Book Review: Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave

From the back of the book: There are secrets you share, and secrets you hide....

Growing up on her family’s Sonoma vineyard, Georgia Ford learned some important secrets. The secret number of grapes it takes to make a bottle of wine: eight hundred. The secret ingredient in her mother’s lasagna: chocolate. The secret behind ending a fight: hold hands.

But just a week before her wedding, thirty-year-old Georgia discovers her beloved fiancé has been keeping a secret so explosive, it will change their lives forever.

Georgia does what she’s always done: she returns to the family vineyard, expecting the comfort of her long-married parents, and her brothers, and everything familiar. But it turns out her fiancé is not the only one who’s been keeping secrets….

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I'll just come right out and say it. This was the best book I've read in a LONG time. I knew almost immediately that it would become my go-to book recommendation this summer, because I think it is very well written, and something that most people I know will really enjoy. In fact, this book was just released at the beginning of June and is already receiving tons of accolades. I can understand why. Despite the synopsis, this book really didn't feel particularly dramatic to me, and I think that's a credit to Laura Dave's talent as an author--to be able to make characters feel real, authentic, and nuanced without feeling trite or over-dramatic.

I think I expected Eight Hundred Grapes to be your standard chick-lit romance set in wine country. You know--the sort that will inevitably be made into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon. And while I think it's still quite likely that this book will be made into such a movie, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Eight Hundred Grapes was as much about family and wine as it was about romance. Laura Dave described the vineyards and the wine making process with such care that I was totally transported to Sonoma, and instantly wanted to tear out all the grass in our backyard and plant enough wine grapes for a small vineyard. Thankfully, Justin reminded me that we do, in fact, have wine grapes planted in our backyard, and that three plants is probably plenty for us at this moment in time. But, the point is that while Eight Hundred Grapes *is* light enough to be something that I'd read at the beach or next to the pool, it's not completely superficial chick lit either--there is substance and depth there as well, which I really enjoyed. 

Overall, I really enjoyed Eight Hundred Grapes, and recommend it highly. In fact, move it to the top of your "to be read" stack, right now. 

You can also read an excerpt of Eight Hundred Grapes here, and read my review of Laura Dave's book The First Husband here.

Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book for review through Net Galley. I did not receive any further compensation for this review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own. You all should know by now that I couldn't lie about a book even if I wanted to :)

Book Review: Housebreaking by Dan Pope

From the back of the book: In this gripping, gorgeous literary drama, two suburban families are hopelessly entangled during an explosive Thanksgiving weekend that changes their lives forever.

When Benjamin’s wife kicks him out of their house, he returns to his childhood home in Connecticut to live with his widowed father. Lost, lonely, and doubting everything he felt he knew about marriage and love—even as his eighty-year-old father begins to date again—Benjamin is trying to put his life back together when he recognizes someone down the street: his high school crush, the untouchable Audrey Martin. Audrey has just moved to the neighborhood with her high-powered lawyer husband and their rebellious teenager, Emily. As it turns out, Audrey isn’t so untouchable anymore, and she and Benjamin begin to discover, in each other’s company, answers to many of their own deepest longings. Meanwhile, as the neighborhood is wracked by a mysterious series of robberies, Audrey seems to be hiding a tragic secret, and her husband, Andrew, becomes involved in a dangerous professional game he can never win. And, by the way, who is paying attention to Emily?

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It's been a couple of months now since I read Housebreaking, and when I sat down to collect my thoughts, I spent a good deal of time trying to remember which major issue/conflict was the base of the story. Was it the one with the blackmail? Or maybe the tragedy? Was it the one with the lies and deception? Or the one with the troubled teenage daughter? Turns out, it was all of the above. You see, in the world Dan Pope creates in Housebreaking, everyone has a secret. Benjamin has one, and so does Audrey. Audrey's husband has one, and so does her daughter. And in this instance, every single one of the secrets is a big, major, DYSFUNCTION-JUNCTION secret, not just a run-of-the-mill small secret. Pope really walked a line between realistic and outlandish in terms of all the varying issues that his characters faced, but he walked that line well, given the circumstances. 

