mom's house, and we have a few that have been purchased new along the way. Nora seems to like them so far, too.

(What is Christmas? by Michelle Medlock Adams, Amazon.com)

As I explained when I discussed the Little People Nativity Set, we want to be sure to make an effort to teach Nora the real reason for the season. These books (there is also a What is Thanksgiving? book) have good reviews for their message and teaching of the meaning behind these holidays.

(Where is Baby's Christmas Present? by Karen Katz, Amazon.com)

I just really like Karen Katz. We have the "Counting Kisses" book, and it's a regular read in our house. I think "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" is her most popular, but oddly, we don't have that one yet, either.

(All things Sandra Boynton, including this Boynton's Greatest Hits, Volume I)

I was pretty unfamiliar with Sandra Boynton prior to having Nora. We received The Going to Bed Book as a gift after she was born, and it is one of our favorites to read to Nora, and one of Nora's favorites to have read to her. Short, simple, soothing rhymes. (Although, I will never understand why they all take a bath--scrub scrub scrub--and find their pajamas--big and small-- before going up to exercise? What the hell?) Once again, Nora was lucky to receive this set last week from her Secret Santa, Cooper. :)

So, that wraps up our movie and book wish lists for Christmas 2011. What classic (or new, or unusual) titles are on your children's Christmas lists?

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Recent Read: Two Kisses for Maddy by Matt Logelin

Oh, where to start.

It's not a surprise that I would buy and appreciate this book, as I have been a follower of Matt's blog for quite some time now. In fact, I blogged about him way back when.

It's likely that many of you know the basis of his story. After a complicated pregnancy, his wife, Liz, gave birth to their daughter, Madeline. Although she was premature, she was healthy, and their ordeal appeared to be over. But then, just 27 hours after Madeline's birth, Liz suddenly died of a pulmonary embolism. She never even held the daughter that her body had worked so hard for. Obviously devastated, Matt was left to pick up the pieces and care for newborn Madeline as a single dad. A tragic tale, to say the least... and this is real life.

In Two Kisses for Maddy, Matt tells his story--beginning with how he met Liz, and a brief account of their relationship, marriage, and pregnancy. After the unthinkable happens, the remainder of the book focuses on the aftermath, and how Maddy is the life preserver that keeps Matt's head above water. In short, you're reading how they survived their first year without Liz.

The book itself is a nice departure from Matt's fragmented style of writing on his blog. Although most of the story was not new to me, it was nice to be able to read it in a beginning-to-end format. For me, the best part about reading it was feeling like I got to know a little more about Liz. Through all of Matt's blog posts, there have been bits and pieces describing who Liz was, but never before have all of those pieces come together like they did in this book. I got a kick out of learning that she regularly cursed like a sailor (I've been known to drop a few f-bombs in everyday life). It was nice to read more details about Matt and Liz's beginning--how they met at a gas station, and how they spent most of their dating years doing the long-distance thing.

Of course, being able to imagine who Liz was as a person also makes losing her that much more difficult on the reader. It's easier to imagine the devastation of that loss for Matt, Maddy, and all of their family. Just because I knew the story didn't make her death any easier to read about, although I kept it together fairly well... until the chapter about her funeral, that is. Holy moly.

Now that I have a baby girl of my own, I feel like the story affects me in an entirely different way. It's not to say that I couldn't sympathize before, and it's not that I couldn't feel sad for Matt, and for Maddy. But now that I have Nora, I found myself thinking even more about the things that Liz never got to do or see.

This story, like many others, makes you realize how fragile life is. It's cliche, but the lesson is to not take life for granted. I never even imagined that I could go into the hospital to have my baby and not come back out. Neither did Liz. Are we supposed to live in fear of the worst possible things happening to us? I don't think so. But should we be tremendously grateful and be sure to appreciate it when we're blessed with good outcomes? Yes, we should probably try.

A happy book? No. But many of the good ones never are. In the end, it's exactly what the book claims to be--"A memoir of loss and love."

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Book Recommendations, Part II

I've been terrible about reading books since Nora was born. Well, I do read them, but they are of the board book variety. :) But a few weeks ago, we got an iPad (yay!), and now I have access to Kindle, eBooks, and Nook apps. Somehow, being able to read on this device has renewed my excitement for reading. I've already sped through my first book (more on that soon), and now I'm ready for more.

In March of last year, I asked all of you for book recommendations, and came away with many titles to add to the "to read" list. Admittedly, I still have many more of those original titles to read, but since it's been a year, I wanted to put this request out there again and ask what y'all have read recently that you've loved.

Last time, someone recommended Firefly Lane, which I absolutely LOVED, so I'm hoping to uncover more gems like that. If you want to see some of the things I've read and enjoyed to get an idea of my taste, see my books label.

I know all of you bookworms really enjoyed the discussion and recommendations that the last post garnered, so I'm hoping the same for this year. Oh, and you get bonus points if your recommendations are cheap in Kindle/eBook/Nook format. ;)

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We Will Pay

We've all heard about how wonderful an idea it is to read to a baby.

