Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson and some ramblings about Harry Potter

I am still playing catch up on some books I’ve read since Christmas.  I don’t know if I will ever catch up, but I’m going to try my best.  The past month or so I’ve been rereading Harry Potter, which I don’t think I need to do a post about, so that should help me catch up.

So here’s another book I REALLY loved:  Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson.  I borrowed this book from my mom at Christmas.  I think I read it in something like 2 days.  It was SO good.

it took me a LONG time to realize what the cover was actually a picture of. It kind of freaked me out a bit when I did, but I got over it.  Yup I scare easily.  Just ask any of my closest friends and family.  They will agree. :)

Christine Lucas suffers from amnesia after an accident.  Her memory completely resets when she goes to sleep. She lives with her husband, a teacher, who takes care of her so that she doesn’t have to live if a facility. She is seeing a doctor who is trying to help her recover her memory.  The doctor encourages her to write in a journal and calls her every day to remind her who he is and to read the journal. Slowly Christine starts to remember bits and pieces of her life with the help of her doctor and eventually her old friend Claire.  Her journal, in which she writes everything she remembers from her past, causes her to start to question the reality she thinks she knows.

I can’t really say much more than that about the book without giving away some major spoilers.  Trust me, this book is intense.  I couldn’t put it down.  There are some plot twists, especially towards the end, that really throw you for a loop.  My only complaint about this book is that it just kind of ends on a somewhat depressing note. I think Watson could have elaborated a little more on the outcome of the novel, especially since it is so good!

Apparently they made a movie based on this book.  The movie trailer looks a lot more intense than the novel actually is.   

I mean, it looks WAY intense, almost like a “scary” movie.  And I don’t watch “scary” movies.  Maybe I will watch this now that I know what the story actually is.  But we’ll see.  I have learned that I respond a lot better to movies based off of books when I watch the movie first.  This way I’m not saying things like “that’s not how it’s supposed to go!” or “Wow, they completely left this very critical part of the story out of the movie!”  So maybe watching the movie now will ruin it for me.  I actually watched The Da Vinci Code while on vacation last week.  The entire time I was saying that.  I’m pretty sure I was driving John crazy.  He kept telling me to appreciate the movie for what it is.  But hey, if they are going to base a movie off the book they better get the crucial details right!

Anyways I think I am almost caught up on my blogging (at least for this blog).  Like I said I’ve been reading Harry Potter over again to get prepared for my trip to Universal Studios.  I really don’t feel it is necessary to blog about those books.  Most people know the basic plot line and I obviously like them if I am reading them again.  And by again I mean for like the 320495773820485372954729034 time.  Ok, maybe not THAT many times, but I read the complete series every time a new book or movie came out, plus I was reading them every summer even if a new book/movie hadn’t been released.  It’s been a couple years since I have read them, but I still think I’ve read the complete series at least 6 or 7 times, if not more.  So I guess we can count this as my blog about Harry Potter.  They are great books. I remember staying up well past a reasonable bed time hour reading them.  I still cry reading the books and watching the movies.  They are brilliant and timeless and I will probably continue to read them until the day I die.  

With that being said, it’s on to the next book.  My book club has chosen The Colour of Magic for our April meetup.  For personal reading I am kind of in a weird place.  I’ve started reading a couple of different books but nothing has really grabbed me lately.  I think I might need to hit up the bookstore and try to find something that sounds interesting.  Until then I get to finish the Harry Potter series.  J

Happy reading!

~Tara

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

I remember when The Da Vinci Code came out in theaters.  It was 2006.  I was dating someone that shall remain nameless. We REALLY liked kissing. . . I mean we were just in high school.  So we went to the movies and “watched” The Da Vinci Code.  It was the middle of the day and the movie had been out for awhile, so the theater wasn’t that busy.  Let’s just say I don’t remember much of what happened during the movie.  Wink wink.  Yup I was one of THOSE high school kids.  But really who wasn’t?  I can’t think of a single person that would say kissing isn’t fun. And when you are young and “in love” you want to be kissing your boyfriend ALL THE TIME.  But I digress.  This post isn’t about making out with my high school boyfriend during a movie.  It’s about the book that movie was based off of.  

I read Angels and Demons earlier in 2014, which I never posted about.  I really enjoyed it so I decided to read The Da Vinci Code.  I’m sure most of you have either read the book or seen the movie.  I’m just WAY behind the times.  If not, here’s a brief summary.