Overall, Pope is an extraordinary writer, and I enjoyed his prose immensely. He was able to weave characters in and out of the novel in a way that felt nuanced, but natural at the same time. He tackled a TON of issues, with only minor forays into soap-opera territory. I appreciated the way that the story unfolded slowly, from various different characters. It felt like I was getting little pieces of the puzzle from each individual character, which then gave me new insight and understanding as to the story as a whole.

This novel is deep, and fairly dark. It doesn't shy away from hard issues or familial dysfunction at all, but it doesn't leave you feeling depressed and hopeless either. Overall, I enjoyed it very much and recommend it highly!

 Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book for review through Net Galley. I did not receive any further compensation for this review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own. You all should know by now that I couldn't lie about a book even if I wanted to :)

In this gripping, gorgeous literary drama, two suburban families are hopelessly entangled during an explosive Thanksgiving weekend that changes their lives forever.

When Benjamin’s wife kicks him out of their house, he returns to his childhood home in Connecticut to live with his widowed father. Lost, lonely, and doubting everything he felt he knew about marriage and love—even as his eighty-year-old father begins to date again—Benjamin is trying to put his life back together when he recognizes someone down the street: his high school crush, the untouchable Audrey Martin. Audrey has just moved to the neighborhood with her high-powered lawyer husband and their rebellious teenager, Emily. As it turns out, Audrey isn’t so untouchable anymore, and she and Benjamin begin to discover, in each other’s company, answers to many of their own deepest longings. Meanwhile, as the neighborhood is wracked by a mysterious series of robberies, Audrey seems to be hiding a tragic secret, and her husband, Andrew, becomes involved in a dangerous professional game he can never win. And, by the way, who is paying attention to Emily? - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Housebreaking/Dan-Pope/9781476745909#sthash.OaUk84Qq.dpuf

In this gripping, gorgeous literary drama, two suburban families are hopelessly entangled during an explosive Thanksgiving weekend that changes their lives forever.

When Benjamin’s wife kicks him out of their house, he returns to his childhood home in Connecticut to live with his widowed father. Lost, lonely, and doubting everything he felt he knew about marriage and love—even as his eighty-year-old father begins to date again—Benjamin is trying to put his life back together when he recognizes someone down the street: his high school crush, the untouchable Audrey Martin. Audrey has just moved to the neighborhood with her high-powered lawyer husband and their rebellious teenager, Emily. As it turns out, Audrey isn’t so untouchable anymore, and she and Benjamin begin to discover, in each other’s company, answers to many of their own deepest longings. Meanwhile, as the neighborhood is wracked by a mysterious series of robberies, Audrey seems to be hiding a tragic secret, and her husband, Andrew, becomes involved in a dangerous professional game he can never win. And, by the way, who is paying attention to Emily? - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Housebreaking/Dan-Pope/9781476745909#sthash.OaUk84Qq.dpuf

In this gripping, gorgeous literary drama, two suburban families are hopelessly entangled during an explosive Thanksgiving weekend that changes their lives forever.

When Benjamin’s wife kicks him out of their house, he returns to his childhood home in Connecticut to live with his widowed father. Lost, lonely, and doubting everything he felt he knew about marriage and love—even as his eighty-year-old father begins to date again—Benjamin is trying to put his life back together when he recognizes someone down the street: his high school crush, the untouchable Audrey Martin. Audrey has just moved to the neighborhood with her high-powered lawyer husband and their rebellious teenager, Emily. As it turns out, Audrey isn’t so untouchable anymore, and she and Benjamin begin to discover, in each other’s company, answers to many of their own deepest longings. Meanwhile, as the neighborhood is wracked by a mysterious series of robberies, Audrey seems to be hiding a tragic secret, and her husband, Andrew, becomes involved in a dangerous professional game he can never win. And, by the way, who is paying attention to Emily? - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Housebreaking/Dan-Pope/9781476745909#sthash.OaUk84Qq.dpuf

Book Review: The Bullet by Mary Louise Kelly

From the back of the book: Caroline Cashion is beautiful, intelligent, a professor of French literature. But in a split second, everything she’s known is proved to be a lie.