Even before they are born, we're encouraged to read to them. Once they're here, we are told to limit TV time, and to surround a child with books instead. We aim to instill in them a love of reading. We're raised to see "bedtime stories" as not only beneficial in terms of development, but as a time to bond and connect with our children.

Books are memories.

I don't know about you, but I still remember my parents reading me bedtime stories when I was small. I remember the Mercer Mayer, Berenstain Bears, Clifford, Amelia Bedelia, and other books we collected.

When we were a little bit older, I remember the three of us kids piling in my mom's bed and she would read us a chapter or two of a novel (I specifically recall her reading Matilda) before telling us to go to bed. We had to wait until the next night for the story to continue.

In elementary school, I consumed Babysitters Club books as if they were going out of style. In middle school, I read Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine, among other things.

I could talk for hours about all of the books I remember reading while I was growing up.

Books are memories.

It wasn't until I was about to become a parent myself that I realized that, in order to build a collection for my own child--in order to build her a little library--we would have to spend a small frickin' fortune.

Children's books are expensive, y'all. Like really expensive when you add them all up.

Board books with six, maybe eight pages? You know, the classics? Expect those to cost you anywhere between $8 and $13.

A cheap, paperback Mercer Mayer story about Christmas? I saw it priced at $7 in Target the other day.

These things take five minutes to read, and yet they often charge $1 or more per page. PER PAGE. They do this because they know that we will pay.

We will pay for Nora to have a bookshelf full of books from which to choose.

We will pay in order to create the memories of holding her in our arms as we flip through the pages of what will become her favorites.

We will pay in order to have the moments in which I watch her as she drifts to sleep, as I shed a tear reading Someday, or Love You Forever.

We will pay. And they know that.

Those bastards.

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Book of Baby

Does this count as a book review? I think it should, because well, Lord knows I have not been reading anything lately.

When I was pregnant, I spent a decent chunk of time looking at baby books. There were specific things I was looking for in a book to document the first year of my child's life, and it seemed that a lot of the baby books out there did not fit my vision.

For my pregnancy journal, I had this same problem, and decided to go with a blank book so that I could make it my own. Well, I failed miserably at that. (Although I did keep up with weekly blog posts on the subject, so at least I documented it all in some way.)

So for a baby book, I knew I needed something more structured in order to make sure, you know, I actually filled it out. I wanted something with questions and other prompts for my writing. I wanted something with enough space to write little memories and personal things, but I didn't want too much space--I don't have time to write a novel about every little thing. I wanted all of the milestones to be things that I actually consider to be milestones. I wanted sufficient space for photos and keepsakes.

I found all of those things in My Baby Book: A Keepsake Journal for Baby's First Year by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

The book is broken down into three sections.

The "My Arrival" section allows you to share some memories about the pregnancy, including things like how and when you found out you were pregnant, who you told and how, etc. There are spaces for ultrasound photos and questions about whether you found out the sex, how you were feeling, and more.

Then there are pages to record information and memories about the birth itself. How long you were in labor, the birth stats (date/time/place), the baby's stats, doctor's names, etc. And of course, there is space for a photo and then a couple of blank pages for things like hospital bracelets, name cards, additional photos... whatever you want.

There are also a few fun pages that provides info about the zodiac symbols, the birthday flowers, and birthstones. Pages for footprints and handprints. Pages to document a Baptism or other religious ceremony.

The "My First Year" section provides a page for each month milestone.

There is a space for a monthly photo, and then it asks the same questions for every month--the date, baby's weight/length stats, and other milestone info.

Every three months, there is also an additional page for an "interview with baby." The questions for this vary, but it's a way to provide more information about what baby is up to at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

"My Gallery of Firsts" is everything you would expect a baby book to be. First smile/laugh, first bath, first tooth, first haircut, etc.

There are also pages for first winter, first spring, first summer, first autumn so you can provide a snippet of something baby did in each season.

^ Personally, we can't wait to fill these pages out! :)

In the end, I feel like this is a book that can easily be kept up with when you put a little time aside for it every few weeks. I like it because I think it's thorough enough for a child to really enjoy reading when he/she gets older, but it's not so thorough that there's no chance for you to complete it. I want to get the same book when we have additional children so that they each have their own!

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Recent Read: Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

First things first--Which of you do I have to blame for recommending this book to a pregnant woman? BAD NEWS, my friends. I read this book on our trip to Florida, and spent the majority of our flight home choking back sobs and trying to hide my steadily falling tears. I guess I should be grateful I was in the window seat! So yeah, whoever you are (I know there were a few of you)... THANKS A LOT! ;)

Firefly Lane is the story of lifelong friendship. Two young girls--Kate, an introverted outcast at school, and Tully, a beautiful, social butterfly--cross paths when Tully moves in across the street from Kate in 1974. Both girls (who are 14 years old) have something missing in their lives that they are looking to fill--and they find something special in each other.

The book spans a 30-year time period, during which we witness the ebbs and flows of Kate and Tully's relationship. Their friendship is far from perfect--Tully takes and takes and takes, rather selfishly, and as a reader, it can be frustrating at times. I sometimes found myself wondering why Kate put up with any of it, as she was a much better friend to Tully than Tully ever was to her. However, I came to realize that this is true of so many real-life relationships. As outsiders, we often look at relationships and can't understand how they work... but somehow, they do.

