Lauren Reviews Lifer by Beck Nicholas

Lifer by Beck Nicholas
Published: December 2014 by Month9Books, LLC
Source: eARC
Rating: 5+ Stars

Asher is a Lifer, a slave aboard the spaceship Pelican. A member of the lowest rung of society, she must serve the ship’s Officials and Astronauts as punishment for her grandparents' crimes back on Earth. The one thing that made life bearable was her illicit relationship with Samuai, a Fishie boy, but he died alongside her brother in a freak training accident. 

Still grieving for the loss of her loved ones, Asher is summoned to the upper levels to wait on Lady, the head Official’s wife and Samuai’s mother. It is the perfect opportunity to gather intel for the Lifer’s brewing rebellion. There’s just one problem - the last girl who went to the upper levels never came back.

On the other side of the universe, an alien attack has left Earth in shambles and a group called The Company has taken control. Blank wakes up in a pond completely naked and with no memory, not even his real name. So when a hot girl named Megs invites him to a black-market gaming warehouse where winning means information, he doesn’t think twice about playing. 

But sometimes the past is better left buried. As Asher and Blank’s worlds collide, the truth comes out - everyone has been lied to...

This was a novel that crushed the depths of my soul and I'm still trying to glue it back together. Asher is our main character, a strong young woman who is in a forbidden love affair with Samuai, a boy born of a higher social class. Samuai loves Asher despite her social status and even wants to help bring down the walls of oppression that the Lifers have lived behind for many years. Everything changes when Asher's brother and Samuai are pronounced dead. Asher is quickly summoned to be the Lady's servant. Lady is the equivalent of say... the first lady of the United States, power-wise anyway. Lady also just happens to be Samuai's mother. While trying her best to do as she's told without sarcasm (which still slips every once in a while), Asher mentally maps out every detail she can remember to relay back to her mother, who is in charge of an upcoming rebellion against the upper class, AKA the Fishies. 

Then there's Blank. He's named Blank because he woke up on a planet and has no recollection of who he is. He quickly learns about The Company, an organization who recruits and brainwashes people to join their cause. Blank may be well... literally blank when it comes to the details of his past, but he still knows the difference between good and evil. He rather quickly sides with the people who are against The Company and does whatever he can to help the cause. 

Asher and Blank's worlds collide in way that leaves you dizzy. I truly cannot wait to read the next novel in this series. 

Lauren Reviews Brother by Ania Ahlborn

Brother by Ania Ahlborn
Published: September 2015 by Gallery Books
Source: eARC
Rating: 5 Stars

Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it’s served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don’t knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing as to what’s buried in the Morrows’ backyard.

But nineteen-year-old Michael Morrow isn’t like the rest of his family. He doesn’t take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he’s sure that someday he’ll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he’s immediately smitten. For a moment, he nearly forgets about the monster he’s become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place...

It comes as no surprise that I'm a die hard Ahlborn fan, but REALLY?!? She did it again. She has written another relentlessly appalling, yet magnetic book that I adored. 

The Morrow family is the stuff of an old school horror family - all the sadistic tendencies included. One day the baby boy of the family, Rebel, decided he wanted something... kind of like when a kid wants a pet. Except Rebel saw a boy outside. Michael was taken from his front yard at a young age and was raised as a Morrow.

The inner dynamics of the Morrow family are soul-crushing. I'm not talking about Lifetime movie qualities here - more like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre family or one of those messed up stories you glanced at on your social media feed and you thought, "Wow. These things really happen?" That's how this book sucks you in. Just like reading that one sentence news line that catches your eye so you'll click on the link to read the full article. If this book had links, I'd have arthritis from so much clicking. 

This book has a story to tell and I  promise it is one you'll want to hear.

Lauren Reviews A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston
Published: October 2015 by Disney Hyperion
Source: eARC
Rating: 5 Stars

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time.But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air. Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

At first, I got the... "I volunteer as tribute!" vibe when the girl swapped places with her sister. She was sacrificing her life so her sister could live. So... that's basically the same thing, right? This still did not deter me from the book by any means. 

The main character is one brave girl. Not only did she decide to die so her sister could live, but she decided if she was going to go die - she'd go out with a bang. She wanted to kill Lo-Melkhin. I mean, who wouldn't? Lo-Melkhin had killed over 300 girls - all of them his brides to be. But this time would be different. The girl tried something none of the other had... to pique Lo-Melkhin's interest. The first night, when almost every bride died, the girl told Lo-Melkhin a story. Soon dawn arrived and Lo-Melkhin agreed to let her live another day so he could hear the rest of the story. 

Throughout the book, the girl seemingly challenges Lo-Melkhin with her words, which of course just made him more curious. It soon become apparent that Lo-Melkhin isn't really himself and he has some sort of power. The girl starts to see this mysterious power during their long nights full of story-telling. Even Lo-Melkhin's mother can sense her son is different... changed somehow. 

All the while, the girl's sister and the people from the girl's village have been praying to the girl as if she was already dead and considered a smallgod for sacrificing herself. Now the girl starts to sense a sort of power within herself. Maybe now the girl can finally face Lo-Melkhin and prevent more deaths. 

This book was a wonderful reboot of Arabian Nights... or at least it had a few similarities. I loved the main character and the snide comments she made to Lo-Melkhin all the while knowing she could be breathing her last breath. I recommend this book to everyone... seriously. Even if you don't care for the YA or fantasy genres, I still think you'll love it. 

