January 3rd, 2010

Book Review: The Brightest Star in the Sky

The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes

I’ve reviewed a Marian Keyes book before, and after having first reviewed This Charming Man I actually went to my library and took out several other Marian Keyes novels. I really enjoyed them all and Marian’s newest book, The Brightest Star in the Sky, is no exception for me. It’s a thought-provoking book full of believable characters with a real energy of its own.

The book centers around a small apartment building and the various tenants who live within it. There are four flats total, and many of the tenants interact in interesting ways with one another. My favorite tenant is Kate, a single 40 year old woman who is not really sure where her life is heading. I also love Matt and Maeve, a couple whose lives seem to be stuck in a bad holding pattern, but as their story is revealed my empathy for them grew and grew.

There is one other character in the story – a mysterious presence who has come to the building for some purpose, that is not revealed for quite some time. You get a sense of what it might be, but as with many Marian Keyes stories, never assume anything – she likes to surprise you!

This book’s biggest strength is the cast of characters – they are beautifully developed and you will quickly become immersed in their lives and their stories. It’s hard to find any weaknesses for me, I don’t know if that’s because I’m not critical enough or just that this is truly a fabulous book. But I give it a full 5 out of 5 and absolutely recommend you run out and grab this book asap! It’s a perfect read for a cold winter weekend.

POST REVIEW NOTE

I’m hoping to feature a “book” post on my blog weekly, occasionally reviews, more often probably just chatter about my current list of reading material. I almost always have a book or two on the go, I’m working on reading some material found on a blogger’s favorites posts and I’m just generally trying to expand my reading horizons. Right now, I’m reading Wally Lamb’s The Hour I First Believed (from the wonderful Spruce Grove Public Library!)

Laurie, aka Mobile Mommy

November 29th, 2009

Book Blogger Recommendations

I contributed my ten favorite books (not that my top ten is ever the same from day to day, lol, I love books so much I have trouble picking, and I’m sure that was a similar problem for the other book bloggers) to a list that has been compiled by Reading with Tequila. 33 book bloggers contributed over 200 unique titles!

My top 10, in random order and  if I’m remembering them correctly, were:

1. Clan of the Cave Bear, Jean M. Auel
2. Outlander, Diana Gabaldon (read the whole series!)
3. The Thorn Birds – Colleen McCullough
4. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
5. Remember Me – Christopher Pike
6. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
7. Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery
8. The Angels Weep – Wilbur Smith
9. Watchers – Dean Koontz
10. The Five People You Meet in Heaven – Mitch Albom

I’m planning to use the recommendation list to put together part of my 2010 reading list. Certainly I’ll read many other books, as I tend to grab a few that simply catch my eye every time I head to the library, but it’s nice to be able to broaden my reading horizons a bit by reading things recommended by other book lovers. So here are the ones I’m planning to try and read over the next year or so from the list (in no particular order):

1. Hush, Hush – Becca Fitzpatrick
2. City of Bones – Cassandra Clare
3. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
4. Graceling – Kristin Cashore
5. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
6. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins
7. 11 Minutes – Paulo Coelho
8. The Road – Cormac McCarthy
9. Poison Study – Maria V. Snyder
10. The Giver – Lois Lowry
11. The Immortal Highlander – Karen Marie Moning
12. This Lullaby – Sarah Dessen
13. Dark Lover – J.R. Ward
14. Northern Lights – Phillip Pullman
15. Brisingr – Christopher Paolini
16. The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
17. The Prisoner’s Wife – Asha Bandele
18. Happiness Sold Separately – Libby Street
19. Love You Hate You Miss You – Elizabeth Scott
20. Somewhere in Time – Richard Matheson
21. Breath – Tim Winton
22. Gone – Michael Grant
23. The Looking Glass Wars- Frank Beddor
24. No One Belongs Here More than You- Miranda July
25. The Agony of Alice – Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
26. The Unlikely Ones – Mary Brown
27. The Wednesday Letters – Jason F. Wright

I could probably add another 20 to my list, but I do have a business to run too!! The year 2010 is shaping up to be a busy and interesting year for me – I can’t wait!

October 19th, 2009

Book Review: After You by Julie Buxbaum

After You by Julie Buxbaum

It’s interesting to me that my synopsis of this lovely book by Julie Buxbaum doesn’t really match what is on her own website! Does that mean I’m “wrong” or just that we all see things so differently and get different things from books? Well, that is how I see it anyway!

To me, After You is about loss and the incredible journey one must undertake to move past a particularly significant or tragic loss. Loss can be a very hard topic to read about – if you are particularly sensitive right now in your life I don’t actually know if I’d recommend the book, although otherwise I absolutely do. It is a really wonderful book with a compelling main character in Ellie.

Loss is so personal. We all experience it at some point and we all hurt. But there is so much expectation around losses – you should feel this way, for this long and then you should be ready to “move on”. Of course it doesn’t work that way for so many of us. Maybe I’ll need two years to recover from something that you adjusted to in only six months. Maybe I’ll cry and rant and rage and maybe you’ll turn inwards and quiet.

In After You, Ellie has been trying to move on from her own personal loss for awhile, when another tragedy strikes in her life. Her best friend Lucy loses her life in a public murder, right in front of Lucy’s young daughter, Sophie. Sophie has a very difficult road ahead of her coping with losing her mother so violently and Ellie temporarily moves from the US to the UK to help Sophie.

Other than a slightly predictable ending, I really enjoyed the whole story in After You and I give it 4 out of 5 stars. Hope you enjoy it too!