Review: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Bucks

Chosen to be the July 2017 read for my book club, I enjoyed reading this story again from an adult perspective. I had read it as a teenager and vaguely remember having a much different take away from the book than I do now.

I initially picked up a copy because I grew up a couple miles from The Pearl S. Buck House in Pennsylvania and had visited it with my Girl Scouts troop. I was fascinated by her living abroad as a child, and her work to provide humanitarian aid to impoverished children.

Synopsis: This tells the poignant tale of a Chinese farmer and his family in old agrarian China. The humble Wang Lung glories in the soil he works, nurturing the land as it nurtures him and his family. Nearby, the nobles of the House of Hwang consider themselves above the land and its workers; but they will soon meet their own downfall.

Hard times come upon Wang Lung and his family when flood and drought force them to seek work in the city. The working people riot, breaking into the homes of the rich and forcing them to flee. When Wang Lung shows mercy to one noble and is rewarded, he begins to rise in the world, even as the House of Hwang falls.

Review: Pearl S. Buck had the ability to write characters of such varying personalities and backgrounds exemplified by his aunt and uncle who acted entitled to his father's success as a farmer, and his wives major difference. O-lan, his first wife through a chosen marriage, was caring, humble and hardworking. His second wife, whom he had purchased, was spoiled, entitled, and complained about lifting a finger to work. He was also in awe of the differences between his children, admiring both their strengths and their weaknesses.

The first time reading this as a teenager, I remember feeling frustrated with Wan Lung and wondering why he seemed to perpetuate the innate sexism that was so rampant and obvious as early as the first few pages. He held so much disdain for his father, but then supposedly couldn't wait to have a woman in the household to take care of him and the chores. His attitude towards women irked me in so many ways that I didn't read the book again for over a decade. It was when I reread this for book club last summer as an adult that I had a different perspective and understanding that it was the time period in which he grew up, and his culture that made him who he was, particularly towards women. I also noticed that he loved his wives, and his children, but was in a way "restricted" to the ways that he was brought up and the culture they lived in that dictated the gender roles they were required to fulfill.

Throughout the novel, Wang Lung relied on the earth to supply all his needs through his hard work. The physical labor helped him to focus on the important things in life. This is a story of perseverance, the strength of the human spirit, of love, partnership, and sacrifice in a marriage and family - things that transcend time and all cultures.

To learn more about Pearl S. Buck International, visit https://www.pearlsbuck.org/.

**
Review of The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Paperback, 357 pages
Published Sept. 2004 by Washington Square Press, first published 1931
Dates Read: May 22 - July 2017

Book Review: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Mongtomery

This is the start of a new favorite series, and I can't believe I never read this before now! I would've loved this as a kid and enjoyed re-reading it as an adult. Thank you to my book club for choosing to read this for January discussion. This is one of the few books I've managed to finish in time for the discussion (the horror, I know!) and also finish in 2 days! Considering I have a few books that I've been on my currently reading shelf for more than a couple years, it's astonishing I've been able to finish a book this quickly.

I am thankful to L.M. Montgomery for writing something that has inspired me to keep reading, and wish I could thank her. I was in such a reading slump trying to find something I could get lost in and this was it!

Ms. Montgomery did an amazing job developing characters with personality, especially Anne. She may have had her quirks, but she was also so lovable because of them! I enjoyed "watching" her grow up and develop her own interests and dreams as if she were a dear friend. There were times I literally rolled my eyes at Anne being so imaginative and especially dramatic when Marilla would try to scold her into behaving. I love Marilla's tough love, and Matthew's quiet and soft demeanor, yet hardened by years on a farm. Anne managed to win her way into their hearts and finally found her forever home. It's a heartwarming, and at times heartbreaking, story that has transcended generations to prove itself worthy of being a classic.

Occasionally, I smiled or laughed at the vocabulary L.M. Montgomery used because a few words are not commonly used in the same context 100 years later (i.e. she ejaculated for she exclaimed!).