A single bullet, gracefully tapered at one end, is found lodged at the base of her skull. Caroline is stunned. It makes no sense: she has never been shot. She has no entry wound. No scar. Then, over the course of one awful evening, she learns the truth: that she was adopted when she was three years old, after her real parents were murdered. Caroline was there the night they were attacked. She was wounded too, a gunshot to the neck. Surgeons had stitched up the traumatized little girl, with the bullet still there, nestled deep among vital nerves and blood vessels.

That was thirty-four years ago.

Now, Caroline has to find the truth of her past. Why were her parents killed? Why is she still alive? She returns to her hometown where she meets a cop who lets slip that the bullet in her neck is the same bullet that killed her mother. Full-metal jacket, .38 Special. It hit Caroline’s mother and kept going, hurtling through the mother’s chest and into the child hiding behind her.

She is horrified—and in danger. When a gun is fired it leaves markings on the bullet. Tiny grooves, almost as unique as a fingerprint. The bullet in her neck could finger a murderer. A frantic race is set in motion: Can Caroline unravel the clues to her past, before the killer tracks her down?

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I finished The Bullet over a month ago, but have spent the past 30ish days hoping that I'd be struck with divine inspiration about how to review it, because I'm still just not quite sure what to think or to say. The concept of the novel intrigued me right away. Right off the bat, I found Caroline Cashion as a lead character to be smart and engaging--someone that I could imagine being friends with. I really, really enjoyed the first 65% of the book or so. 

But then, at some point, the novel started to lose its identity--was is a coming-of-age novel or a suspense novel? A romance? Maybe a thriller? Surely there HAD to be a plot twist coming somewhere...it could not be this predictable, could it? Did Caroline start using drugs halfway through the novel? Because if  not, I'm not quite sure how to reconcile the fact that all of a sudden Caroline started to make straight up *stupid* decisions that did not jive with anything we had been told about her personality or character up to that point.

It wasn't a bad book, though. I did enjoy most of it, and it was a quick read that would probably be perfect for a summer vacation. That said, I think the bottom line for me was that I loved the concept so much, and was ultimately let down by the execution of the last half of the book.

This seems to be a book that people either love, or were disappointed by. Unfortunately, I fell into the latter category. But overall, if the premise sounds interesting, add it to your list. It's definitely worth a fair try.

Book Review: The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer

From the back of the book: From the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of The Dive From Clausen’s Pier, a sweeping, masterful new novel that explores the secrets and desires, the remnant wounds and saving graces of one California family, over the course of five decades.

Bill Blair finds the land by accident, three wooded acres in a rustic community south of San Francisco. The year is 1954, long before anyone will call this area Silicon Valley. Struck by a vision of the family he has yet to create, Bill buys the property on a whim. In Penny Greenway he finds a suitable wife, a woman whose yearning attitude toward life seems compelling and answerable, and they marry and have four children. Yet Penny is a mercurial housewife, at a time when women chafed at the conventions imposed on them. She finds salvation in art, but the cost is high.

Thirty years later, the three oldest Blair children, adults now and still living near the family home, are disrupted by the return of the youngest, whose sudden presence and all-too-familiar troubles force a reckoning with who they are, separately and together, and set off a struggle over the family’s future. One by one, the siblings take turns telling the story—Robert, a doctor like their father; Rebecca, a psychiatrist; Ryan, a schoolteacher; and James, the malcontent, the problem child, the only one who hasn’t settled down—their narratives interwoven with portraits of the family at crucial points in their history.

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I remember reading Ann Packer's book The Dive From Clausen's Pier when it was first released and being blown away by how Packer wrote and developed characters. I've been pretty ruthless with my collection of books over the years, giving them away or taking them to the used bookstore for credit, but The Dive From Clausen's Pier is one that I've hung on to. Suffice to say, I had high expectations for The Children's Crusade. 