Cross-posted at The Tattooed Biblio

Lauren Reviews Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson

Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson
Published: September 2015 by Month9Books
Source: eARC
Rating: 5 Stars

“Where shall I start?” asked Minotaur.
Ovid made an expansive gesture with both hands. “Where else but the beginning of course.”
Minotaur nodded his huge head. “Yes,” he said. “Yes,” his eyes already glazing over with the weight of thousand year old memories. And then he began.

So begins the story of Asterion, later known as Minotaur, the supposed half bull creature of Greek legend. Recorded by the famous Roman poet, Ovid, Asterion tells of his boyhood in Crete under the cruel hand of his stepfather Minos, his adventures with his friend, Theseus, and his growing love for the beautiful Phaedra. And of course what really happened in the labyrinth. 

This is the true story of the minotaur. Ovid, a scholar who has written a huge volume of myths/legends, travels to the site of the minotaur's labyrinth. His tour guide Asterion, who is known as the minotaur, leads Ovid up the mountain and to the crumbling labyrinth.

Eventually Asterion decides to tell Ovid that he is the infamous minotaur, still alive and living close to the labyrinth. At first Ovid is just humoring Asterion, allowing Asterion to tell his story... this is when the book really starts for me. Asterion weaves the threads that bind story of his life together simply, yet with a heavy heart. The hardships he faced during his childhood... how he was ridiculed and looked down upon because of his appearance, how his father despised him because he was the bastard son of a god. The love of his life and how she was stolen from him. And then the most impressive twist of the story... the minotaur's time in the labyrinth. We all know the story. Asterion tells the true version, which of course is much less gory and extremely compelling. I felt so many emotions during Asterion's life story. But it was Asterion's perseverance that really resonated with me. I don't think I could have kept my own and not turned into the monster everyone thought I was if I was treated as he was.

This was a very thought-provoking read and I absolutely adore mythology, so basically the author wrote this for me. :) So thanks, Phillip.

Lauren Reviews Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Published: September 2015 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Source: eARC
Rating: 5+ Stars

This innovative, heartfelt debut novel tells the story of a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she’s ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster. 

This book. This book... just... this book. This book is everything. There are few books I've read that I can relate to on a level that is borderline perfect. This is one of them. Before I get into that, I have to tell you how much I love the book in general. I felt this book had just the right amount of detail when it comes to the main character's environment, what she could see from her window.. even down to the medical terminology used to describe Maddy's disorder. Then add the cutest sketches and little handwritten workbook pages. I read this on a Kindle and STILL the sketches were just a plus for me.

Back to the 'this is book is EVERYTHING' part of my review.. well, this book is almost me. Maddy is a teenager who is allergic to everything. Her mom has had her sequestered in a sealed house since Maddy was a toddler. Think of John Travolta in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble except this girl had a house and couldn't leave it. This part resonates with me a on few different levels. I am allergic to so my friggin' things. Febreeze, dryer sheets, strong fragrances, cigarette smoke, dogs, cats, pollens, grass.. THE AIR. Now my problems are in no way as extreme as Maddy's medical issues, but I do have an immune disorder as well. Which basically means I tend to get whatever sickness that is going around. Maddy can walk outside and potentially die. I felt so many of the same feelings as Maddy, except she is almost ALWAYS optimistic. Me.. not so much. Sometimes it gets me down that I have at least 3 doctor appointments a month. Maddy takes everything in stride and reminded me to chip up and be grateful. 

Maddy watches a new family move in next door from her window and she ultimately strikes up a friendship with a boy her age named Olly. He's into parkour and fights with his dad a lot. They start chatting by her miming words from behind her window and Olly writing on poster boards. (How cute is that?) Then they start emailing and chatting online. Olly makes Maddy want more. More than being stuck in her bubble for the rest of her life. Maybe having a short, full-filling life is better than having a long, un-lived life. 

This book touched me because I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder. My disorder keeps me from doing so many things in life that I want to do. Maddy is a fictional character who is an inspiration for me. She stops seeing herself and an ill person and starts to see herself as the witty, funny, smart person she is who just happens to have a medical condition. This book will forever hold a place is my heart. 

Cross-posted at The Tattooed Biblio

Lauren Reviews A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Published: January 2011 by Penguin Books
Source: Finished Copy Provided by the Publisher
Rating: 5+ Stars

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together. 

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. Her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. She has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. 

I honestly don't know where to start. Harkness took my soul, wrapped it around her pinky finger, and watched as her words made it glow in the darkness. Not only could I escape reality every moment I picked this novel up, but I felt the main characters' feelings. When they were heartbroken, my heart bled. When they were eloped in passion, i had naughty thoughts (and may have told the boyfriend). When they were scared, but brave... well you understand. 

Back to the basics.. we have Diana Bishop, a witch who has chosen to refuse her own powers and instead has focused her life on being a professional academic. She calls up a mysterious manuscript from Oxford's library, realizes it has been spelled, and promptly sends it back. The problem is all of the creatures have perked up. Witches, vampires, and daemons alike are all vying for the manuscript that may hold the answer to how each creature was created.  In steps Matthew Clairmont, a gentlemen/scientist/vampire whom we all start to swoon over. Which is the only proper response.

"He held me while I spoke, and when I couldn't speak, and when I cried."

