The Shadow Year- She Reads May Book Club Selection

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Posted on May 21, 2014

The Shadow Year

by Hannah Richell

published by Orion Publishing

2013

I love when She Reads picks a book that I might not have reached for myself, and The Shadow Year is just such a book. It is the story of two narrators in two separate times, drawn together by a beautiful lake and a charming cottage. In 1980, five friends decide to take a year off and drop out of civilization together in a small cottage by a lake. 30 years later, Lila is recovering from a debating miscarriage when she receives a letter from a solicitor informing her that she has been left a key to a small cottage. Lila tries to heal herself and the cottage, spending weeks away from her suffering husband while she renovates.

I am usually a fan of the dual narrative, and it works well here. I thought this book was very well written and the story captivating. These are the pro of the book. Unfortunately, the downside was one I just couldn’t get past. In the part of the book that takes place in the 1980’s, there are five characters. Kat is the narrator, and she is sharing the cottage with her four friends. Put simply, I despised Kat. She was an awful person. The only other character in this part of the book that we get to know at all is Simon, and he is pretty awful too. The other characters are not fleshed out much, therefore there wasn’t someone to balance out these two. It reminded me a little of the end of The Dinner, with all those awful people. I did love the part with Lila. I enjoyed rooting for her to get past her pain, and slowly fall in love with the beautiful cottage and lake as she slowly renovates it. I wish I could go and relax by that beautiful lake!

Head over to She Reads and check out other reviews of this book!

Summary

On a sultry summer’s day in 1980, five friends stumble upon an abandoned lakeside cottage hidden deep in the English countryside. For Kat and her friends, it offers an escape; a chance to drop out for a while, with lazy summer days by the lake and intimate winter evenings around the fire. But as the seasons change, tensions begin to rise and when an unexpected visitor appears at their door, nothing will be the same again.

Three decades later, Lila arrives at the same remote cottage. With her marriage in crisis, she finds solace in renovating the tumbledown house. Little by little she wonders about the previous inhabitants. How did they manage in such isolation? Why did they leave in such a hurry, with their belongings still strewn about? Most disturbing of all, why can t she shake the feeling that someone might be watching her?

Top Ten Books About Friendship

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Posted on May 20, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely ladies over there give us book bloggers wonderful and fun topics to create our lists! Check out what others have posted by going over there!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is-

Top Ten Books About Friendship

1. Snow Flower & the Secret Fan

2. Little Women

3. The Book Thief

4. The Kite Runner

5. The Joy Luck Club

6. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

7. The Secret Garden

8. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

9. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

10. The Harry Potter Series

The Reading Group

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Posted on May 19, 2014

The Reading Group

by Elizabeth Noble

published byHarperCollins

2003

I bought this book at my local library during their semi annual Book Sale!

This was the first time I actually went to the book sale at my library and man was I impressed. We got there about 45 minutes after it opened and it was packed. One of the lovely ladies running the sale told me there was a line out the door when they first opened. And the books! Oh my goodness it was like Christmas in April! I walked out of there with a dozen books- only because that was all I could hold in my arms and I really needed the bathroom, otherwise I might still be there. The Reading Group was one of the books I walked away with, thinking that it would be a fun read in between some of the heavier books I had also picked up, like Schindler’s List and The Count of Monte Cristo. Well, it was a light read, but I really liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I loved that the characters were very real, faults and all. I actually really wanted to go to their monthly meetings, and talk about the books they were reading, and what was going on in their lives. You should look for this book at your library, or the next time you are in the bookstore. It was quick, fun , and well written. I am going to try to pick up another from this author very soon.

Summary

The Reading Group follows the trials and tribulations of a group of women who meet regularly to read and discuss books.Over the course of a year, each of these women become intertwined, both in the books they read and within each other’s lives.

Inspired by a shared desire for conversation, a good book and a glass of wine-Clare, Harriet, Nicole, Polly, and Susan undergo startling revelations and transformations despite their differences in background, age and respective dilemmas.

