The Best Summer Brain Candy

I try to read with a purpose, but in the summer I need some brain candy. Here are three I loved this year.

In the audiobook version of The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza the narrator reads out the emojis at the end of emails in an awesomely crazy voice. An can't miss audiobook if you need a laugh.

If you generally like Sittenfeld's books you'll smile at her take on the classic Pride and Prejudice. If you don't you will think it's horrible racist dribble. I fall in the first camp.

The Swans of Fifth Avenue is a delightfully gosippy book with a satisfying ending. Get ready to google search everyone in this novel based on the life of Truman Capote.

What was the best brain candy you read this summer?

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A walk in the woods with Stephen King

My trip to Maine earlier this month featured good decisions and bad decisions.

Good decisions:

• Turning around .2 miles from the summit of Mt. Katahdin because the weather was deteriorating and my group was on its way back down.
• Packing way more food and water for my hike than I should have needed.
• Keeping gloves in my pack even though it was July.

Bad decisions:

• Taking a walk in sandals that I know give me blisters the day before our summit.
• Being okay with a combined 16 hours of driving in the day before and day after our hike.
• Deciding to read The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King while camping in Maine.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a psychological thriller featuring 9 year old (but tall for her age) Tricia, the Boston Red Sox when they were still cursed, and a pretty good reason to stay on the trail when you're hiking in the woods. Especially the Maine woods. Because the Maine woods are pretty isolated. Anything can happen out there. This is a fact that I didn't really appreciate until I had driven 8 hours to get there from Providence, RI. Not a great time to be reading a Stephen King book about the very place you happen to be camping.

Let's just say that Tricia discovered the world has teeth while hiking in Maine, and so did I. Her discovery involved bears, the sub audible, and being lost in the woods. My discovery involved freezing rain in July, hypothermia, nightmares in a tent, and way too much time to think while driving a rental car.

Other scary books that take place in the north east:

(Note: I had the good sense to put off reading Jaws until after my beach vacation to Cape Cod last week. I read Doctor Sleep in Vermont last August.)

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REVIEW: End of Watch by Stephen King

I finished End of Watch by Stephen King while I was on the train, and it was all I could do to keep myself from sobbing.

And I should stop you right here and let you know that this review might be considered spoilery by some people. I'm not going to tell you what happens at the end, but I'm going to talk a lot about my feelings at the end. You've been warned.

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The first book of this trilogy, Mr. Mercedes was billed as a detective story, and it worked. I liked it a lot, and even compared it to Robert Galbraith's Strike series. The second book wasn't as great, but it was still good. It was a good story, but Bill Hodges didn't show up until about 2/3 of the way through, and I like Bill Hodges. Plus the ending was weird. Brady is still alive, and maybe can move things with his mind? What does that have to do with criminals that are obsessed enough with books to murder for them?

On to the third book. I had to wait a few weeks for my turn on the library wait list, and when I got it I was almost afraid to read it. Stephen King has sucked me into a series before only to crush my bookworm heart.

But start it I did. This book is in high demand, and the library only gave me two weeks to get through it. In fact I started it on the 11 hour ride back from Cape Cod last week. Were my kids screaming the whole way? I don't know. I was reading.

End of Watch was not the greatest story ever told. But the characters were some of King's best, and when taken together this trilogy is greater than the sum of its parts because of it. By the end you really care about them.

And the end. The end is about facing what life throws at you instead of escaping from it. It was about living every day to the fullest on your own terms. And it crushed me. In a good way. There were no loose threads or unrealistic conclusions. It was kind of perfect. And, I hope I'm wrong about this, but it almost seemed as if Stephen King himself was telling us a few things he learned over his life. It felt like he was saying he's getting to end of his watch. And that's what crushed me the most.

Books to read when you can't do anything else

There were mountains out there...

I spent a good part of last week fighting hypothermia in a tent in Maine. It was much better than it sounds, actually! When you can't leave your sleeping bag, you get some good reading done. I read two books that were perfect for the occasion.

There are a lot of books that feature down on their luck women who stop doing their actual jobs and find peace by opening bakeries. These story lines annoy me (It actually takes a lot of work and skill to bake bread and run a business. It's not something you do because you can't handle your more stressful career back in the city.) However, once I get past that I usually really enjoy these books when I'm looking for some fluff. The Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan was no exception - this one featured an island that can only be reached at certain times, and a sexy beekeeper from Georgia.

