The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

★★★★
"Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content to talk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the spaces between fences. I was a child, which meant that I knew a dozen different ways of getting out of our property and into the land, ways that would not involve walking down our drive."

When a middle-aged man returned to his childhood home he begins to remember an odd time in his past - when he met a girl named Lettie and he was thrown into a world of darkness and mystery.  This lovely little book was weird and different and wonderful.  I always fine myself amazing at how Neil Gaiman is able to write about things so far out there that I have trouble relating to.  This one was definitely outside of the box!

 

Life of Pi by Yann Martel (audio)

★★★ 1/2

"If you stumble about believability, what are you living for?  Love is hard to believe, ask any lover.  Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist.  God is hard to believe, ask any believer.  What is your problem with hard to believe?"

Pi Patel is a young boy from India who is the son of zookeepers.  When him and his family and their animals travels to North America, their ships sinks.  Pi is the only human survivor - along with a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and a tiger named Richard Parker.  Within a few days, the tiger devours the other animals and he is left on a lifeboat with Pi.  They survive 227 days in the Pacific Ocean before finding land.  

When they reach Mexico, Richard Parker runs off to the jungle.  Pi is questioned by Japanese authorities about what happened to the ship and how he survived.  Pi tells his story - but it is deemed "unbelievable" and they ask for a story without animals. Pi tells another story, similar to his original, but instead of animals be used people - his mother, a sailor, and a cook.  Readers are left at the end of the novel wondering which story is true.

This was a very interesting novel.  I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I read it - and it was different from the type of books I normally read and a little hard to get through.  Overall, I enjoyed Pi's story and it's unique ending.  I assumed the entire novel would be about Pi and Richard Parker's survival on the lifeboat, but the author gave a lot more detail about Pi and his family's life before the journey.  There was a lot of interesting writing about the zoo and behavior of animal in captivity. Pi was also very involved in religion.  As a young boy, he practiced Christianity, Islam, and Hindu - all at the same time.  He claimed that he loved God and wanted to be a part of each religions.  This worked out well, until the leaders of each of the three religions and his parents found out and told him that he must choice only one.  I was really interested in this debate.  I am Christian, but have always enjoyed learning about other religions.  As I was learning about these many years ago, I always thought it would be kinda neat if people could practice whatever aspect of different religions they felt was right for them.  Religion is also a very unique concept and I found it intriguing that different groups of people believe so strongly in their different religions - and most believe that theirs and only theirs with the "right" religion.  Pi went against this commonality and wanted to practice all of the common religions around him.  As a boy, he did not think there was anything strange or different about this - until he was questioned by "older and wiser" adults.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

★★★ 1/2
"We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another."

This book wasn't the next Harry Potter.  Or Twilight.  Or even the next Hunger Games.  Not for me anyways.  The story was engaging, and I did enjoy reading it, but I don't have a huge desire to read the next two books right away.  The world that Veronica Roth created was interesting enough and I really liked the idea of grouping everyone into a world by a single character trait (which we know from the beginning is going to fail).  I tried placing myself in a facet, and it was impossible to pick just one.  True to real-life, there are so many positives and negatives of a single characteristic! After reading the book, I felt that there was a little too much focus on the action of the training and not enough on exploring the world and the character.  

Looking forward to seeing how the movie is when it comes out :)

House Rules by Rachel Sontag

★★★

"...at some point we'll have to become what we want.  We'll have to be that mom for someone else., hope we marry a man who becomes that dad.  We can't just go on wishing for some concept of family that doesn't exist."

I have a lot of trouble with non-fiction.  I try to read at least one non-fiction book a year, but I always end up reading it while I'm reading something else and it usually takes me months to finish.  I have even more trouble with memoirs...I don't relate well to people talking about their emotions.  It's really challenging for me to get through and entire book where someone is reflecting on their experiences and how it effects them emotionally.  I probably wouldn't have picked up this book if it wasn't for book club, but I ended up finishing it in a little over a week...mostly during my lunch breaks at work.  With no classes until next week, I had a lot of free time.

This book is Rachel's memoir of her childhood and early adulthood.  If focuses mainly her complex relationships, especially with her over protective and obsessive father.  I've been waiting to write this review all day, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the book.  It was a quick read and the author has a very simple and entertaining style of writing.  I feel like Rachel's dad originally had good intentions, but went about it the wrong way.  Through his obsession with control over his family, I could see the underlining of a parents trying to raise his children the only way he knew how.  Yes, it was extreme and shouldn't have happened the way it did...but I can't help keeping in mind that Rachel was a teenager during a lot of the memoir.  No family is perfect and parenting is a very hard thing to "get exactly right."  Maybe that's just me trying to see the best in everything.  I think for me, the book brought up a larger question of the complexity of family relationships, parenting, and growing up.