My rating is 5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has not read it yet. If I ever have a daughter or niece, I will make sure this is on her read list. And I will most certainly be reading, or listening to, the rest of the series!

Thanks to my book club, Vermont Books N Brews, for this selection!

**
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Genre: Fiction>Children's Fiction and Historical Fiction, Classics, Young Adult
Audiobook, 10 hours, 20 minutes
Released: June 24, 2008 by Penguin Random House Audio
Narrated by: Kate Burton
Dates Listened: January 1-2, 2018

Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Paperback, 850 pages
Published June 1991 by Dell Publishing
Dates Read: Jan. 31 - April 3, 2016

Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is reunited with her husband, Frank, in 1945 at the end of WWII after several years apart. They're on their second honeymoon in the British Isles, when she walks through an ancient stone hedge and is suddenly transported to Scotland, circa 1743.

She is thrust into navigating an unfamiliar time and place torn by war and rivaling border clans. She has no idea how this happened or why, or where Frank is, or if he even knows what's happened to her, but she's determined to figure out the answers and return to 1945. Soon enough though, she encounters fighting clansmen who capture her and think she's a spy working for the British. One of the men is injured - meet Jamie Fraser, a stubborn yet charismatic hunk of a Scottish man. While Claire nurses his injuries, they develop a friendship and eventual romance. This adds complicated layers to Claire's feelings, and her plans to return home.

Gabaldon knocked her debut "let's give book writing a try" novel out of the park. A book that started out as a practice piece turned into a well-written, well-researched, and extremely detailed historical fiction piece of work that is difficult for me to sum up in one sentence. It's the first of a nine-book (for now) series, eight of which are already published, and has since been turned into a t.v. series on the network Starz.

The only reason I am giving this a 4 out of 5 rating is because there are many details that could have easily been left out to make this a much shorter, several hundred pages shorter, still amazing novel. It has everything else a historical fiction lover could want from the time travel to a distant, far away, long ago picturesque setting to the dreamy, romantic true love many people live their whole lives without finding.

I highly recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in historical fiction - just don't read it in February for a book club discussion. As grateful as I am that my book club decided to read this book, I am not grateful that it was for the shortest month of the year in 2016. February. I struggle to finish the shortest book on time, let alone the longest for the shortest month! Ugh. That said, it's one of my favorite books ever and definitely a favorite book club read - loved even more by the story continuing through (almost) 8 more books in the series!

To learn more about Diana Gabaldon and the Outlander series, visit her website at http://www.dianagabaldon.com/.

Review: Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Paperback, 487 pages
Published April 2016 by Ballantine Books
Dates Read: Nov. 22 - Dec. 11, 2017

My book club, Vermont Books n Brews, selected Lilac Girls for our November discussion. Since it's historical fiction, based during the WWII era, the subject matter is right up my alley. The review from Library Journal on the cover reads, "extremely moving and memorable . . . should appeal strongly to [readers of] Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale and Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See." and this is quite accurate to me considering how much I enjoyed The Nightingale! I am now even more convinced I should read All the Light We Cannot See because of enjoying both of Lilac Girls and The Nightingale.

Now back to the discussion. Of course, I lived up to my reputation and didn't finish the book in time for the discussion, but my book club LOVED Martha Hall Kelly's debut novel. Once I was able to sit down and read it for real, I read it in a week. That's a record for me. I just could not put it down.

Have you ever gotten to the end of a book, closed it and sighed in relief? That happened for me with this book. I felt relief for Kasia that she finally got the closure she so desperately needed about what happened to her mother.

