It's Monday--what are you reading?

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!  What are you reading today?

I had a fun book-related activity this weekend, as I volunteered at the 17th annual Rochester Children's Book Festival.  I heard about this right after I moved to the area, and decided it would be fun to volunteer as a way to get to know the event (and the city) a bit better.  I am very happy that I did!  My shift started at 12:30 but I arrived a little early so that I could check things out.  The festival had an impressive list of authors, my fave being Jane Yolen, who writes the How Do Dinosaurs series of children's books that Small Fry looooooves.  I ended up late to my volunteer assignment (whoooops) because I couldn't help jumping into her autograph line for Small Fry.  WORTHSIES!!

(Name edited by me, obviously)

Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple

Yolen was sharing the autograph line with her daughter, fellow author Heidi Stemple.  Jane and Heidi were SUPER nice, asking me about both Small Fry and the increasingly-obvious-under-my-shirt Tater Tot.  Afterwards I volunteered at the main lobby greeting table and had a great time seeing all the happy patrons (kids especially!) coming into and out of the event.  Overall, I really loved doing this and I can't wait to take Small Fry next year...I think he will adore it.

Soooo what am I reading these days?

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook and is ranked onFortune’s list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business and as one ofTime’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2010, she gave an electrifying TEDTalk in which she described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which became a phenomenon and has been viewed more than two million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto.

In Lean In, Sandberg digs deeper into these issues, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to cut through the layers of ambiguity and bias surrounding the lives and choices of working women. She recounts her own decisions, mistakes, and daily struggles to make the right choices for herself, her career, and her family. She provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career, urging women to set boundaries and to abandon the myth of “having it all.”  She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women in the workplace and at home. (From Goodreads)

I've been meaning to read this ever since it first came out, partially because I can't resist a book that invites controversy, and partially because I am really interested in what Sandberg has to say, especially because I recently left the 9-5 workforce.  I'm about half done and loving it.  I definitely do not agree with everything Sandberg espouses in her book, but even so, it's extremely thought-provoking and has lead to some pretty interesting conversations with my husband.  My review is going to be a mile long when I finally write it (you've been warned).

The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle

To the outside Diana and Joe have a perfect family-three lovely children, a beautiful home, and a café that's finally taking off. But their world is rocked when it's discovered that their oldest daughter, 17-year-old Morgan is having an affair with her married teacher, TJ Hill.

Their town rocks with the scandal. When the case goes to trial, the family is torn further apart when Morgan sides not with her parents-as a manipulated teenage girl; but with TJ himself-as a woman who loves a 30-year-old man.

Told from the perspectives of Morgan, Diana, and TJ's wife, Rain, this is an unforgettable story that fully explores the surprising, even shocking, events that change the lives of two families. (From Goodreads)

This is a TLC Book Tour for me and I am completely immersed!  Fans of Jodi Picoult and family dramas are going to love this one.  Can't wait to share my review with you later this week.  I'm about 100 pages from the end, and I have no idea how it's going to wrap up--gotta love the feeling of suspense.

What will I read next?
I have a month before my next book tour review, so I'm looking forward to tackling a few things on my shelves--hopefully The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok, Allegiant by Veronica Roth (gotta finish that series!!), and/or The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

What's in your reading plans this week, friends?

GIVEAWAY and Book Review: Buying In by Laura Hemphill

Title: Buying In
Author: Laura Hemphill
Publisher: New Harvest
Publication Date: November 5, 2013
Source: copy received for honest review through TLC Book Tours

Plot Summary from Goodreads:

Bright, ambitious Sophie Landgraf has landed a job as a Wall Street analyst. The small-town girl finally has her ticket to the American elite, but she doesn’t real­ize the toll it will take—on her boyfriend, on her family, and on her. It isn’t long before Sophie is floundering in this male-dominated world, and things are about to get worse.
 
With the financial crisis looming, Sophie be­comes embroiled in a multibillion-dollar merger that could make or break her career. The problem? Three men at the top of their game, each with very different reasons for advancing the merger. Now Sophie doesn’t know whom to trust—or how far she’ll go to get ahead.
 