What starts as a reading group gradually evolves into a forum where the women may express their views through the books they read and grow to become increasingly more open as the bonds of friendship cement.

Bookish (& Not So Bookish) Thoughts

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Posted on May 15, 2014

Bookish & Not So Bookish Thoughts

is a weekly meme hosted by Christine over at Bookishly Boisterous, where we post things that are on our minds. Head over there and check it out!

1. I just ordered a bathing suit online, because I prefer to suffer in the privacy of my own home when I try it on, rather than in a store, with awful lighting and god knows what on the dressing room floor. I didn’t pay for shipping, so I will only have to pay once when I inevitably return it.

2. In order to fit in said bathing suit, I have upped my running. I ran 5 miles yesterday- then I was totally done for the day. I didn’t even have energy to read. There has to be a better way.

Speaking of which- any recommendations for good music to run to? I am getting bored of my playlist, which makes the running harder.

3. The appearance of the blogged has changed-hopefully for the good. I was in that place where I needed a change, and it was the appearance here, or cutting my hair. Every time I think of cutting my hair, I remember that line from Little Women, after Jo cuts her hair to raise the money so Marmie can go visit their father-

“Jo, your one beauty”

That Amy was a bitch.

4. Speaking of hair, I am not sure if I have found my first grey hair or not. It’s either there, or my eyesight has gotten worse. Either way, I don’t want to know.

5. I think I might try writing mini reviews for the books I read for fun, you know- light reading?

6. Took my daughter to a sort of pre-orientation to her high school and they talked a lot about the dress code. Instead of freaking out, she was happy about all the shopping she is looking forward to.

7. Kind of bummed I will not make it to BookCon after all. Son has plans that will take him all around that day and he doesn’t feel like walking.

8. I started playing a stupid game that down loaded to my phone when my son got it for his, called 2048. Have you ever played this?? I am totally addicted. I might need an intervention8

9. Why Books Stink- a GIF. This is hysterical!

10. I guess this was mostly “Not So Bookish” today. So what going on with you? Bookish or not.

Left Neglected

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Posted on May 14, 2014

Left Neglected

by Lisa Genova

published by Gallery Books

2011

I borrowed a copy of this book from my local library.

Summary

Sarah Nickerson is like any other career-driven supermom in Welmont, the affluent Boston suburb where she leads a hectic but charmed life with her husband Bob, faithful nanny, and three children—Lucy, Charlie, and nine-month-old Linus. Between recruiting the best and brightest minds as the vice president of human resources at Berkley Consulting; shuttling the kids to soccer, day care, and piano lessons; convincing her son’s teacher that he may not, in fact, have ADD; and making it home in time for dinner, it’s a wonder this over-scheduled, over-achieving Harvard graduate has time to breathe.

A self-confessed balloon about to burst, Sarah miraculously manages every minute of her life like an air traffic controller. Until one fateful day, while driving to work and trying to make a phone call, she looks away from the road for one second too long. In the blink of an eye, all the rapidly moving parts of her jam-packed life come to a screeching halt.

A traumatic brain injury completely erases the left side of her world, and for once, Sarah relinquishes control to those around her, including her formerly absent mother. Without the ability to even floss her own teeth, she struggles to find answers about her past and her uncertain future.

Now, as she wills herself to regain her independence and heal, Sarah must learn that her real destiny—her new, true life—may in fact lie far from the world of conference calls and spreadsheets. And that a happiness and peace greater than all the success in the world is close within reach, if only she slows down long enough to notice.

My Review

I honestly liked this book, even though I wasn’t into it at first. And honestly, the timing was a little creepy. I finished this book the day after a woman in North Carolina died when her car veered into oncoming traffic. If you haven’t heard about this yet, here is a link. She had just seconds earlier posted on Facebook that the lyrics to the song Happy made her happy. In this book, Sarah is so intent on getting as much work done as she can that she does almost the same- looks down at her phone while driving on the highway and veers into oncoming traffic. While she was working and not posting on FB, both fiction and reality scare the hell out of me. I try my best to not do this ever while behind the wheel, but it has become so prevalent in our society. My son is taking Drivers Ed now, and will be able to drive with a permit when he turns 16 in August. I would take diapers and spit up any day over this new reality of mine.

