Book Reviews: 21 - 25 of 2017

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** is pretty much exactly as it sounds: a wake up call for those who think they should care about everything all the time and have made themselves vastly unhappy. A lot of the information has scientific research to back it up, but a lot of it is also just good common sense. We cannot care about everything all the time and still live our lives. It's just not possible. By worrying and making everyone else's problems into your own problems and thinking you can control anything about other people will just make you feel like a failure. This book really drove home a lot of concepts I have learned for myself and in a poignant way. All I can say is that everyone should read this book. Obviously there is language, but the underlying message is something we all need to embrace to be happy. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

My Ántonia by Willa Cather is a classic story of turn of the century middle America. Jim is orphaned young and moves from Virginia to Nebraska to live with his grandparents. On the same train with Jim are the Shimerdas, a Bohemian family moving to the area next to his grandparent's farm, and the book chronicles Jim's friendship with the daughter named Ántonia. Jim has an obvious crush on Ántonia that carries with him throughout his life. The Shimerdas speak almost no English, so Jim is enlisted to teach Ántonia. They spend a lot of time together before tragedy strikes and their familys fall out of favor with each other. Jim's family eventually moves to town for an easier life, and Ántonia follows to work for another family in the town. Their paths always seem to cross, and even when Jim is much older and Ántonia is married with lots of children, they still have a deep fondness for each other. I enjoyed this little glimpse into life in the late 1800s in the midwest, and the story keeps you engaged. While I wouldn't call this a great work, it's a nice little window into a different time and place. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars.

Who's In Charge? is an interesting look at brain science and what they know about "free will"... if you can get past the very long intro of technical jargon first, and if you don't mind seeing the word "homunculus" more times then you ever thought possible. The information this book offers is great. I found the section on what problems different lesions in the brain caused for some patients (my fav: apparently there is a type of brain lesion that makes the victim unable to identify fruit but is normal in every other way). The info is engaging even if the writing style is not. If you can push forward, you should find something to enjoy. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking is an entire book that could technically just be a paragraph when you get down to it. The idea is cute enough: Hygge is the cozy, contented feeling that the Danish try to build their lives around. Of course that's a good idea by anyone's standards. The book starts off interesting, but quickly begins repeating itself, then turns to things like recipes and recommendations on home decor to fill the space (and it's still a small book). While I like the overall idea, I don't feel I really needed to read a book about it. Maybe if I'd lit a candle in a reading nook next to a fire with candles around me while wearing woolen socks with a cold storm outside while I read this book then I would have appreciated it more. Alas, I live in Florida. Hygge for me has nothing to do with woolen socks and fires. Cute, but not worth the hype in my opinion.  I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is not a book I would typically go for. I read the synopsis and realized this is the book that the movie Clue was based on, so I had to give it a read. 10 people arrive on a remote island off the coast of Devon, England with only vague ideas of their host or reason for being invited. When people start dying off in a style that consists with the 10 Little Soldier Boys nursery rhyme the book touts, the island visitors become distressed trying to figure out Whodunit. The book was enjoyable - a decent mystery escape, typical of Agatha Christie. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: After the Funeral by Agatha Christie

Man, it has been a long time since I posted any book reviews on here! That doesn't mean I haven't been reading, quite the opposite actually, I just haven't quite felt like the brain jog of sitting down and writing formal reviews. I'm always up to date on Goodreads if you're ever curious :) Anyway, on with the review!

As a thank you to the volunteers for World Book Night, we were allowed to pick 3 audiobooks from a list of select titles that were distributed this year (how nice is that?!). I was a little torn with the available choices, but my wild card ended up being After the Funeral by Agatha Christie.

Richard Abernathy dies suddenly, leaving his large estate divided between 6 family members, all of whom are siblings or nieces/nephews. After the funeral when Mr. Abernathy's lawyer sits the family down to reveal the contents of the will, Abernathy's sister, Cora (who is known for being innocently curt and clueless with what is appropriate in conversation), suddenly makes the statement, "Well he was murdered, wasn't he?", sparking a moment's interest from the others before they brush it off. Everyone else sits up to take notice, however, when the very next day Cora is violently killed in her sleep. The family lawyer becomes so worried that he calls in his old friend, Hercule Poirot, to question the other family members and investigate the case. There are quite a few twists to the plot, as should be expected, and a very big surprise in the end as to who done it and why.

I now, officially, know where all the stereotypes about mystery novels came from. This was my first ever experience with Agatha Christie, and overall it was entertaining, if a little cliché. It kept me involved enough in the story to not get bored. I will say I was a bit disappointed with how random the killer's motive was, but considering this is #29 in the Poirot books I guess I can understand that you would run out of reasonable reasons to kill someone, lol. The book was definitely well written and well researched - all of the clues made sense. I did enjoy having the little glimpse into life in England after WWII. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. It was a fun little read, though I don't really feel the need to delve into the genre again any time soon.