Matthew wants the manuscript just like anyone else, but then he takes an interest in Diana. In her professional and personal life. He starts to see her as more than just another witch. Diana has always ignored her heritage as a witch. She has focused her entire life on her education and her professional and has earned all of her merits the good old fashioned way. Matthew tests Diana to be who she is. A man pushing a woman to be herself? 

Can we love this man anymore? NO. The answer is no. I've decided to stop here. I don't want to ruin for you the AMAZINGNESS that happens with Diana and Matthew, but I'm sure you can imagine the storm the is a brewing. All I can say is if you enjoy some fantasy, some adult love, and amazing writing... just go buy this book. And then the sequel. And then the third book in the trilogy. 

Cross-posted at The Tattooed Biblio

For the Love of Everything Dystopian

Last month I posted of my first love, historical fiction. Now I have to show my affection for my second love, everything dystopian/post-apocalyptic. I still remember years ago, slowing filling my bookshelves with stories of survival, bleak skies.. characters enduring hardships that make me feel brave by just reading about them. Here are a few dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels that stole my soul.

Wool by Hugh Howey

An epic story of life, love and survival at all odds and one of the most-talked and anticipated books of the year. In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo. Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies. To live, you must follow the rules. But some don't. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple and deadly. They are allowed outside. Jules is one of these people. She may well be the last.

I cannot express how much I loved this entire series. Wool is the first installment that kept me awake many nights. The world-building aspect of the novel is absolutely amazing. There are many characters to keep up with, but damn it was worth it. This is a lengthy novel, and so are the other two installments.. but I loved all the detail. It just made everything more realistic and believable. I urge EVERYONE to at least check out Wool, but I know if you do, you'll have to read the entire series!

The Passage by Justin Cronin

An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy - abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl - and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape - but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.

This was another lengthly novel that I admit was a bit sluggish at times, but was once again worth it. I love how one of the main character completely changes his course halfway through the book.. and it felt completely genuine. A man decides to stake his entire life for one little girl. She may be the most special girl in the world, but to him, she was just a little girl in need of an adult. This story will always stay with me.

Into the Forest by Jean Hegland

Set in the near-future, Into the Forest is a powerfully imagined novel that focuses on the relationship between two teenage sisters living alone in their Northern California forest home. Over 30 miles from the nearest town, and several miles away from their nearest neighbor, Nell and Eva struggle to survive as society begins to decay and collapse around them. No single event precedes society's fall. There is talk of a war overseas and upheaval in Congress, but it still comes as a shock when the electricity runs out and gas is nowhere to be found. The sisters consume the resources left in the house, waiting for the power to return. Their arrival into adulthood, however, forces them to reexamine their place in the world and their relationship to the land and each other.

I remember reading this book years ago. Two sisters stay in the same house hoping and waiting for the power to come back on, for people to show up alive and well.. for anything normal really. Years and years pass and the sisters learn to live off their small garden and stock of dwindling supplies. The world is bleak and honestly, this book is as well. I think the realism and how the author didn't force a happy ending or any kind of "coincidences" of good fortunes for the sisters on us.

Cross-posted at The Tattooed Biblio

Kimberly wants to know, what are your go to comfort reads?

We all have them.


The books we turn to after a long day.


The ones we open up when we are down.


Just seeing the cover art makes us smile.


You MUST own a copy, because our home feels empty without it.




For me, it's Harry Potter. (Yes, I know, that answer is pretty much cliché. Totally don't care.) I have them on my bookshelves in my living room, my shelves are one of the first things you see when you walk into my house, I want them visible! Plus, I'm still trying to get the Mr. to read them...


When I've had a rough day, or I've been sick, or I'm in a reading slump and don't feel like starting something new, I turn to those books. Sometimes it's just a chapter... sometimes it's a couple of books. ;)

So tell me. What are your comfort books?? Please share in the comments!

For the Love of Historical Fiction

I am in love with so many genres, but historical fiction will always be my first love. Many people lump historical fiction and historical romance together and this to me is tragic. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking on romance novels, but these are two separate genres for me. These are a few historical fiction novels that captured my heart.

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

An infected bolt of cloth carries a plague from London to a small isolated village, and a housemaid named Anna becomes an unlikely heroine and healer. The year is 1666 and Anna and her fellow villagers face the spread of disease and superstition. As more and more people keep dying, villagers turn from prayers to witch-hunting.

I read this book years ago and I still remember the bravery of the narrator, Anna. She saved so many lives in a small town and for this, people loved her and hated her. They believed her to be a witch. She had to choose.. keep saving lives and possibly burn at the stake or drop everything and hide. She chose the former. When I relate myself to the character, I believe I would do the same, but how do we know what we would do in a situation until that situation actually presents itself to us? 

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

For a thousand years her existence has been denied. She is Pope Joan, the woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to become the only female ever to sit on the papal throne. When Joan is young, she exhibits the extraordinary ability to learn. Women were not allowed to read or write, so her brother secretly taught his younger sister and she just inhaled the knowledge of every subject under her dying breath. During a Viking attack, her brother is killed and she steals his identity to enter a simple monastery to live a life full of books and healing. Knowledge of Joan's medical expertise and passionate nature spreads far. She eventually becomes an advisor to the Pope, who dies and she is elected to take his place. She now holds the highest office in the Christian religion. She passes many new laws and changes even more for the good of mankind. I adore this book because I can once again relate, as a female. She achieves a role meant only for men and then excels in that role to a capacity that makes her loved by all. It may be the 21st century, but I can still sometimes feel the stigma of being female amongst a sea of powerful men that dictate society's future. Pope Joan was smart enough to use her knowledge to do what the men before her could not.