Lilac Girls is based on the real-life story of three women whose lives are forever transformed and connected by horrendous acts during WWII. Caroline Ferriday is a New York socialite, former Broadway actress, and liaison to the French consulate who works to provide aid for French citizens during the war, and eventually for victims of war crimes. Kasia Kuzmerick is a Polish teenager who becomes a courier for the underground resistance movement and ends up in the only women's only concentration camp of the war with her mother and sister. Herta Oberheuser is a young German doctor who answers an ad for a government medical position, thinking it'd be a great experience for her medical career, but is unknowingly getting herself into a position that will have drastic consequences.

For decades, these women manage to endure the impossible pain and heartache of war, and yet still manage to experience the love, redemption, and friendship that comes with the healing powers of the truth.

Martha Hall Kelly eloquently tells the story of these strong, brave women who went through hell and back to survive in a world that eventually forgot about them. A story that seems to get brushed aside amidst the stories of the soldiers who fought the wars.

Kelly did an amazing job with her debut novel. Her 10 years of research and attention to detail are apparent.  Perhaps I enjoyed it even more because I am a sucker for historical fiction, especially that of the WWII era, and with chapters written from different characters perspectives. Regardless of the reason, I am looking forward to Kelly's next two novels, both prequels to Lilac Girls.

Rating: 5 out of 5 - I fell in love with multiple aspects. Highly recommend.

**
Side note 1: Read the Author's Note and interview at the end of the book. Despite always being an avid reader, I rarely read the extras at the end of books such as the Author's Notes, acknowledgements, and interviews once the book ends. For some readers, that may come as a surprise. For others, you're probably thinking "Me too! Why bother?" I always thought it was a waste of time and it'd ruin the story for me. Well, let me tell you, I learned the hard way that I'm missing out! If you're like me and don't read those extras, please read them for Lilac Girls, you won't be sorry.

Side note 2: There are discussion questions in the back of the book. For book club discussion activity ideas and more questions, visit marthahallkelly.com/lilac-girls/for-book-clubs/.

Side note 3: There is a documentary being made about the Rabbits of Ravensbruck. To learn more and follow the story, follow their progress on Facebook and watch this video on YouTube.

Review: Bag Balm & Duct Tape: Tales of a Vermont Doctor by Beach Conger

Review of Bag Balm and Duct Tape: Tales of a Vermont Doctor by Beach Conger, M.D.
Paperback, 272 pages
Published September 1989 by Fawcett
Dates Read: March 30, 2015 - November 8, 2016

As you can see by how long it took me to read this book, this was a difficult book to get through. It was chosen for book club out of about 5 selections with a Vermont theme because it seemed to be the most appealing. Since the book club is based in Vermont, we wanted to read something based in the state.

The book started out slow as he's describing the countryside and transition to living in Vermont, in a "slower" pace of life than he was accustomed to previously. It read like a journal that was adapted for publication for the serious reader and the casual reader. The serious reader notes were a bit hilarious and at times unnecessary because it could've easily been worked into the story instead of being added to it to be published.

Many of the chapters (or should I call them journal entries?) seemed to be mostly him complaining about everything that is wrong with Western medicine. About halfway through the book is when it got better when he learned how to treat patients rather than the disease. It took him moving to a small town to learn that everything he learned in med school and practiced elsewhere isn't necessarily the right way of practicing medicine. He learned that he needed to treat the person and earn their trust rather than treat the disease.

I don't remember the specific point in the book when it happened, but I do remember suddenly enjoying the story and appreciating his humor, grace, and appreciation for the hardy lifestyle of Vermonters who don't take shit from outsiders they call flatlanders.

The book was obviously dated with there being references to specific treatments and medications that are no longer recommended, which will happen with many books on the topic of medicine.

Because I felt like the book read as a journal and it was dated, I got bored easily and had trouble getting back into it at first. I did not finish it in time for book club, but did pick it back up when a friend and I started talking about it. I finished it so that we could discuss it more in depth and he felt similarly disappointed in the title being misleading.

Rated: 3 out of 5 on Goodreads. My definition of 3 out of 5 is that it was an okay read. It's not for me, but I can see why others enjoy it.