Tully's goal in life is to be rich, successful, and famous, and she is tremendously driven when it comes to her career. In contrast, Kate graduates college without the same fire in her belly--what Kate longs for is to find true love, get married, and raise a family. Through the turns of the pages, we follow Tully through her professional victories and Kate through her journey to love. And their friendship withstands it all. Eventually, however, their relationship is put to the test. Will it survive?

The book is long, but engaging. I had no problem starting and finishing this book on our vacation, and I really looked forward to getting out to the pool to read it every day. Although I have many close friends in my life, I don't have a "BFF" (besides my mom!) like Tully and Kate are to each other. As someone who doesn't have a relationship like that, I found it fascinating and touching to read about one. I think a lot of us long for that kind of a deep connection with a friend.

All in all, this is a beautifully written novel and I highly recommend it as an addition to your summer reading lists!

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Recent Read: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I read this book in February/early March, but once again, I've procrastinated writing about it. I have no idea why I do that, because it's always harder to remember everything when I let too much time pass.

The Help explores the culture of Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s. Most white households--even middle class families--have African American maids. In an era of impending change, the white women are working hard to keep segregation intact; the black maids are beginning to push boundaries and fight for their rights.

The story is told from three different points of view. There are two African American maids, Aibileen and Minnie, and one white woman, Skeeter. When I first started reading the book, I'll admit that I was a bit put off by the first couple of chapters. Aibileen's chapters are written in her dialect, as if you're hearing the thoughts in her head--and some of the English is broken. I found it difficult to get through, but I found that once I was into the book, I adjusted and barely noticed.

Skeeter is a recent graduate of Ole Miss, and she has returned home from college to live with her parents. Her mother wants to marry her off, but Skeeter longs to find a respectable career as a writer. She lands a job at the local newspaper, writing a column about housekeeping, but her dream is to be a writer in New York City. In order to reach this goal, she sets out to write about a subject that means something. Ultimately, she decides to tell the stories of black maids, inspired by the one who worked for her family and raised her. Skeeter's friends are the young, married housewives who employ these maids, so she must interview and write in secret. In order to do so, she turns to Aibileen and Minnie.

Aibileen and Minnie's chapters center around their experiences working for white women: cleaning their houses, running their errands, doing their cooking, raising their children. Although the risks are unmeasurable, they decide they want to tell their stories, so they agree to team up with Skeeter to write her book--but not without some drama along the way.

I was really entertained by The Help and read it very quickly. It kept me turning the pages. One thing that really bothered me, though, was that I felt like the story never came to a peak. The author implies that something really big is going to happen, and then... it never does. I found that I was most interested in some of the secondary storylines, and the day-to-day happenings of the characters, as opposed to the whole point of the book. I also wasn't ready for it to end--it seemed like there should've been more to the story.

In the end, although I can't say I was blown away by the book, or that it left a lasting impression on me, I certainly enjoyed it. It's worth reading. The topic is heavy, and civil rights isn't an issue I would treat lightly, so I felt like the author could've done a better job with it. I find it really interesting that the author, a white woman, chose to write a book written from the perspective of black maids. I found myself wondering how much of her writing was based on fact/real accounts from black women, and how much she simply assumed based on her experiences being raised by one.

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Recent Read: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Back in 2003-2004, when The Da Vinci Code was taking the world by storm, I decided to do things the “proper” way (sooo unlike me, right?) and read the first book in Dan Brown’s series... well, first. (Crazy idea, I know.) So I started with Angels and Demons, flying through it pretty quickly, despite being in my senior year of college and not having much interest in reading anything I didn’t have to read. I loooooved Angels and Demons. Later, I went on to read The Da Vinci Code, and although it was entertaining and I liked the mystery surrounding the story, I didn’t find it to be nearly as intriguing as Angels and Demons. Go figure.

I feel much of the same way about Dan Brown’s latest installment in the Robert Langdon series, The Lost Symbol. Was it interesting? Sure. Was it full of Brown’s signature suspense? Yes. Was it entertaining? Uh huh. But still, for me, it could not live up to the thrill of Angels and Demons. Sorry, Mr. Brown!

In The Lost Symbol, Robert Langdon is back, and he is—you guessed it—thrust into another life or death situation in which only his extensive knowledge of symbology and history can save the day. One of Langdon’s close friends, who happens to be an influential leader among the Masons, has been abducted and is being held at the whim of a madman. (On a side note, I always find it amusing how sophisticated the villains’ plans are in Brown’s novels. Oh, the lengths his bad guys will go...)

This time, instead of traveling across the Atlantic to Rome or Paris, Langdon stays closer to home as this mystery unfolds in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. The story’s villain is after something that he feels only Langdon can give him, which is the knowledge to decipher a very specific code. Of course, it’s not that easy, and we follow Langdon through a harrowing evening of adventure and horror.