Robert Langdon is a symbologist that works at Harvard.  While out on a business trip in Paris, he is called in to help with a murder case.  A well known and respected Louvre Museum curator is found murdered with his body posed as the Vitruvian Man.  Langdon, along with Sophie Neveu, a cryptologist, work to figure out who is behind the murders.  This is made difficult because some of the police believe Langdon is actually responsible for the murder.  While trying to uncover who killed the curator, Langdon and Neveu find themselves on a journey to also find the Holy Grail.

This isn’t the BEST summary of the book, but it is hard to give a summary without giving away so many important details.  This book really leaves readers on the edge of their seats.  Even though I “saw” the movie before reading the book, I didn’t remember all of the details that really make this an excellent book.   It was definitely a page turner.  Again this isn’t the type of book I would normally pick up on my own.  I knew that the movie had intrigued me a bit (obviously not more than my boyfriend though ;) ) but had forgotten about it amongst all of my other books. John’s dad is a Dan Brown fan, and after reading another book John’s dad liked (Timeline), I decided to give Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code a try.  I’m really glad I did.  If you haven’t read it, GO READ IT NOW.  I’m glad I decided to read it instead of taking the easy way out and just watching the movie.  But now I want to go back and see what I missed J.

Here’s a trailer for the movie.  Yes it does feature Tom Hanks and Gandalf.  And yes I do refer to that actor as Gandalf and not his actual name.  Ian whose-it. . . haha.

I’m really enjoying branching out and reading books I wouldn’t normally pick up.  It’s opening a whole new world to me, which I am really enjoying.   Yes there are more posts to come, probably later today.  It’s a slow day at work after all.

The Martian by Andy Weir

Wow it’s been a while since I’ve posted about my latest readings. . . Whoops!  Don’t worry, I have been reading.  And reading a lot for that matter.  First off, let’s talk about my book club reading of The Martian by Andy Weir.  

The Martian is about an astronaut, Mark Watney, who gets stranded on Mars after a wind storm forces his team to evacuate. With no way to communicate with his team or NASA back on earth, Mark has to rely on his brains and his sense of humor to survive until a rescue mission can be arranged.  Initially, both his team and NASA thought Mark dead, but after telescope pictures captured Mark and his temporary home, they all do whatever they can to help Mark survive.  Eventually communication is set up and Mark is able to work with NASA to arrange for his rescue.  With many bumps along the way, Mark’s rescue and survival is put into question. Readers are left on the edge of their seat until the very end of the book.

I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this book.  It is definitely not something I would EVER pick up on my own.  Man am I glad we chose this book though!  I really loved it.  Even though I didn’t understand every little detail of his survival (it is pretty Science-based) I was able to enjoy it.  Andy Weir is very good at making even the most complex, science-y scenarios relatable for all.  The sense of humor Weir gave Mark really makes the book.  If Mark had been given any other personality I think the book would have been boring and hard to read.  Because Mark was able to make jokes and make the most of his horrible situation, the book was enjoyable and fun. 

Good news for me and anyone else that has read and loved this book. They are turning it into a movie, set to release November of this year.  While typically I like books way better than movies, I think seeing how Hollywood portrays Mars and the different scenarios Mark finds himself in will be very interesting.  I’m definitely going to see this, maybe even with the book club.  Bonus, Matt Damon is playing Mark Watney.  Man  do I love me some Matt Damon J  There are actually some other big names set to play in the movie.  Check it out on IMDB.

There are more posts to come!  I’ve read a decent amount of books since the last time I posted.

Until next time,

Tara

The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly

I finished this book!!  It took me a lot longer than it should have to finish this, especially since I really liked it.  As I have previously said, I had a bad habit of leaving this book at work over the weekend and choosing Netflix over reading.  But this book deserved more than that.  I actually finished it about a week and a half ago, but life gets really busy right before Christmas and I'm just getting the chance to blog about it.

The Little Women Letters is about the descendents of Jo from Little Women.  I don't know if I have said it recently, but Little Women is my favorite book of all time. And Jo is my favorite character in Little Women.  I found The Little Women Letters in the bargain rack of Barnes and Noble and figured a book about the descendents of Jo March would be worth my time. 

