Hit list #3 and 4. . . .Oops and #5 Too

The search continues. . . still reading a million books and mentally adding a million more titles I feel I have to read!  There really is always something new that I want to put my hands on.  But as promised I will continue with my immediate list. 

Slot #3 goes to Angelopolis by Danielle Trussoni.  This book is apparently a series now, I had no idea.  Her first book Angelology was first published several years ago and it was stand alone.  Of course I was under the impression then that it was to be the only one.  But as so many things go these days, the publishers wait to see how money the first one makes and then they go from there.  Then several weeks ago I was surprised and a little excited to unbox a book I didn't even know was coming.  So for me book number 2 is on the list but book one should be on yours.  It has been several years since I read it but I remember really liking it and finishing it rather quickly.  The highlights include a convent with a slightly mysterious past, a young girl with an ambiguous history, mystery, intrigue and the angels that fell from grace in the great battle.  Truth be told the titles of both of these books suck, they sound cheesy and not at all interesting, please look past that and give it a try. 

Slot #4 is won by Jo Jo Moyes.  Her new novel Me Before You just came out a little over a month or so ago.  Now, I've never read Jo Jo before and know nothing of this book or any of her other books for that matter.   What I do know is that all my book store dork cohorts love it and were unable to put it down.  Two of them finishing it in one night.  Frankly, that's all I need to know to buy a book.  Hopefully I'll love it as much as they have and it'll get it's own review here. 

I believe that should keep me busy for a while.  Oh wait  . . .  I've already found another to add to the list Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight.  Seems to be more of a chick book so men you might want to steer clear until I actually get to read it.  I do have a feeling I'm going to need tissues for the reading! Enough chatting, I'm off to read.  I have to finish at least one of these soon, right?

The Hit list #1 and #2

     At the moment I'm stuck.  I am reading a million different things hoping one will catch me and pull me into the abyss of "I must finish this book tonight." So I'm plodding through and none have gotten me.  Lots of potential,  a bunch of good but not great.  So here's the hit list currently:  "Z, A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald" by Therese Fowler.  This one strikes my fancy for the Ex-Patriots and the time in which all was swell in the world of literature. When the world oozed great writers and their words.  And a fictional book about one of the big guns (Fitzgerald) and his relationship with his wife (Zelda) has great potential.  It also contains one of my secret passions. . .  southern culture!  So I am really hoping that Fowler knocks this one out of the park.  What scares me is that it falls into the same line as "The Paris Wife" which I just couldn't get through.

     Book number 2 on the currently reading list is "And The Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini.  Now this one isn't available until late may but I was lucky enough to score an advance readers copy (a great perk of working in the book business!) I enjoyed his other two books so much, in fact they were both books that induced tears.  I don't cry easily while reading, now show me a sad commercial or a sick kid in a show and I'm a ball of blubber, but books usually don't turn on my waterworks.  What I fear the most here is that Hosseini is at a crossroads.  This is the crucial book.  "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and "The Kite Runner" were similar stories, formatted very much the same and followed the same plot form.  He needs to do something completely different with his new book or her could fall through the cracks and become a James Patterson.  He is such a gifted character writer that I really don't want to see this happen to him, I hope he can prove me wrong. 

   Ok, enough food for thought for the moment, I'll be back with 3 and 4 of the currently reading hit list.

    

A Holocaust Classic

     Night by Elie Wiesel is one of those books that is meant to be read by everyone.  There is something in the pages that is sure to pluck a heart string and if you don't tear up at least once while turning the pages, I can say for certainty that you have no soul.   You are a guest  behind the eyes of a teenage Elie while he is rounded up in the Jewish Ghettos and then packed into a train car and taken to a concentration camp.  It is a book that you read and wonder how something like this could have actually happened.  How is it possible that people were exterminated like a savage dogs. If the weren't murdered in the gas chambers  they we starved to the brink of death.  It is a shocking and heart breaking narrative of the day to day life of someone being held prisoner simply because they were Jewish. It is a book that reminds us that the Holocaust is something that we should never forget.