I somehow lucked out and was first in line when my library got the new book First Comes Love by Emily Giffin. This, again, was not Earth shattering literature, but it took my mind off the rain coming through my tent walls. It was what summer reading is all about - a light but thought provoking story line with characters that you can root for, flaws and all.

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If you're waiting for the next Robert Galbraith book...

Maybe you're like me and have read all three of the Robert Galbraith mysteries. Maybe not having a new one has left a hole in your reading life. For me, the Bill Hodges trilogy by Stephen King has been filling that hole a bit. THESE ARE NOT HORROR STORIES! They're mysteries, and they remind me a lot of the Strike series. Do not let your preconceived notions of Stephen King stop you from giving these a try.

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REVIEW: A Fine Imitation by Amber Brock

A Fine Imitation by Amber Brock is everything you could want in a beach read, if you happen to be going somewhere warm this weekend. It's the story of Vera, a rich but lonely woman drinking her way through 1920's New York. Vera is so rich she doesn't know how to make tea, but with all her comforts she's never been allowed a bit of fun or self expression. Even when she's tried her very proper mother or socially conscious husband has shut it down. Enter a mysterious European artist, and, well, you know.

This book is not one that will change your life with its prose. It's not The Great Gatsby. This book has characters you can root for, a backstory that keeps you interested, and a satisfying ending. If you're sitting in the sand sipping a drink, isn't that exactly what you're looking for?

Note: I received this book as part of Library Thing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review. Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support!

The Thorn Birds: 1970's drama just like Nana used to love

I decided to re-read The Thorn Birds because of the "read a book from the decade you were born" category in the Bookriot Read Harder Challenge. It came down to a choice between The Thorn Birds and John Le Carre's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I probably should have picked the book I hadn't read before, but the sure thing won out.

I love The Thorn Birds because it reminds me of the soaps that always used to be on at my Nana's house growing up. I highly suggest this (long, multigenerational, sweeping) book if you were born in the 70's and are feeling nostalgic. You can even watch the made for TV mini series which actually just may be a bit better than the book due to the awesome portrayal of Mary Carson.

If you like sweeping melodrama you may also enjoy this trilogy:

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REVIEW: Shylock Is My Name

Shylock Is My Name is beautifully written, with concise descriptions that made me laugh. Despite all that, I just couldn't get through it. I stopped about 1/3 of the way through. Maybe if I were a regular reader of Shakespeare, or if I knew the original story line of Merchant of Venice I would have been able to stick it out. But, I'm not, and I don't, and I'm a grown up so no one can force me to read a book I don't really understand. I'm going to stick with Jane Austen re-telling from now on.

Note: I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for a honest review.

Two books about cupcakes

Cookie Monster cupcakes from my daughter's first birthday

Cupcakes are everywhere - they've come to symbolize the little treat we all need now and then. So, of course, I've read a few books that feature them. A large section of chick lit is made up of women who hit rock bottom, and rebound by open shops that sell flowers, yarn, or baked goods. I'm not complaining. There's something comforting about these books. Just like cupcakes, even our brains need a little bit of something sweet every now and then.

How to Eat a Cupcake by Meg Donohue is chick lit with a twist. Yes there's down on their luck girls who open a bakery, but there's also something sinister going on. But, recipes are included!

Meet Me at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan is one of my current reads. The story is lite, and predictable, but just what I need at the moment. This one has recipes too, which is always a plus. (Note: this book has quite a few sudden point of view changes, and does things like refer to skiing and snowboarding as if they are the same thing. It hasn't bothered me too much, but figured I should give fair warning.)

Are you a fan of these "I lost it all so I opened a shop" type books?

I forgive you Stephen King

Warning: This post contains minor spoilers from books that came out about 10 years ago. If you are strictly spoiler free on The Dark Tower and Harry Potter this is not the post for you.

I started reading The Harry Potter series during a trying time in my life. It was 2006, and all of the books had been released but the last one. Harry & co. were pretty constant companions during that time. I was easily able to get used copies of the first five, waited a while but finally got the 6th, and pre-ordered the 7th one to arrive at my house on release day like every other muggle I knew. I sat on a blanket under the holly tree in my back yard and read the whole thing at once. I loved the series, when it came to the ending I was underwhelmed.

Eventually I decided to re-read the Harry Potter series. I re-read them twice actually - once for each time I was pregnant. There's something about Harry Potter that suits the mind numbing exhaustion of pregnancy. Then my kids were born, and I began to rely on audiobooks. That's when I met Jim Dale, and listened to the whole series again. Somewhere along the way I changed my mind. I decided that the ending was amazing. It just took me a few reads to slow down, and realize how it all fit together.