The book is about 3 sisters, Emma, Lulu, and Sophie.  They live in England with their American born mother (a direct descendant of Jo) and their English born father.  The sisters are pretty typical sisters (at least in my opinion, having 2 sisters of my own).  One day at Sunday brunch, Fee, the mother, asks Lulu to look in the attic for some family recipes.  Lulu never finds the recipes, but instead stumbles across letters written between the March sisters.  Donnelly uses these letters as a framework for the rest of the novel.

A bit about the characters.  Emma is the oldest sister. She is in the middle of planning her wedding. She has a bit of a brush with celebrity and struggles to balance her life with a desire to have a few of the "finer" things in life.  Her experiences are very similar to Meg's in The Little Women.

Lulu, the middle sister, is struggling to find her place in the world. She hasn't found the love of her life like Emma has and hasn't found something she is passionate about like her little sister Sophie.  She relates to Jo in a lot of ways.

Sophie, the youngest, is an aspiring actress.  She desires to be on the stages of London.  She is the "pretty" one of the family, much like Amy.

One thing that I wasn't sure of before reading this book but really ended up loving was the letters themselves.  I didn't know if Donnelly would be able to capture the essence of Louisa May Alcott's writing to get the right feel of the letters.  Donnelly actually does a great job, making it seem like Alcott almost left behind a secret stash of letters to be used at a later date to expand on the story of the March sisters.  One of my favorite aspects of this story was the fact that Jo wrote letters to Beth after Beth passed away.  One of the reasons why I have always loved Jo is because she writes to express her feelings.  It just made sense to me that Jo would continue to write letters to Beth after Beth has left this world.

This book was excellent.  I'm glad I decided to take a chance and pick up this book.  I tend to shy away from novels that are written as a continuation of novels written by other authors because it is hard for me to believe that the essence of the original book will carry on.  I think the reason this novel worked so well is because it wasn't written specifically about the March sisters but about their descendants.  Donnelly was able to capture what Alcott captured so many years ago: the relationship of sisters.  That relationship is the same now as it was a hundred years ago. 

Room by Emma Donoghue

For my November book club book we read Room by Emma Donoghue.  I unfortunately didn't make it to the meeting to discuss the book.  But I REALLY enjoyed it.  I wasn't sure how I would feel about it because the book tells a fairly dark story.  The way Donoghue tells the story is pretty genius and made the book a very good read.

Room is about a woman who is abducted and held for 7 years.  During the time of her captivity she gives birth to a little boy, Jack.    I don't remember ever learning the actual name of the woman who was abducted, but I could be wrong. Jack simply refers to her as "mom".  Jack and Mom are held in an 11x11 storage shed in the abductor's backyard. The abductor provides basic needs such as food and clothing, and even provides SOME entertainment such as television and books.  The book really reaches a climax when Mom devises a plan of escape which puts the 5 year old Jack in the spotlight.

I don't want to reveal whether or not they escape or not.  Check out the book!

The thing I really loved about this book is that it shows the love a mother has for a child. Jack was conceived out of HORRIBLE circumstances.  But his mom loved him unconditionally.  Mom does the best she can for Jack given her situation.  She has raised Jack to believe that "Room" (the name she and Jack have given their living area) is it's own world. She tells him that what he sees on television isn't real so that Jack doesn't realize the horrible situation he is in.  She does her best to have a school environment for him.  She has "gym" classes to provide Jack the physical development and exercise he needs.  Where many women would have wanted nothing to do with a child conceived out of rape Mom loves her child endlessly.   She counts Jack as a blessing, convinced that if it weren't for Jack she quite possibly would have been killed by her abductor already. Jack helps her from going crazy in this small room and gives her a reason to live and try to find a way to escape.

As you can tell from my short summary this book covers some dark subject matter.  If you are looking for a fun, easy-going read I would shy away from this.  But if you are looking for a great story that reads very quickly and keeps you on the edge of your seat I would DEFINITELY pick this up.   I seriously loved it a lot more than I thought I would.

Up next for my book club is The Martian by Andy Weir.  I am hopefully picking up the book this weekend so I can get started on this read.  I am still plugging along with The Little Women Letters as well.  I keep forgetting to bring the book home from work so that limits when I can read it.  Plus. . . Netflix.  I've been feeling really lazy and have been turning the tv on more than reading the past couple weeks.  Hopefully that changes.  Reading is SO much better for the brain.

Until next time!

