It's been a LONG time since I've posted a book review. I wouldn't say that my time has been more limited since August, so much as my focus. I haven't listened to an audiobook in 7 months, and I do want to get back into that, especially now that I'm out in the garden, going for walks, and spending more time in the car for work. For now, here's what I've read, or attempted to read, over the last eight months. Recommendations are always welcome!
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was a quick read and held my interest. At first I felt terrible for Kate, a single mom who puts in many hours as a lawyer. Even though Kate doesn't get to spend a lot of time with her teenage daughter, Amelia, they both have mutual adoration and appreciation for each other. Then one day Kate gets called to Amelia's elite private school because her do-no-wrong daughter was caught cheating. In the time it took for Kate to reach the school after getting the phone call, Amelia was found dead on the school grounds after presumably jumping from the roof.
There's much to discuss in this book; the characters, who is "at fault," could this happen to us, is this how teenagers really behave, why the author chose to flush out, and gloss over certain details, etc. Not so subtle messages about the power of social media and communication devices. Even with so many way to tap into her daughter's communication with others, Kate had no idea what was going on with Amelia in the last two weeks of her life. As a parent of two very young children, this terrifies me, but is a valuable cautionary tale about our new world. That said, I'm still not sure the book will stand out in my memory in a week or two.
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
I read 50 pages and wasn't into it. The premise is unique but I need to be hooked right away to stick with it!
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a nice quick read and it poses many questions for fellow readers to discuss. When I was reading it, I was a little annoyed by the secondary plot of the troubled marriage of seemingly unrelated characters. In what felt like the last quarter of the book the characters come together, and reading the author's discussion questions brought meaning to their role. Without ruining anything for potential readers; a wife and mother of three, Cecilia, finds a letter addressed to herself "in the event of my death" from her husband. Naturally she reads it and is forced to deal with the information. How she handles the news keeps the reader guessing and talking. I felt it added interest for the plot to be set in Syndey, Australia with a tiny bit of cultural context rarely seen. I will definitely be checking out the author's other books soon!
Farewell to the East End: The Last Days of the East End Midwives by Jennifer Worth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Loved this! This was a nice balance of life in the poverty-stricken East End of London in the 40's and life as a midwife. Having watched the TV series, it was fun to read the stories and compare and contrast how the show differed.
Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood by Laurie Notaro
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I finished this over a month ago but from what I remember the stories were entertaining but seemed to end abruptly. I read it just after I had a baby, so I needed short, brainless and light, and this fit the bill. The most memorable story was about a house contractor that took up residence in their house, unbeknownst to Laurie and her hubby. I still chuckle thinking about it!
Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I chose this book because I love the PBS show, Call the Midwife which is based on this book and it's predecessor. If you like the show don't assume the book will be similar, and vice versa. This book did not have anything about Jenny's romance or midwifery. It mostly profiled the grim lives of a few of Jenny's patients and colleagues; Frank, Peggy, Joe, and Jane among them. This book was the basis of season two, which I have already watched. The author provides a lot of background on the characters briefly introduced on the series. I enjoyed reading the extra insights, as difficult as the material was at times. I look forward to reading the first book, but need something a bit lighter first!
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I stopped reading at page 170, I figured if I wasn't really into this book by now, I never would be. My book club wasn't impressed with the book either, so I don't feel a need to see it through.
In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks: . . . And Other Complaints from an Angry Middle-Aged White Guy by Adam Carolla
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Audiobook Version: Well I must say, this book is aptly titled. It is mostly Adam passionately and profanely ranting about everything from goat cheese to PSAs and just about everything else. The title of the book refers to Carolla's belief that men are not men anymore and society has become way too soft due to hand sanitizer and our propensity to sue over trivial life challenges. While there were some entertaining bits, like Carolla talking about his son needing a corrective helmet, the bulk of the audiobook is Carolla sharing his many, many complaints about society. There are small tokens about his childhood, but I suppose most of that is covered in his later book, Not Taco Bell Material.
The Heavy: A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet--A Memoir by Dara-Lynn Weiss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was right up my alley. First of all it's on parenting, and food, two topics I love to read about. Secondly, it's about weight management, which, what woman can honestly say they don't think about constantly?! This book is a memoir by Dara-Lynn Weiss who took on the monumental task of putting her 7 year old on a diet. Weiss speaks candidly about the challenges that come from every direction; From her husband who was supportive but constantly wanted to give Bea 'one little treat,' from Bea herself who was constantly wanting more to eat or something different to eat, from friends and family who wanted Bea to be able to "just be a kid" or "enjoy the special event." Weiss had a surprisingly hard time getting exact calorie counts from restaurants and her daughter's school. She ultimately began giving her daughter 100 calorie packs of packaged foods which went against everything she believed in, yet she knew it would help her daughter loose weight.
Weiss occasionally experienced resistance from the public but was downright bulldozed when she wrote an article for Vogue Magazine in April 2012 about their weight loss journey.
The irony here is obesity in children is nothing short of a national epidemic, yet here is one parent sharing how she helped her daughter loose weight, which was by no means extreme measures (one pound a month) and she was called every nasty name imaginable. Another important underlying theme (that I read into anyway) is how difficult is to be a parent; to advocate for your child when no one else is, to stick to what you believe is right, even when the benefactor herself is not showing gratitude, when loved ones bicker about what is best for the child. Weiss' young daughter knew she was fat, and she got the difficult message early that weight management is on-going and it downright stinks at times. Bea shows amazing self-awareness and discipline (at times). I commend Weiss for her follow-through with the diet for more than a year. I hope more parents feel inspired to follow her lead and buck the national trend of children falling inline with adults in becoming overweight and unhealthy.