Set inside the high-stakes world of finance, Manhattan’s after-hours clubs, and factories in the Midwest and India, this is the high-powered, heartfelt story of a young woman finding her foot­ing on Wall Street as it crumbles beneath her. Written by an industry veteran, Buying In tackles what it means to be a woman in a man’s world, and how to survive in big business without sacri­ficing who you are.

My Review:

Happy Monday, readers!  Let's talk about how much I dig this book.

Admittedly, when I initially read the description, I thought this novel sounded like it could be rather chick-litty (is that a word?  let's make it a word).  Not that that's a bad thing--I like my chick lit every once in a while.  However, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the fact that this definitely does not fit into a "girly" category.  The writing in Buying In is whip-smart, as is Sophie, its fresh-out-of-college protagonist.  So smart, in fact, that I had to pay close attention in many parts, as the details about finance and banking can get quite technical.  However, I'd say the book written in a way that makes it accessible even to those with no background in those career areas (myself included).  If anything, it will make you feel more intelligent, and not frustrated over its complexity (as I originally feared).

Other than the impressive detail in the book, I also loved its characters.  They all have very distinct strengths and weaknesses, and those weaknesses are, for the most part, not resolved by the end of the novel.  That was rather refreshing, as I feel that so many books strive to make their characters close to "perfect" by the story's conclusion.  However, instead of fixing all of their individual issues, by the end, each character seems to have grown a bit within their own limitations.  They embrace their imperfections rather than attempting to erase them.

Riding the wave of this "imperfect" ideal, I was also happy with how the novel wrapped up.  This is not a book with neat-and-tidy conclusions for all involved.  This is especially true for Sophie, who (because of my previous assumptions about this being chick lit) I was delighted to see became progressively more independent and strong-willed by the end.  In a world full of men in both her personal and professional life, she finds a way to forge ahead without having to rely on them.  It's both inspiring and refreshing to see such a young female character be able to take that path.

In the end, Buying In left me feeling like THIS is what "new adult" novels should be.  None of that overly sex-and-romance-focused drivel.  Here's a 22-year-old trying to make it in the big bad world of Wall Street, balancing career, family, and love.  And in the end, does she find a perfect solution?  No--but she learns a heck of a lot along the way, and she's ready to live life on her terms.  Doesn't get better than that.  I was glued to this novel, and I hope to see more from Hemphill in the future!

As always, much thanks to Lisa and TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour!

Check out the other blogs on this book tour HERE.  And connect with Laura Hemphill on her website and Twitter.

GIVEAWAY TIME!

TLC Book Tours is offering a copy of Buying In to one lucky reader of my blog.  Just fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter!  Entries are for US/Canada residents only and contest closes 11/18.

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GIVEAWAY and Book Review: The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio

Title: The Last Camellia
Author: Sarah Jio
Publisher: Plume
Publication Date: May 28, 2013
Source: won in a giveaway on Nadia's blog (A Bookish Way of Life)

Plot Summary from Goodreads:

On the eve of World War II, the last surviving specimen of a camellia plant known as the Middlebury Pink lies secreted away on an English country estate. Flora, an amateur American botanist, is contracted by an international ring of flower thieves to infiltrate the household and acquire the coveted bloom. Her search is at once brightened by new love and threatened by her discovery of a series of ghastly crimes.

More than half a century later, garden designer Addison takes up residence at the manor, now owned by the family of her husband, Rex. The couple’s shared passion for mysteries is fueled by the enchanting camellia orchard and an old gardener’s notebook. Yet its pages hint at dark acts ingeniously concealed. If the danger that Flora once faced remains very much alive, will Addison share her fate?

My Review:

I have to admit--I was a little unsure of how I would do with this novel.  You may remember that I read my first Sarah Jio novel (Blackberry Winter) earlier this year, and it left me feeling kind of "eh".  Liked it, didn't love it.  I was surprised, because so many people had raved to me about Jio's work, but Blackberry Winter was too predictable for me to completely get on board.  However, I was determined to give her another shot, and this giveaway win from Nadia came at the perfect time for a second try.

The Last Camellia fits well into a variety of genres: romance, historical fiction, and mystery being the primary categories.  I'm not usually a romance reader, but the relationships in this novel are not overly schmoopy or steamy.  They add a warm and fuzzy "background music" to the plot, if you will.  As for the historical fiction, that is one area that I knew Jio would excel in after reading Blackberry Winter.  I really enjoy how she merges the past with the present rather seamlessly, as modern-day Addison entwines herself in the question of what happened to Flora and the residents of Livingston Manor in the 1940's.