I'm not sure what made me go back and re-read a series when I knew I didn't like the ending. But it's reflection on Harry Potter that made me go back and start re-reading Stephen King's Dark Tower Series.

During my misspent youth I used to steal my Dad's Stephen King books, and hide them under my pillow to read late at night. He must have eventually caught me, but I don't think he was mad. (The Stand isn't really suitable for hiding under a pillow.) He even suggested that if I really wanted to read something amazing by Stephen King I should check out The Dark Tower. There were only four books at the time, but he said they were worth reading even if they were unresolved. Being of an age where I wasn't prone to take my dad's advise I didn't pick them up right away.

A few years later I was lonely while studying abroad, and picked up a copy of The Gunsliger at an Oxfam shop. I read the first four books while in England, and waiter eagerly for King to write and release the last three. I have a vivid memory of getting up early the day after my wedding so I could go outside and read Song of Susannah. Like Harry Potter, I got the last installment of the series on the day it came out and read it all in one huge gulp. When I finally got to the end I threw the book across the room. Then I picked it up to make sure I hadn't missed something. Then I threw it again.

My reaction to the ending was so violent that I'm amazed that I had the emotional energy to start reading the Harry Potter series just a few years later. Who knows, maybe that's why I put off reading Harry Potter when everyone else in the world was. When a book breaks your heart, you don't easily set yourself up to let it get broken again.

Last year I realized that just like with the ending to Harry Potter, my tendency to binge read might have made me miss the true genius of The Dark Tower series. So I started again. I made my way through the first four - the original books my Dad had told me about. Then I took a break before I started the last three. I finished Wolves of the Calla last week.

I forgive you Stephen King. I haven't yet gotten to the end of the series in this re-read, but I forgive you. The way you weave in the early 2000's into this book while remaining true to the original characters amazed me. Your world building and weaving ways astound me. Even knowing what's coming I am impressed. I'll keep reading with an open mind and a glad heart, and I promise not to throw anything when I get to the ending this time.

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REVIEW: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

“I do not like postmodernism, postapocolyptic settings, postmortem narrators, or magic realism. I rarely respond to supposedly clever formal devices, multiple fonts, pictures where they shouldn’t be - basically gimmicks of any kind. I find literary fiction about the Holocaust or any other magical world tragedy to be distasteful - nonfiction only, please. I do not like genre mash-ups a la the literary detective novel or the literary fantasy. Literary should be literary, and genre should be genre, and cross breeding rarely results in anything satisfying.”

— The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

It only took me until page 13 to fall in love with A.J. Fikry, the grumpy bookseller main character from The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. Really, isn't it every bookworm's dream to find someone who can talk so eloquently about what they do or don't like in a book?

I put off reading about Mr. Fikry for ages because for some reason I thought this book was about time travel. I'm so glad I finally picked it up last week, because it ended up being one of those books that I loved so much I could only read magazines for a few days after I finished. There was a satisfying love story, a great father daughter relationship, just enough drama to make it a story, and an emotional ending that was sad but not in a manipulative way. And that is what I love in a book.

Other books that were so good I could only read magazines for a while:

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REVIEW: The Green Road by Anne Enright

I read about The Green Road on Library Thing, and thought it sounded like the perfect book for me. I love Irish family sagas. Then I picked the book up from the library, and saw it had been longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize. I avoided it for a while then because I assumed that meant unlikable characters with an unresolved ending. It was only a looming library due date with a holds list three people deep that kept me from renewing this book that got me to give it a try.

An old picture from a trip to Western Ireland I took in college. The trip that started my love for Irish family sagas. 

You know what? The characters were pretty unlikable, and the ending was a bit unresolved, but I still loved this book. Despite their total selfishness, the characters read true, and Enright's writing was beautiful and efficient. She used just the right words. She let you know what was going on in the way F. Scott Fitzgerald told you all about Jordan Baker just by the way she drove.

Don't be scared off by this book's success. The Green Road is exactly the Irish family drama you were hoping for.

REVIEW: The Mapmaker's Children by Sarah McCoy

I used to hate books told by two narrators to the point where I wouldn't even pick them up, but lately I have been giving them another chance. I'm not sure if old age has mellowed me, or if I just needed to find some good ones. The Mapmaker's Children by Sarah McCoy is a good one.