Review: The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant

Review of The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
Paperback, 320 pages
Published December 2014
Dates Read: September 5-9, 2015

Addie Baum tells her 22 year old granddaughter, Ava, her story growing up in the North End of Boston to Jewish-Russian immigrant parents who had a distrust for the changing American values. Reflecting on her 85 years when Ava asked her how she got to be the woman she is today, she starts her story in 1915 when she was just figuring out her own voice and view on life. Because of her parents distrust and their suspected affects on their three daughters, a lot of tension arose between them trying to maintain tradition and the ways of the old world and the girls trying to take advantage of the new opportunities for women during the time.

Addie's intelligence and curiosity gets the best of her as she explores the new culture her parents don't understand - movies or "moving pictures," short skirts, the celebrity culture, and eventually the right for women to vote. At a time when women are expected to marry right out of high school, she's determined to go to college. She also wants a career of her own and like any 15 year old, she wants to find true love. Addie explains that's the year she found her voice and made new friends who would have a profound affect on the course of her life.

Goodreads description explains, "from the one-room tenement apartment she shared with her parents and two sisters, to the library group for girls she joins at a neighborhood settlement house, to her first, disastrous love affair, Addie recalls her adventures with compassion for the naïve girl she was and a wicked sense of humor."

In true Anita Diamant fashion, The Boston Girl is a detailed historical fiction account of a young woman's struggle and resilience in an ever changing twentieth-century America. We get a glimpse through Addie's eyes of a generation of women figuring out what it means to be a woman in the new landscape of America, and the world.

I enjoyed reading this book for book club, not only because it's historical fiction, but because it reminded me of the conversation I had with my own grandmother, at about the same age, when she told me about growing up in New York City in the 1920's and early 1930's as the daughter of Italian immigrants.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Hardcover, 233 pages
Published 1990 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Dates read: March 10-May 7, 2017

When I first started reading this book, I downloaded a copy on Amazon Kindle and read it on my phone, then because it was a small screen I couldn't handle it so listened to part of it as an audio book. That still didn't do it for me so I was able to get my hands on a hardcover book from the library! I prefer the physical copy for this book because it was so riveting and attention grabbing that I wanted more of it and the sooner the better (I tend to get through books faster reading the paperback/hardcover over Kindle or audio).

Through this compilation of award winning short stories, O'Brien recounts the experiences the members of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and of course, O'Brien. First published in 1990, The Things They Carried has become an American classic and testament to the trials and tribulations the men endured during the Vietnam war.

Some stories made me sit in disbelief, while others made me cry, and most broke my heart that these young men experienced such horrors only to come home to a country full of hate and anger towards them. The first short story (chapter), aptly titled the same as the book, contained many quotes that made my heart ache, such as "They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried." Then later in the same chapter, this quote summed up the entirety of the book for me before it was even finished, "They shared the weight of memory. They took up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak."

Although there were many scenes full of intense gory violence, there are plenty more that are funny, humane, and relatable. Even decades after the war, O'Brien still carries things with him (hence the title), something that many people don't understand unless they went through it too. It's evidenced through the few times he shares that his daughter makes comments about why he lingers on the past. It's clear that he is bothered by her comments but doesn't know how to explain it to her or if he even wants to or can.

As Writer's Relief wrote in their review on Goodreads, "There are moments in the book when you wonder if what he remembers actually happened or if he’s rewriting his memories as a coping mechanism. His vivid storytelling abilities will have you suffering alongside the soldiers; so much so that, when you finish the book, you also carry a bit of the burden of war."

While reading these stories I couldn't help but wonder if he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or whether or not he is getting help. It's something that he didn't touch on, nor would I have expected him to address in this book given the purpose of the stories being more about sharing his stories than about the follow-up care. After reading the descriptions of his other books on Goodreads, it doesn't seem like he addresses PTSD directly head on - it's definitely addressed at least indirectly through showing the aftermath of coming home from a war.

