Week 5-The Girl on the Train

Suggested by: Jill and Susan

Ok, so I feel like I have come to a point in my life where I don't have time for bad books or bad wine.  I'm totally ok dumping a bottle of the latter down the drain, but I have a hard time quitting a book.  Well, I've decided to implement the 100 page rule.  If after 100 pages I'm not engaged or interested, I stop reading.  With The girl on the Train I couldn't get to page 100 fast enough.  I just could not get interested in this story.  I  kept reading and waiting for it to click and hook me.  It didn't.  I found it monotonous and dull.  I really didn't care about the characters and figured with 336 pages in the book if I wasn't captured by page 100, it probably wasn't going to happen.  So, I stopped.

If anyone reads this and would like to tell me what happens, that would be great.  If not, I think I'll be ok.

Week 4: The Lovely Bones

Suggested by: Jennifer
Week 3

I'm behind in my blogging so I'm just going to post what book I read and a couple thoughts.

I first started this book many years ago and had to return it because I moved.  When it was one of the suggested book when I solicited ideas I thought it would be a great time to finish it up.  Well, I finished it.  It was ok.  It didn't capture me and suck me in, but I didn't hate it.  Would I ready it again, no.  Should you read it, sure, why not.

Apparently Lovely Bones is also a movie.  I looked it up on IMDB and after seeing who played everyone, I probably won't watch it.  It really isn't how I pictured things.

I was left with one question...What parent looks at their sweet little baby boy and says "I think we should name him Buckley"?

Week 3-Secret Daughter

Suggested by Susan
Started July 14
Finished July 17

Recommendation: Worth the read

Summary from the back of the book:
     Somer's life is everything she imagined it would be--she's newly  married and has started her career as a physician in San Francisco--until she make the devastating discovery that she never will be able to have children.
     The same year in India, a poor mother makes the heartbreaking choice to save her newborn daughter's life by giving her away.  It is a decision that will haunt Kavita for the rest of her life, and cause a ripple effect that travels across the world and back again.
     Asha, adopted out of a Mumbai orphanage, is the child that binds the destines of these two women.  We follow both families, invisibly connected until Asha's journey of self-discovery leads her back to India.
     Compulsively readable, and deeply touching, Secret Daughter is a story of the unforeseen ways in which our choices and families effect our lives, and the indelible power of love in all its many forms.


I don't even know where to start with my thoughts on this book, so I'll start with how I got it.  Any of you familiar with a university library know that they can be difficult to navigate and find things in.  A friend of mine says she always starts the trips to our library with a cup of coffee and a map, because you never know how long you'll be there (I'm paraphrasing).  Well, I went off to the library with neither of these items because I looked on the website map and it was easy enough, I knew where I was going.  Well, I was wrong.  I went to the area I thought was right, not a book in sight with even remotely the same call number.  I went to the reading room, similar call numbers but alas, no Secret Daughter.  Was it possible that Secret Daughter was in a secret location?  To the circulation desk I went.  Lucky for me the woman helping me was new to that area and according to her she didn't even know what to ask to find out if I was looking in the right spot, so she decided to come downstairs with me to help me look.  Friends, I consider myself a fairly smart person; I have a couple degrees heck, I've even worked in a library, but I made what can only be considered a stupid mistake.  I was looking in the hundreds instead of the thousands.  Insert head smack here.  Apparently, this is a pretty common mistake, so the library lady didn't make me feel too dumb.  I'm going back to the library this afternoon to find another book.  Hopefully, this time things will go a bit better.

Ok, so I took a few days away from writing this blog entry and I think I have a little bit better perspective on the book.  When I first finished it I wasn't really sure how I felt.  I knew I liked the book, but I had all the feels and I wasn't sure about that.  I mean, it is good when I book makes you feel all the emotions, but sometimes that can leave you a little drained and unsure.  But, now that I am a little more removed I think I have better perspective.  One of the things that frustrated me was that I ended up liking people I didn't expect to like and not liking those that I thought I would/should like.  In the end I decided that it was real, and maybe that is what bothered me.  People were flawed, they didn't always understand where the other person was coming from, but they tried.  Everyone in the book tried to do their best.  But, just like all of us, sometimes their best isn't the best, or isn't the right way to handle things, but you don't really ever know that.  And everyone could have reached out a bit more, tried to explain themselves or worked to make someone feel more welcome, but like all of us, they didn't always do that.  And when they realized they should, it was nearing on too late.  But, it was never really too late.  Small steps were made in the end that I like to think were going to lead to better relationships.  

I was also amazed by the descriptions of India.  Secret Daughter begins in 1984, not all that long ago.  But when you begin reading about the conditions in India it seems much more primitive.  It was  heartbreaking to think that someone would have to make the decision to give up their baby girl because she was a girl who would cost them too much money in dowry and couldn't help on the farm. The levels of poverty and the lengths to which people go just to survive are amazing.  I can't imagine living in these conditions, much less trying to raise a family and provide a better life for them.

So, yes, read this book.  But be prepared for a big case of the feels.  While reading this book I was happy, sad, angry, depressed, ready to throw the book away, and near tears.  But, in a good way.

Until next time...

Week 2-Hot Rod Hamster

Hot Rod Hamster by Cynthia Lord and Illustrated by Derek Anderson
Suggested by Carter and Catherine
Started July 13
Finish About 15 minutes later

Recommendation: Totally Read...again and again and again...