View all my reviews
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreightMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was a quick read and held my interest. At first I felt terrible for Kate, a single mom who puts in many hours as a lawyer. Even though Kate doesn't get to spend a lot of time with her teenage daughter, Amelia, they both have mutual adoration and appreciation for each other. Then one day Kate gets called to Amelia's elite private school because her do-no-wrong daughter was caught cheating. In the time it took for Kate to reach the school after getting the phone call, Amelia was found dead on the school grounds after presumably jumping from the roof.
There's much to discuss in this book; the characters, who is "at fault," could this happen to us, is this how teenagers really behave, why the author chose to flush out, and gloss over certain details, etc. Not so subtle messages about the power of social media and communication devices. Even with so many way to tap into her daughter's communication with others, Kate had no idea what was going on with Amelia in the last two weeks of her life. As a parent of two very young children, this terrifies me, but is a valuable cautionary tale about our new world. That said, I'm still not sure the book will stand out in my memory in a week or two.
Life After Life by Kate AtkinsonI read 50 pages and wasn't into it. The premise is unique but I need to be hooked right away to stick with it!
The Husband's Secret by Liane MoriartyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a nice quick read and it poses many questions for fellow readers to discuss. When I was reading it, I was a little annoyed by the secondary plot of the troubled marriage of seemingly unrelated characters. In what felt like the last quarter of the book the characters come together, and reading the author's discussion questions brought meaning to their role. Without ruining anything for potential readers; a wife and mother of three, Cecilia, finds a letter addressed to herself "in the event of my death" from her husband. Naturally she reads it and is forced to deal with the information. How she handles the news keeps the reader guessing and talking. I felt it added interest for the plot to be set in Syndey, Australia with a tiny bit of cultural context rarely seen. I will definitely be checking out the author's other books soon!
Farewell to the East End: The Last Days of the East End Midwives by Jennifer WorthMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Loved this! This was a nice balance of life in the poverty-stricken East End of London in the 40's and life as a midwife. Having watched the TV series, it was fun to read the stories and compare and contrast how the show differed.
Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood by Laurie NotaroMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I finished this over a month ago but from what I remember the stories were entertaining but seemed to end abruptly. I read it just after I had a baby, so I needed short, brainless and light, and this fit the bill. The most memorable story was about a house contractor that took up residence in their house, unbeknownst to Laurie and her hubby. I still chuckle thinking about it!
Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer WorthMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I chose this book because I love the PBS show, Call the Midwife which is based on this book and it's predecessor. If you like the show don't assume the book will be similar, and vice versa. This book did not have anything about Jenny's romance or midwifery. It mostly profiled the grim lives of a few of Jenny's patients and colleagues; Frank, Peggy, Joe, and Jane among them. This book was the basis of season two, which I have already watched. The author provides a lot of background on the characters briefly introduced on the series. I enjoyed reading the extra insights, as difficult as the material was at times. I look forward to reading the first book, but need something a bit lighter first!
The Interestings by Meg WolitzerMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I stopped reading at page 170, I figured if I wasn't really into this book by now, I never would be. My book club wasn't impressed with the book either, so I don't feel a need to see it through.
In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks: . . . And Other Complaints from an Angry Middle-Aged White Guy by Adam CarollaMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Audiobook Version: Well I must say, this book is aptly titled. It is mostly Adam passionately and profanely ranting about everything from goat cheese to PSAs and just about everything else. The title of the book refers to Carolla's belief that men are not men anymore and society has become way too soft due to hand sanitizer and our propensity to sue over trivial life challenges. While there were some entertaining bits, like Carolla talking about his son needing a corrective helmet, the bulk of the audiobook is Carolla sharing his many, many complaints about society. There are small tokens about his childhood, but I suppose most of that is covered in his later book, Not Taco Bell Material.
The Heavy: A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet--A Memoir by Dara-Lynn WeissMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was right up my alley. First of all it's on parenting, and food, two topics I love to read about. Secondly, it's about weight management, which, what woman can honestly say they don't think about constantly?! This book is a memoir by Dara-Lynn Weiss who took on the monumental task of putting her 7 year old on a diet. Weiss speaks candidly about the challenges that come from every direction; From her husband who was supportive but constantly wanted to give Bea 'one little treat,' from Bea herself who was constantly wanting more to eat or something different to eat, from friends and family who wanted Bea to be able to "just be a kid" or "enjoy the special event." Weiss had a surprisingly hard time getting exact calorie counts from restaurants and her daughter's school. She ultimately began giving her daughter 100 calorie packs of packaged foods which went against everything she believed in, yet she knew it would help her daughter loose weight.
Weiss occasionally experienced resistance from the public but was downright bulldozed when she wrote an article for Vogue Magazine in April 2012 about their weight loss journey.
The irony here is obesity in children is nothing short of a national epidemic, yet here is one parent sharing how she helped her daughter loose weight, which was by no means extreme measures (one pound a month) and she was called every nasty name imaginable. Another important underlying theme (that I read into anyway) is how difficult is to be a parent; to advocate for your child when no one else is, to stick to what you believe is right, even when the benefactor herself is not showing gratitude, when loved ones bicker about what is best for the child. Weiss' young daughter knew she was fat, and she got the difficult message early that weight management is on-going and it downright stinks at times. Bea shows amazing self-awareness and discipline (at times). I commend Weiss for her follow-through with the diet for more than a year. I hope more parents feel inspired to follow her lead and buck the national trend of children falling inline with adults in becoming overweight and unhealthy.
View all my reviews
Comments
Post a Comment