More Challenges!

OK y'all, I signed up for 4 more 2013 reading challenges.  Everybody, STOP POSTING AWESOME CHALLENGES.  I can't stop signing up for them.

I'm really done now though.  I already told you about the Monthly Keyword Challenge, and now I also am declaring:

Around The World in 12 Books Challenge, hosted by Giraffe Days

This is going to be SO FUN.  I love to travel, and doing it through books is fun too!

Mount TBR Challenge, hosted by My Reader's Block

I've signed up to read Mont Blanc (at least 24 books from my TBR pile).

Foodies Read Challenge, hosted by Foodies Read

 

I've signed up for Pastry Chef level (4-8 food-related books).

Audiobook Challenge, hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner

I've signed up for Flirting (listening to at least 6 audiobooks).

No more challenges, Kelly.  NO MORE.

(But look at them all...aren't they pretty...)

You can keep track of my progress next year on my 2013 Challenges page.

Wondrous Words Wednesday (8)

Word Nerd Time!

Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by BermudaOnion each week. It's an opportunity to share new words you've encountered in your reading, or highlight words that you particularly enjoy.

Here are three of my favorites new-to-me words from some of my recent reads. All definitions from Dictionary.com.

1. susurrating. "The mangled lips parted in a last, susurrating pulse of air." (from 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King)
noun (susurration)
a soft murmur; whisper.

2. laity. "Morale was even worse among the laity, black folks like Angela, Shirley, and Mona, the three women I'd met at the rally." (from Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama)
noun
1. the body of religious worshipers, as distinguished from the clergy.
2. the people outside of a particular profession, as distinguished from those belonging to it.

3. fabulate. "The impulse to fabulate is a natural response to a confusing and contradictory world." (from The Uninvited by Liz Jensen)

verb

1. to tell invented stories; create fables or stories filled with fantasy.
2. to relate an event as a fable.

What are your new words this week?

Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publication Date: April 2, 2009
Source: borrowed from the good ol' public library

Plot Summary from Goodreads:

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heart-achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

My Review:

If I Stay has been recommended to me SO MANY times.  This is a YA fiction novel, and a fairly short read, but everyone who tells me about it says it is heart-wrenching, life-changing, unforgettable--a 5 star book all the way through.

How could I not break down and read it?  I devoured If I Stay in two days (fast, for me).  And I had to take the weekend to think about it before writing this review, because there's a lot to it in only 196 pages.

The other reviewers were right--this novel is heart-wrenching.  It brought tears to my eyes more than once.  To expound upon the plot summary (without giving spoilers), Mia is in a car crash, and when she wakes up, she's kind of floating outside her body.  Her physical self is in a coma, in very bad shape.  But "thinking" Mia is outside that body, taking in what happened, and the reactions of her family and friends.  She then realizes that she has to make the ultimate choice--given what has happened to her, should she stay, and continue to live this life?  Or should she go, peacefully die, and leave everything behind?  She has been given the power to make the final decision.

There's a lot of detail in the novel that makes Mia's choice an enormously difficult one (but I don't want to give those details away).  Suffice to say that it's not an easy decision.  As a reader, when you're hearing the story from Mia's perspective, it leaves you spellbound.  The car crash has taken so much away from her--dying would be the peaceful and uncomplicated option.  Staying, living, would be so much harder--but also has the potential to be happy and fulfilling.  Is it worth staying, and pushing through the harder option?  Especially if that potential for happiness is only a maybe, and so many important things in her life have disappeared?

Mia's ultimate decision aside, it forces you to consider what you would do in such a situation.  Would you be resilient enough to keep living, if that life was missing so many of the things that previously gave it meaning?  Half the tears I shed in while reading this novel were over the fact that my answer to that question is "I don't know."  Forman does an absolutely amazing job turning Mia's dilemma into the reader's dilemma, through the power of perspective.

I did have one caveat with this book though, and it's the reason I don't think I was completely bowled over by it the way many others have been.  It may seem beside-the-point, but I could not stop thinking: WHY does Mia get to make this choice?  How did she get this power, this added level of consciousness?  Why does she get to make the choice, but others don't?  This is not explained in the novel, and it drove me bonkers.  To make it worse, apparently most of the characters in the novel (the nurses, her family that comes to visit in the hospital) somehow know she is able to make the choice--they are always talking to her as if that was the case, which I found to be odd, and too convenient given the premise of the novel.

I know that might seem petty, given the more powerful overarching messages of the book.  And in all probability, Forman really just meant for it to be an unanswered question, another point to ponder.  But it was a real sticking point for me.  I wasn't able to just let go and say, "Oh, that must just be how it is."  Mia is in such a unique position, I wanted some sort of explanation for how she got there.