As with any other Dan Brown novel, I found myself bored with many of his tangents, during which he uses Langdon’s intelligence and experience to depart from the story to enlighten us about some obscure group of people in history and tells us all about the historic symbols. Some of these things can be interesting, but for most of them, I found myself skimming because for me, a layperson who doesn’t know much about these groups or their symbols, the knowledge adds nothing to the story. Some of it just seems to go on and on... and on. Let’s put it this way—there is a reason why Brown’s books are so long. The man can be long-winded! (I do not know anyone else who has a tendency to be wordy. I do not. Nope. Stop looking at me.)

Still, like I said, I did enjoy the book and it is a departure from the type of novel that I usually enjoy. I ended up buying it for my dad for Christmas, as I knew he would find it interesting as well. He is a history buff and lives not too far away from D.C. After we had both gotten through the book, it was fun to discuss with him.

If you’ve read Dan Brown’s other novels and enjoyed them, I think you’ll enjoy The Lost Symbol, too. If you’ve never read anything by Dan Brown, I recommend starting with Angels and Demons. Although the books in this series do not need to be read in order, I think Angels and Demons is the best way to introduce you to Brown, and get your feet wet in terms of all of the symbology!

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Book Recommendations?

I have a couple of book reviews I need to catch up on here, but I'm currently not reading anything. I usually have a "queue" of some sort--a list of books I've been wanting to read. Or sometimes I'll just stumble upon something that sounds good and read that. But right now? Nada. Zilch. Zip. Nothing.

I need some new recommendations! I'm not too into chick lit (at least not the "extreme" chick lit stuff--no Nicholas Sparks, for instance). If you want to see some of the things I've read and enjoyed to get an idea of my taste, see my books label.

What have you all read lately that you've loved?

I need to get myself to the library!

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Recent Read: Name All the Animals by Alison Smith

When I was searching for a book to read as my December selection, I browsed some of the racks at a local library. I came across this memoir, Name All the Animals, written by a woman named Alison Smith. I had never heard of the book, but it sounded like it could be a good read, so I gave it a chance.

Imagine my surprise when I was a few pages into it and started reading about familiar places--towns, streets, schools, and stores that I recognized. As it turns out, this woman grew up in an area not too far from here. As a result, I felt an immediate connection to the author.

Name All the Animals takes us back to Alison's years in high school. When she was 15 years old, her beloved older brother, Roy, was killed in a tragic car accident. What follows is Alison's story of grief. We are given a glimpse into the years after the accident, and come to understand the effect Roy's death has on Alison's life and the lives of her parents.

But grief is only part of the story. As I've mentioned, the book chronicles Alison's teen years, which we all know are some of the toughest years of our lives. Like many of us, Alison struggles to see where she fits in, especially in light of being "the girl whose brother died" at school. Through friends and experiences, reading and researching, living and experimenting, Alison soon finds her true self.

Also at play here is an interesting look at religion and its role in Alison's life. Raised Catholic, Alison attends a Catholic school and is expected to follow strict Catholic "rules." After Roy's death, Alison's parents turn to religion more than ever before, but for Alison, the experience is different. As I turned the pages, I found Alison's feelings about religion to be incredibly authentic. Her recollection of trying to continue to believe in a God that "allowed" her brother to die, and in a religion that condemned many of her actions, is thought-provoking. I found myself able to completely understand and relate to her feelings in some ways.

Name All the Animals gives us a glimpse into life after tragedy. Still, it is not all depressing and sad. As they say, life goes on, and Alison is forced to keep living.

Is this the best book I've ever read? No. But it is worthy of your time. For anyone interested in reading something real, I'd recommend this memoir by Alison Smith.

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Recent Read: Girls' Night In

I'm pretty behind on reviewing books! I read this one back in November. Whoops.

Perhaps part of the reason I neglected this write-up for so long is that I didn't find this book particularly inspiring. To be fair, I wasn't expecting much. It'd been a while since I'd read any "chick lit" and I figured this would be a fast, easy, and probably fun read.

Girls' Night In is a collection of short stories written by a variety of chick lit authors, such as Sophie Kinsella, Meg Cabot, Jennifer Weiner, and more. Some of the stories are engaging and entertaining, and some--well, aren't. I flew through the first 2/3 of this book, but had a hard time finishing it. By the end, I found myself skipping some of the stories after reading only a page or two into them.

The other problem was that I found the short story format to be limiting for these types of tales. I couldn't get into the characters because there just wasn't enough time to do so.

Honestly, I'm not much of a chick lit kind of girl, so this just wasn't my thing. Still, I like to read the light and easy stuff every once in a while, so I gave this a fair chance. And while parts of it were fun, I certainly wouldn't file this under my "favorites" any time soon (or ever).

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Recent Read: American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

With its 555 pages, this book set me behind a few weeks in my "read at least one book a month" goal. But you know what?

It was worth it.

When I picked up American Wife at the library, it had been recommended to me, but I knew nothing about it except for the summary that I read on the inside flap and back cover.

555 pages later, I can honestly say I'm not even sure I was ready for it to end. I thought it was well written, and the story kept me hooked throughout the whole book.