Summary from Amazon
From Newbery Honor author Cynthia Lord and NYT bestselling illustrator Derek Anderson comes an INTERACTIVE read-aloud picture book for the very young-featuring an extremely lovable and adorable hams

Old car, new car, shiny painted blue car
Rust car, clean car, itty-bitty green car.
WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

Newbery Honor-author Cynthia Lord and New York Times bestselling illustrator Derek Anderson put the pedal to the metal in this endearing, rhythmic, rip-roaring race to the finish line where a hamster creates a sizzling hot rod with a little help from his new furry friends and YOU!

Ok, so I admit it, this week was a bit busy and I didn't get a book started so I could finish it in time to blog about it.  Stuff like that happens.  I spent the weekend in my hometown celebrating my sister and my soon to be published little nephew at her baby shower.  It was tons of fun and left no time for reading.  Those salads and cupcakes didn't make themselves you know.  Summers are full of activity at C&C's daycare and this year I offered to be a special guest story teller and for the 2-3 year old rooms I decided to read Hot Rod Hamster and then give them a fun coloring sheet as an art activity.  They were able to color Hot Rod and then draw his car.  I had so much fun, I would totally go back again.  

Now, as for the book.  It is awesome.  Really, what else can be said.  The story is fun, the illustrations are amazing, and it is about a race car driving hamster whose friends help him make the best race car ever.  Hot Rod might be the smallest of the racers, but I dare to say he has the biggest heart (figuratively, that is, he doesn't have a medical condition-at least that I am aware of).  

We own Hot Rod Hamster, Hot Rod Hamster Monster Truck Mania, Gladys Goes Out to Lunch, and Ten Pigs, and EPIC Bath Adventure (the last two are written and illustrated by Derek Anderson) and we love them all.  Out family was introduced to these books when we went to a story time presented by Derek, who is a native of out town-he even illustrated the new Bookmobile-which is AMAZING.  If you are a fan of bright colors and fun animals, then you should totally check out his work.  

Until next time...

Week 1-Plain Truth

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
Suggested by Susan
Started July 2
Finished July 5

Recommendation: Totally Read

Summary from Amazon:
The discovery of a dead infant in an Amish barn shakes Lancaster County to its core. But the police investigation leads to a more shocking disclosure: circumstantial evidence suggests that eighteen-year-old Katie Fisher, an unmarried Amish woman believed to be the newborn's mother, took the child's life. When Ellie Hathaway, a disillusioned big-city attorney, comes to Paradise, Pennsylvania, to defend Katie, two cultures collide -- and for the first time in her high-profile career, Ellie faces a system of justice very different from her own. Delving deep inside the world of those who live "plain," Ellie must find a way to reach Katie on her terms. And as she unravels a tangled murder case, Ellie also looks deep within -- to confront her own fears and desires when a man from her past reenters her life.

I selected Plain Truth as my first book for a couple of reasons.  1. Susan recommended it and she is usually pretty dependable when it comes to book recommendations.  2.  Susan owned it, which meant rather than going to the library or heaven forbid actually paying for the book, I could just run across the street to borrow it.  And finally 3. I freaking love things about the Amish.

When you first read the summary you might be thinking "Dead baby, Amish life, yeah that sounds like a great time, sign me up!"  The thing is, it is actually a really good read.  Yes, the premise of the book, that a young Amish woman is accused of killing her illegitimate child is very depressing, but over all the book really isn't.  It is a very engaging read that kept me interested from the beginning to the end.  I actually carried it in my purse to a 4th of July party, just in case there was a lull and I could read a few pages.  There wasn't, but if there had been, I was prepared.  As a result of me taking it everywhere I went the book was a bit less than the pristine copy it was when Susan gave it to me.  Seriously, it looked brand new, what's up with that?  Anyway, back to the book.  I could be wrong but it seems like Jodi Picoult did a lot of research on what it means to be Amish and what life in an Amish community would be like, especially for someone from the outside world.  Additionally, she did a great job of bringing the characters to light.  And anyone she introduced in the book had a reason for being there, big or little, there was a reason.  Also, the characters seemed real.  There were times when I just wanted to reach into the book and give someone a good smack and other times when I wanted to offer a hug...or a phone charger, whatever.  Just as the characters were meaningful, so were the questions posed by the story line.  It really got you thinking about how society and the justice system treat those that are more fringe. Is it right to hold people to standards that really don't work in their society and that they don't understand because they are so outside their realm of existence?  I don't know the answers, but I know that I thought about these questions while reading.   There is romance in the novel, but it by no means is this a "romance novel".  The romance is there as background to the main story and as a way to help grow the main characters.  While I figured out what happened to the baby pretty early on I still wanted to continue to read to see how things would work out in the end. 

Would I read Plain Truth again, sure.  I don't usually read books twice, but if I did I would probably read this one again.

And as a bonus, when I was searching Amazon for the book summary I found that Plain Truth was turned into a Lifetime moving starring Mariska Hargitay.  Now, I wouldn't have pictured her as Ellie while reading but now I can see it.  I'm totally going to have to find a way to watch this movie without having to pay $5.61 to order it...even if it is Prime Eligible.

Until next time...

Welcome

Welcome to my blog, "Emily's Book of the Week".  I wanted to call it "What Em's Reading" but that was already taken (insert grumbley noise here).  Anyway, my goal is to read one book a week for a year and report back my thoughts on said book.  I'm going to try to read a variety of genres including fiction and nonfiction.  If you ever have a book suggestion, just let me know and I'll add it to the list.  Right now I have a list long enough to last me well into a second year, but we better see how this first year goes.  I hope you enjoy my thoughts what I read and I hope I enjoy the books.

Oh, and you should probably know that I believe life is too short for books you don't like, so it is possible some weeks won't be complete books.  But I'll try.