Rating: 4 out of 5 - Enjoyed it, not quite loved it because while it gave some insight into his experience, I didn't like the disconnectedness of a compilation of short stories. At the same time, I think the format was necessary because his memories and the events were disconnected.

Highly Recommend.

Review: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis By J.D. Vance

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
By J.D. Vance (Author and Narrator)
Audiobook published June 2016 by HarperAudio

Narrated by J.D. Vance himself, I found this book refreshing to hear a personal account of growing up in Appalachia explaining his first hand experience that they have their own mentality.  There seems to be a general cultural consensus in this lower middle class that the rich people and corporations are to blame for their circumstances. Vance proceeds to explain throughout the rest of the book his own experiences growing up in the culture, from the parade of boyfriends his mother had masquerading as father figures to his older sister playing surrogate mother as a teenager to him when their mother wouldn't be able to function due to her addictions.

Review: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Set primarily in a changing Afghanistan over the course of 30 years, The Kite Runner tells the story of an unlikely friendship, love, and family.

Amir, a Pashtun, is the son of a wealthy merchant, and never wants for anything other than the affection of his father, Baba. While Baba clearly and openly loves both boys, he often turns a critical eye on Amir, causing him to feel resentful, jealous, and live with a growing sense of uncertainty. His friendship with his family's servant, Hassan, is even more unusual as he is a Hazara. The boys grow up playing in the field across the street from the house, flying kites, and participating in a number of different boyhood games. But as Amir's desire to appease his father intensifies amid the country's tensions increasing across ethnic, religious, and political lines, their friendship is torn beyond repair when Amir's actions come between him and his friend in one of his greatest times of need. They barely speak, unless necessary, for some time until Hassan and his father move on to other opportunities, or perhaps it's away from Amir's heartbreaking choice, despite the lifelong friendship between Baba and Hassan's father.

Hosseini's debut novel is a powerful account of love, life, family, and the turmoils of an improbable friendship amidst difficult circumstances. Highly recommend.

**
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Published 2003 by Riverhead Books
Paperback, 391 pages
Dates read: September 23 - December 25, 2015
Rating: 5 out of 5

Review: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Kline’s Orphan Train is a “captivating story of two very different women who build an unexpected friendship: a 91-year-old woman with a hidden past as an orphan-train rider and the teenage girl whose own troubled adolescence leads her to seek answers to questions no one has ever thought to

ask,” as Goodreads describes.

Molly Ayer, a Penobscot Indian, feels like an outsider being raised by complete strangers as she has been in and out of foster care homes – her father died in a car crash and her mother is a drug addict in jail. She is just a few months of aging out of the foster care system and quite close to being kicked out of her current foster home. Just when she’s about to go to juvie for a seemingly minor offense, she opts to do a community service position helping an elderly woman - her only alternative to avoiding jail. Like any 17 year old, she thinks she couldn’t possibly have anything in common with a 91-year old. Little does she know that the service hours are only the beginning of the stories and lessons she’ll learn from Vivian and the keepsakes hidden away in trunks in the attic.

Review: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

King Henry VIII

Published in 2009, Wolf Hall is the first installment of the Thomas Cromwell Trilogy by Hilary Mantel. It starts out in 1500 England with a brief history of Thomas Cromwell. Fast forward 20 years to a time when the country is on the brink of disaster if the king dies without a male heir. Henry VIII wants to annul his 20-year marriage and marry Anne Boleyn. Goodreads does a much better job at finishing the description, "the pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?"

Another Review of The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah
Published 2015 by St. Martin's Press
Hardcover, 440 pages
Dates read: January 1 - March 4, 2017

Because I enjoyed The Nightingale so much when I listened to it last summer, I recommended that my book club read it. We had a discussion about it in January, and I didn't feel the need to finish re-reading it by then because so much of the book had stuck with me and I wanted to take my time with it. The second time around, and this time actually reading it vs. listening to it, is just as amazing if not better. Perhaps I should say that the audio version does the written version justice.