As for the mystery--this is where I was wary at first.  I was afraid that I would see the finale a mile away, and I simply can't stand a mystery that lacks, well, mystery.  HOWEVER, that was completely not the case here.  While I did have some hunches along the way about "whodunit", in the end I was quite surprised by the ending.  There are so many complicated players in this story that I think even the hints you do receive leave you feeling hesitant before you draw any big conclusions.

I'd say that my only hiccup with this novel is that some of the major events that occur happen rather abruptly.  For example, Addison is hiding a big secret from her husband (don't worry, not a spoiler--you find that out pretty much on page one), and when it's finally revealed, the unveiling is rather quick and terse.  Same goes for some of the events that wrap up the ending.  Given the flowing, beautiful prose of the rest of the novel, these too-quick bursts of action stick out like a sore thumb.  However, I'd say this is more an issue of styling than anything else, and it doesn't detract from how much I liked the story overall.

Sarah Jio was originally recommended to me as "the lesser-known Jodi Picoult", and I absolutely see that comparison in The Last Camellia.  A fluid blend of past-meets-present, a little bit o' love, and a good mystery = a reading win.  I'm feeling much more interested in trying Jio's other novels!

GIVEAWAY TIME!

When I won the giveaway on Nadia's blog, I received not one, but FIVE copies of The Last Camellia!  So I am keeping one, and graciously giving the other four away.  Just fill in the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win!  :)  (US/Canada only please)

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Book Review: The Preservationist by Justin Kramon

Title: The Preservationist
Author: Justin Kramon
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Publication Date: October 10, 2013
Source: copy received for honest review through TLC Book Tours

Plot Summary from Goodreads:

To Sam Blount, meeting Julia is the best thing that has ever happened to him.

Working at the local college and unsuccessful in his previous relationships, he'd been feeling troubled about his approaching fortieth birthday, "a great beast of a birthday," as he sees it, but being with Julia makes him feel young and hopeful. Julia Stilwell, a freshman trying to come to terms with a recent tragedy that has stripped her of her greatest talent, is flattered by Sam's attention. But their relationship is tested by a shy young man with a secret, Marcus Broley, who is also infatuated with Julia.

Told in alternating points of view, The Preservationist is the riveting tale of Julia and Sam's relationship, which begins to unravel as the threat of violence approaches and Julia becomes less and less sure whom she can trust.

My Review:

First, can I just say, HOORAY for a book description that doesn't give anything away!  Especially a novel in the thriller genre!  I feel like lately, every thriller I've read has had at least one semi-important detail given away in the description, which is a complete downer.  Not so with The Preservationist.  This novel kept me on my toes until the last page, and in the end, I was very happy with the small amount of information that the description sent me in with.

I will do my darndest to keep that trend up in my review here.  Without giving anything away, I'll say that The Preservationist's biggest strength is in its alternating viewpoints.  Justin Kramon does an excellent job unfolding each character's motives veeeery slowly.  In the beginning, I felt like I was reading a typical boy-meets-girl story...and then suddenly, in the middle I realized how very twisted the plot had become.  That poor Julia...girlfriend is surrounded by creepy dudes wanting to get in her pants.  Le sigh.

Anyway, Kramon develops the protagonists in a way that leaves you constantly wondering who the bad guy(s) really are.  For most of the novel, I had the unsettling feeling that all of the main characters were inherently...off in some way, which is exactly what I want in a suspenseful read.  It wasn't until nearly the end that everyone's true colors were revealed.

The pacing was awesome as well--I never had a boring moment.  In the beginning, everything seems so normal--the small college campus, the students acclimating to a new school year, etc.  And then suddenly--this very normal, everyday setting gets turned on its head by very abnormal and unsettling events.  This is a novel that will keep you up until 2am under the covers with your book light, because the last 20-ish% of it is pretty much impossible to put down.

I want to say so much more about this one...especially the development of the two primary male characters...but I can't, because I think I would give too much away.  So you'll have to trust me a little bit here.  If you want a thriller that's sure to keep you guessing (and keep you awake late into the night), The Preservationist is your cup o' soup.  This one caught me unawares, which is the best kind of thriller, amiright?