American Wife is about the life of Alice Lindgren Blackwell, who is raised as an only child in smalltown Wisconsin in the 1950s and 60s. Her family is working class, and it's safe to say that Alice lives somewhat of a sheltered childhood. She's quiet, an avid reader, and holds traditional values. Suddenly, on a late summer evening in high school, Alice's seemingly perfect little life is derailed. The tragedy defines the rest of Alice's life. It influences the way she acts, the way she thinks, and the way she feels about herself.

Years later, all grown up, Alice has become a school librarian and loves her job so much that she devotes almost all of her time to it. She spends her summer vacation creating giant book characters out of papier-mache to display in the library at the start of the next school year. Alice is single, lives alone, but doesn't seem to mind it. Her focus on her work, and her time spent with friends and family keep her fulfilled.

And then she meets Charlie Blackwell.

Charlie is a politician's son, an Ivy League party boy, and has a cushy "job" within his family's company. Born and raised with money, Charlie is selfish, crude, and definitely has feelings of entitlement. I could see how there are readers who can't stand Charlie or his family. Somehow, I still found him to be likeable. Perhaps only because of how he loved "Lindy" (his nickname for Alice).

You know what they say... opposites attract. Shortly after they meet and fall in love, Alice and Charlie are married, and in the following pages, we are witness to their 30 years of marriage through Alice's eyes. As with all marriages, they certainly have their ups and downs. I found it enjoyable to read because it was real.

Eventually, Charlie breaks into politics, first becoming the (republican) Governor of Wisconsin, and is then elected as the (republican) President of the United States. Alice, although supportive of her husband, has always held democratic ideals. I found the personal sacrifices she made for the health of her marriage to be interesting. Some would probably dislike Alice for not standing up and voicing her opinions, but I found the complexity of her life to be quite fascinating.

Now, here's where I tell you that Alice's character is (loosely) based on Laura Welch Bush. And Charlie is (loosely) based on George W. Bush. (And yes, I said I found myself liking Charlie! Who knew?)

Honestly, stepping back and looking at it like this, I never would have expected to like these characters. Charlie is sexist, racist, arrogant, and obnoxious. I hated all of those things about him. But the thing is, American Wife is not his story--it's hers. Alice is strong on the inside while somewhat weak on the outside. Still, I identified with her. She was never a victim. She is smart, she thinks things through, and she is deliberate. All of the choices she made in her life were just that--her choices. And she knows it.

I highly recommend this book. If you've read it, I encourage you to leave your own thoughts in the comments!

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A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

In September, I read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. You may recall that I read and enjoyed his other award-winning novel, The Kite Runner, earlier this year.

This book truly took hold of me, and did not let go until the final words had been read. I devoured it. A Thousand Splendid Suns is a powerful read, a story that is somehow disturbing and beautiful, all at the same time. I suppose it is life's hardships that bring out the strongest in all of us, and there is no question that the women in this book are fighters. They fight for each other, their families, and themselves. One of the characters in this book makes the ultimate sacrifice for friendship and family, and reading it shook me to the core.

At the beginning of this story, we are introduced to Miriam, an Afghan girl who is the illegitimate daughter of a rich man in the city of Herat. She is raised alone by her mother in a small kolba, but she greatly loves and admires her father, who pays her weekly visits.

After tragedy strikes in Miriam's life, she is forced to marry and move to Kabul. Her husband, Rasheed, is a shoe maker. Just as Miriam settles into her new life as a wife in Kabul, things change for the worse.

Years pass, and soon we are introduced to another female character, Laila, who is the young daughter of some of Rasheed and Miriam's neighbors. The families do not have a relationship with each other, but when war breaks out in Afghanistan and Laila experiences a horrific tragedy of her own, the lives of Miriam and Laila soon become connected in a way that neither would have ever expected.

I won't say much else for fear of giving away too much of the story, but I cannot stress how much I loved this book. It is perhaps the best one I have read in years, and quickly soared to the top of the list of my all-time favorites. I loved it all the way through the last page.  

A Thousand Splendid Suns affected me in a way no book has done in a really long time. When I closed it for the last time, I actually said to myself, "Wow." It's just a beautifully written, wonderfully constructed book with characters you will actually care for. I cannot recommend it enough.

As always, the comments are open to any and all comments about this book. If you have not read it, beware of spoilers! You have been warned. :)

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Recent Read: Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Wow, it has been forever since I've shared a book with you all. Earlier in the summer, I didn't have (or didn't make) all that much time to read. But on my 101 in 1001 list, I set a goal to read at least one book a month. I've been putting more effort into setting aside time for reading, and it certainly helps when I've got a great book! In fact, I'm actually a bit behind, as this was my August read, and I've already finished my September one as well!

Anyway...

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert first caught my interest simply because of its subject matter. After spending our honeymoon in Hawaii, I would do just about anything to be "taken back" there, whether it's through watching movies or reading books. Much of the history that is discussed in the book, we learned about during our time on the islands, and it was wonderful to read a book that incorporates the fascinating history of Hawaii, starting back in the late 1800s and taking the reader through 1970.

Moloka'i is the story of Rachel Kalama, who, at the age of 7, is diagnosed with leprosy and taken from her family. Within a year, she ends up at Kalaupapa, a leprosy colony founded by Father Damien. At the time, people who had leprosy were sent to Kalaupapa on Moloka'i to essentially quarantine them, separating people from their families indefinitely.