Kristin Hannah does an amazing job telling the story of two young women, sisters, and what they've endured through WWII. So often we hear or read of the men who have gone away to war, but what of the women and children who were left behind? Hannah begins one of these tales by starting the story in 1995, when an elderly woman is packing up her things to move into a retirement home. We don't yet know who she is as she is going through the contents of an old trunk. As she comes across an old ID badge, she flashes back to 1939 Paris, France, just before her world is turned upside down by war.

Review: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches
By Deborah Harkness
Published 2011 by Penguin Books
Paperback, 579 Pages
Dates read: June 15, 2014 - January 9, 2015

A Discovery of Witches is an annoying yet fun read that immediately got my attention when I learned that the protagonist, Diana Bishop is a professor of alchemical history at Yale. Even more intriguing is when she finds a bewitched manuscript in Oxford while doing research there for a year. Many different kinds of creatures show up throughout the story, proposing many different real and possible supernatural conflicts.

Review: A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway

As much as I enjoy books set in wartime, I had a difficult time getting into A Farewell to Arms. I attribute that to Hemingway's style, which is a lot more simple and conversational than I am accustomed to reading. When I started listening to an audio version, I couldn't get enough of it though I think that is because of his simplistic/conversational style. In written form, it is difficult to follow along, keep track of who is speaking during conversations, and remember the point of many of his run-on sentences.

And besides style, the story itself didn't reel me in; reference not intended towards Hemingway's love of fly fishing. I didn't care enough about the self-absorbed, unfeeling protagonist of Lieutenant Frederic Henry, let alone his girlfriend (Catherine Barkley) who didn't seem to have the ability to form an opinion on her own. When a male author has any sort of dislike for women, or obvious hate for them in this instance, it's obvious in their writing because of how they portray their female characters. The points I felt like I was physically there in the story were when Lt. Henry was with his unit, not when he was with Catherine. The other men in his unit actually had some substance to them, unlike Catherine. My opinion of both Henry and Barkley were most likely biased by my reading of The Paris Wife by Paula McLain just before reading A Farewell to Arms. The Paris Wife is a fictionalized story of Hemingway's marriage to his first wife, Hadley Richardson, from her perspective - review to come in a different post.

Readers will be left wondering how much of the story was based on truth and what Hemingway experienced during and after WWI.

**
Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published 2004 by Arrow Books (first published 1929)
Read: Nov. 4 - Dec. 18, 2016

Review: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle is Jeannette Walls' memoir, published in 2005 where she recounts the unconventional and poverty-stricken upbringing she and her three siblings endured at the hands of their eccentric artist, possibly mentally ill, mother and their alcoholic father who may have also suffered from a mental illness.

Walls weaves together the good and bad childhood experiences and young adulthood memories into a powerful memoir that made me so grateful for my own upbringing and good childhood. Walls proved through her life experiences that it's possible to overcome adversity and become successful in her own right rather than blame others for what she can control. She recognized that it was in her own power to change her life rather than blame others. She captured her fathers alcoholism and his different personalities of sober and drunkenness. We see that her parents loved her and her siblings in their own unique ways. We have a brief glimpse at both of her parents upbringings and, understandably, didn't get more details because they were both very close-mouthed about their own childhoods. Much like Jeannette was when she moved to New York City. She was ashamed of her parents and where she came from and felt compelled to lie to cover it up for fear of being found out and proven to be a fraud. Yet, she was fortunate to have a few teachers and employers who saw her hard work, talent for writing and getting the story out there for people to read. I can't believe I ever let this sit on my bookshelf half unread for a year and a half. I spent half a day reading the last 150 pages because I wanted to find out what happened. I wanted to know how Walls made it to being a successful author.