My Guilty Pleasure

     Since I've recently bashed the guilty pleasure of the masses, I figure it is time to reveal one of mine.  I told you all that I have no shame and I truly mean it.  Mine may be even worse than Fifty Shades of Grey! Okay, so here it is, it's Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz.  It's not even an adult novel, it's a teen vampire series.  See I told you it was bad and a slight bit embarrassing! As shameful reading goes this should be at the top of every ladies list.  I say lady because I'm not sure the other gender would buy into the storyline.  When I tell customers about it I say that it's a vampire version of The Gossip Girls with a little bit of religious lore thrown in.  Sound confusing? Well it's not, it's delightfully intoxicating.  An awkward Schuyler Van Allen is starting to change, but into what?  There is always an awkward girl but she is so in a very endearing way.  She is forced into the vampire elite with very little history as to why.  You are slowly let into her past.  Her present is whirlwind and her future is uncertain.  To put it simply it's book crack and the 13 year old girl in me soaks it up. It is an easy read and the story moves fast to keep you turning the pages.  Don't be sad when you finish the first one because there is a total of 7 books for you to indulge in (all 7 are out so no waiting required).  And don't worry, if I see you reading I won't tell :)

Stephen King Does it Again

     There are certain Stephen King books I love, mostly the classics: Pet Cemetery, Carrie, The Shining, The Green Mile and Hearts in Atlantis.  His more current stuff hasn't interested me until 11/22/63.  Stephen King in my opinion is good at two very important things: First he's great at horror, there is no question there, he's earned his accolades, and second he really knows how to write a lovable character.  You wouldn't think that would be something a horror writer would concern themselves with but when he ventures away from the classic horror he's famous for and dips his pen into a more heart felt story he really comes out on top.

     11/22/63 answers a question that has been on the countries mind for decades.  What would the world have been like if John F. Kennedy hadn't been assassinated in Texas on that fateful November day.  Would racial tensions still have escalated?  Would his brother or Martin Luther King Jr been saved as well?  Would the world have turned into a better place?  These questions became the focus for a time traveling Diner owner.  When he finds out he's dying he brings in an old friend and teacher to take over his mission.  Jake Epping is thrown into 1958 to figure out he can stop Lee Harvey Oswald from shooting the president and he has 5 years to do it. 

     I was mesmerized by Jake's journey to the past, watching him adjust to life in the 50's, changing his identity all the while keeping his true purpose hidden from those who become like family to him.  I couldn't wait to get to the end to find out what happened.  Does he succeed in stopping Oswald and at what price?  It is a question I will not answer for you, it's worth reading to find out for yourself. 

To Alienate or Not?

     As I have previously mentioned I run a bookstore.  This has one very amusing perk. . . I know your secret. . . I know what you're reading.  This years dirty little secret seems to be Fifty Shades of Grey.  This trilogy was fantastic for business.  It has even sparked a new sub genre called Romantica (not yet erotica but a touch dirtier than your average Harlequin).  As wonderful as it was for our bottom line it makes me want to weep for the state of literature.  My husband has told me to tread carefully here, not to bash a book that millions have flocked to read.  I say to hell with it! If one of the few folks that read this becomes that offended by my dislike of this book, well then okay.

     Where do I even begin?  I guess my major peeve with this is that it's fan fiction.  That's right, someone loved The Twilight Saga so much they wrote a porny version of it.  It doesn't have the same plot or vampires but it is common knowledge that the main characters (Anastasia and Mr. Grey) are Edward and Bella in human format.  You can think I'm a book snot and maybe I am but one redeeming quality of my reading habit is that I will try anything, I really don't have much shame.  I've read it all from cheesy romance to teen books to one of those ridiculous food mysteries.  So I read it.  I tried I really did but the writing is just plain awful.  It really is that bad.  There is the constant reference to Anastasia's inner goddess that by page 50 I wanted to put a ball gag in her mouth along side of Mr. Grey, and can completely understand why he wanted her to sign the dominate/submissive contract. . .  so he could tell her to shut up! I am completely aware that that I am in a minority here.  Trust me, I know.  I've sold it to old ladies, I've seen teenagers trying to read as much as they can before Mom comes to pick them up, and I've sold it to men who are hoping a light S&M book will get them laid by their ladies.  It seems to be a universal book, again I don't know why. 

     All that being said I do stand behind reading anything because reading is good for the soul.  So if this is what gives you your jollies then all the power to you.  But maybe, just maybe consider stepping it up a little bit next time.  Give Anne Rice's erotic fairytale series a try.  At least she can write and your damned sure there will be a decent plot.  Or if you're feeling very brave try my favorite spin off called Fifty Shades of Chicken which boasts an elegantly tied up roasted chicken on the cover and plenty of good recipes. That would be time better spent.

I've Been in the Time Out Chair :)

     It's been a while since I've reviewed a book and I want to apologize for that.  Truth be told I am a book store dork but I also run a bookstore.  Now that Christmas is over and the rush has gone I'm back to reading, thank god!  I am currently reading three books, first up is A Game of Thrones ( a hefty undertaking no doubt, so that one may take me a while), The Fifth Assassin (what I like to call a cheesy thriller), and a non-fiction tome called Far From the Tree (So far very interesting study of children who are genetically different than their parents i.e. deaf children of hearing parents, children who turn out to be murderers etc.).  So I promise that a review is coming soon, I just need to catch back up and read!