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried, and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah is smart and curious. Even though mother and daughter have their different opinions, thy are forced to stand together against the craziness of the trials and the superstitious society that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.

Sarah sticks by her mother's side like most daughters would do, but she also knows to keep herself in check. This resonates with me because I love my mother, but I am not my mother and I do not have the same personality traits or opinions that she does. Somehow Sarah must protect her mother while also protecting herself. Another thing I have head to deal with in my life. I also enjoyed the new perspective on the Salem Trials. I feel like that part of history has been played out too much in novels and movies, but that this book achieves a new look and feel to that time period. 

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. The other power players hope that her strong personality will temper the young Amunhotep’s heretical desire to forsake Egypt’s ancient gods, gods that have always been worships by all of the Egyptians. He wants to introduce a new sun god for all to worship. As in most royal families, there is the pressure to conceive a son, an heir. While Nefertiti is is engrossed in the troubles of conceiving, she fails to see that the powerful priests and military are plotting to overthrow her husband's rule. The only person to recognize the coming shift in power is Nefertiti's her younger sister, Mutnodjmet. Mutnodjmet doesn't care for money or power. She wants a peaceful life with a military general, but Nefertiti is selfish and demands that her sister stay at court and marry someone to gain more political power. To gain her freedom, Mutnodjmet must defy her sister, while also remaining loyal to the needs of her family. 

I love every single one of Michelle Moran's novels. She does her research for each novel and knows her history. This isn't just another historical fiction novel about Egyptian royalty. I became so immersed in the novel and my love/hate for the characters was off the charts. You aren't bogged down by historical facts... the author simply completely immerses you in the time period. I felt like I should like my eyes with kohl and wear gold jewelry every time I picked it up to read. 


These are just a few of my favorite historical fiction books. You've probably noticed all of them have strong female lead characters who have major obstacles to hurdle. These women inspire me and I hope they inspire you as well. 

Kimberly needs your recommendations!

So... I'm looking for my next favorite book.


Tell me, what is your favorite book that no one else seems to know about?

We all have them.

You know, the underrated classic?

The ones that flew in under the radar, noticed by only few.

The ones you try and get everyone else to read!

Please, share your underrated favorites in the comments!

Lori Reviews MY SUNSHINE AWAY by M. O. Walsh

Title:  My Sunshine Away
Author:  M.O. Walsh
Publication Information:  February 2015 by Amy Einhorn Books
How I Got This Book:  I bought a copy on my Kindle app.

Goodreads Synopsis:  My Sunshine Away unfolds in a Baton Rouge neighborhood best known for cookouts on sweltering summer afternoons, cauldrons of spicy crawfish, and passionate football fandom. But in the summer of 1989, when fifteen-year-old Lindy Simpson—free spirit, track star, and belle of the block—experiences a horrible crime late one evening near her home, it becomes apparent that this idyllic stretch of Southern suburbia has a dark side, too.

In My Sunshine Away, M.O. Walsh brilliantly juxtaposes the enchantment of a charmed childhood with the gripping story of a violent crime, unraveling families, and consuming adolescent love. Acutely wise and deeply honest, it is an astonishing and page-turning debut about the meaning of family, the power of memory, and our ability to forgive.

My Thoughts:  Wow.  A Twitter friend mentioned this book and I bought it immediately because I trust her taste.  Only partway through, I began brow-beating another friend into reading this one, encouraging her to abandon her current read and start immediately.  Finally she relented and she thanked me for it.  I think.  I'll just say she did because I know she liked the book, so on some level she did thank me.

This has the elements of a thriller--in the opening pages a teenage girl is raped right down the street from her home and the narrator tries to figure out who did it--but it also is a wonderful, beautiful bildungsroman about growing up and life changing and becoming more complicated that we can all relate to.  The real story is the narrator's personal development from a boy firmly ensconced in his little suburban home to a man who has faced some real challenges and changes and comes out the other side.

My heart broke a number of times throughout this novel, at big and small moments.  The end left me feeling weird and utterly destroyed, yet somehow hopeful and wistful.  For me, it was the same feeling I get at the end of To Kill a Mockingbird.  I felt completely alive, but also somehow detached from my real world.  Somehow I was able to drive to Chipotle and back in a fantastic haze.

This is a book I still think about and carry with me.

I cannot wait to see what else Walsh produces.

An utterly amazing read.

A new favorite for me.

Go buy it.  Now!

Lori's Favorites of This Year

Technically, I was supposed to organize a Cocktail and Conversation post for today, but those posts always sneak up on me, so it didn't get done.  I also didn't get my post written for last week because, among other things, I spent over two hours on the phone dealing with insurance, then got called into work on my day off.  So I decided to go ahead and do my post today because I really liked my post that I was mentally composing whilst on the phone (because who really wants to pay attention while they are dealing with insurance stuff?).

With the end of the year looming before us, I've begun thinking about what I've read this year and what I really liked.  I didn't read a ton this year, I never do.  But I feel like I read a pretty good variety for me.  As a result, I am kind of surprised by the books that are quickly becoming solidified as my favorites for this year.  I usually read mostly fiction.  I'll usually read a couple of non-fiction books for fun, which I enjoy, but don't usually totally knock my socks off.  So, imagine my surprise when--as I am reflecting on my favorite books of the year--I realize that my favorite reads this year are non-fiction.  Naturally, I am not stopping reading for the remainder of the year, but I feel pretty comfortable in naming these as my favorite reads of the year.