While I was reading the book, I kept thinking how anyone could possibly remember not only details, but specific conversations of their childhood.  I also wondered what her family, specifically her dad, thought about the book.  I found an interview online that talked a little bit about this. What was even more interesting was a website developed by her dad in response to the memoir.  At the very least, I'm glad that Rachel was able to have a closer relationship with her mom and sister after the events took place.

When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt

★★★ 1/2

"We would never return to Kos or Opi, for they held no  more place for us, and yet they were home, woven deep in our flesh."

Born and raised in a remote mountain village, 20-year-old Irma struggles with the lose of her mother and her life at home.  Too plain and poor to marry, she is left with no other option that to immigrate to America and work as a dress-maker.  Through Irma's journey, she meets people just like her struggling to make it in their new home.  By chance, she learns that her gift with needlework will lead her on another path - volunteering at a free-clinic and eventually traveling to San Francisco to pursue training as a nurse.

This was a typical "immigrant" novel.  I enjoyed Irma's unique story and her path to find herself in a world where she knows no one.  Her struggles are a testimony of the millions of people worked to make new lives for themselves.  One of the main themes throughout the book was having to leave everything behind and start a new life.  I liked learning about the medicine practices at the time, but I was a little frustrated with the ending - it fit ok with the novel, but seemed to come out of nowhere and I'm not sure how well it first with Irma's character.  All in all a decent book and I enjoyed reading about 19th century practices in America.

* Lady Leer Society Catch Up - 2013

Tonight the Lady Leer Society got together to to catch up and discuss the books we read over the past twelve months.  We were able to read over ten books...pretty good for our first year :)

We put together a quick recap of each book - three adjectives to describe it, what we thought about it, and if we would recommend it.  Take a look at the books we read below, checkout my Book Club Selections tab on my blog, or take a look at what we're reading on our Goodreads page.

January - The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)

exciting, tragic, addicting

We liked basically everything about this book and also read the other two books in the rest of the series.  We enjoyed the first two movies that are out, but liked the books better. The second movie left out a lot of important details such as secondary character development of the other tribute winners and Haymitch's backstory.  We all agreed that the third book was a little lacking and repeditive, but that overall the series is great for older kids and teens.  We didn't agree with Katniss in her choice and liked Gale better than Peta!

Would we recommend this: yes

February - Blue Asylum (Kathy Hepinstall)

interesting, peculiar, regrettable

We felt that the premise of the book was interesting and liked the crazy secondary character, but felt it was not well executed.  We liked that the book had a unique view point of the civil war, but that it was unrealistic for the time period.  We also we not fans of the ending!

Would we recommend this: no

April - Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)

tedious, odious, long

We all agreed that we enjoyed the musical and movie better than the books.  While we liked the storyline and epic transformations to the characters, we thought that the book had too much detail and was tough to get through.  This one took us two months to read.

Would we recommend this: no, perhaps the abridged version would have been better?

May - The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

scandalous, refreshing, complicated

We liked reading a book from a secondary character's point of view and loved the description of the  time period.  Fitzgerald was able to capture the selfishness of the characters perfectly and we all enjoyed the movie as well!

Would we recommend this: yes

June - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Seth Grahame-Smith)

comical, surprising, satisfying

We liked the zombie take on Jane Austen's classic novel and like the change of fate for many of the characters.  We thought that the book was a little easier to get through because it contained a lot more action and Elizabeth was a much more independent female character.  However, it wasn't very consistent and the zombie aspect was a little overdone.

Would we recommend this: maybe

July - Wicked (Gregory Maguire)

mesmerizing, thought provoking, gratifying

We all thought that this book was an amazing retelling to children's story told from different prospective of the characters of Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West.  We also read the original Wizard of Oz and loved the historical aspect of the mythical land and the simple connections that the author created.  Even though it was a bit confusing at times, it brought up a lot of expanded details such as political aspects and the true meaning of good vs. evil.

Would we recommend this: yes

August - The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)

predictable, humorous, educational

Overall we thought that this book was ok.  We liked the human aspects of the Greek Gods and how they interacted with each other.  It was enjoyable, but not very captivating and had a lot of aspects of the Harry Potter books on a more watered-down level.  We didn't feel it was worth reading the whole series, but enjoyed the movie version.

Would we recommend this: maybe

September - Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend (Matthew Dicks)

compelling, eye-opening, insightful

This book was a little slow to start, but we all really enjoyed it.  It was very insightful into the mind of a child with Asperger's and the social aspects of those around him.  The story was told from a unique aspects of the boys imaginary friend and told how imaginary friends are created, interact with other imaginary friends, and eventually die.  It was very thoughtful and enjoyable.

Would we recommend this: yes

October - Juliet (Anne Fortier)

beautiful, intriguing, unpredictable

We really enjoyed the historical and modern aspects of Romeo and Juliet in this book.  It was very fast-paced and unpredictable.  The book was a great combination of family drama, mystery, romance, and history.  We thought that the dialog was a bit lacking (between Julie and her sister) and were a little confused by the motives, but overall enjoyed the writing style and tragic but happy ending.