I've been mulling it over now for a couple of months, trying to put words to how I feel about this book, and I guess what it comes down to is this--I think Ann Packer is a master of characters. She writes them well, she develops them well, I always enjoy reading about them, and always find them to be genuine (though not always likable). However, where this book differed from Clausen's Pier was that in this case, I was completely ambivalent about the outcome of the central plot line that the characters were engaged in. I'm not sure whether Packer intended for the book to be solely character driven or whether Clausen's Pier was clouding my expectations, but The Children's Crusade was largely different than what I expected or hoped for in this way. 

So, it wasn't what I was expecting, but that's not to say that I disliked it. I think that once I adjusted my expectations and tuned into the fact that The Children's Crusade was really a character study, I enjoyed it a lot. I liked having a glimpse into each character's perspective on both the past and the present. I do wish that we heard more from Penny herself, rather than everyone else's perspective ON Penny though, and I wish that the family had been brought together to tell essentially this same story under a different set of circumstances.  

Overall, I think that if you like character driven novels, you'll probably enjoy this book. On the other hand, if you're interested in reading it because you loved Clausen's Pier, it may not be exactly hoping for. Either way, I vote that you add it to the nightstand stack. 

Book Review: The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

From the back of the book:On the faded Island Books sign hanging over the porch of the Victorian cottage is the motto "No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World." A. J. Fikry, the irascible owner, is about to discover just what that truly means.

A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island—from Lambiase, the well-intentioned police officer who’s always felt kindly toward Fikry; from Ismay, his sister-in-law who is hell-bent on saving him from his dreary self; from Amelia, the lovely and idealistic (if eccentric) Knightley Press sales rep who keeps on taking the ferry over to Alice Island, refusing to be deterred by A.J.’s bad attitude. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, A.J. can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly.

And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It’s a small package, but large in weight. It’s that unexpected arrival that gives A. J. Fikry the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. It doesn’t take long for the locals to notice the change overcoming A.J.; or for that determined sales rep, Amelia, to see her curmudgeonly client in a new light; or for the wisdom of all those books to become again the lifeblood of A.J.’s world; or for everything to twist again into a version of his life that he didn’t see coming. As surprising as it is moving, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is an unforgettable tale of transformation and second chances, an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.

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“The words you can't find, you borrow. We read to know we're not alone. We read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone. We are not alone. My life is in these books, he wants to tell her. Read these and know my heart. We are not quite novels. The analogy he is looking for is almost there. We are not quite short stories. At this point, his life is seeming closest to that.
In the end, we are collected works.” 

-The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

 It's no secret that I love books about books, and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is really no exception there, because it's not just about books, it also feels a bit like a love letter to everyone who truly loves reading. A.J. Fikry reads books. He talks about books. He makes his livelihood by selling books. His most prized possession is a limited edition book. Indeed, nearly his whole life seems to be filtered through...you guessed it...books. Now that's a main character that I can relate to! :)

All that said, it's taken me awhile to write a review for this one because I wasn't entirely sure what to say. See, it's kind of a vanilla book. Safe. Clean. Predictable. Even the drama isn't particularly dramatic. Nothing about it is revolutionary. But I also really enjoyed it, and found that it was one of those books that I carved time out of my day to read. You know the ones--the ones that you carry with you and sneak a moment or two of reading wherever you can. I liked A.J. All of the supporting characters were developed well, and I really, genuinely liked all of them.  It was a fun book to read, and it reminded me of both The Rosie Project and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore in terms of the overall vibe of the book (both of which I really enjoyed). It was quiet, it was charming, and it was wise.

Overall?

Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book for review through Net Galley. I did not receive any further compensation for this review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own. You all should know by now that I couldn't lie about a book even if I wanted to :)

Book Review: A Million Little Ways by Emily P. Freeman

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From the back of the book: The majority of us would not necessarily define ourselves as artists. We're parents, students, businesspeople, friends. We're working hard, trying to make ends meet, and often longing for a little more--more time, more love, more security, more of a sense that there is more out there. The truth? We need not look around so much. God is within us and he wants to shine through us in a million little ways.