Judging a Book by Its Lover by Lauren Leto  This one came in a BookRiot Quarterly box earlier this year.  When I first read the description on the back, it didn't really sound like me, so it kind of hung out on my bookshelves for a while.  One afternoon or evening I wound up grabbing it and flipping it open.  I finished the next day.  Leto's book is full of a lot of really interesting and short essays or pieces about reading and not taking reading too seriously.  It has a very long list of what your favorite author says about you.  It has a long chapter on how to fake reading certain authors, which really turns out to be a great reading pathway if you choose to actually read some of Dostoevsky's works (to name one author).  I had a lot of fun reading this book.  It really helped me chill out and decide to not pressure myself so, so much with my reading.  I read for fun.  So isn't stressing out over what I'm reading totally defeating the point?  It is, it is.

Thus ends the books I've actually finished.  The remaining ones on my list are all in progress.  I think I'll finish two of them by the end of the year.  One, however, is perfect for stringing out for a while.

My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff  I'm at the halfway point with this one.  It was a quick read for me up to that point.  I would have made more progress, actually, if I hadn't stopped for watch an episode of NCIS with my parents (it's our family time).  I am loving reading about the publishing industry during the late 1990s.  Rakoff is extremely relatable to me.  She faces a lot of issues that I faced and still face today, like the part when she realized that her friend who had always written poetry had let that dream die and how that affected their friendship dynamic (basically--people change).  I can't wait to see what happens next.  It's an unputdownable memoir.  Love it!

Ten Years in the Tub by Nick Hornby  Beginning in the early 2000s, Hornby (author of High Fidelity and About a Boy) began writing a monthly column for Believer magazine.  He continued writing this column for ten years.  This volume collects all of his articles.  Each month begins with Books Bought and Books Read, then he discusses what happened and offers up impressions of his reading.  He also offers up a lot of wisdom about his reading life in the process.  For instance, he muses that the books we buy probably say more about us than the books we actually read because the books we buy illuminate who/what we aspire to be, whereas we read books for a variety of reasons that are sometimes have less to do with us than outside forces.  He also shows that you can do a whole lot of reading while still having outside interests (for him it's soccer and music) and that it's OK if sometimes those outside interests overshadow our reading for a while.  This was another that made me realize that reading doesn't have to be a super serious venture.

The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller  I impulse bought this one a couple of days ago, when it was released.  Except I had to buy an e copy because none of the stores near me had any physical copies in stock.  It's fine, but I would have preferred the ability to underline and mark pages for future use.  Anyway, Miller decides that he's dissatisfied with his reading life, so he decides to organize it a bit more.  He starts with a list of ten classics that he's really kind of ashamed that he hasn't read yet and vows to start reading them.  The list ultimately grows to fifty books.  He works his way through each novel.  The book he writes details his journey through the list, what happens to him along the way, how the novels make him feel and how they impact his life, etc.  It's not a ton of literary criticism or a book review of each novel, which I really like.  Though, reader beware, there are spoilers to the plots of these books.  So far for me this hasn't been too big of a problem, but once he gets to reading novels I really want to read but haven't yet read, I'll probably wind up skipping those bits.  This one is a bit more serious because it explores the importance of literature and reading, but I think it's ultimately about pleasure and one man's way of making his reading journey pleasurable to him.

I find it interesting that all of the books that are going down as my favorites for the year are non-fiction books about reading.  But I like it.  These books have given me a lot to think about with my reading and have given me some ideas for how to go forward.  I also find it interesting that all of them are ones I only picked up in the last month.  I could have just as well skipped the first ten months of the year.  :)

I'm still really excited about all of the reading I have left for the year.  In addition to finishing the Rakoff and Miller and making more progress on the Hornby, I am working on I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe, tentatively starting Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and making some plans for my upcoming reading goals and ventures.  Plus, there absolutely must be a reread of David Sedaris's Holidays on Ice.  It's a must for this time of year.

What have been your surprise favorites of the year?

Five Years--What a Difference

I know that at some point I should cease to be amazed by the changes in my reading life--insights, perceptions, reactions--but I can't help it.  The latest incident comes from re-reading a favorite that I read five years ago--Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

I started and stopped this book a number of times before finally pushing through to the end, which I vowed to do by my 21st birthday.  I succeeded in finishing a couple of days ahead of schedule.  I loved the book.  I became so totally engrossed by the ending that I felt what Anna K felt--I understood her desperation and her fear and all the emotions.  There were, to be sure, long speeches on government and politics that I glossed over.  But I finished the book.

Now, just before I turn 26 next week, I am re-reading Anna K.  I didn't do it on purpose.  I just felt that yearning to read something fabulous and Russian that would make me feel...everything.

So I picked up a copy, in a different translation (for Russian authors, I always favor the Pevear and Volohonsky translation) because that was all the local pseudo-bookstore had available and I just had to get my hot little hands on a copy immediately.  I've been interacting with the text, underlining, bracketing, writing questions/thoughts/reactions in the margins and marking things to come back to, which was something I did not do on the first go.  I think this was because I was too swept up in what Tolstoy was doing and also reading so furiously that I just could not stop.