Walls has an innate ability to write stories together seamlessly and not lose the reader. It is easy to follow the passage of time between several stories, especially later in the book between her middle school and high school years. Just a few simple sentences explain the important details and you'll feel like you didn't miss a beat.

A must read for everyone.

**
The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls
Published in 2005 by Scribner
Paperback, 298 pages
Read: April 29, 2015 to November 20, 2016
My rating: 5 out of 5

Review: Dune by Frank Herbert

Dune by Frank Herbert
Published 1999 by Ace (first published December 1st 1965)
Hardcover, 517 pages

On Goodreads, I set the "Date finished this book" as "Date I gave up on this book" because I had a hard time getting into it and following everything. Reading sci-fi is just not my thing, but I persevered and somehow made much more progress with this book than I did with The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. That book is a post for another day if I could ever get into it again.

With Dune, I made a point of reading as much as I could, which was 83 pages out of 517, and still attend the discussion tonight with Vermont Books 'n' Brews at Cattails Restaurant in Brandon, VT. Generally speaking, I felt like there are way too many details to remember for me to be engrossed in it early enough to stick with the story. Being a stubborn reader though, I gave it a chance and took the advice of the person who recommended it and kept reading. He pointed out that the first time he read it he struggled for the first 100 pages or so, but then cruised to the end.

Because of Herbert's writing style, I could tell right away and understand why it's such a classic, especially in the sci-fi genre. That helped a little bit in keeping me interested - that and it's subtle similarities to Star Wars, which made me wonder if George Lucas drew some inspiration from Herbert's stories. Although I picked up right away that there were some dated material (like blatant sexism and technological advances of the time), I was able to recognize why Frank Herbert has been hailed a classic sci-fi author and why so many people who enjoy sci-fi enjoy his writing.

That said, I'm not sure that I'll be able to ever finish the book since it was such a struggle for me to even get into. I feel comfortable being able to say no to this one and be okay with not finishing it, and therefore I am not going to rate this book because it would be an unfair subjective rating of something I highly dislike. Certain genres are not for everyone.

Rating: Abandoned (0 out of 5 on Goodreads)

Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Station Eleven is such a hauntingly beautiful dystopian work of art. I don't normally enjoy dystopia futuristic type genres, but this one definitely held my attention once I sat down and made a point of reading. I loved the traveling symphony orchestra and Shakespeare caravan. I was also fascinated that people were living out of gas stations and restaurants instead of abandoned houses - it made me question why? Are the houses filled with ghosts of the past? Are they too much of a reminder of what was? This is just one example of how the tension between the old world and the new surfaces as the population revert back to an age where advancements only exist in the minds of those old enough to remember.

The characters are as much tragic as they are charming, looking for answers in an age where curiosities can no longer be entered into a search engine. I was curious to know if any of the characters in the separate stories cross paths at some point, especially Clark, Jeevan, and Kirsten, and if they figure out how they're connected.

St. John Mandel's writing style is a bit lyrical, which gives the story a character all its own in a sense, which is a great touch, and perhaps on purpose because of the symphony orchestra. The different perspectives and stories of the characters also gives the story an interesting and attractive twist. It's something that Jodi Picoult, my favorite author, does that I love. St. John Mandel and Picoult both have a way of seamlessly moving between character plots and making the story work over all.

I highly recommend this to readers of all genres, even if this isn't your typical genre. Keep your mind open to new possibilities, and you'll be pleasantly surprised by what you find - you just might find some gems.

**
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Format: Paperback
336 pages

Review: The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

This took me over a year to finally finish reading, and of course it was a book club read. With the 2016 Summer Olympics having just happened I figured it'd be a great time to finish it. I particularly enjoyed the story and the writing style, which is what kept me going once I sat down to read. I think knowing I'd enjoy the book once I sat down to read it is what hindered me. Knowing that I'd need a few hours of uninterrupted time kept from reading it. So I finally decided tonight that I'd keep reading until I was done and 2 hours later here I am writing my review and I don't feel guilty about staying up too late.