On Moloka'i, the only person Rachel knows is her Uncle Pono, who was also diagnosed with leprosy. Unfortunately, she is not allowed to live with him, and is basically forced to live in an orphanage run by Catholic nuns.

The people on Moloka'i have been sent there to die, but so many of them live instead. Their lives are not only filled with pain, separation and heartache... but also with love, fun, laughter and most of all, hope. The residents of Kalaupapa know that they are there to stay, so they make the best of it and live their lives--no matter how short or how long those lives turn out to be--the only way they can.

As a 7-year-old girl, Rachel feels abandoned and alone on Moloka'i. But over time, through the people she meets and the life that she builds for herself, she comes to view the island as home.

In Moloka'i, we're taken on this journey with Rachel.

I REALLY enjoyed this book. I loved the characters, the setting, and the story. Don't get me wrong; there are many parts of this book that aren't pleasant--the way the leprosy victims were treated, the progression of the disease, and the inevitable deaths.

Still, it was pretty inspirational to read about these outcasts from society, all doing the only thing they could do--keep living life. While reading, I kept thinking about the silly phrase, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Because as dumb as it sometimes sounds, it's actually pretty sound advice. Reading about all of these people who put that advice into practice was uplifting. As ugly as the circumstances were, Rachel's life was beautiful.

Although this is a work of fiction, Brennert completed a lot of research before and while writing this book. Many of the characters are based on actual Kalaupapa residents, and Brennert does a great job of working in historical facts. Readers are also treated to a bit of Hawaiian culture, which I absolutely love.

In short, I thought this was a beautiful story and I highly recommend.

As always, the comments are open for any and all discussion about the book, if you so choose. Warning to those who haven't read it--be careful in the comments, as spoilers are not off limits!

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The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff

I've been really slacking with posting this summary/review. I read this quite a while ago, so I'm not even sure I'm going to do it justice since it's not very fresh in my mind. Oh well... I'll give it a go.

This was a book club read that I didn't get around to finishing until well after it had been discussed. Whoops. I'm a bad book clubber. Anyway...

The Monsters of Templeton begins when Willie Upton, a graduate student studying archaeology, abruptly runs away from her life at school in San Francisco and returns to her tiny hometown of Templeton, New York. On the morning of her homecoming, a dead monster is discovered floating on the surface of the town's lake. As the investigation of the monster begins, so does an investigation into Willie's family history.

Willie's ancestors founded the town, so her family's history is intertwined in Templeton. Many of Templeton residents (or their ancestors) seem to play a role. All her life, Willie grew up believing that she was the daughter of one of three men her mother, Vi, had flings with while living on a commune in California (sound sorta familiar? it is. see "mamma mia"). As a way to give her daughter a project to keep herself busy throughout the summer months, Vi tells Willie that her father is actually also a descendant of Marmaduke Temple (founder of the town).

And so begins Willie's obsession with finding out who her father is. She digs into her family history, and as readers, we are treated to reading the historical documents she finds, learning secrets as Willie learns them. We read letters, book excerpts, or sometimes, first-person accounts of historical events that Willie does not even know about. These chapters are from different perspectives, all different members of Willie's family, and each gets us a step closer to identifying Willie's father. Some of these chapters are really entertaining, and others are boring as hell.

In the end, I wasn't completely sure how to feel about this book. There was part of me that liked Willie, and there was part of me that was annoyed by her. Some of the historical chapters were interesting, well-written narratives, and those were highlights of the book. Then there were other parts of the book that came from so far out of left field, I couldn't suspend my disbelief. And then there were parts that were too predictable.

Overall, I did enjoy it, but I wouldn't put this on my shelf of favorites.

Have you read it? Tell me what you thought. Didn't read it? Give it a shot; see what you think.

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The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I started this post a month ago, and am just now getting around to finishing it. The story of my life! (Recently, anyway.)

Let me just start by saying that I loved this book. It's been around for a while, and I'm not sure how I've managed to not read it until now. So if you haven't read it? I urge you to do so.

The Kite Runner is told from the perspective of Amir. As a boy, he lives a life of privilege in Afghanistan in the 1970s, and we are witness to his very special friendship with Hassan, the servant's son. The dynamic between the boys is interesting: Although Amir is the one with the money and the status, he often finds himself jealous of Hassan, and as a result, often treats him poorly. Still, Hassan is fiercely loyal to Amir. "For you, a thousand times over," he says.

On one particular dramatic day, Amir is forced to choose between doing the wrong thing and doing the right thing. By the time he makes a decision, it is essentially too late, and Amir (and Hassan) must live with the consequences of his cowardly inaction for many years to come.

Life soon changes for all of the characters due to personal and political conflict. We follow Amir through the subsequent years of his life. After he and his father are forced to flee to the United States, Amir and his father must transition from the privileged lifestyle they lived in Afghanistan to one of "just getting by" in America. Even though he is worlds away from Afghanistan, the memories of his childhood and that one horrific night are never far from his mind.

