A Few Good Reads: Third Edition

Insert lame "I'm busy" excuse here. What can I say, juggling my workload and teaching duties is proving more time consuming than planned. I don't have the time to write or read blogs as much as I would like but luckily I still have a long commute to read books on.  Here's a few books I've loved recently.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I'm fairly certain you've heard of this one by now. It's a total thriller with a few twists and turns that are hard to predict.  I found it hard to put down as it was well written and quite detail-oriented. It's a great book club read as there's plenty to discuss between the gender roles and symbolism found throughout. My only negative would be I found the ending to be a bit of a cop-out, I wanted the author to make a stronger statement with the ending but I heard that she struggled with it, and that makes sense to me.

Talking with my Mouth Full - Gail Simmons

We're huge Top Chef fans in this house and while I knew who Tom and Padma were before the show, Gail always alluded me, and perhaps I was jealous of her job as a professional eater.  Her autobiography is actually quite interesting! She's worked far more restaurant jobs than I was aware of, loves simple foods and is quite funny.  If you're gearing up for the new season (November!!) this is a quick and easy read to get you back in the knife-packing mode.

The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls 

I am not finished with this memoir from 2005 but if you have not picked this one up yet, please do so! This book chronicles the upbringing of the author, Jeannette Walls in a totally crazy, very impoverished family situation.  It's beautifully written and sets the scene of life in the desert and then in Welch, WV.  As the reader, I have so much empathy for these children and their childhoods while also having so much frustration and anger for their parents.  I can't wait to see how it all pans out!

Have you read anything great lately?  

A Few Good Reads 2: By the Ladies

My 80-minute round trip subway commute affords me a lot of time to read and since I'm short on outfit posts due to this stinky, no good stomach flu I figured it was time for another book review.  Now that I'm in a book club I'm reading a lot of different books about a multitude of topics.  Left to my own devices I read frivolous chick lit, heavy non-fiction, anything historical or about women.  I love reading about woman in various stages of life and places in the world.  Here are a few good books I've recently read written by women, about women and all the issues we face.

Funny:  If you loved Tina Fey's Bossypants, try Mindy Kaling's Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me? on for size. The chapter titles and pictures alone are hysterical; as are her keen observations about men and relationships, friendships, working her way into the industry and being a normal weight woman.  I haven't watched the Office in years but it was a lot of fun learning about how Mindy got into comedy writing.  Hearing the story about her play, Matt & Ben that gave her her big break was really funny as was her experience writing for SNL. If you need a laugh, give this one a shot.

Controversial: There's been much hype and discussion over Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua.  I was curious so I gave this a try and wow, was I surprised.  This book tells the story of one mother's tale of raising two daughters in a traditional way here in America.  Amy is uncompromising, incredibly strict and structured with the girl's schooling and music lessons. I found the whole thing very eye opening. Not to toot my own horn but I was also a very good student who played the violin for most of my youth, and yet my childhood was nothing like this book. I really appreciate the honestly with which Amy presented her parenting approach and her daughter's opinions of it. The book is really easy to read and hard to put down. This is a great book club read, much conversation fodder in here!

Eye on the World: Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers is a beautifully written, emotional collection of stories about the Annawadi slum in Mumbai, India.  This book is non-fiction but reads more like a novel.  Much of the book focuses on the life of children trash pickers, sorters and sellers and their mothers trying to eek out a decent life for their families. I was very surprised by how much corruption is present in India today, I naively thought that was in their past. I really loved reading about the children and their optimism as well as one young woman's dreams for a better life.

Have you read anything good lately? I just finished Shanghai Girls and am working on the 19th Wife, I guess I really do love lady books.

A Few Good Reads: Book Review

Oops that was an unexpected week off blogging!  Oopsy-daisy.  I had my second book club meeting last night and during it I quickly realized that I haven't given you any good reads recently so here are two.

