Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland

Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland
Fiction/Literature

Liz lives a lonely life, and that's really all she can think until she gets a call from a hospital claiming that an admitted patient has her name on their allergy bracelet. Liz can't think of who it is so she goes to the hospital and realizes that it is the son she put up for adoption when she was 16, which was over 20 years ago. Liz wants to know all about her son, Jeremy, and what his life has been like, but he is dieing of MS and does not have much time.

Liz enjoys her time with Jeremy and realizes that she isn't as lonely as she used to be. She reminisces over her trip to Rome when Jeremy was born, but she can't remember who his dad is and how exactly she became to be pregnant.

As usual for a Coupland book, this is a bit bizarre. I always find it interesting how Coupland can write, really, about nothing at all yet still make it interesting. I'm sure there were a lot of deeper messages about life and the general ways of society, but I'm kind of dense when it comes to things like that. I didn't find the characters as whiny as some other Coupland novels I've read. This book was weird, but interesting.

Rating:

(3.5/5)

A Tendering in the Storm by Jane Kirkpatrick

A Tendering in the Storm by Jane Kirkpatrick
Historical Fiction

Christian and Emma Griesy and their two young children come from a Missouri communal colony to emigrate to the Washington territory. Emma is a very independent woman who chafes at the ideas of sharing and living together with those in the commune. She wishes to own her own property and build up her own wealth. But when Christian dies saving another man's life, Emma must learn to survive without him.

When Emma learns that she is pregnant with Christian's child, she is concerned about how she is going to manage her growing family without the help of her husband. Although there is help offered from Christian's parents and even a marriage proposal, Emma wants to show everyone she can make it on her own. Emma has great difficulty accepting help as she feels that puts her under obligation. She wears herself thin trying to do the best for her children. After an illness Emma finally accepts Big Jack's marriage proposal, but will this give her the help she needs?

Although the story is about Emma, a second narrator is introduced. Louisa, the commune leader's wife, tells her story. Louisa is a woman who tries to affect change from within. Is it better to work from within like Louisa or work from outside the confining community like Emma?

This book is a wonderful story about independence and dependence, loss and grief, community and individualism, giving and receiving. Everyone knows that giving is a good charitable act. Emma has to learn how to receive. This is a hard lesson, one that is also hard for me to accept. How does one accept help without feeling under the obligation of that person? Although Emma struggles with living in the commune, she has to learn that even in a commune there exist individuals. Emma puts her children first at all times and this is admirable, however it may not always be what is best. There are times when you feel if she thought about her own needs, the needs of her children would then follow. I loved the gentle spiritual pace of the book. Emma's faith, although tested, remains steadfast and it is uplifting to read about her courage and faith.

It is very interesting to read about the early settlement of a Washington coastal town and an Oregon farming community. I was amazed at the amount of travel back and forth between the two communities.

This book is the second in the Change and Cherish series. I have not read the first book and found nothing missing. This book could be read stand-alone.

Rating:

(4/5)

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Fiction/Literature

Nineteen minutes is all it takes to permanently change the lives of hundreds of people. Peter, fed up with being picked on, walks into school and kills 10 of his classmates, injuring many others, all in the time span of nineteen minutes. Josie is left alive to cope with the death of her friends and her lack of relationship with her mother. Really, this book is hard to explain. There are many characters and many emotions.

As any other Picoult book, her writing grabs you right away. After finishing the book and comparing it to My Sister's Keeper (my favourite Picoult book), I didn't think it was as good. The lines were far too blurred between good and bad. Practically every character was a victim, yet they had done something horribly wrong at the same time. Who are you supposed to feel sympathetic to?

The sad thing is that even after everything that happened to this town, nothing had really changed. Kids were still bullying other kids, and teachers were still turning their backs. Were 10 deaths not enough to realize that bullying needs to be stopped? Would it be enough in the real world??

Rating:

(4/5)

Rapture in Death by JD Robb

Rapture in Death by J.D. Robb
Genre of book

Lieutenant Eve Dallas returns for another round of solving crime in the future with her sexy hubby Roarke by her side. This time round, Eve investigates what at first looks to be suicides. But soon Eve starts to see a pattern, including an anomaly on each victim's brain scan.
As always, there is fantastic chemistry between Eve and Roarke. I also like that Peabody and Feeney came back. I'm hoping that Peabody finds a man soon!
As much as I enjoy this series though, I am really starting to get tired of the way Robb ends her books. Eve always finds out who the murderer is a moment too late when she walks into a trap all alone. Then she pulls a confession out of them while waiting for backup. I don't think there has been an 'in death' book that hasn't ended this way! This one was worse than normal though. Eve was in the office of the murderer and was looking at their computer screen which was just jumbled code. Then all the sudden it turns into the name of someone that was murdered? Yah, ok there.
The next book in the series BETTER not end like this!!

Rating:

(3.5/5)

Away Laughing on a Fast Camel

Away Laughing on a Fast Camel by Louise Rennison
Young Adult

From the Publisher
Bedroom 7:00 p.m. Georgia Nicolson Crap House Crapton-on-Sea Crapshire Crapland
Just when the Sex God becomes Georgia’ s official boyfriend, he decides to go off and snog sheep in Kiwi-a-gogo land, taking her heart with him. Georgia decides to display extreme glaciosity to all boys -- after all, a girl can only have her heart broken so many times.