Final verdict?  If I Stay is a lot of what I heard it would be: emotional, thought-provoking, memorable.  I just wish so badly that Mia's position in the story was better-explained, because that lack of detail took away from the overall experience a bit.  Still worth the read though...and have your tissues handy.

Other reviews of If I Stay:
Alluring Reads
Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
Bookish Sarah
Novel Thoughts

Have you read any good tearjerkers lately?

November 2012 In Review

Small Fry demands turkey satisfaction.

November...was crazy.  Reading wise, it was great.  I liked pretty much every book I read (felt a little lukewarm about 1-2, but overall, I'd say I at least liked them).  Some months aren't always like that.  Back in July or so, I felt like I was reading NOTHING but bad books.  Luckily that was before the blog was born, so you did not need to share in my misery.  :)

Just to add a little spice to my monthly wrap-ups, I've decided to name my favorite, and least favorite, book read each month.  Which is really hard this particular month, given that none of my books were very low on the rating scale!  Sooooo:

November 2012 Favorite: This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
November 2012 Least Favorite: Landing by Emma Donoghue

With that, let's review the rest of my reading month.

I read and reviewed 7 books (click links for my reviews):
Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama
Being Santa Claus by Sal Lizard with Jonathan Lane
This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
The Light of Amsterdam by David Park
Landing by Emma Donoghue
Deadline by Mira Grant
A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle

I also posted 2 mini reviews of past reads:
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
In The Woods by Tana French

And I posted 4 new Small Fry Saturdays!
Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
Peekaboo Kisses by Barney Saltzberg
Pajama Time! by Sandra Boynton
I'm A T.Rex! by Dennis Shealy

In the midst of all this, I shared deep thoughts about self-published novels, tried to find ways to read without ignoring my husband, talked about my hotly-anticipated 2013 releases, and hosted another giveaway.

Nowadays, I am gearing up for the Christmas season in a big way.  Luckily, I am nearly done with shopping, so now I can concentrate on kissing under the mistletoe and keeping my toddler out of the tree.  :)  And of course, MORE READING!

Do you have any favorite Christmas-themed reads?

Deju Vu Review (4)

The Deja Vu Review is hosted every Sunday by Brittany at The Book Addict's Guide.  It's a chance to mini-review books that I read in my pre-blogging days.  This week's topic is novels with strange names.  And both of mine happen to be dystopian!

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

I loved Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, so when I saw the unique title on her list of other novels, my interest was piqued.  And the first chapter helped, too--the main character, Snowman, wakes up in a world where it seems that all other humans are dead.  How can you not be taken in by such a scenario?

While I did find the book enjoyable, I wouldn't say it's one of my favorite dystopians.  As you learn more about Snowman's problematic situation, you get his backstory, which includes Crake (his former best friend) and Oryx, a woman they both loved.  After the initial "OMG what is happening here" moment in the first chapter, I felt that the plot got a bit slow and disjointed.  For a dystopian novel, it doesn't have a very energetic pace, and it jumps around in a way that is very confusing.  However, in the last quarter or so, things started to come together, and the climax at the end left me interested enough to seek out the novel's sequel, The Year of the Flood.  Overall, not the best dystopian I've ever read, but it's intriguing in terms of world-building, and you'll like it if you have your thinking cap on.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Oy vey, this book.  This book is the first book I ever (EVER!) did not finish.  This and Middlemarch (I gave up on them on the same day. It was a frustrating day).

I still feel I have the right to (mini) review it though, because I spent over 6 weeks on it.  Which is eternity for me!  It's 954 pages long and I read about 600 of them in that time, so I have to get a little credit here.

Most people I talk to ADORE 1Q84.  Cannot say enough good things about it.  I, on the other hand, found it extremely tedious and boring.  It centers on Aomame, a young hit-woman who enters 1Q84, a parallel existence to her life in the year 1984.  At the same time, it follows Tengo, a writer whose complicated story begins to mingle with Aomame's as time goes on.  The plot is much more complex than all that, but Aomame and Tengo's relationship is the basis for all else in the novel.

Why did I dislike it?  One, it was just so.darn.slow.  I don't mind wordy/long novels, if they actually take me somewhere, but I felt stuck in park for the majority of these pages.  And two, the characters.  They were weird and quirky in a way that made me completely unable to connect with them or their intentions.  Plus, one of them always speaks in a completely flat, monotone voice (always states questions, doesn't "ask" them), which drove me nuts.  I found none of them likeable and after a while, just couldn't muster the energy to care about their lives anymore.  Overall, a huge no-go for me.

Do you have any good books with weird names?

Small Fry Saturday #8: Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

It's time for installment #8 of Small Fry Saturdays!  This is where I do a weekly showcase of books that my Small Fry is currently reading.  Feel free to do a SFS post on your blog (with the graphic above) or leave a comment below about your favorite kiddie reads.

