A place to buy handmade cards and paper products infused with culture
The winner of my first book giveaway is Angela. I will send this off to you or I can bring it to Jackson. I hope you enjoy it. I haven’t read mine yet but it’s in the reading queue. Definitely thinking of reading it in March on the crafting weekend getaway.
I know you know I love libraries by now. I talk about them often and I visit our local library weekly with my boys.
A few weeks back I saw the author, Carol Cassella being interviewed and I enjoyed her interview and thought I would like to read one of her books. In addition to her new role as author, she is a practicing anesthesiologist. I did a quick search and found Oxygen in our local library. This one blurb in the dust-jacket also had me hooked:
A stranger’s life hangs in the balance, what if you had the power to decide if she lives or dies?
I also liked that the title was Gemini and having my June birthday makes me a Gemini so must read. I am enjoying it so far and I will leave a review when I complete it.
Now I have heard of this second book, The Honest Life by the actress Jessica Alba before and when I was walking around the stacks in the library it was on display so I thought I would check it out.
What I like so far about it, is that she isn’t telling you that you have to do everything she does but pick what’s right for you and she educates you on the many toxins in the everyday products we buy. So far, very enlightening. I will review this too when I finish. I think borrowing this from the library is making me read it more than I would if I bought it. If I purchased it, I would start and forget about it. Since I have a due date, I feel more compelled to read more. This doesn’t mean I will complete it in time but I like the added pressure to make me commit.
So don’t forget your local libraries when you are thinking of a new read. I can’t imagine a future without libraries but every day another is closing. So please support them and their activities. Every little bit counts. If we all do our part, we can make a difference and continue to have this lovely institution.
Happy Reading!
Title: All the Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
Copyright: May 6, 2014
Genre: non-fiction
Format: book Pages: 545
Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.
In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.
I heard so many people praise this book on booktube and was thrilled when my bookclub chose it for one of our reads in February. I decided to read it in January since it was a rather large book and I have big book phobias. I always look at big books and keep walking when I am in the book store. However, with my e-reader, I find that I can read them and that much of it is psychological. I also have spoiled myself with my Nook because I don’t have to worry about trying to hold a big book when I read in bed. Which let’s face it, is not the most enjoyable thing because I like to lay down at night and read and it’s not happening with this book. However, for some crazy reason, I decided to buy the hardcover that was on some crazy ridiculous sale at Barnes and Noble. I was thinking I might want to mark passages I want to discuss while at book club and it’s easier with a physical copy than an ebook.
I saw the author of this book being interviewed on television before reading this book and I was really impressed with him and the amount of research that went into writing this book. He also said that the two main characters would meet around page 400. So I had a little clue before going into the book.
I was so impressed with how the author captured so much essence of the sense of a blind person when he wrote about Marie Laure. How she used all of her other senses so keenly to absorb her surroundings and make sense of them. It makes me realize how having sight can dampen the beauty and richness of all of the other senses. I think because we use our sight to classify more than experience fully. Life for Marie Laure was not easy but she remained strong beyond her years.
The story moved back and forth between Marie Laure and Werner in each chapter. Sometimes it would stay longer with one more than the other. The author used short chapters so it helped when I needed to put the book down I could always complete a chapter first. I was curious about Werner’s story at the orphanage with his sister and heartbroken when he was recruited to Hitler’s Resistance. Werner was so talented and unfortunately he had no control over his life with limited options (mining with high risk of desk or joining the war effort). It made me so sad to know that he never was able to dictate his life and be able to see his potential fully blossomed for good.
The supporting characters were also very richly described and interesting.
Did I like the book you ask? Yes, I did find the story was very interesting. Did I think that the length was fine? Nope. I think he could have easily shaved off 100 pages and the book still would have been great.
Even with the excruciating length I would give this book 4 butterflies.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers.
At first I wasn’t going to participate because I hadn’t really thought about heroine’s and it seemed a bit daunting. Then I went to GoodReads and looked through some of the books I’ve read, and picked some. I am not listing them in any particular order here.
Dana (from Kindred by Octavia Butler) – I read this book many years ago and can’t recall all of the details but I do remember thinking how strong this character had to be to be thrown back into slavery time from our present day. I can’t even imagine what I would do. But I felt that Ms. Butler made her a strong character throughout the book.
Claire Randall (from Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon) – This series has even been made into a great TV series and I like the actress in the series as well. I remember how absorbed I was with this book. Surprisingly I never went on to the others in this series but just might one day. But again another heroine that time travels and remains strong in face of many adversities.
Rei Shimura (from Zen Attitude (Rei Shimura mysteries by Sujata Massey) – Anyone who reads this blog, knows the special place in my heart for Rei. I have had an interest in Japan since childhood and this series delivers. Rei never waivers and faces on some pretty tough adversaries in each mystery while I get a healthy dose of Japanese culture. I love the way Rei takes charge of her life and doesn’t cower from it.
Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat,Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert) – I know there are some out there that hate on this book. But I’m not one of them. I truly enjoyed this book and loved watching her life journey unfold on the pages. I even enjoyed the movie. Don’t hate.
Julia Beckett (Mariana by Susanna Kearsley) – I pretty much enjoy all of Susanna Kearsley’s female characters are in her books. This was the first one I read and loved it. I liked how Julia didn’t shy away from the “impossible” in this book. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it but I really enjoyed this book and it’s heroine.
Nitta Sayuri (Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden) – I read this a really long time ago with a book club. I remember we made sushi and then discussed the book at one of my girlfriend’s house. This girl had a tough life with little choices and she kept pushing along. The movie adaptation was stunning. I watch it every time it comes on cable.
Nell Sweeney (Still Life with Murder by P.B. Ryan) – I stumbled across this book as a free read on my Nook a few years ago. I took a chance and fell absorbed in the story and couldn’t get enough. I read all the books in the series and was so sad to see them come to an end. Talk about book hangover. Nell figured how to take her life from poverty to a better life. I loved the stories because they were based locally so I could enjoy them even more.
Olivia Pope (Scandal the TV Series by Shonda Rhimes) – Well where to begin. I first started watching this show as my guilty pleasure at lunch time. Her naughty relationship with the character that is the president on the show aside, I like to see a strong black women on a television show. I think Shonda Rhimes strikes a nice balance with Olivia’s strength and her take charge attitude with her softer more vulnerable side. I typically DVR the show because if I watch it at showtime, I get all pumped up speculating the next week’s show and take forever to go to sleep. Of screen, Kerry Washington is a force. She is not just a pretty face and her dedication to humanitarian issues are on point.
Constantine & Aibileen (The Help by Kathryn Stockett) – I enjoyed the book and the movie was great. I loved these two characters and the way they handled such a difficult situation. These two actresses really brought the characters to life and made you feel and think more even after the credits rolled.
Who are your favorite heroines?
