book challenge update (part ii).

Welp, I don't have much to report.  Since my last update I've only successfully completed ONE book.  Oy!  As previously predicted, I quit reading Empire Falls after many weeks and very few pages.  No offense Mr. Pulitzer, but it just didn't do it for me!

What did do it for me though was Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.  I tend to like to describe things with a single word or phrase, and if I had to do that with book number eight I would say that Where'd You Go, Bernadette was a real gem of a read.  In other words, I loved it.

This review by Janet Maslin of The New York Times sums it up perfectly: "Comedy heaven.... This divinely funny, many-faceted novel...leaves convention behind. Instead, it plays to Ms. Semple's strengths as someone who can practice ventriloquism in many voices, skip over the mundane and utterly refute the notion that mixed-media fiction is bloggy, slack or lazy.... The tightly constructed Where'd You Go, Bernadette is written in many formats-e-mails, letters, F.B.I. documents, correspondence with a psychiatrist and even an emergency-room bill for a run-in between Bernadette and Audrey. Yet these pieces are strung together so wittily that Ms. Semple's storytelling is always front and center, in sharp focus. You could stop and pay attention to how apt each new format is, how rarely she repeats herself and how imaginatively she unveils every bit of information. But you would have to stop laughing first."

So, eight books down, FIVE to go.  Think I can do it?  I sure hope I can.  Next up is The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, which I started way back when Andy and I started dating and I visited Chicago for the first time.  Now that I actually know the layout of the city beyond Mohawk Street, I'm ready to devour this fan (and critic) favorite.  Right along side the bestseller I'll also be reading Waiting to Be Heard, the Amanda Knox memoir -- it's for book club but I'm confident enough to say that I'm not so secretly excited to read it.  And then after that one, I'm planning on picking up Divergent, which is said to be the new Hunger Games (need I say more?).

I've been loving this "challenge" so far and can't wait to successfully complete it -- fingers crossed!

book challenge update.

I'm happy to report that so far the 2013 book challenge has been going well!  Considering we're halfway through the year, and I'm seven books in, I'm on track to actually be successful with this!  I've loved all of the books I've read so far, and have a little commentary on each if you're interested in reading.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake: I found Sloane Crosley's tone and honesty to be hilarious and very entertaining.  For someone who hasn't ready many memoirs in this style (think David Sedaris), I was pleasantly surprised.  My mom borrowed the book when I was done with it and loved it.  In fact, she enjoyed it so much she's currently reading Crosley's second book -- and I'm eager to read it next.

The Art of Fielding: I have never read a 500+ page book so fast.  The easiest way to describe how I felt about the book was that I adored it.  Heartwarming and heart wrenching, I was engrossed by the plot and characters.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay: Is it obnoxious for me to have loved every single one of these seven books?  This one especially stuck a chord with me though.  New York before (and after) WWII -- need I say more?  There aren't many books I wish I could read over and over and have it be the first time, every time, but this is one of them.  Plus, it's all about comic books, and I happen to have some insight into that world.

Tenth of December: The New York Times called it the best book you'll read this year.  Of all the "new releases" I've read in the last year or so, I would say they could be close to right on this one.  George Saunders has a very special way about his work.  It's a little (or more than a little) bit twisted, always makes you think, and generally leaves you wanting more.  This was my selection for book club, when I hosted, but I sort of wish it wasn't.  I read all the stories back-to-back instead of taking the time to absorb them, something that you need to do.  Read it and you'll understand.  Also, just read it.  It's good.

The History of Love: If you know me, you know I cry very easily.  The ending of this book?  Pass the tissues, please.

Dark Places: Another book club selection!  I read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn last year, but was very disappointed by the ending, as I think a lot of people were.  I'm happy to report that this ending held up to my expectations.  A gripping murder mystery, I suggest you read it while in a big city -- not in a small farm town.

A Storm of Swords: It's taken me a loooooong time to finishing/re-read the third book of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.  No spoilers, but let's just say that there's a chapter that made me take a whole year off from reading it because I was so distraught.  But the ending of this?  Hello plot twists!  Bring on book four.


I'm currently reading Empire Falls by Richard Russo, but I'm debating quitting.  I'm only 100 pages in, but it's just not keeping me interested the way I want it to.  Also, I need to stay interested so I can finish this challenge on time!  So I ask you, any great books you recommend?