In all, Brown's writing style made me feel like I was one of the young men who grew up poor, and then I felt like I was right there on the water vying for a spot on the varsity boat, and eventually as if I were a member of the crew team that won the Olympics.

This is an amazingly written book based on a true story of underdogs. It's an inspiration to every reader and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good, hardy story about overcoming the odds. One does not need to have an interest in sports, let alone crew. This story is so much more than crew. Like any great team sport, the story is so much more than the sport. It's about individuals coming together to form a team, a bond, a family, and a connection that is beyond breaking. It's about working through the obstacles together, only to make celebrating the successes that much sweeter. The Boys in the Boat is all of that, and so much more. It's about the small town underdogs with little to no experience on a national level, let alone an international level, giving their home country hope, excitement, and pride during a difficult time during our nation's, and world's, history.

A tear-jerker of happiness for sure, The Boys in the Boat, left me feeling proud of these boys, and proud of my country, for working their asses off and representing us in an amazing way on the international stage.

**
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by Daniel James Brown
Paperback
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
My rating: 5 out of 5

I read this, or rather listened to an audio version, for a book club I found out about from a member I usually see at my usual book club called Vermont Books 'n' Brews. This other one is run out of the Maclure Library in Pittsford, VT. The library itself has so much history that I could write a post just about the building! But that's for another day.

The Art of Racing in the Rain was the perfect book for me to read for the first time with this club because I was immediately drawn in and felt accepted by the dog as the main character. I thoroughly enjoyed how the story was told from the perspective of Enzo. His temperament and character is so well developed that I felt immediately welcomed and at home. We were immediately friends! I couldn't stop listening to the audio version and one day I'll go back and read the book. I have a feeling that I won't be able to put it down and will most likely finish it in one sitting.

Enzo and his owner manage to stay together despite everything that happened over the course of their relationship. Stein did an excellent job of showing how a dog is truly a part of the family and doing it from the dog's perspective. Enzo is shown to be a philosopher, and it's almost to easy to forget that he's not human until we are reminded of his obsession with not having opposable thumbs.

 

This is a truly heart-warming story about what it means to hope, to have unconditional love for another being, loyalty to one's best friend, and the meaning of family.

 

The ending tugged at the heart strings and made me cry, which is significant because I never cry when I read a book, watch a movie or show. Yet, I would've been upset if it had ended any other way. I can't wait to see the movie!

Review: Mud Season by Ellen Stimson

Mud Season: How One Woman's Dream of Moving to Vermont, Raising Children, Chickens and Sheep, and Running the Old Country Store Pretty Much Led to One Calamity After Another by Ellen Stimson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I finally finished a book for book club! We decided to read this in April at the height of mud season in Vermont. Although this was a quick read, it was also a bit annoying in that the author seemed to have an attitude that she was better than the locals and didn't want to "assimilate" at all. The community rejected her because she didn't accept them and she didn't seem to understand, or even want to understand, why her ideas weren't being accepted. Stimson did fully admit that she was always jumping from one project to the next, and while I understand that it's difficult to manage a store, especially in a town you're unfamiliar with, I couldn't help but be annoyed that she was making decisions based on her misconceptions of the area. She thought she knew what was best and made assumptions, rather doing her research and taking the time to figure out what the locals wanted. As a flatlander myself who moved to southern Vermont and eventually to central Vermont, I learned very quickly within a few months that I needed to adjust to my new community instead of the other way around. She just didn't seem to get that, or if she did then it wasn't conveyed very well in the book.

It was a quick, easy read in part due to her obvious lack of book writing experience. It often sounded like journal entries and an inner monologue. Some people enjoy that style, but it really turned me off because it took away from the story at hand.

Also, at some point I'd like to try the recipes she calls Vermont recipes in the back of the book. I laughed out loud at that section.