Finished 10-12-10, rating 4.5/5, fiction, pub. 1989

The novel starts after the death of Sunyan Woo when her daughter Jing-Mei is asked to take her place at the mahjong table.  And so begins the stories of four Chinese mothers and their American daughters.  Jing-Mei finds out that before leaving China her mother abandoned two daughters and now Jong-Mei’s sisters have been found.  Waverly Jong has a daughter, but not much respect for her mother or her heritage.  Lena St. Clair is in an unhappy marriage and her mother considers herself a ghost.  Rose Hsu Jordan is getting divorced much to the consternation of her mother.

The most interesting parts of this book are the stories of the mothers and their youth in China.  I loved learning about the culture and history and how their lives changed when they moved to San Francisco.  They all seemed to have real issues with the American way of life and values and lamented how it affected their children.  It was fascinating.

As much as I loved the stories of the women there were too many to invest in completely.  There was not a resolution for every  story and that’s okay, but I would have liked one.  This didn’t really detract from the beauty of the book, but it is worth mentioning. 

I didn’t expect to love it, but I did.  It wasn’t what I expected, it was so much better.   It was fun escaping into another culture for a few hours. I will definitely be checking out more books by Amy Tan. 

This is from my personal library and was chosen by Hannah, Golda, Margot, Jackie, Staci, Jenners, Mystica, and Mom.  Here’s what they had to say…

“A modern classic, I think. Really well done.”  Jenners

“Fantastic book by a wonderful author. You’ll remember this one well after you’ve read it!”  Staci

“Because it’s an engaging tale of immigrants and generations, but also because this is one of those books that will be (or already is) a part of our collective consciousness.”  Hannah

Finished 10-6-10, rating 4.5/5, fiction, pub. 2001

“You called me fat in a magazine.  You turned me into a joke.  You don’t think you did anything wrong?”

“Face it Cannie,” he said.  “You are fat.”  He bent his head.  “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t love you.”

The box of tampons bounced off his forehead and spilled into the parking lot.

Chapter 1

Cannie has a good job as a reporter, close friends, a dog she loves, but she is unhappy with the extra weight she carries.  To make matters worse her ex-boyfriend of five years has just written an article in a national magazine titled “Loving a Larger Woman.”  Although she was the one to initiate the break-up she’s not sure she did the right thing and she makes some questionable decisions.

Cannie is a great character, full of humor, intelligence, laughter, and wit. It is light at first, but also addresses serious family issues with both of her parents that I found very real.  And the fact that the reality wasn’t all tied up with a pretty bow at the end made it great for me.  It managed to maintain the fun while still showing that not all things in the real world can be solved the way we want.  It is chick lit at its best, but moves beyond that to a heartfelt story about starting to love yourself.

This was a great debut novel and I’m not sure what took me so long to read it.  Oh wait, it’s the hundreds of other books I own.  Anyway, I’m happy to discover a new author who I look forward to reading.  My only complaint comes from the fact that I’m pregnant.  The pregnancy storyline was a little flat for me only because it felt like Weiner just took things from a pregnancy book and threw them in.  I’m sure that if you are not pregnant this would not bother you, but since I’ve had over eight months of living it it just didn’t ring true for me.  Still loved the book!

This is from my personal library and was chosen by Shanyn, Debbie, Em, and Mom.

“Hilarious, love her.”  Em

“I became an instant fan after I read this one.”  Debbie

“I love that book.”  Shanyn

Finished 9-28-10, rating 4.5/5, fiction, pub. 2005

The floorboards creaked under my weight.  There were books everywhere.  There were pens, and a blue glass vase, an ashtray from the Dolder Grand in Zurich, the rusted arrow of a weather vane, a little brass hourglass, sand dollars on the windowsill, a pair of binoculars, an empty wine bottle that served as a candle holder, wax melted down the neck.  I touched this thing and that.  At the end, all that’s left of you are your possessions, Perhaps that’s why I’ve never been able to throw anything away.  Perhaps that’s why I hoarded the world: with the hope that when I died, the sum total of my things would suggest a life larger than the one I lived.

“Die Laughing” chapter

Leo Gursky, a man who escaped the Nazis in Poland before following the love of his life to New York City, is staring a lonely death in the face.  He has one friend, he makes a scene when in public so that people will remember him, and he is willing to embarrass himself just to be seen.  He is alone, the love of his life is dead and his son doesn’t know he exists.  Leo is full of wit and wisdom and sadness.  I just wanted to give him a hug.