The main thing is that I am also looking at things from different angles this time.  I got this idea from Amanda at Dead White Guys, who has written a few times about Anna K, but this mention of the book in a Top Ten Tuesday and this review of her re-read are my favorites.  The first link gave me the idea of re-reading the book and focusing on Levin, who is supposed to be a semi-autobiographical representation of Tolstoy.  The second reminded me of the grandeur of the book.

I have to say, I am thoroughly enjoying this re-reading.  I am getting sucked into the book in ways that I didn't the first time (does this happen to anyone else?  Maybe I should read everything twice!).  I find myself thinking of the characters and the plot and the words even after I have set aside my copy for the time being.  I would love to take off work and real life for the next week so I can just finish.  But maybe have to read in fits and starts is helping it soak in more than if I just indulged in my impulse to immerse myself.  Maybe coming up for breaks is helping me digest it better.

And in thinking about the overall book, I can see why Levin is in many more ways the hero and the point of the story.  Anna might be a cautionary tale; but Levin is the ultimate message.  At 20, I just sort of figured that the book was named after the character for a reason, so that was where I focused.  Not necessarily, my friends.

I am super excited to be reading this.  Granted, I always go into any reading experience whole hog and then it peters out (usually).  But I don't see that happening this time.  I am too intrigued by what I am noticing as I read and the characters that I notice and am thoroughly enjoying.  So fun!

Has anyone else ever tried re-reading a favorite from a different perspective?  How did that work for you?

The Luxury of Rereading

Well, better late than never!  It's been one of those really full of family time Easters, so I'm only just now settling down to write my post.  Pardon my tardiness.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about rereading...

It all started when a good Twitter friend wrote a blog post about a favorite book of mine and mentioned a concept that I had not seen during my multiple readings of this particular book.  I, naturally, wanted to respond to her thoughts, but decided I really needed to read the book again myself to see if I pick up on it.  That's not to say that I am reading to prove her wrong or anything; but I want to respond with a close memory of the book.
I recently reread The Great Gatsby for an event and realized how much I love that book.
I recently found out that The Good Earth--a book that I always think fondly of when I remember that I've read it--is actually part of a trilogy.  Of course, I need to start the trilogy from the very beginning!
I recently have been thinking a lot about John Steinbeck because of a project at work and really want to read his magnificent works--East of Eden and The Grapes of Wrath.

It seems that I am surrounded by the impulse to reread books from my past the summer that I'm 25 (rather, the first summer that I'm 25, because I plan on "being" 25 for a few years).  Ooh, and now I'm thinking that maybe age has something to do with it...Ugh.  I'm too young to be that nostalgic.

Anyway!  I know that within the book community there is a pretty good sized debate about rereading books.  Some people are working to read allthebooks and life is too short for rereads.  Other people like to look back on books they remember fondly to see if things have changed as their lives have changed.

A favorite blogger of mine has posted about doing a Summer of Rereading.  I like this idea.  In Oklahoma it's usually this close to being too hot to think during the summer.  You don't want to have to tax yourself with something new, unfamiliar, and challenging!  You want to curl up at the pool and read something familiar.  Or curl up in the AC if you are so inclined.  You aren't as busy because there's no school and summer is a time for fun, not work and blah.  The days are longer so you have more time to read.  I don't know what it is about summer that makes it a good time to reexplore and reevaluate, but I am definitely going to do it this year.

If reading is a luxury, a chance to get away from the blah-ness of daily life, then rereading seems like the ultimate luxurious act of pleasure.  I already know what's going to happen in these books.  I already once felt favorably towards these books.  Yet I am reading them again for the absolute and utter sheer pleasure of reading them.   It sends shivers down my spine.  I have hundreds of unread books on my shelves, but I am going to spend three months reading books I've already read.  I love it.

I have several ideas of what I want to reread, but no definite list.  Summer feels like a good time to do it, but summer seems so far away!  There's that whole thirty days of April and a part of May that I have to live first.  I may go ahead and start summer early.

So, where do you fall on the topic of rereading?  For it?  Against it?  Why?

Lori Reviews Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books

Title: Reading Jackie:  Her Autobiography in Books

Author: William Kuhn

Published: Anchor, 2011 (paperback edition)

Where I Got It:  My wonderful Secret Santa, Kimberly, sent it to me.

 

I am a huge admirer of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.  I think that she embodied so much of the grace and charm that I always seek to cultivate in my own life.  She had a varied set of interests that included art, ballet, reading, fashion, decorating, and even pop culture.  All of these are interests of mine as well, which, I think, is why I feel such an affinity towards her.  I first saw press on this book back in 2010 before it was originally published.  I really wanted a copy because I thought the biography was extremely interesting, but just never bought it.  So I was elated when it showed up in my Secret Santa package in December.  I started in on it immediately and finished in a few days, underlining, taking notes, and dog-earing pages throughout.

So...about the book...

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a notoriously private person, who really resented the spotlight's glare on her personal life.  She rarely gave interviews.  She did not write her memoirs.  She even put a ban on her letters and papers being published after her death.  But through the projects she was involved with as an editor at Viking, then Doubleday, she left some clues about herself.  William Kuhn looks at these clues and tells a story about her based on these books and projects and what others have said about Jackie.  During her tenure as an editor, Jackie was involved with upwards of 100 books that speak to her various interests and opinions.