A Million Little Ways uncovers the creative, personal imprint of God on every individual. It invites the discouraged parent, the bored Christian, the exhausted executive to look at their lives differently by approaching their critics, their jobs, and the kids around their table the same way an artist approaches the canvas--with wonder, bravery, and hope. In her gentle, compelling style, Emily Freeman encourages readers to turn down the volume on their inner critic and move into the world with the courage to be who they most deeply are. She invites regular people to see the artistic potential in words, gestures, attitudes, and relationships. Readers will discover the art in a quiet word, a hot dinner, a made bed, a grace-filled glance, and a million other ways of showing God to the world through the simple human acts of listening, waiting, creating, and showing up.

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Have you ever thought of yourself as an artist? 

I haven’t, not really. I like to take photographs, but to me that feels like capturing a moment in time, not creating one, and I think that in my mind, being an artist is associated with creating and cultivating something out of nothing. I look at other photographers and have no problem identifying them as artists, but somehow never consider that for myself.

A musician playing a song. A painter filling the canvas with color. A seamstress creating pants out of some fabric and thread. Those are artists.

My husband's an artist. My sister and sister-in-laws are artists. Not me. 

In hearing Emily Freeman talk about her book, A Million Little Ways, I heard her say once that this is a book for people who fear that they have nothing to offer the world, but secretly hope that they’re wrong. 

And that’s exactly it, isn’t it? So many of us, I think, feel like art isn’t something for us. It’s something for the painters and the musicians of the world. Emily Freeman argues that there’s already art alive within all of us; it’s art that we were born to make, and also art that we were born to live, and that our art can be expressed as a way to glorify God in a million little ways, whether we be moms and dads, teachers, cashiers, telemarketers, garbage men, or musicians on stage. Our life can be our art, if we let it.  

I read this book at a time when I felt weary and bogged down by the mundane. It was an encouraging reminder that we all have different giftings, and are called to do specific things at different times in our lives, but that regardless of what our gifting is, we can glorify God through it.

“I don't believe there is one great thing I was made to do in this world. I believe there is one great God I was made to glorify. And there will be many ways, even a million little ways, I will declare his glory with my life.” ~Emily Freeman, A Million Little Ways

There’s no doubt about it, one of the ways that Emily Freeman has been gifted is writing—she weaves words and stories together in a way that is captivating and enjoyable. As if you began talking in your living room with your best friend at 3pm, and suddenly looked up and it was midnight. 

Actually, I think that the best praise that I can give for this beautiful book is to tell you that I received an advanced reading copy of the book to review, and sometimes, particularly with digital advances, there are little glitches still being worked out. In this instance, my copy was missing every single double f. Effort became “eort”. Offering became “oering”. Stiff became “sti”. But Emily Freeman’s prose is so beautiful that I was easily able to look past it, and to all that this book had to offer. It was worth it. 

Overall? Even if you don't think that there's any possibility that you're an artist....

PS- The amazing ladies at (in)courage recently used this as their Bloom Book Club book. If you do read A Million Little Ways, I highly recommend popping over to (in)courage--they walked through the book with Emily Freeman herself and have a lot of amazing videos available to watch and posts available to read!

Disclosure Statement: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. As you all should know by now, all opinions are my own--I couldn't lie about a book even if I wanted to.

Book Review: The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood

From the back of the book: On a fateful summer morning in 1986, two eleven-year-old girls meet for the first time. By the end of the day, they will both be charged with murder. Twenty-five years later, journalist Kirsty Lindsay is reporting on a series of sickening attacks on young female tourists in a seaside vacation town when her investigation leads her to interview carnival cleaner Amber Gordon. For Kirsty and Amber, it’s the first time they’ve seen each other since that dark day so many years ago. Now with new, vastly different lives—and unknowing families to protect—will they really be able to keep their wicked secret hidden?

