Recent Reads

The Spice Necklace by Ann Vanderhoof
3/5

I’d had this sitting on my Kindle for more than a year — bought shortly after reading her previous book, “An Embarrassment of Mangoes,” for book club — and finally got around to reading it. This one is an easy, enjoyable enough read and made me want to go on a Caribbean vacation ASAP. However, it’s also much more food-focused than the first book. I expected that going in, but with such a narrow focus, I got a little bored towards the end and missed some of the more general life-on-a-sailboat anecdotes from the first book.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
5/5

This was a book club read and it’s one of my favorites we’ve done in our 5 year history. It made me laugh and cry, and I’m not saying that to be cheesy but because it’s true. It’s difficult to fully comprehend what Walls and her siblings went through while growing up, and the fact that 3/4 of them became self-sufficient, reasonably well-adjusted adults is a testament to their character and grit. The bizarre thing is that their parents — as poor, crazy, and irresponsible as they were — probably deserve some of the credit for their childrens’ success. Although the parents’ treatment of their kids was appalling…you can’t help but realize that they clearly did love them and want the best for them, in their own warped and twisted way. This book made me think a lot about parenting, values, and life itself, and ask questions that will stick with me for a ling time.

Joyland by Stephen King
4/5

I haven’t read a lot of Stephen King. I read a few of his books (most notably the first four books in the gunslinger series) in college at the urging of a couple friends who loved them, but normally his type of story isn’t really my thing. However, when I do read it — and this time it was for Kathleen’s postal book club, which just got underway in November — I always find myself appreciating how well he tells a story.

I read this book in 3 days — super, super fast for me — because it was so well-paced and engaging. My only negative comment is that the two halves of the book (roughly summer and fall seasons) feel a bit disconnected, but I can see how the first half is necessary to really get to know the main character. Jose kept asking me if there was supernatural stuff in this one, and there is, but it’s rather benign. I’d categorize it as more of a murder mystery.

Overwhelmed by Brigid Schulte
3/5

The subtitle of this one is “Work, Love, and Play When No One Has The Time” and thus it fit well into a genre I’ve become interested in since Emma was born. It’s been both interesting and maddening to read these — as if I’m looking for some sort of “magic pill” to forever solve whatever work-life balance issues I may be feeling.

I read half of this, then stopped to read Joyland, then picked it up again and finished. Schulte seems very similar to me, and I connected with her on a lot of points, but there’s something about this genre that starts to bug me after a few chapters. Perhaps it’s because I keep looking for something different, yet these authors are all saying the same things…and then on top of that, our society still does NOTHING to address the issues we all face.

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
3/5

Honestly, I’m not sure what I think about this book yet. I enjoyed it, but for better or worse I think the unique nature of the writing style overshadows the actual content of the story…although I’m not sure “story” is the right word, since it’s more like a creative interpretation of historical events and there are no individual characters to follow.

The book summary calls it “incantatory,” which is perhaps the best way to describe it. I found the style interesting at first, then annoying as I realized the whole book was written than way, distracting as I tried to follow details. I finally got used to it a bit towards the end as the POV shifted and it became a bit less repetitive.

Divergent by Veronica Roth
4/5

I’ve been meaning to try this series for a while (thanks Katie and Joel for gifting me the Kindle version for Christmas!) and it didn’t disappoint. Fast-paced and a page turner that of course left me wanting to jump right into the sequel…which I am now reading.