Alma Singer is a girl who wants to know who her namesake is.  Her dead father had given her mother a book, The History of Love, and the woman in it, Alma, represented all women.  Young Alma’s search for the author provides the catalyst and the mystery for this original novel. 

The language is beautiful and the story bittersweet.  It is both funny and confusing, touching and depressing.  It came close to being perfect for me and I loved it.  It is very difficult to describe, but pick it up and take a look.  It may be just the unique voice you are looking for.

This is from my personal library and chosen by Vasilly, Heather, Mille, Alita, and Wendy.  Here’s what they had to say…

“Best book ever. Really. Please, please tell me this came from your Holiday Book Blogger Santa? I might cry otherwise.”  Mille (my very sweet Secret Santa :))

“You want to dig deeper into the book as you read.”  Vasilly

Finished 7-13-10, rating 4.5/5, fiction, pub. 1997

“Rich, I swear I think marriage is the most mysterious covenant in the universe.  I’m convinced that no two are alike.  More than that, I’m convinced that no marriage is like it was just the day before.  Time is the significant dimension-even more significant than love.  You can’t ask a person what his marriage is like because it will be a different marriage tomorrow.  We go in waves.”

page 166

Jean is a married mother of a five-year old girl and a photographer.  She and her family are on her brother-in-law’s  boat on the islands off of Maine researching a story for a magazine feature.  As Jean takes pictures of the island where a horrific crime took place in the 1800’s, she becomes convinced that her husband is having an affair with her brother-in-law’s beautiful girlfriend.   This story is spliced with the truth about what really happened all those years ago.

It is haunting, sad, and drew me in right away.  Beautifully told by alternating the past with the present I was even more invested in the old mystery surrounding a double murder and life on the inhospitable islands at the time.  It was made better because it is based on a true story.  Shreve used the old courtroom transcripts word for word, but made up the rest.  It definitely made me curious about the real murders.

This is not a long novel and one that will keep you riveted.  I never did fully connect with Jean, but I was fully engaged in the story.   It left me thinking well after I finished reading and that is about as good a recommendation as I can give.  I absolutely loved it!

This is from my personal library and was chosen by Piroska and Wanda.  Here’s what Wanda had to say…”One of my all-time favourites.”

Finished 7-8-10, rating 4.5/5, classic fiction, pub. 1906

White Fang became hated by man and dog.  During this period of his development he never knew a moment’s security.  The tooth of every dog was against him, the hand of every man.  He was greeted with snarls by his kind, with curses and stones by his gods.  He lived tensely.  He was always keyed up, alert for attack, wary of being attacked, with an eye for sudden and unexpected missiles, prepared to act precipitately and coolly, to leap in with a flash of teeth, or to leap away with a menacing snarl.

Chapter 11

Part wolf, part dog White Fang came into the cruel Yukon world during a famine.  He and his mother were the sole survivors of the family and eventually went to live with a group of natives who gave them security, but took away their freedom and eventually took away White Fang’s mother.  White Fang was the biggest, cruelest, and most lethal of the dogs.  When his loyalty was betrayed he became hardened to the dog in him.  Is he redeemable?

Let me start by saying that I am a girl who cannot even watch the nature channels once one animal kills and eats another.  It’s a little too much reality for me.  I am much more likely to cry in a movie if a beloved animal is killed than a person.  So, when I say that I love White Fang and all of his wild ways it is no small thing.   I am sure that part of it is London’s writing – I loved The Call of the Wild as well- but the story itself is so compelling that I was riveted by White Fang’s life.

The book is mostly told from White Fang’s perspective once he is born, but the opening scenes that tell the tale of a sledding team on the run from wolves was perfect.  I won’t tell you who wins, but it was as good as any thriller I’ve read lately.  There was so much cruelty and abuse that White Fang never really had a chance until someone took the time to try to save him.  It is a lesson in humanity and redemption and I loved it.