Back to the book- I really did enjoy it. Lisa Genova brings us an interesting character in Sarah Nickerson. Watching her struggle not only with this bizarre condition. but also with her changing relationship with all f her family kept me captivated in an unexpected way. I would definitely recommend this book!

Books I ALMOST put down, but didn’t

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Posted on May 13, 2014

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is-

Top Ten Books I Almost Put Down, But Didn’t.

1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I couldn’t make myself care about Blomkvis’s trial. I actually did put this down-twice-but came back and finally read it. You just need to get past the 3rd chapter, and then BAM-can’t put it down.

2. Schindler’s List

I am just finishing this. The problem at first was that the author was writing it as a novel, but it kept coming across as more of a history book. Once I got used to it, it flowed.

3. We Need To Talk About Kevin

Honestly, I didn’t like Eva, the main character. It was a little hard to get past that, but about a third of the way through it got much better.

4. Jane Eyre

I felt so bad for her. I hate it when people are mean to little kids. Unless they’re bad kids, of course.

5. The Silmarillion

This is one of my favorite books in the world, but man- try this as a first line-in a chapter titled “Ainulindale”-

“There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made. And he spoke to them, propounding to them themes of music; and they sang before him, and he was glad.”

It is AMAZING, but a hard entry point.

6. The Year of Magical Thinking

Tough subject, very real and very raw.

7. Love in The Time Of Cholera

Over 600 affairs is a little much for me. Loved the book-but yuck.

8. Little Bee

Too much awful in one book.

9. The End of the Affair

Why did Sarah have an affair with him? I get that her husband was boring and all, but Bendrix was a bit of an ass. More than a bit. I am glad he is heartbroken.

10. The Hunger Games

Hmm, a book about kids sent to an arena to battle to the death, until there is only one left? Sounds good! Even better, let me have my kids read it.

Actually LOVE these books, but a little hard to get excited to read them at first.

What books did you almost put down?

What topic really BOTHERS you as a reader?

18 Comments

Posted on May 12, 2014

Is there a certain topic that- no matter how well written a book- just gets under your skin and leaves you a little unhappy?

Last week, I finished a book- The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom- that had been pretty popular a few months back. I had a strange feeling as I read this book, one I couldn’t put my finger on. I wasn’t enjoying reading it. Was it written well? Yes, it was. Were the characters feel developed? Yes. Was it somewhat historically accurate? Yes it was. Why didn’t I like it?

Then I realized it wasn’t the book itself, but the topic of slavery. Don’t get me wrong- I can read about awful things and still really enjoy a book. I have read some books with tough topics-the Holocaust, sexual abuse, etc- that I though were amazing. So it’s not that. I do not need books to leave me with a shiny happy feeling. It is something about THIS topic that just gets under my skin. I read two other books over the past year- The Wedding Gift by and The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd- that were about slavery. They both bothered me. I really enjoyed The Invention of Wings– loved it actually, but I was still left uneasy by it. When I realized this pattern, it made me stop and think a little. What are some topics that bother other readers?

I don’t mean things you don’t like- easy romances, bad erotica, science fiction, etc. I mean a topic that can actually make you not enjoy a book even though it is actually a good book. After reading The Kitchen House, I realized that, while it was well written and had great characters, the whole history of slavery in this nation made it almost impossible for me to actually enjoy a book written about it accurately, which these books were! An author would literally have to change history for that to happen, The only book I actually like about slavery- Gone With the Wind- isn’t really about slavery at all. It’s actually a love story- loosely set on and around a southern plantation. Come to think about it, more than half of the book takes place away from Tara.

So, tell me- what really bothers you enough to prevent you from enjoying a book?