The ensuing story is a lesson in family, loyalty, culture, and forgiveness. Throughout the journey of his life, Amir's greatest challenge is not in forgiving others--but in learning to forgive himself.

I don't want to say much else for fear of giving away the plot's twists and turns. In the end, this is just a beautifully written, tragic, yet strangely hopeful story. I have Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns on my list of books to read soon, and I've heard it is just as great, if not even better than The Kite Runner. Needless to say, I look forward to reading it.

Have you read The Kite Runner? Want to discuss? Feel free to do so in the comments.

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Recent Read: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I finished this book a couple of weeks ago when we were on our way to Vegas, but haven't taken the time to sit down and write about it until now.

But this book--what a delightful read! I loved it.

Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob Jankowski, a retired veterinarian who is 90+ years old, lonely, and living in a nursing home. When a circus comes to town, Jacob begins to reminisce about the time he spent working for a circus during The Great Depression.

Right before graduating from veterinary school at Cornell University, Jacob experiences a horrible family tragedy. His way of coping with his pain is to run away from it. He randomly hops a train and finds himself in the middle of the train-traveling Benzini Brothers Circus.

And so begins Jacob's adventures--with the circus, exotic animals, and the people. He finds unexpected friendships, and even love.

In the book, the reader is taken back and forth between Jacob's action-packed past with the circus, and his present, where he is frustrated that his aging body and brain are beginning to fail him. We live what he lives and feel what he feels, whether it is the awe with which he regards the circus animals, or the pain he experiences at the nursing home, having been left behind by his wife, who passed away, and his children, who have all gone on living their own lives.

The author does a wonderful job at setting this story in the middle of a Depression-era circus. So much of what makes this book great is in the details, which were apparently really well researched by Gruen. Many parts of the story are actually based on things she read and heard about the circus while preparing to write the book.

Water for Elephants is an exciting and fun novel that kept me turning the pages. It has become one of my favorites and I think it would be enjoyed by just about everyone. If you haven't read it, definitely put this on your "must read" lists!

And, as always, if you have read it... let's discuss in the comments!

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Recent Read: Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris

This book, Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris, was the most recent selection for my online book club. We were supposed to read it by 12/31, but with the holidays and everything going on, I hadn't had a chance. Not only that, but I wasn't terribly motivated to do so. Some of my fellow book clubbers had indicated they didn't particularly enjoy it, so I was, in a lot of ways, not looking forward to reading it.

On Saturday, I finally picked it up and dove into it. And well, now it's Monday, and I'm already blogging about it. That must say something good about it, right? It's been a long time since I've finished a book so quickly, unless I'm traveling. 400+ pages, but once I started, I flew right through it.

Here's one thing I'll tell you right away that took me like 50 pages to figure out: The story is told in first person, but from two different perspectives--two different people. I was completely confused at first, thinking it was the same person, but it eventually became clear, and the story started to make much more sense once I understood.

One of our narrators is Roy Straitley, a teacher for 33 years at St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys, a traditional private school in England. The other is Snyde, who we come to learn grew up in the same town, always resented St. Oswald's and its students, and now, as an adult, seeks revenge against the School.

Through Straitley, we learn about the inner dynamics at the School, about the tradition of it, and the people there. Through Snyde, we are given pieces of the story that Straitley is not privy to. Snyde also jumps back and forth between growing up at St. Oswald's (1989) and present day (15 years later), which gives us even more insight into what is happening.

The story takes us through one term at the School. A term that starts off normally enough, but quickly starts to unravel, thanks to Snyde's gradual execution of a sinister plan. Small things happen, then bigger things, and soon enough, the whole house of cards comes crashing down.

I don't want to say much else because it is, after all, a mystery; I don't want to ruin anything. But I will say that I figured out the mystery pretty early on in the book. While some other readers were put off by this (annoyed at having to read the rest of it after figuring it out), I found that knowing the ending actually led me to want to get there more quickly. I was anxious to find out how all of the pieces would fit together, and see how it would all play out. And generally, I was pleased with it.

I do wish I wouldn't have known as early as I did... it's fun when an author can actually dupe you until the end. But don't worry, it's not that obvious. There were several club members who read much further before figuring it out, or had it only half figured out, etc... so who knows? Maybe you'll read it and enjoy the "not-knowing" a bit longer. Anyway, I've said enough about that.

Overall, another good read. I rate it 4 stars out of 5.

As always, the comments are fair game to discuss anything about the book (even spoilers!). So if you haven't read and want to, you have been warned. :) If you've read the book, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

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Recent Read: Sammy's House by Kristin Gore

A few years ago, I read Kristin Gore's first novel, Sammy's Hill. I don't think it's any secret I enjoy politics, and I can also appreciate chick lit. Those two "hobbies" are combined in Sammy's Hill, and came together once again for Sammy's House.

Since there was quite a bit of time between my reading the first and second books, I didn't remember a lot about Sammy's Hill when I decided to buy Sammy's House. I just remembered that I enjoyed it. So I figured I read the first one, I'll read the second one, too.

In the first book, we learn that Sammy is a twentysomething new-to-the-scene healthcare advisor for a up-and-coming United States Senator. Now, in the second book, she's back, but as a junior level staffer in the White House, where she works as a healthcare advisor to the Vice President of the United States.