Until, ohmygiddygodstrousers, she meets Masimo, the new Italian-American lead singer for the Stiff Dylans band. The Dreamboat has landed -- again -- and Georgia is away laughing on a fast camel (whatever that means)!

I liked this book better than the last. Georgia made me laugh out loud. The cardboard kitty glasses sound something else. Also setting someone on fire trying to light a candle at church was hilarious. I also thought the description of costumes for the Lord of the Rings party was very funny. I hope she soon realizes that Dave the Laugh is much better than Masimo.

Rating:

(4.0/5)

Windows on the World by Frederic Beigbeder

Windows on the World by Frederic Beigbeder
Fiction/Autobiography

This book starts off quite simple and to the point. "You know how it ends: everybody dies". The book has the potential to be a great work of art, or to upset people and open still healing wounds. The book is split in two, alternating chapters between a fictional account of a man and his two children who go have breakfast at Windows on the World the fated day of September 11th, 2001, and an autobiography of the author Frederic Beigbeder. It is a translation from French, and unfortunately not a great translation.

At first, it's unclear what Beigbeder sets out to prove about himself. His writing leads you to believe he's writing about how his life has changed since 9/11 (he's a Frenchman and even talks about the American dislike for the French). But then it seems like he can't make up his mind. Is he writing about the current ways of the world? Is he writing about history? Is he writing about himself (because he does come off kind of egotistical)? It gets to the point where I skim through these chapters. Beigbeder just cannot keep my attention because it seems he can hardly keep his own attention. Every chapter is about something different.

The other story, however, is quite touching. How many of us have wondered what it would be like, god forbid, if we were trapped in the World Trade Center? Is it morbid to think it? Probably, but didn't the events of 9/11 prove that it's possible for anyone to be in the same situation? Carthew is an extremely flawed man. His wife has divorced him because he cheated on her and he has led an adulterer life. He has two children that he loves, but he is too self-absorbed to recognize the light that his children could give him in life. Carthew eventually comes to realization that his life has been pretty much wasted and that he is grateful for his kids, even though he brought them into the world only to die shortly after. This book is about the hope, despair, love, hate, faith, anger, and any other emotion you could think of.

"The two badly behaved children have reminded her that she needs to buy a present for her grandson's birthday ... She thinks she remembers seeing a branch of Toys R Us ... this is what she is thinking as the doors to the elevator close noiselessly. For the rest of her life, she will believe it was the Lord God who told her to leave at this precise moment; for the rest of her life she will wonder why He did so, why He spared her life, why He made her think of toys, why He chose her and not those two little boys."

Rating:

(3.5/5)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
Young Adult

I'm not going to bead a dead horse here. I'm sure enough people have either read it already or are sick of hearing about it.
This book is my second favourite in the series. I still enjoy The Prisoner of Azkaban the most. This was jam packed with action minus one part where things seemed to drag because Harry & Herminone didn't quite know what they were doing.
Everything was wrapped up nicely and it was great to have some old characters come back. There was one part I didn't really like because it was too convenient. I'm sure there was another way for Rowling to explain the final battle, but beggars can't be choosers!
As for the final chapter, I thought it was a bit too crammed. I was having trouble keeping track of who was who. And I wanted to know more about what profession the characters had taken up.
Wow I think I just wrote all of this without giving anything away!!

Rating:

(5/5)

Dancing in my Nuddy-Pants

Dancing in my Nuddy-Pants by Louise Rennison
Young Adult

From Chapters:
Georgia thought she had put her ""red-bottomosity"" to rest when she finally chose Robbie the Sex God over Dave the Laugh. Anyway, Dave the Laugh is now dating her friend Ellen (which didn’t stop Georgia from snogging him at a party...)

But when Dave breaks up with Ellen and the Sex God is never around, Georgia doesn’t know what to do! As always, in Georgia’s life, nothing ever turns out as planned!

Thank God, Georgia isn't my child. She is very irreverent and seems not to really care about anything. We do get a glimpse that she is not that bad at school or sports. If she were my friend I would have told her to take a hike long before now. I am really pulling for Dave the Laugh. My fav character is Angus. You just have to love this free-wheeling independant feline.

Rating:

(3.5/5)

The BFG

The BFG by Roald Dahl
Children's literature

Sophie, a young orphan, gets picked up by the BFG (Big Friendly Giant). The BFG was blowing dreams into people's heads. Sophie and the BFG come up with a plan to stop the other giants from eating children. This is a fun book but would be extremely hard to read aloud. I absolutely loved the way that Dahl plays with words and grammar.

I really must read some more children's literature as it is so entertaining

Rating:

(4.0/5)

McNally's Caper

McNally's Caper by Lawrence Sanders
Mystery

From the Editors
Palm Beach sleuth Archy McNally gets caught up in the sordid family affairs of the Forsythe Clan when he's hired to find out who's stealing valuables--including a priceless first edition of Edgar Allan Poe--from their mansion. Behind every door is a suspect; in every bed, a seductress. And a murderer is hiding just around the corner. . . .

I do so love Archy McNally. But I am so glad I am not his girlfriend or parent. How frustrating that would be HAHA. This book starts off with some stolen goods of the Forsythes. The Forsythes are as loony as they come. Who is the thief? Of course it must be a family member; wife, son, daugther-in-law or daugther. The woman in the family try to seduce Archy and Archy sure doesn't resist too much. When the patriarch gets murdered everyone is a suspect. There are some real relationship tangles in the book and a lot of good laughs

Rating:

(4.0/5)