Would we recommend this: yes

November - When We Were Strangers (Pamela Schoenwaldt)

empowering, raw, heartbreaking

We really liked the medical and historical aspects of this book from the 1880s.  Even thought we felt that the main female character was a bit unrealistic for the timer period, she was hardworking and independent.  It told an unique immigrant story.  We enjoyed the book, but we not impressed with the ending and felt that it came out of nowhere.

Would we recommend this: yes

What We're Reading and/or Listening To:

Angie 

A Lion Among Men (Gregory Maguire)

Mickie  

Red Queen (Philippa Gregory)

Trisha  

When We Were Strangers (Pamela Schoenwaldt)

The Mammoth Hunters (Jean M. Auel)

Favorite Book of 2013:

Angie 

Walking Disaster (Jamie McGuire)

Juliet (Anne Fortier)

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend (Matthew Dicks)

Mickie 

Tutor Court Trilogy (Susan Wiggs)

Juliet (Anne Fortier)

Trisha 

11/22/63 (Stephen King)

The Dovekeepers (Alice Hoffman)

Wicked (Gregory Maguire)

Juliet by Anne Fortier

★★★

"Everything we say is a story.  But nothing we say is just a story."

When Julie Jacobs inherits a key from her great-aunt, she travels to Italy to find answers to a six-hundred year old family secret.  Piece by piece she learns that she and her twin sister are the descendants of the Shakespeare's Juliet.  Every answered question seems to more mysteries and Julie is on a search for a Romeo of her own.  Intermingled with Julie's search is the real story of Romeo and Juliet - and it's a lot different then we thought.

This book was decent.  I loved the historical aspects of Shakespeare's famous play and how it evolved over the years.  Julie's story was interesting, but I was a little disappointed.  I felt that the dialogue didn't really fit with the feel of the story and the characterization was a bit lacking.  I really tried to like Julie, but by the end of the book, I found myself not really caring about what happened to her.  What really held the story together was the historical tale of Romeo and Juliet.  I loved that the author showed how the story progressed and changed since the 14th century and evolved into what it is today.  Once that ended, I wasn't all that excited to finish the rest of the book and finding out how it ended.

The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book #1 by Rick Riordan

★★★

"Even strength must bow to wisdom sometimes."

I've been meaning to read this book for awhile and finally got the chance the month for book club (click here).  It was pretty good for a children's book.  I felt like this area of children's books has been a little over done lately.  This reminded me a lot of Harry Potter (which I LOVED), but with Greek history instead of wizards and magic.  I did enjoy re-learning about Greek and Roman mythology though.  And I liked the idea of how the Gods would adapt to out world today.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

★★★

"Of all the weapons she had commanded, Elizabeth knew the least of love; and of all the weapons in the world, love was the most dangerous."

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

★★★

"A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment."

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

★★★

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly in to the past."

"I hope she'll be a fool - that's the bast thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."

Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall

★★★★

"They had engaged in what could not be called treatment or even discussion, but open combat, the two of them a microcosm of the great war raging in the far distance: one side that desired autonomy, and the other that took independence as a sign of madness."

Room by Emma Donoghue

★★★★

"In the world I notice persons are nearly always stressed and have no time...I don't know how persons with jobs do the jobs and all the living as well...I guess the time gets spread very thin like butter all over the world, the roads and houses and playgrounds and stores, so there's only a little smear or time on each place, then everyone has to hurry on to the next bit."

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

★★★★

"No matter how dreary and grey our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than any other country, be it ever so beautiful.  There is no place like home."

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

★★★★★

"People who claim that they're evil are usually no worse than the rest of us... It's people who claim that they're good, or any way better than the rest of us, that you have to be wary of."

"The room quieted down.  Elphaba made up a little song on the spot, a song of longing and otherness , of far aways and future days.  Strangers closed their eyes to listen.  Boq did too.  Elphaba had an ok voice.  He saw the imaginary place she conjured up, a land where injustice and common cruelty and despotic rule and the beggaring first of drought didn't work together to hold everyone by the neck.  No, he wasn't giving her credit.  Elphaba had a GOOD voice.  It was controlled and feeling and nothistoric.  He listened through t the end, and the song faded into the hush of a respectful pub.  Later, he thought: The melody faded like a rainbow after a storm, or like winds calming down; and what was left was calm, and possibility, and relief."

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

★★★★★

" 'One more time?  For the audience?' he says.  His voice isn't angry.  It's hallow, which is worse.  Already the boy with the bread is slipping away from me.  I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go."

"Happy Hunger Games!  And many the odds be ever in your favor."

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

★★★★

"Gradually, they began to talk.  Overflow succeeded into silence, which is fulness...They confided to each other in an intimacy of the ideal, which even now nothing could have increased, all that was most hidden and most mysterious of themselves...These two hearts pored themselves out into each other, so that at the end of an hour, it was the young man who had the young girl's soul, and the young girl who had the soul of the young man."