The two main stories of focus in this book are 1) her job, and 2) her relationship with her boyfriend, Charlie. Charlie is a Washington Post reporter whose beat is--you guessed it--politics. Their relationship changes, for better or worse, when Charlie is transferred to the New York City bureau, and they suddenly find themselves in a long-distance relationship. With all of that in her personal life, Sammy has a lot to juggle once a scandal begins unfolding in the White House. Stressful work + stressful personal life = trouble for Sammy, who is (as you quickly learn) quite quirky.

In terms of chick lit, beach reads--whatever you want to call them--I thought Sammy's House had a plot that definitely kept me turning the pages. However, I did find myself annoyed with Gore's writing style a couple of times. I didn't remember this from the first book, but perhaps it was just so long ago that I had forgotten. Anyway, in Gore's attempt to make Sammy lovably neurotic and paranoid, we are often subjected to the running, rambling dialogue in Sammy's head (the book is written in first person from Sammy's point of view).

And sometimes I would just think: OK, I get that Sammy is unique. You don't have to beat me over the head with it. Sometimes, paragraphs and paragraphs of rambling thoughts really don't add anything to the story. Also, I'd feel like Gore was repeating herself sometimes, trying to remind readers of things that were already discussed earlier in the book, but to the point of excess. OK, yes, I REMEMBERED THAT ALREADY. NO NEED TO GO INTO SO MUCH DETAIL. By the end, I started to wonder if these were things that were actually in the first book that I just happened to remember (hence the reason she was repeating them), but I really don't think so.

Anyway, one of the best books I ever read? No way. Still an entertaining read? Yes.

As always, if you've read it, feel free to discuss in the comments.

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Marley & Me

This afternoon, I went to see the Marley & Me movie with my mom, my brother and his fiancee, my cousin and her husband, and my other cousin and her daughter.

And I'm not going to lie. It was rough.

However, the tough parts (toward the end) were totally worth it because of the story in its entirety. I read the book 2 or 3 years ago, and I loved it. Reading the book also meant that I knew what I was getting myself into with the movie--and I was a little bit afraid to see it. But I had heard good things, and so many of my family members wanted to see it, so I figured I'd give it a go.

I think we're all aware of the rule: Movies based on books cannot possibly be as good as the book. I usually go to see book movies and leave completely disappointed. To take just one example: The Da Vinci Code. Holy crap did that movie suck. And that was Ron Howard. Ron Howard!! He generally makes fantastic movies, so I had high hopes for that one. But it suuucccked. Really sucked.

To my surprise, this was not the case with Marley & Me. Maybe it's because there were a few years between my reading the book and my seeing the movie. Maybe it's just because it's a great story, and is seemingly impossible to mess up. Whatever it is... I really enjoyed this movie.

As far as I can remember, they followed the book pretty closely. Obviously there were little jokes added in, and things here and there that were changed for the sake of film (and things that were cut out for time), but the general plot, and the way that things happened--all of that was mostly the same.

They also added in a character (played by Eric Dane from Grey's Anatomy), a coworker/friend of John's, to help viewers understand Grogan's career goals and the dreams he had for himself (and how life ultimately does not go as Grogan may have originally planned). Eric Dane was perfect in this role, as it is almost exactly the same character he plays on Grey's.

But all of the fundamentals, the pieces of this story that make it great--love, life, and laughter--were all there. I read a couple of pretty bad reviews that complained that there was too much "me" and not enough Marley. I wonder if those reviewers ever read the book.

Every time I've described this book for someone who hasn't read it, I've always explained it's pretty much an autobiography that centers around 13 particular years of the author's life, but it also focuses a lot on his and his family's relationship with their dog. Sure, it's the story of a dog. But it's also the story of a man, his wife, and ultimately, their family. Of which Marley is a huge part. That's kinda the whole point of the story, and I guess some people are missing that.

For the record, my 6-year-old cousin did not like the movie. She thought it was boring, and when everyone else was crying, she said "But it's just a dog!" So maybe not necessarily a movie for the whole family. I think she was a little too young to really get it.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed Owen Wilson. I liked him in Wedding Crashers, and he's had a few other funny, quirky roles, but I will admit that when I heard he was playing John Grogan in this film, I was not impressed. But he did a much better job than I ever anticipated. Jennifer Aniston was good, too.

About 18 months ago, my mom, my brothers and I had to put down our family dog. She was 14 years old, and we had rescued her when she was only about 6 months old. I was 11 when we got her, and was just a few weeks shy of 25 when we put her down. I felt like I had had her all of my life. It was one of the hardest things ever. So for me, I could totally relate to this story, and I thought the movie was completely genuine.

You can never understand the love of a dog (and the love you feel for a dog) unless you've ever had one. The love, the joy, the anger, the frustration, the commitment... everything involved. But really, that's for any pet. Our pets generally don't outlive us, we outlive them. So when we take them on as members of our family, we do it knowing that someday, it is destined to end in heartbreak.

And we do it anyway. Because it's worth it.

So is this movie.

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