Bookish (& Not So Bookish Thought)

4 Comments

Posted on May 8, 2014

Bookish & Not So Bookish Thoughts

is a weekly meme hosted by Christine over at Bookishly Boisterous, where we post things that are on our minds. Head over there and check it out!

1. I kind of feel like a fraud writing this post, as I do not feel like I have a thought in my head today.

2. I am in the middle of Schindler’s List. Have any of you read this? It is a tough read, to be sure, but I actually had a hard time getting into it at first. It felt more like a documentary than a novel. I am loving it now, though.

3. Hubby and I have been trying to have the teens watch some good movies-like Schindler’s List. So far we have kept it light- like The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (love John Hughes), but last week we watched 12 Years A Slave-very heavy.

Any suggestions of good (even old) movies for 14 and 16 yr olds?

4. Happy Mother’s Day to all you mamas out there! Hope you have something awesome planned- at least tell me you will sleep in! Going to see my mom on Sunday, but we are planning to do something with just our family on Saturday. If the weather holds, we are going into the city- kids have never been to Central Park. I am thinking- carousel, zoo, maybe the Guggenheim-then a nice dinner. And of course-Serendipity 3! Love that we are only about an hour away.

5. I have just spent the last 2 hours on this computer trying to get some posts written and scheduled. Now all I want to do is go finish my damn book!

6. My son took his first AP test yesterday, in Calculus. When he got home we had to scrap him off of the floor.

7. I have read 3 out of the 12 books I got at the library sale almost 2 weeks ago, and now I have to settle myself down to read some ARCs that have been sitting there making me feel guilty.

8. She Reads has announced their May book club selection- it is The Shadow Year by Hannah Richell. I am excited, and have it waiting for me on the iPad.

Beautiful Covers

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Posted on May 6, 2014

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is-

Book Covers I would Hang on My Wall as Art

10.

Congratulations Christine!-Bookish (& Not So Bookish) Thoughts

5 Comments

Posted on May 1, 2014

Bookish & Not So Bookish Thoughts

is a weekly meme hosted by Christine over at Bookishly Boisterous, where we post things that are on our minds. Head over there and check it out!

Most importantly-

1. A big CONGRATULATIONS to Christine over at Bookishly Boisterous on the birth of her beautiful son!

2. I went to my library’s semiannual book sale and I SCORED big time! I got over a dozen books for just over $5. But then I got home and looked at my bookshelves and realized I needed a little self improvement. So I reshelved everything and I realized I have a WHOLE shelf of books I haven’t read- just sitting there. I resolved I would read at least one from that shelf every week. I am heading to the library after my run- let’s see how my will power holds out!

3. I love Book Riot as you might know. They had an article on books that were ruined by school. Mine was The Canterbury Tales, but really not many others-thank you again Mrs. Chapman.

4. The Harris Poll real eased it’s Top Ten Most Liked Books in America. – When they break it down into sub categories. it’s so funny! I never realized so many (maybe too many) people liked GWTW so much. Maybe they’re lying? What do you think?

TABLE 2

TOP BOOK AMONG DIFFERENT GROUPS AFTER THE BIBLE

AMONG:	2014
Men	The Lord of the Rings (series)
Women	Gone with the Wind

Millennials (18-36)	Harry Potter (series)
Gen X (37-48)	The Lord of the Rings (series)
Baby Boomers (49-67)	Gone with the Wind
Matures (68+)	Gone with the Wind

White	Gone with the Wind
Black/African American	Moby Dick
Hispanic	The Great Gatsby

Republicans	Gone with the Wind
Democrats	Gone with the Wind
Independents	Gone with the Wind

Conservatives	Gone with the Wind
Moderates	Gone with the Wind
Liberals	Harry Potter (series)

East	The Lord of the Rings (series)
Midwest	Gone with the Wind
South	Gone with the Wind
West	Harry Potter (series)

High School or less	Gone with the Wind
Some College	Gone with the Wind
College Graduate	Gone with the Wind
Post Graduate	The Lord of the Rings (series)