 

Gripping and fast-paced, with an ending that will stay with you long after you’ve read it, The Wicked Girls will appeal to fans of the Academy Award–nominated film Heavenly Creatures and the novels of Rosamund Lupton and Chevy Stevens.

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I came across The Wicked Girls as an "Amazon Recommends" suggestion, presumably because I'd recently looked up several books by Laura Lippman, whose endorsement of this book is actually featured on the cover. The plot seemed completely interesting to me, and I couldn't wait to jump in. 

Initially, I'll say that the alternating narrative style of this book was a bit hard to follow because essentially, we're actually hearing from four characters--Kristy (present), Amber (present), Bel (past), and Jade (past). The narration jumps from person to person often, and it was hard initially for me to keep track of which present-day character went with which past character. 

Overall, I thought the story was interesting, though predictable. But here's my gripe, and I'll do the best that I can to explain with as few spoilers as possible...basically, the whole premise of the book centers around the idea that Bel and Jade were The Wicked Girls. That in meeting each other for the first time, they conspired to commit murder of a four year old girl. But from my perspective, while Bel and Jade weren't particularly kind or compassionate to the four year old who unexpectedly came into their care, they were also eleven years old at the time, and it was pretty clear to me that what happened was not murder, so much as an accident. They made poor choices after the four year old died, but they weren't malicious, just flawed reasoning of YOUNG CHILDREN who were probably in SHOCK.

 

 Despite how the media may have portrayed them, I feel like any reasonable police officer, judge, counselor, etc, would have seen the truth of the situation readily. And it's that knowledge of their "wicked" past that seems like it is supposed to shape our perspective of Kristy and Amber in the present, but I just couldn't get there, and it drove me nuts. 

So for me, although it wasn't necessarily a bad book, I had a hard time investing in the story that Marwood was trying to tell. Overall? 

Banned Books Week 2013.

I was blessed to have some amazing teachers growing up who required and recommended all sorts of amazing books that even now, I count as some of my favorites. Some of the few that I read over and over again. Literally, books that changed by life and my worldview, for the better.

1984 by George Orwell

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

All of the above? Banned Books.

"Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship." ~Banned Books Website, Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association

Sometimes I feel like when we thing about banned books, we think about the 1960's or 1970's, burning books in church parking lots, and not about today. But the fact of the matter is that there are still campaigns and challenges to have books banned from schools and public libraries.

"A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. The number of challenges reflects only incidents reported. We estimate that for every reported challenge, four or five remain unreported." -ALA

I think you'd be surprised to know what some of the most challenged books since 2001 have been:

Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.
Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group

Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit

Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey.
Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group

Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: offensive language; racism

Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, and religious viewpoint

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: religious viewpoint and violence

The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious

My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Reasons: offensive language, racism, violence

The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger
Reasons: sexual content, offensive language, unsuited to age group

Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling
Reasons: occult/Satanism, violence

In fact, right now, everything I'm reading is on the banned books list--I'm re-reading A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and Looking for Alaska by John Green is waiting for me at the library.  Are you reading one of the banned books this week? Is one of your favorites on the list?

Book Review: The Silent Land by Graham Joyce

Source: goodreads.com via Meredith on Pinterest

From the back of the book: When Jake and Zoe are buried under a flash avalanche while skiing in the French Pyrenees, they miraculously dig their way out from under the snow—only to discover the world they knew has been overtaken by an eerie and absolute silence. With their phones cut off, and the village evacuated of every living soul, the young married couple begin to witness strange, unsettling events neither one can ignore. And as the days wear on, they are forced to confront frightening possibilities as they attempt to survive and escape the silent land they now inhabit.

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A lot of people look at me like I have three heads when I say that I think Stephen King is one of the best writers of our generation. I know why--his writing is graphic, and sometimes it's hard to get past that graphic horror. BUT. The man can write. If you haven't already read 11/22/63, please read it. It's one of a very small handful of books that I can read over and over. But back to the point--I respect Stephen King as an author and a literary critic, and he's recommended several Graham Joyce novels. So, when I saw that our local library actually had several Graham Joyce novels (the stock at my local library is abysmal), I decided to give The Silent Land a try first, only because I liked the cover best. I totally love a good book cover design, and this is one of the best I've seen in awhile. Yep, I went there...I judge books by their covers.