The first is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  Wow, what a doozy!  I was so engrossed in this book that I literally read it from the moment I got on the subway to the moment my work computer booted up. One morning I completely missed three different co-workers saying good morning because my nose was stuck so far into this book.  

www.laurahillenbrandbooks.com

While reading, I had to keep reminding myself that this is a true story of one man.  It was that unbelievable.  The story follows Louis Zamperini, a precocious, unpredictable lover of life based in California.  Louis discovers a gift for running as a teenager and quickly becomes an Olympic level runner at the Berlin Olympics.  Louis later enlists in the U.S. Air Force, becoming a bombardier serving in the Pacific and ultimately becoming a Japanese POW.  I don't want to ruin the rest of the storyline as its pretty incredible but the heart and soul of this man and his survival story is awe-inspiring.  So many times, I wondered if I could remain "unbroken" in a similar situation and I'm not sure  I could.  This is definitely a fast, thrilling page turner that will run the gamut of your emotions.  There's a bit of WWII history in there if you're interested in that like I am, but its definitely more of a human interest piece.  I really loved this book and was truly inspired by Louis' perseverance and strength in the face of some deplorable situations.  There are a lot of take aways for the daily stresses in all of our lives here!

www.randomhouse.com

The second book is The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.  I was really intrigued by this book; I know so little about Ernest Hemingway other than I really hated Old Man and the Sea in high school.  The Paris Wife follows the early lives of Hemingway and his first of four wives, Hadley Richardson and their lives together in Jazz Age Paris. The story follows the couple as they navigate the party-atmosphere of the times and the indulgent artistic folks they befriend.  The book provides a lot of interesting background points about Hemingway's writing process, specifically with writing The Sun Also Rises.  Throughout the book, my feelings towards Hadley changed greatly.  She is so deeply in love and committed to Ernest that her patience and loyalty is at times enviable, and at other times frustrating.    What's most difficult yet fascinating to read is how she ultimately befriends the woman that Ernest leaves her for.  This was a really interesting read; educational without being a non-fiction book or biography.  The descriptions of early 20th century Paris, the Jazz Age and Europe as a whole were wonderful, I caught myself dreaming of skiing in the Alps a lot during this book! 

If you're curious, we read Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Bank for book club this month.  It was a thought-provoking read, and is certainly good for creating a discussion, but not my favorite.  I was the only dissenting opinion though, so check it out if you're curious.   Have you read anything great lately?  I'm always adding to my list! 

Summer Readin'

One of my favorite summer activities is sitting outside, preferably in a beach chair or on the back of my Dad's boat with a salty breeze in my face reading a great book.  Unfortunately, I've been in a rut filled with mediocre books since finishing The Secret Life of Henrietta Lacks back in April.  The streak finally broke two weeks ago, thus I have two books to share with you. 

www.bookroomreviews.com

The Girl's Guide to Homelessness, is a memoir by Brianna Karp.   Brianna's story started as a blog detailing her life as a homeless 20-something living in a Walmart parking lot.  From there, Brianna's story gained international attention and she was offered the chance to tell her story in book form.  Besides detailing her day-to-day life as a young, homeless woman the book delves into Brianna's troubled youth and the events surrounding her becoming homeless.  I was truly stunned by how quickly a smart, sociable, working girl like Brianna found herself without a place to call home and how hard it was to get back on her feet even with a job.  This book was an absolute page turner, I really enjoyed its great flow and humor.  It was also highly educational without being in-your-face or overwhelmingly informational, it maintains its memoir feel on every page.  As someone who knows little about homeless issues, I enjoyed Brianna's discussion of the issues and stereotypes surrounding homelessness and her personnel experiences with both.  Brianna is funny, relatable and most certainly lovable; I found myself routing for her on every page.  A wonderful story of perseverance!  

www.ew.com

Vaclav & Lena is the debut novel by Haley Tanner about 10-year old Russian immigrants, Vaclav and Lena coming of age in Brighton Beach, NY.  Their tale begins through a chance meeting when they are 6 and goes on to describe their life as immigrant children pursuing their dream of having their own magical act.   Under the caring, yet watchful eye of Vaclav's mother, Rasia the pair struggle through daily life in America; school, homework, home life and their magic act.  Things are going (seemingly) well for Vaclav and Lena until one day when Lena mysteriously does not show up for school and is then not seen or heard from again for 7 years.  The story continues with Vaclav and Lena's lives apart and finally together again.  Throughout this beautiful story, Tanner writes about the strength and depth of secrets, childhood bonds and the magic of love.  Vaclav & Lena is wonderfully written with whimsical settings and magic(al) descriptions, sweet conversations between Vaclav and Lena and Vaclav and Rasia.  I really enjoyed this story and the gamut of emotions it will put you through.  