This is from my personal library and chosen by GMR and Rhapsody in Books.  Here’s what they had to say…

“Unforgettable story about man’s relationship with nature.”  Rhapsody in Books

“A definite classic, but not so heavy that you’ll be stalled in your reading challenge.”  GMR

Finished 6-14-10, rating 4.5/5, thriller, pub. 1998

This is book 2 in the Jack Reacher series (Book 1)

Jack Reacher is an ex-MP who is aimlessly travelling around the country after 13 years serving in the military and he happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The place is Chicago and the time is when FBI agent Holly Johnson, a woman with secrets and family in the highest of high places, is snatched off the street.  When they realize they are being kidnapped by a crazy militia in Montana they are sure they will be rescued, but as time goes on and the craziness seems even crazier Jack realizes it is up to him to get them out of there.  The rescue that should have come is delayed by the President and his chief of staff due to politics and it’s enough to make you mad (as most political things tend to do to me).

Jack Reacher is a man’s man, but one that women are drawn to because of his sheer masculinity and unavailability.  He is who he is, take him or leave him and that confidence and physical presence makes him a force to be reckoned with.  When I read the first Jack Reacher I said I was unsure about him because I didn’t know where he drew the line at right and wrong and this book helped clarify that for me.  He’s a tough guy and one easy to like.

I liked this one even better than the first.  It is still gritty and grisly, but not quite as much as the first.  I am looking forward to more Jack!

This is from my personal library.

Finished 6-10-10, rating 4.5/5, mystery, pub. 2002

Book 3 of the Merci Rayborn trilogy (Book1 review) (Book 2 review)

Merci is a homicide detective with her eyes on the sheriff’s office someday.  This will be hard since decisions made a year ago (in Red Light) have alienated her from half of the police force of Los Angeles.  When a case comes in about a probable murder-attempted suicide involving a fellow officer Merci is reluctant to believe the officer guilty, even though evidence points in his direction.  When the officer survives, but with bullet parts littering his brain, the case becomes more complicated since he remembers little to nothing about the crime and what he does remember may or may not be true.

Merci is a single mom living with her toddler son and father and pining after her partner Paul Zamorra.  She takes a personal interest in the case and has to butt heads with the prosecutors to keep the officer out of jail.  I love Merci.  She is strong, wounded, complicated, and smart.  She is good at her job and unwilling to back down. 

I loved the way this book wrapped up.  I immediately looked to see what the next in the series was and…there isn’t one!  Not only that, but Parker doesn’t plan on writing more.  So, I went back and read the last chapter again and found it to be the perfect way to end Merci’s story. 

I highly recommend these three books for mystery and police procedural fans.

This was from my personal library.

Finished 5-11-10, rating 4.5/5, fiction, pub. 2005

If you haven’t seen The Philadelphia Story stop what you are doing, rent it, and watch it.  It’s probably overstating the point to say that until you watch it, you will have been living a partial and colorless life.  However, it is definitely on the list of perfect things.  You know what I mean, the list that includes the starry sky over the desert, grilled cheese sandwiches, The Great Gatsby, the Chrysler building, Ella Fitzgerald singing “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If You Ain’t Got That Swing),” white peonies and those little sketches of hands by Leonardo da Vinci.

Chapter 1

Cornelia Brown recognizes a defining moment when she sees it.  Managing a coffee shop, while not on the fast track to a choice career, does give the classic movie loving 30-year-old the opportunity to meet a Cary Grant look-alike.  Martin Hobbs looks good, sounds good, and Cornelia is ready and willing to fall in love.  Only before she gets the chance Martin brings his mystery daughter to the coffee shop and Cornelia falls in love with her instead.  Clare Hobbs has been abandoned by her mother and ignored by her father and has had to deal with more than any 11-year-old should.  Martin lets Clare stay with Cornelia and he loses some of his charm.

The chapters alternate between Cornelia and Clare and the two form a strong bond.  Cornelia now has a purpose and Clare now has security.  I loved Cornelia’s obsession with old classics.  Her love of The Philadelphia Story (my favorite) endeared me to her as did her belief that Jimmy Stewart was the perfect man until Cary Grant walked into the room.  I wish that the movie love had continued through more of the book.  Clare was a brave little girl who seemed wise beyond her years, and maybe she was, but I couldn’t help but love her.  Cornelia learned more about herself and love from Clare than she had learned from her life until that point.

The writing was fresh and fun and the story had many unexpected turns.  I wasn’t crazy about the end, but it was okay, and I would recommend this book to anyone.

This is from my personal library and was chosen by Candice, Amanda, Colleen, and Soft Drink.

“Heartwarming AND beautifully written.”  Soft Drink

“One of my favorite books (the sequel is another hit!)”  Colleen