Anyway, it took me a bit to really get into the book--I felt like I was stuck on the first chapter for days. But once I did get into it, it was a quick read that I really enjoyed. I hadn't read anything about The Silent Land prior to reading it, but I think that it's probably been marketed as a supernatural thriller, which I would say is not exactly correct. I figured out the "twist" easily, and I think a good portion of readers will be able to do the same. Although there are elements of suspense and drama, it's really about Jake and Zoe, and their relationship--the secrets, the special moments, the frustration, and the love between them in the midst of a very Twilight Zone esque situation. And it was that relationship part that I really loved the most. It was that part that made me still enjoy every minute of the book even after I figured out the twist. 

Also? There's an appropriate conclusion. Hallelujah on toast! Overall? Best book I've read in 2013 so far:

Catching up.

{one} 

We made some serious progress in deep cleaning the house this weekend, which is awesome and amazing, because the next FOUR Saturdays are booked up...which is crazy and surreal. We still have a huge amount to do pre-baby, but getting a good check of the general deep-cleaning out of the way is a huge relief. And it's kind of nice that I could actually invite people over to our house again--it really was so bad, that it was out of the question!

{two}

I have a dermatologist appointment this morning, I think to check on how the place where I had stitches on my stomach is holding up, and also to monitor a mole. Even though I don't think it's going to be a big deal, I have a hard time not getting super anxious any time I have a dermatologist appointment. I freaked most of the night last night about the appointment.

{three} 

I did some housekeeping to the blog over the weekend--I cleaned up the sidebar a bit, and also revamped the pages in the header. Now, you can find all baby and infant related posts itemized in one central location, and also a master list of all book reviews. I'm also trying something new and opening up a limited number of sidebar ads via Passionfruit-- check it out if you're so inclined (and I promise you won't hear much more from me on the subject).

{four}

We went to a wedding over the weekend for a young couple that used to help with childcare for Mom's Group. Justin and I were cracking up because both the father/daughter dance and the mother/son dance were the exact same songs we used for our wedding. I don't think I've heard them at ANY wedding since then, so it was pretty funny to hear both in one wedding. We kept joking that we guessed we were supposed to be remembering our wedding that day ;)

{five}

I get to start Beth Moore's study of James with some of the ladies from Mom's Group this week, and I am so excited. SO. EXCITED. I have absolutely zero doubt that it'll be really good for me to really dig in to the Word in these last few weeks before having a baby...because I don't know about anyone else, but it is so easy for me to fall out of the habit of daily quiet time, and when I do, nothing good comes of it. Also? Totally crazy to think that I most likely won't finish the study with the group because I'll be off having a baby.

{six}

Last night, I had a conversation with Lizzy about dinner that went like this:
Me: Lizzy, would you like a cheeseburger for dinner?
Lizzy: No mom!! I want a hang-a-burger with cheese, please.

If I would have told her that a hang-a-burger with cheese is the same thing as a cheeseburger, it would have resulted in a 37 minute tantrum. Sometimes, it's just easier to call it a hang-a-burger with cheese.

{seven} 

I'm in a book slump. I haven't picked up a book that I was really, really excited about reading in too long. This is compounded by the fact that what I read before bed has recently been directly influencing some absolutely crazy pregnancy dreams, so I'm trying to limit myself to happy, inspirational fluff. But yeah...not excited about anything I've read lately. Any suggestions?

This morning....

-I'm thinking of the stuffed zucchini recipe that I made for dinner last night. I was inspired by this awesome recipe from Annie's Eats:

Source: annies-eats.com via Meredith on Pinterest

But I was running short on time and ingredients, and so I just combined ground beef, pasta sauce, and sprinkled a bit of parmesan cheese on top (and baked in a water bath). They were delicious. I think Justin ate 3 of them. So, I can't even imagine how much more delicious the Annie's Eats version would be!