~Tara

Now I See You by Nicole Kear

In my last post I told you that I had started reading Now I See You for my book club.  Well I have finished it and even got a chance to discuss it with the club.  Can I just say that I really enjoy my book club?  It's nice reading books that I probably never would have picked up.  Being able to talk about the books really makes me enjoy them more too.  In school I got to discuss books in the many English courses I took.  But discusses books in English class is more like "what symbolism did the author use" and "what is the theme of the book" as opposed to book clubs which is more "what  did you think of this character" and "did that annoy you as much as it annoyed me".  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the English courses I took.  But I struggled to find the symbolism in EVERY SINGLE BOOK  I read in school.  Sometimes I just wanted to bash on a character or critique a decision that was made.  And that is why I love book club.

Now back to the book.  Now I See You is a memoir about a young woman who learns that what she thought was a bad case of near-sightedness and clumsiness is actually the beginnings of an eye disease.  She discovers at the ripe old age of 19 that she would probably be blind in the next 10-15 years.  The book tells the story of Nicole coping with that news and trying to get as much done on her bucket list before she loses sight.

 Now I See You is not a "woe is me, everyone feel bad for me, my life sucks" kind of memoir . It is hilarious and shows that even with a grim diagnosis life can be joyful and enjoyable. While her eye disease plays a huge part in this book and her life, Kear does a great job about making the book about the struggles every young adult faces: finding a job, falling in and out of love, getting married, and having children.  Everyone that met to discuss the book at our recent club meeting was able to relate to some story that Kear tells.  

I don't read a ton of memoirs.  I find myself drawn to stories about people I have heard of and know a little bit about, whether that be a historical figure or celebrity. On one of the flights I took this summer I read an article in one of the in flight magazines about Kear.  I thought her story was interesting, but didn't really think anything of it until this book was mentioned as a possibility for the club.  I thought it would be a great opportunity to read a genre that I don't read a lot of and see how I liked it.  I must say I enjoyed it.  Everyone has a story worth telling.  It's all about finding the angle or lens to tell that story through.  Kear did a great job finding a way to tell her story and make it interesting. If you can look past the language (which I think gets a little bit more under control as the story progresses) it is definitely worth the read.

I have started reading a book called The Little Women Letters on my own time.  I found this book on the bargain rack at Barnes and Noble. I'll be sure to keep you posted on how that turns out.

The next book up for the Book Club is Room by Emma Donaghue.  One of the ladies in the club read it before and said it would be a great book for discussion.  I'm definitely intrigued and will start reading it probably later this evening. 

Happy Reading!

~Tara

Summer Reading

Hello fellow readers!

It might not seem like it, but I have been reading all Summer long.  While I don't remember every book I finished this Summer, there are some that stick out in my mind that I will share with you here.

The first is my all time favorite book ever: Little Women.  I had started this book a while ago and finally finished it while camping in New York this summer.  I don't know if I had only read abridged versions or if I had just forgotten some of the details of the book, but there definitely seemed to be some additions that I had never read before, which was a surprise bonus!  I love reading a book I have read before and discovering new details and treats!

Another book/book series I read (and am currently finishing) is the Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson.  I initially picked up Mistborn because the book club I am in was reading it.  It is definitely not a book I would have picked up on my own.  But that's the beauty of book clubs!  They open your eyes to new books that you never would have read otherwise.  I'm glad I purchased this book and decided to read it!  It is AMAZING!  The series follows Vin and her group of friends as they try to overthrow their ruler and establish a new government.  Vin has "magic" powers that she discovers and perfects with the help of her mentor and friend Kelsier.  I am currently reading the 3rd book in the series and have yet to be disappointed.  The second book starts out a bit slow, but DON'T GIVE UP!

I have also read a few books on couponing as I am trying to get better at it.  I won't bore you with those details, but if you are interested in learning more or want to know the books I read just let me know!

I am currently reading Now I See You by Nicole Kear for my book club.  So far I am enjoying it, although there is some language.  I'm not opposed to cursing, but sometimes I feel like it is a bit unnecessary.  While I know that there are some things that can only be expressed with a well placed expletive, the extent to which she swears is starting to annoy me.  I think that writers especially should be able to express themselves and their emotions more eloquently than using curse words every other line.  I am willing to ignore it because this is a memoir and not a book written by a well established author.  That is my only criticism so far.  

I will be sure to blog about Now I See You and will do my best to stay up to date with my blogging from here on out.  I've had a busy summer, which you can read about here.  

Here's to recommitting myself to blogging!

Happy reading!

~Tara