As always, much thanks to Trish and TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour!

Check out the other blogs on this book tour HERE.  And connect with Justin Kramon on his website and Facebook page.

'Sup, Monday? What are you reading?

Aloha, reader friends!  It's Monday...so what are you reading?

Well, lately I have been reading a lot of this:

Yes, one of my most dreaded tasks of parenting is going down today...potty training.  Now that we're settled and I'm home with Small Fry full time, I figured we would try to give it a go FO' REALSIES.  We've been using this book to get him SUPER PSYCHED for using the potty, and this morning we're starting our "all undies, all the time" strategy.

Please pray for me.  It's really not fair that I am unable to imbibe alcohol during this trying time.

However, when I'm not reading awesome picture books about pee, I am reading this:

Buying In by Laura Hemphill, for an upcoming TLC book tour.  Goodreads description:

Bright, ambitious Sophie Landgraf has landed a job as a Wall Street analyst. The small-town girl finally has her ticket to the American elite, but she doesn’t real­ize the toll it will take—on her boyfriend, on her family, and on her. It isn’t long before Sophie is floundering in this male-dominated world, and things are about to get worse.
 
With the financial crisis looming, Sophie be­comes embroiled in a multibillion-dollar merger that could make or break her career. The problem? Three men at the top of their game, each with very different reasons for advancing the merger. Now Sophie doesn’t know whom to trust—or how far she’ll go to get ahead.
 
Set inside the high-stakes world of finance, Manhattan’s after-hours clubs, and factories in the Midwest and India, this is the high-powered, heartfelt story of a young woman finding her foot­ing on Wall Street as it crumbles beneath her. Written by an industry veteran, Buying In tackles what it means to be a woman in a man’s world, and how to survive in big business without sacri­ficing who you are.

I know nada about banking and finance, but that isn't keeping me from enjoying this book.  I'm still in the early stages with it, but so far I really like Sophie's character, and the author explains the financial stuff in a way that makes me feel not stupid (hooray!).

What will I read next?

SO HARD TO CHOOSE!  With the end of the year looming, I have a lot of things to consider, given that I want to finish a couple more of my challenges.  Perhaps The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok, The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton, Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, or Dante's Inferno.  Hmmmm...

What's on your reading agenda this week, friends?

October 2013 in Review!

Happy NOVEMBER, readers!

October has flown by in the blink of an eye.  We are pretty much all settled into our house, and have now been working on projects like painting the baby's room, hanging pictures on the walls, and staring disdainfully at the last 3-4 boxes that need to be unpacked.  (Isn't it ALWAYS the case that there's 3-4 boxes of stuff that you're like...why do I even OWN this?  WHO NEEDS 50 PICTURE FRAMES?)

Stay-at-home mom life has been great.  Small Fry and I have found tons of stuff to do; there is never a boring day around here, that's fo' sho'.  I am so happy that I'm getting this time with him alone before the baby as well.  He keeps me VERY busy.  :)  And, I can't believe that I can now say Tater Tot is due NEXT month.  That's insanity.  Part of me just wants the baby to get here already, while the other part of me is freaking out because THERE'S TOO MUCH TO DO!  Isn't that always the way...

In other news, my brother did get married last month (as I mentioned), and he had an absolutely fabulous wedding day.  Much fun was had by all, his bride was gorgeous, and Small Fry was a very flippin' adorable ring bearer.  Driving 8 hours each way while 30 weeks pregnant is not on my list of things to do again, but in this case, it was worthsies.

Wedding time for me, Small Fry, the Hubs, and Tater Tot (hiding in my ginormous belly)

Anyway, how was the reading this month?

The October 2013 Fave/Least Fave picks were tough, because I really had three AWESOME reads that I couldn't decide between, but in the end:

October 2013 Favorite: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
October 2013 Least Favorite: The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane

In total, I read/reviewed 5 books:
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane
We Are Water by Wally Lamb
The Dinner by Herman Koch

Otherwise, I gave my thoughts on the World War Z movie, and we talked about my inappropriate internet search habits.