-I'm nervous about my skin cancer follow-up appointment tomorrow afternoon, even though I don't have any reason to think that I should be.

-I'm beyond irritated with OHSU, who handled the skin cancer fiasco, and who also sent me a letter that we received yesterday saying that they'd be sending us to collections as of today for non-payment.

Only? According to my records and my bank account, we last made a payment on 6/11/12 over the phone...so I have no idea what this "non-payment" crap is about. Literally, every month since the procedure in January, there has been some sort of issue with OHSU, and I'm tired of spending time each month on the phone with them trying to explain how they've messed up...again. I've done my share of paying on medical bills in my life, and literally no one has handled it as poorly as OHSU.

-I'm excited about the raspberry freezer jam that I made yesterday. If you've ever wanted to make jam, you should check out this photo tutorial that I did last year, because it literally takes 30 minutes and is the easiest and best thing in the world. And there's no cooking or baking involved whatsoever. 

-I'm loving this photo that Kaitlin snapped of Lizzy last Monday while we were all berry picking. I totally stole it off Facebook. Speaking of berry picking...I really probably should, you know, WASH the blueberries that we picked a week ago, and actually do something with them.

-I'm excited about this stack of books that I got at the library for $1, total. Love their fill-a-bag sales!

-I'm still laughing about the shirt that I got for Justin (bottom photo) on clearance for $3 for himwhile he and the other Justin tried their hand at making beer for the first time this past weekend. They've totally decided that their first batch of beer will be the BEST! BEER! EVER! (even if it doesn't turn out), just because they made it. I think they're probably right! 

Today, I am...

{SO STINKING EXCITED} for our "big" ultrasound appointment tomorrow afternoon. Seriously. Kait offered to do a gender reveal photo shoot for us, which would have been fun, but I just didn't want to wait one more second longer than 2pm tomorrow afternoon! Sorry Kait, lol!

{totally exhausted} after a mostly great, but really busy weekend. The big children's event that Justin and I have been planning for church was on Saturday, and it's nice to be done! About half the people who signed up to run carnival game stations for us just didn't show up the day of...so that was interesting. And stressful. But, there was a giant inflatable obstacle course there, so I'm not sure that the kids even really noticed the craziness behind the scenes, or even that there were no snow-cones this year. Okay, so they probably noticed the lack of snow-cones, but hopefully had fun anyway!

{bummed} that in the midst of the crazy day on Saturday, our anniversary got lost in the shuffle. I don't think Justin or I ever even said "Happy Anniversary!" to each other. If it weren't for some awesome and thoughtful cards from family, I think it probably would have gone completely unmentioned! I hope we get to take some time to have a date soon, though I'm not sure when that will be, because we are booked every single night for the next week!

{hopeful} that I'll make a big dent in our laundry pile today. 

{loving} this Pinterest tip to use hot vinegar and Dawn dish-soap as a tub/shower cleaner. It totally works. Our shower was so dirty that I didn't even realize how dirty it was anymore...and this? Awesome. In fact, now that I know what sparkly-white looks like, I just may need to clean it again to get it 100% there.

Source: thecraftpatch.blogspot.com via Meredith on Pinterest

{giddy} that the library finally has Insurgent waiting for me to pick it up today!

{stumped} about what to make for dinner!

{marginally irritated} that Justin got summoned for jury duty again. He seriously gets summoned more than anyone I know. I know it's his civic duty and all, but for us it basically just means three days of him not getting paid, and for people on a budget like ours, that SUCKS. And considering the fact that he has been summoned every single year and I *never* have, it's a little irritating! I wish I could go in his place!   

{loving} snuggling with Lizzy watching Dora on this cloudy, rainy morning.

{excited} for Justin, and the early birthday present (his birthday is Wednesday) that he got from my parents. I don't think they knew this, but the toolbox that they got for him was exactly what I was hoping to get for him, but just couldn't swing this month.

Also, I'm pretty sure Lizzy was just as excited about the box it came in!