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

The Llama Llama books were not around when I was a kid, but I think anyone born after 2005 or so is going to remember them the way I remember books like Where's Spot? and The Very Hungry Caterpillar: childhood classics!

I know a lot of people have heard of Llama Llama Red Pajama already, but I have to highlight it this week, because lately it's pretty much the only thing I've read to Small Fry before bed each night.  And I don't even mind, because this book (and the others in the Llama Llama series) are so entertaining.  If you've never read it, Baby Llama is tucked into bed by his Mama Llama.  Mama Llama goes downstairs to do her mom thing--wash dishes, and talk on the phone (Dewdney responsibly left out the part about drinking wine).

Meanwhile, Baby Llama decides he's thirsty, and starts calling for his mom.  But she's not coming.  And Baby Llama throws down some DRAMA.  I mean, look at the face on that cover--that kid is freakin'.  His pouts and stomps throughout the book are hilarious, and as Small Fry's narrator, I have a good time playing up the dramatics as the story goes on.  Plus, it ends with Baby Llama going back to sleep, so it's a good bedtime choice for kids.

So far, the only other Llama Llama book we own is Llama Llama Misses Mama, but I'm looking forward to getting some of the other ones for Small Fry soon too.  Might be the perfect time of year for Llama Llama Holiday Drama...

Have your kids read the Llama Llama books?  Which one is their fave?

Book Review: A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Title: A Wrinkle In Time
Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Original Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Original Publication Date: January 1962
Source: won from Shannon at Giraffe Days

Plot Summary from Goodreads:

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger. 

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract".

Meg's father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?

My Review:

Remember Banned Book Week not so long ago?  During that celebration, I won a giveaway hosted by Shannon over at Giraffe Days.  She was giving away one banned book of the winner's choice.  I couldn't decide, so I sent Shannon a list of 3 finalists and asked her to surprise me with one.  So you know what she did?  She sent me ALL THREE.  Like a BOSS.  And A Wrinkle In Time was one of them.  (The other two are The Color Purple and Flowers for Algernon...reviews to come!)

In the end, moral of the story?  Shannon is awesome, and so is this book.

I know I'm probably, at the age of 29, the last person in my generation to read this.  Which makes me sad, because I wish I could have experienced A Wrinkle In Time at the age of 10!  Remembering my love for Matilda, The Phantom Tollbooth, and the like, I know this would have made an impression on my little brain.  But instead, I enjoyed it as an adult, and that will have to be enough.  Fantasy is not my preferred genre nowadays, but I think middle-grade fantasy has a lot more to offer, because it's written to an audience that can appreciate it with more innocent eyes.

What did I love about this book the most?  The deeper meanings!  There are so many, and they made it pretty clear why this book is often taught in schools.  Good wins over evil.  You can get help from others, but sometimes you have to do things yourself--even if they're hard.  Freedom requires more choices and effort, but is better than settling for conformity:

"'You mean you're comparing our lives to a sonnet?  A strict form, but freedom within it?'
'Yes,' Mrs. Whatsit said.  'You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.  What you say is completely up to you.'"

As a whole, the book is allegorical without feeling overly preachy.

The sci-fi aspects of it were a tad confusing, so I could see that being a little hard for kids to get through.  But the idea of "tessering" (the method of time-travel used in the book) is explained easily enough that the other information (about first, second, third, fourth, and fifth dimensions...phew) doesn't need to be understood well in order to follow the plot.

I was a little surprised at the religious undertones throughout the book, especially because it is taught so widely in schools.  However, I wouldn't say this is a strictly Christian novel.  Yes, there are a few quoted Bible verses, and some of the characters are clearly meant to represent the devil, or angels, or maybe even God, but it's written in a way that I think other religions could easily input their own belief systems within the lessons of the text.  I think it teaches you to have faith and love--but it doesn't tell you that there is one right way to do that.  AWIT has often been banned for being too religious, or (on the flip side) anti-Christian, and I think it's silly to pin the book that way when what's it really teaching kids is to be NICE to each other and BELIEVE in themselves.  I don't think that's very threatening, do you?

One final note, about the characters.  Meg, the main character, is pretty great, but her younger brother Charles Wallace is awesome.  I want to take that kid home and just hug him.  Or maybe name my second-born after him, I don't know.  Either way, he is a very precocious little five-year-old, and his dialogue was so much fun to read.  Definitely going on my list of all-time favorite literary characters.

So, overall, A Wrinkle In Time gets a big thumbs-up from me.  It's truly timeless--nothing in the book let on to the fact that it was written 50 years ago.  It manages to be entertaining, fantastical, and thoughtful at the same time.  I wish Small Fry was old enough to read it now, but you can bet I'll be putting it in his hands in about 9 years or so.