I just added a number of books to my list to read from here but be forewarned, these do not appear to be light and fluffy if that's what you're into for summer, and really, who doesn't love a puff piece for the beach?!  What are you reading this summer, I'd love to know!   

The Super Cell

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a highly informational non-fiction book that reads like a riveting novel.  Ms. Skloot tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman living with cervical cancer in Baltimore, MD during the 1950s.  While being treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital in downtown Baltimore for cervical cancer, doctors took cells from her body without asking her permission.  Outside her body Henrietta's cells, known as HeLa, replicated endlessly driving scientific research, multiple discoveries and today's cell-culture industry.  Every other chapter, Rebecca Skloot weaves in Henrietta's life story, bringing with Henrietta's graceful, but difficult life growing up working class during the Jim Crow era.  Rebecca Skloot then ties in the stories of Henrietta's family members living today with the knowledge that their mother/aunt/cousin/friend changed science forever, but was never asked if she wanted to.

I'm a science nerd so I loved this book because I was able to learn so much about cancer, cell culture and science in the 1950's but you don't have to love or even like science to find it enjoyable.  While informative throughout, the book is not heavy on medical terms or cellular processes.  In fact, for most of the book I felt like I was reading a novel with well-developed fictional characters that draw you in and pull empathy from you with every passing page.  This book raises numerous ethical, racial and medical questions, and will leave you wondering what happens to all those cells you forget about when you leave the doctor's office.  A must read for individuals and book clubs alike!   

Dis and Dat

I'm back from vacation, did you miss me? I had a wonderfully fun week filled with lots of sunshine cruising the Caribbean with friends and family, and I'm missing the warm weather so very much. Fortunately, there a number of things making this first week back to the grind just a smidge better.

I love reading, so I'm constantly on the prowl for a good book. I read two on vacation that I'd recommend if you are in the market for one. These books are as far apart on the spectrum from one another as possible.

First up, "Schooled" by Anisha Lakhani. This is a total beach read; light, easy, fun and frivolous. The story follows a first year teacher in a private school in Manhattan's Upper East Side. It reads a bit like The Nanny Diaries and Gossip Girl had a love child and then went to middle school in Juicy sweats. If even a smidge of the plot is truthful, it was pretty surprising. I will admit that I found the ending to be a bit of a let down as it just ends abruptly.

My second cruise book was "A Reliable Wife" by Robert Goolrick. This story is set in the early 20th century in Wisconsin during a cold, harsh winter. The main male character, Ralph Truitt puts an advertisement in the newspaper for a reliable wife and receives an enticing response from Ms. Catherine Land. The story follows their initial meeting, and the beginning of their lives together. Both Ralph and Catherine's back stories are interesting and present some unexpected twists to keep the plot moving along. If you are feeling the winter blues, you may want to shelve this one till warmer, brighter days are here to stay.

Image courtesy of Good Housekeeping

Have you tried these chocolate bits from Sweet Riot? They are tiny chunks of cacao dipped in varying levels of dark chocolate and run 1-2 calories a piece (no that's not a typo). If you are as afflicted with the 2pm chocolate craving as I am, a few Sweet Riot nibbles will fulfill the need without the guilt of a full size candy bar. I'm also a sucker for the tall, thin, pop top tins they come in too...I'm such a sucker for packaging and apparently new products in the check out aisle. Note to self, go down the candy free aisle next time.

Finally, I had planned to do a recap of NYC Fashion Week two weeks ago and didn't get my post done before I left on vacation and wasn't sure it was relevant now however, Fall 2011 is bringing color back! Hooray! I love me some bright colors, so come September deep greens, bright reds, cobalt blues in pretty, feminine shapes will rule the streets. Check out the sequin stunners at the end of the DVF show on the New York Times website for some serious eye candy.

Image courtesy of CoolSpotters