Oh and also, I FINISHED my Goodreads goal of reading at least 60 books this year!  WOOOOOO!  Savor that, because when this baby shows, methinks 2014 won't see nearly so much reading.  Le sigh...

I hope you all have a great November!  I am really stoked for Thanksgiving this year, as we are hosting and it will be tons o' fun to have our whole family at the new house with us for a few days.  Hope all my other (American) friends have big turkey day plans on the horizon as well!

Book Review: The Dinner by Herman Koch

Title: The Dinner
Author: Herman Koch
Publisher: Hogarth
Publication Date: February 12, 2013 (English edition)
Source: personal purchase

Plot Summary from Goodreads:

It's a summer's evening in Amsterdam, and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant for dinner. Between mouthfuls of food and over the polite scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse -- the banality of work, the triviality of the holidays. But behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened.
     Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son. The two boys are united by their accountability for a single horrific act; an act that has triggered a police investigation and shattered the comfortable, insulated worlds of their families. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children. As civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.
     Tautly written, incredibly gripping, and told by an unforgettable narrator, The Dinner promises to be the topic of countless dinner party debates. Skewering everything from parenting values to pretentious menus to political convictions, this novel reveals the dark side of genteel society and asks what each of us would do in the face of unimaginable tragedy.

My Review:

If I had to name the book that was recommended to me the most times in the last year, it would be The Dinner.  I think I have the Wall Street Journal to thank for that, since it billed the novel as "the European Gone Girl" several months back.  (Must I remind you for the eleventy billionth time how I feel about Gone Girl?)

Okay, I knew I had to give this one a try.  I put it on my 30 Before 35 list to make sure it happened relatively soon, and here we are.

First of all, even though the two novels are vastly different in subject, I can see why the WSJ made the comparison with Gillian Flynn's novel.  It's more a comparison of themes rather than actual plot points.  The most basic way to put it is that there is a complete lack of moral compass in both novels.  In The Dinner, Paul (our protagonist) introduces us to his three fellow diners, as well as the terrible actions of their children that prompted this meeting in a hoity-toity Amsterdam restaurant.  These specifics are unveiled very slowly--so slowly, in fact, that after a while I started to get bored.  I didn't see where the hook was, the "thing" that was going to make this novel grip me and stick around in my brain for a while, because I felt like I had all the details and could see where they would eventually take me.

However, the catch is that none of the characters are quite as they originally seem.  Yes, you get a lot of the details about the 4 diners in the first half of the novel--enough detail to make assumptions about how they will later act.  But you're going to assume these things thinking that they are capable of rational action...when in fact, they often are not.  Nope, I'd say these four are quite psychologically effed up, for lack of a better phrase (two of them in particular).  And that leads to a whole series of events that I didn't see coming.  That's the hook.

By the time I reached the end, I had mixed feelings.  I like how Koch took the four diners, introduced them quite slowly and methodically in the beginning, and then suddenly started revealing details that changed my entire perception of them by the end.  That's not easy to do, especially in a novel that is relatively short in length--and especially when one of the four characters in question is narrating the story.  Character development = A++.

However, the downside for me was that by the end, I felt like the choices made by these characters were almost too unbelievable.  I know a lot of Gone Girl critics that panned Flynn's novel for that reason, though I disagreed with that assessment in that case.  However, in The Dinner, that was precisely my issue.  I understand what Koch was trying to illustrate--the idea that we will go to great (maybe borderline insane) lengths to protect our families--but it was a little too out there for me at times.  Not to mention that some of the specifics were a bit far-fetched (ex: there's an important detail that's based around an "amniotic fluid test" for mental disabilities that I'm fairly sure does not exist). I left Gone Girl feeling like it was a situation that could actually happen--I didn't leave The Dinner feeling the same way.

My final assessment: as literary fiction, The Dinner is an intriguing piece of work.  The pacing and character development is spot-on, and for that reason I'd say it's definitely worth the read.  However, on the "psychological thriller" side of things, it didn't completely grab me.  And for this, I blame the Wall Street Journal--because is it really fair to compare two authors' work so directly?

Have you read The Dinner?  Do you think it's fair to compare it to Gone Girl?  And if you haven't read it yet, how do you feel when a novel is closely compared to another well-known one...do you think it creates good hype, or leaves too much room for overly high expectations?