The novel is narrated by two childless women struggling to find their purpose. In the present day we have Eden, a former PR worker who moved to West Virginia to start a family. In the past we have Sarah Brown, the daughter of abolitionist John Brown, who reacts to her father's hanging with a resolve to fight on. Both characters are sympathetic, and the way their stories eventually come together is very creative.

If you like historical fiction, you'll love this book. The chapters that deal with the present enhance rather than distract from the engrossing tale of Sarah Brown and her family.

(Note: Blogging For Books sent me this book, but all opinions are my own.)

REVIEW: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a love story between a town and some books. Yes, actual people fall in love too, but the love story between people and books is more believable and satisfying. It's not that there's anything wrong with the person to person love stories. It's just that the example of a run down town that starts with almost nothing, but is completely transformed into a place people want to live once it gets a book store is so satisfying. It's economic and social policy that makes more sense than anything you'll see in a presidential debate.

The story starts off simply enough. A Swedish girl goes to visit her pen pal in Broken Wheel, Iowa. The only problem is she shows up just as her pen pal's funeral is ending. The town puts her up, because it's the right thing to do, and they take care of all her needs. However, it doesn't seem right to come all the way to Iowa only to let others make hamburgers for her and make her coffee. All alone, and without purpose, she decides to pay back the town's kindnesses by opening a book shop. The town is doubtful, but as all bookworms know, a small bookstore can solve everything.

If you love reading you'll love this book.

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REVIEW: The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs

This book left me completely gutted. It's a short book - I read it in under 24 hours during one basketball practice, two metro rides, and a long, weepy lunch. It's a good thing I was working from home that day because I was a wreck.

The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is the story of a girl who was picked on in high school, and what happens when she finally begins to stand up for herself. You'll like her daughter Polly better, but you'll relate more to Caroline. This book is full of wacky characters, but winds up with a wholly satisfying ending. If you ever dreamed of catching up with the kid who picked on you in high school this book is for you.

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Eight classics I want to read in 2016

I'm in the middle of a multi-year attempt to read all of the classics I missed (or didn't pay enough attention to) in high school. Here are the 8 I've assigned myself to read in 2016.

You can click on any of the images above to see a description on amazon.com.

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Tis the season to read some fluff (or listen to it)

This time of year I spend a lot of time working in the kitchen while listening to purely fluffy audiobooks. My recent listen to The Royal We is a perfect example. This one was pure fun, and perfect for my three pie, four loves of bread baking spree the other day.

Other fun books that have kept me working:

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Why did I wait so long?

I finally read The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (AKA J.K. Rowling) this week. I don't know why I was convinced that I wouldn't like it, because I totally did. What's not to like about a fast paced British detective story where everyone has nicknames? The best part is I have two more books in this series to go!

(Spoiler alert: So many people complain because these mysteries by J.K. aren't anything like Harry Potter. Obviously they aren't, but I found similarity in the structure of The Cuckoo's Calling and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  In my mind John=Quirrell and Tony=Snape. Just saying.)

If you liked this series, you may also like:

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REVIEW: Why don't they ever get it right? My review of A Window Opens.

I read A Window Opens this week, and walked away frustrated. This book, while having some true moments, reads mostly like some sort of conservative treatise against women in the workplace. It was supposed to be true and honest, but to me it came off as a ridiculous warning.

Look, I know a woman's decision to work is a personal one that needs to take place on a family by family level. However, if you do go back to work, I don't think it will cause your husband to become an alcoholic, keep you so busy that you won't realize when your kids learn to read, or try to prohibit you from sitting by the death bed of a loved one. If any of those things does happen, it's probably a sign that you have the wrong job, not that you can't have one. (You should probably also try some marriage counseling. If you need to leave work because your kid is sick, and no one can find your husband because he's passed out drunk in the basement, that is not the fault of your job.)

I have this frustration a lot. It seems like authors can't write about working moms without having them be either complete screw ups at work, or frazzled messes who can never be depended upon to bring cookies to the bake sale. I'm not saying life is easy over here, or that I have it all together. I'll promise you this though - I know my kids' teachers names, my kids' teachers know my name, my kids knowing how to read would never come as a surprise to me, I made it to two parent teacher conferences this week, and no one has threatened to fire me.

My  suggestion: skip this book.

A Book I Did Like About Working and Caregiving:

It's a graphic novel! Try something new.

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I linked this post up with On My Bookshelf.