The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

I just finished this novel. I had already seen the movie, but wanted to finish the book because I borrowed it from the library and it was due today. It didn't take long to read the book, but while I was read it, I was  not totally involved. I don't particularly like the story, not because he is a war vet or because she is a teacher, but because the characters are quite static. There is no great revelation, and while there is a death, because there is always a death in every Nicholas Sparks book, it really isn't that gripping. I am sure that old Nick wants to pump out novels while he is hot, but this is really just a miss, at least for me. I was not impressed and I am really glad that I was able to take it back to the library and did not get stuck spending my own money on it.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

I wasn't sure what to read when I grabbed this book from the overwhelming stack sitting in the guest bedroom that houses just books now. Fortunately, I picked Me Talk Pretty One Day because I thought it might be something that would be entertaining. Honestly, I laughed out loud and nearly cried many times while reading the witty essays. There were times when I wanted to share the book with others and times when I thought I should keep it for reference for something else, including my ENG 090 class. I was afraid one would take offense and I would get in trouble, though.

I think my favorite essay was the final one about Sedaris's father's obsession with hoarding food until it was unrecognizable and then eating it. I laughed and laughed. I was talking about this book at work and a coworker told me that she had read some of Sedaris's other works but not this one. I couldn't wait to rush home, finish it, and take it back to her. I was excited to share the book, happy to give that little bit of my life to her.

Read and enjoy!

The Vow by Kimmer and Krickitt Carpenter

I watched this movie and LOVED it. I am anxiously awaiting when it comes out on blu-ray because I want to buy it and keep it forever. I read the book because I heard that there was more to the story that wasn't revealed in the movie. The source was correct. The movie makes the husband seem perfect and the book sheds light on his being human. The book is actually VERY different than the movie. It is more focused on Krickitt (the wife) and her prayer journal and spiritual life rather than just the time when the memory was lost. It is actually really beautiful. It inspired me and made me want to be as devout as she was. The courtship between Krickitt and Kimmer was this beautiful story.  Don't read on if you don't want the book spoiled.

They met when Kim was a coach for a college baseball team and Krickitt worked for a sports business. They talked on the phone, then wrote letters, then exchanged photos, then met in person. It seemed like a true courtship, with both of them being virgins when they were married. The book was great, not better than the movie, but quite different. I enjoyed it and I highly recommend it.

Romancing the Dead by Tate Hallaway

I bought this book for $2.99 from a discount store, and trust me, it was too much. I read this book, only because I had started it and I felt like it was wasteful to just stop reading it. I wish I had. It referred to gods and goddesses and vampires that were turned through alchemy and witches. All I can say is: don't waste your time.

Love The One You're With by Emily Giffin

So, first off, I just realized that her name is Emily Giffin, not Griffin, so for the mistakes in my last posts, I apologize. Now on to my review of this book. Wow. I didn't expect this book to be this good.

I liked Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and even that other book she did that I just read about the doctor and his wife and the little boy and Carol... You know the book? Well, Carol makes her cameo here. She is a minor character in a book that fills out the minor character in that book.

Can I just reveal that I related to this book to the point that I was talking out loud to myself and blushing hard core because I understood very much what the main character was going through. She was married to a great man, but in love with a man in her past, a man she had an intense love for, and though things were touch and go with their relationship, there was something she had to find out, regardless of everything else that was going on in her life. There was one particular passage that really struck me, and against my better judgement, because I know this will come back to haunt me one day because everything I have ever posted has, I am going to post it, if only to take it out of my head:

                Time passes, but neither of us speaks, as Leo’s hand completely covers mine. The weight and warmth of it is the same as it was as the diner, the day all of this began, but the gesture feels completely different. This contact is not incidental to a conversation. It is the conversation. It is also an invitation. An invitation I accept with a languid turn of my wrist until my palm is up, facing his, and we are officially holding hands. I tell myself that it is the most innocent of gestures. Grade-school crushes hold hands. Parents and children hold hands. Friends hold hands.

                But not like this. Never like this.

                I listen to the sound of Leo breathing, his face close to mine, as our fingers interlock, unlace, rearrange. And we fly east that way, eventually drifting off, suspended in the sky, in time, together. 

So here it is. I offer this section to you in an attempt to get you to read this book, to love it as much as I almost loved it. There were parts that I wanted to be different, but isn't that the way with life? If only some small little thing were changed, it could could all turn out differently. 

Anyway, this book it making the trip to my sister's apartment, and hopefully back here, so I can guard what I have found and think about what has been excavated.  Read it and enjoy it. Then, safely store up what you got from it. 

Drama is Her Middle Name

I recently joined a book club. This was the selection chosen, with the one merit that there were enough copies for each of the members and it was free due to Wendy Williams doing a book signing/promotion at a college where one of the group members has a child in attendance. The book was okay. It wasn't super exciting, but it was an okay enough read. I think it felt like the beginning of a story, not enough for an entire book, but it was interesting. I was able to come up with several questions for discussion, but I realize that many of the questions were about the necessity of all the characters that were given prominent roles and the possibility of the constant brand name dropping becoming distracting. I would not recommend this book to anyone, particularly not for a book club, but I am glad to say that I have finished it so we can move on to our next selection.

Heart of the Matter

I finished this book last night. It is written by Emily Giffin, the same author who wrote Something Borrowed and Something Blue. I wasn't sure if it would be as good, but there are moments where Dexter and Rachel are mentioned and I really enjoyed those, until I became fully involved with the two main characters - Tessa and Valerie. Both women run in the same circles, mainly due to their children, but their lives become more involved when Valerie's son, Charlie, has an accident, and is treated by Tessa's husband, Nick. Each chapter is from a different point of view, alternative from Tessa to Valerie. I related more to Valerie, but I didn't dislike Tessa. It is strange how you know both women and feel such a connection to them as their stories become more and more intertwined. I really enjoyed the book, although I was heartbroken at times and am still ambivalent about the ending. I am saving this book for my sister who loved Emily's first two novels. I think she will continue to enjoy these books.