Book Reviews: 36 - 40 of 2017

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour was a bit of a wild card books I picked up at random without knowing anything about it. The story follows Paul O'Rourke - a somewhat boring dentist. Life is going on normally until one day Paul finds out that someone has started a website and Facebook page under his name and is commenting with strange religious sounding posts on various articles around the internet. In his quest to discover who is making these odd posts, Paul discovers an ancient civilization and how he is connected to it. This book was kind of all over the place for me. To start with every time I started to think main character has something like-able about him, he would say something inappropriate or awful that made me just not care what happens to him. Also from where this story begins to where it ends up is just a big say wha? It would've been interesting if I cared about Paul O'Rourke, but with it odd segues into the main point of the story I was kind of glad to get this one finished and move on. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Winesburg, Ohio is the classic novel mentioned by classic novelists. I picked this up because authors like Ayn Rand, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner all have listed it among their favorite books, so I had to see what all the fuss was about. The book is a collection of short stories about a town called Winesburg, Ohio around the turn of the century. There are love stories, rascal fathers, town revenges, and much more in the stories as they show how they are all connected. As far as my own opinion about this book ... I feel like I must have missed something? While this gave an interesting view of life at this in a small town, I really did not enjoy reading this and it was a bit of a slog. I managed to finish it, always hoping that the big moment would be coming that makes everyone love it so much. For me this never came. Maybe I will read it again one day and figure out what others seem to see that I don't. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars.

You Are a Badass at Making Money is a branch off of You Are A Badass, which I read earlier in the year and loved. I really hoped for the awesome pep-talk to connect with me like it did in the first book, but this one just didn't entirely get there. A lot of the advice is to stop saying you hate money and send out the good vibes by having faith that money will somehow appear. When I'm struggling to buy a sandwich for lunch verses making one at home, I find the sheer obscenity of the sums mentioned in this book unfathomable. Sorry but it's not a good personal decision to commit to an $85,000.00 purchase when you can't afford to even fix your $1000.00 car. I get where Sincero is coming from - the "if you build it, they will come" mentality, but while she may have been the 1% success story with that amount of money, there are many people who make very sound investments and still lose it all. Maybe I'm just not there yet, but I just can't let go of rationality quite that much. I do still like her style, and I did enjoy most of the book. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

The Light Between Oceans is the story of an Australian couple who take in a baby that washes ashore at the lighthouse they tend. The story develops from an altruistic action into the selfish desperation to have a child very quickly. The Sherbournes have tried several times to have children, and all of them were miscarriages, their last one being born dead just a few weeks before finding this baby on the beach. Isabel is so elated to find a baby and convinces her husband, Tom, not to report the finding so they can pass the baby off as their own. Eventually, the family returns to the mainland and discovers the real family the baby belonged to and the desolation her loss caused.

This was just one of those awful situation stories. Definitely a true test of whether the characters would do "the right thing" when the wrong thing is so much what they want. I really enjoyed this story - it's very sad, but in a very good way. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

The 5 Love Languages was recommended to me by my husband and once I read it I could see all the small things he had changed in what he does for me in "speaking my language". I feel like this is one of those books that has been around long enough that most people (especially if you've been in any counselling) know the premise. To cynical me I was hesitant, but I now recommend this book all the time. It's such a simple idea - treat people how they want to be treated to show that you love them - but this can be ground breaking in a relationship that has lacked this type of interaction. I definitely recommend anyone in a relationship (or who hopes to be one day) read this book. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Reviews: First 5 Books of 2017

So my resolution to review the books I read has not gone all that well thus far this year, lol. I thought I'd do a little catch up here with a few reviews. If you're not into this type of post, don't worry - the sewing and knitting will continue shortly :)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is an interesting look into the mind of a boy with autism. The story is told completely from Christopher's point of view, a young English boy who lives with his dad because his mother couldn't handle their family dynamic and left. Christopher's father told Christopher his mother wasn't coming back, and allowed a lie to grow into Christopher believing his mother is dead. His world is turned upside down when he discovers letters from his very alive mother hidden in his father's room, which sparks an adventure where he runs away to live with her.

The story is interesting even just for the way it is written. Christopher is a mathematical genius, but he can't handle interacting with people. He also hates certain colors and can't process information like those around him. I've heard some say this book was contrived to deliberately be popular, and I've heard others say it really is accurate to how an autistic person operates. Personally I enjoyed the story and Christopher's adventure through his eyes. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Joy On Demand is written by Chade-Meng Tan, a Google programmer who has become an advocate for Buddhist teachings in a secular environment. This book teaches the ins and outs of basic meditation practice without all the Buddhist religion you usually have along with this info. While I picked up many good tips from Chade-Meng, one of my favorites is to lift your mood by simply focusing on someone else and inwardly hoping they have a good day, or that things are going well in their life. Just that quick little altruistic thought can brighten your spirits so much, because it pulls you out of your own petty problems and helps you focus on someone else with no thought of personal gain. That's just one little tidbit in an overall wonderfully explained book. Even if you are completely new to meditation, this book will help you being and get better control of yourself. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero was one of those "the right book at the right time" situations for me. This book worked on me exactly as it is designed - to be a kick in the ass to finally do something about the things you don't like in your life. Jen is a "life coach", which has always sounded ridiculous to me, but she has some very valid points and certainly seems to know what to say to cut through your crap and get you to really see your life for what it is. I listened to the audiobook of this, so I had the added fun of having the author read me the book, which made this more like a sarcastic therapy session with great stories and examples. This book got me to try running (!) - yes, ME! That's huge. That's a manifestation of how well this book works if you are tired of being unhappy and ready to change. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - What can a person really say to describe what makes this book so great? I don't know if I should even try. I will say that this book confirms my love of Tolstoy. He always manages to use believable comparisons of very realistic characters to bring you around to contemplating the meaning of life. I completely understand why this book is at the top of books you must read in your lifetime. It's a huge undertaking to get through, but very much worth it, and the story is so interesting that I never felt bored. Personally I love that in spite of all the terrible things the characters endured, they all look back and say how they wouldn't change anything because it made them who they are now. We all have tragedies in our lives, whether large or small, and it is our attitude about the experience that shapes our future lives and happiness. I definitely agree with the sentiment of Natasha and Pierre - I am grateful for the things I have lived through because I can better enjoy and appreciate the life I have now. In my opinion this book is worth reading just to have that fully sink in. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides is the story of the sad suicides of an entire family of girls in the 1970s. The story is told as an investigative project long after the event done by some neighbor boys who had a strange obsession with the girls. The story leaves you to contemplate what causes suicide to become an option for the very young, but doesn't offer up an answer. The book just lays out the events leading up to the tragedy as well as the aftermath for those left behind. The book is depressing, there's no doubt, but it is an interesting idea to contemplate. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.