The book opens with a wonderful testament to Jackie's love of reading and books.  From there, Kuhn breaks the biography into several topical chapters--such as a chapter about relationships and a chapter about beauty.  All the while, Kuhn weaves together a narrative that tells the story of the book's publication process and what it meant to Jackie--the chapter on relationships includes a book about Sally Hemings (Thomas Jefferson's mistress) and the chapter about beauty includes a book with pictures of Marilyn Monroe.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  I learned a lot about Jackie Kennedy while reading it.  I added a long list of books, authors, and topics to investigate to my already long list.  Though maybe some of the connections that the author draws are specious (there's not a whole lot of definitive evidence that she chose to support this book or that book because of a personal connection, in my opinion) there are a lot of coincidences that I think lead the reader to accept these claims as plausible.  It is a book that I will definitely look at again in the future, having quickly become a person favorite.  Another thing that this book did for me was it reignited an old dream of working in publishing, especially as a book editor, so it's given me a career path that I want to work towards.

I would highly recommend this book to people who are interested in Jackie Kennedy or to people who are interested in the concept of how books tell the story of a person.  It's also just a great bookish read.

Jamie's Latest 5 Star Reads

At this blog and my other blog, The Perpetual Page-Turner, I don't really use star ratings on my reviews anymore because it just got too complicated for me personally because I couldn't justify giving 4 stars to a book I REALLY enjoyed that was maybe more "fluff" than a 4 star book that was maybe more profound. ANYWHO. I do still give star ratings most of the time on Goodreads (come be friends with me if you feel like we have stuff in common!) so I figured I'd share my latest 5 star reads!

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney: Ok, so this book isn't out until June but I had the opportunity to borrow it. AMAZING. Please pre-order this book now if you like YA contemps. Danny, the protag, has just graduated high school two weeks after his mother has passed away from cancer and sets off to Japan, where his family had a second home, for answers to questions about his mom during her last months and how to keep living himself. There's some romance, great meanderings through Japanese streets and soul shaking self discovery. I ugly cried like no other for obvious reasons and for some not so obvious reasons. Don't dismiss this as "just another grief book" because there's so much to this one! Read my initial thoughts on When You Were Here!

 
The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith: Le swoon! If you like cute contemporary YA romances, this one is sure to fit the bill! It's seriously adorable and I read it mostly in a day. I can't believe it took me this long to actually get to it but LOVE! Definitely reading more from Jennifer E. Smith soon! You can read my full review of The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight!

Just One Day by Gayle Forman: You know I'm a Gayle Forman fangirl if you read my reviews of If I Stay & Where She Went (so amazing!) so I was super excited to get this for review. I was really nervous because she's a FAVE AUTHOR and so she has so much to live up to in my eyes. LUCKILY, for me, Just One Day was incredible and exactly what I needed to read! I love self discovery stories (oh ok and swoony moments and romance) and I really connected to the main character and some of the things she was struggling with. Love when a book speaks to what I'm going through ATM! Sidenote: love that the main character was in college! Read my full review of Just One Day here.





I realized after writing this that all my latest 5 star reads are contemporary YA! OOOPS! My bad! I swear I really do have variety in my reading, you guys!

Have you read any of these? Any on your TBR? I'm curious what were YOUR latest 5 star reads?? I'm always looking for EXCEPTIONAL books to add to the TBR or bump up my list!

Lori Talks About Her Favorite Book

This is a post that I've altered a bit from my own blog.  After my lack of success with Saturday's Readathon, I don't have a review to write.  So I thought I'd share some thoughts about my favorite book:  Gone With the Wind.  I'm sharing this in the hopes of hearing what other people have to say about their favorite novels, not in the expectation that other people will share my feelings towards this particular novel.


Lately, I've been agonizing about what book to read.  I've started several that seemed promising, but they just didn't stick.  They just didn't grab me in the way I was wanting a book to grab me.  So I was very surprised when the answer to this conundrum attacked me one night in the shower about a week ago.  In a very Field of Dreams kind of moment, it dawned on me--I should return to my roots, I *need* to reread Gone With the Wind.  So simple.  "Duh, Lori. Duh" was my response.

I started reading it as soon as I was able.  I turned on the fan so that I'd have to pull up my quilt.  I read the preface written by Pat Conroy.  As soon as I started reading the preface, I felt a compulsion that I hadn't felt before.  I was happier in my reading life than I have been in a long time.  I knew that my new, albeit temporary, motto would become "If I get this (homework, errands, sleep) out of the way, then I *get* to read Gone With the Wind!"  I actually bragged to one of my best friends about it.  Not because I have the time to read for pleasure and she doesn't because I don't really exactly have the time to be reading so much.  But because *I* get to read this amazing novel right now.

My first experience with Gone With the Wind was in the 7th grade.  It was Christmas.  I saw that Gone With the Wind, this movie that I had heard about from somewhere (I honestly don't know where because I hadn't gotten into old movies yet, but somehow I *knew* it was *The* movie to watch), was on TCM.  For whatever reason, I decided to read the screenplay as we watched the movie.  I couldn't really explain why I wanted to read the screenplay as I watched the movie, but it was like I knew how much this story would affect me.  So that's what happened.  We watched the movie, I read the screenplay, and I was hooked.

Maybe that same day, maybe another visit to my grandparents', I found a copy of the novel upstairs.  This amazing movie was also a novel?!  I took it.  I didn't know how famous this book was.  In my 13 year-old mind, it was a lost book that nobody paid much attention to.  I felt like I was discovering something amazing that people had forgotten.  I remember feeling a little bewildered when I realized how many people knew and loved my book because Gone With the Wind had become my book.  It wasn't that I was selfishly trying to hold onto it.  I was willing to share.  But I wanted to share it with people, to turn them onto this amazing little secret that I had.

I read the book.  I inhaled the book.  I absorbed the book.  I probably even displayed poor manners and outright devoured the book.

But I read it again and again.  Ten times total from the 7th grade until I graduated high school.  

It's one of those books that resonates more with some people than others.  I believe that it resonates more with Southerners because it's telling our story.  Your heart swells with pride, hope, and acceptance as you turn the pages.  You nod your head in complete understanding as the plot progresses.  You laugh and cry as the passages dictate.

From the time that I was 13 years-old, I adopted Scarlett as my role model.  She may not have always done the most upright thing.  But she did what she had to do to survive.  She was strong.  She was beautiful.  She was really pretty smart.  She had the personality that I always wanted.  She had Rhett Butler, that symbol of earthy manliness that my exes never really lived up to, but against whom they were always measured.

And for the last 11 years, she has been there.  Sometimes at the back of my mind.  Sometimes at the front.  I've said ever since that first time that this is my favorite novel.  Then why haven't I read it in six years?  I really can't explain that.  Maybe I took all I could take from it as a teenager and had to change enough to be able to take more from it.

I am ready to again devour Gone With the Wind.  I want to will myself into reading it more slowly this time, to let it soak in again, to get lost in the beauty of Mitchell's magic and not just get lost in Scarlett (although, I know that I will do this too).  Some of the lessons I still remember and follow (sometimes you have to be a little bold to get by), others I remember and quietly ignore (not leaning on my elbows because it makes them ugly), and others I've downright forgotten.  But this, this is the book that I want living in me.  Pat Conroy describes in his preface how his mother lived this book.  I used to live it too, but I lost it somewhere along the way.

I'm ready to pick it back up now and carry it with me.


Do any of you have a favorite book that resonates with you so deeply?  Do you reread it often or do you just savor the last time you read it?  Tell me about it.  I'd love to hear.

Top Ten Tuesday Rewind With Jamie!!

 For the future TTT schedule, go here!

 I decided to go with Top Ten Favorite Books I've Read Since I Started Blogging

 

When I first started blogging at the end of June 2010 I wasn't much of a YA reader. Mostly because I thought YA books = only teens should read them. Slowly but surely I learned that this was not true and I've been trying to catch up on all the great YA books out there -- a task that is truly daunting and never ending but AWESOME. Here's a few of the books that have been my favorites (read: I probably recommend and push on people ALL THE TIME) since I've started blogging!



I cheated a little bit but that's to be expected, yes?

1. If I Stay/Where She Went by Gayle Forman: Both of these books elicited ALL OF THE EMOTIONS from me for different reasons. Mia & Adam are just two really fabulous characters you'll care about immensely. (my review of If I Stay & Where She Went)

2. Anna and the French Kiss & Lola & The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: I will read ANYTHING Stephanie Perkins puts out. She writes the kind of fun contemporary YA I love! I'm so happy Steph from Steph Su Reads MADE me read Anna and the French Kiss despite how wary I was of it because of the cover. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I will be a Stephanie Perkins card carrying fangirl for LIFE. (my review of Anna and the French Kiss & Lola and the Boy Next Door)

3. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins: I read The Hunger Games very early in my blogging life. The first week actually. I had seen the series on Goodreads for so long and bought THG but then once I saw how crazy the blogging world was about these books I just HAD to start it. Thoroughly enjoyed and devoured! (my review of The Hunger Games & Catching Fire/Mockingjay)

4. Under The Never Sky/Through The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi:This dystopian series was a surprise to me! I didn't expect it to love it as much as I did. Under the Never Sky started out slow for me but soon picked up and LOVED it. Through The Ever Night just solidified it. Cannot WAIT until the next installment. Such a good dystopian read! (my review of Under The Never Sky)

5. Paper Towns & Looking For Alaska by John Green: JOHN. GREEN. How did I live without reading his books for all my life? Next up is The Fault In Our Stars. They are just the kind of smart, quirky reads I love! (my review of Paper Towns & Looking For Alaska)

6. Sloppy Firsts & Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty:Jessica Darling! One of my top characters of all times! I just love how hilarious these books are and how REAL they are. They just seem to ring true to my teen experience. All of the angst. All of the FEEELINGS. Very authentic. Fun to reminisce. I still need to FINISH THIS GLORIOUS SERIES. (my review of Sloppy Firsts & Second Helpings)

7. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard: You know I have this insatiable travel bug so naturally this novel appealed to me but I didn't realize how much I'd really LOVE this one! (my review of Wanderlove)

8. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson: Beautifully,beautifully written! Such a touching story. I felt all the feelings. (my review of The Sky is Everywhere)

9. Between Shades Of Gray by Ruta Sepytus: If you love historical fiction, I HIGHLY recommend this. Even if you aren't a YA reader. I listened to this on audio and sobbed on a mini road trip. Wow. Just wow. (My review of Between Shades Of Gray)

10. The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandunna: This was a more recent read for me -- a new release! I read this in the span of a whole car ride (in which I miraculously got over my car sickness) and just LOVED it. It had lots of feelings but subtly so! ( my review of The Lost Girl)

Honorable Mentions: Wither/Fever by Lauren DeStefano, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, For Darkness Shows The Stars by Diana Peterfreund