Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

My first time reading this author's work and I like it. I've just started reading Anansi Boys as it is my book club's selection for the month of August.

Neil Gaiman,
 Hot, right?

The premise is that Fat Charlie (even though he isn't fat and hasn't been since he was ten) moved to England with his mother  far far away from his father who was nothing but an embarrassment to him.  His fiancé insists that Charlie invite his father to their wedding. Upon calling, he finds out that his father has just died and he must fly back to Florida for the funeral.  He soon discovers that his father was a god and more importantly that he has a brother, a brother who possess all the magical power his father had.

Charlie's life is soon to be turned upside down when this brother shows up on his door step.

I've only read the first 39 pages and I have enjoyed Neil Gaiman's writing style. His characters are strong and likable. He doesn't go into over describing. His pace is just right for my taste.

I'll update as soon as I finish it.

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

I chose to read Half Broke Horses this book after reading A Glass Castle by Jeannette walls. The writing style is quite similar in that it is first person and a memoir. Ms. Walls calls it a true life novel. I found this book to be much more interesting most likely because I liked the characters so much more. It is the biography of the author's grandmother.  It was a fun visit through history and filled in a few gaps from the previous book like just how much land did her mother own in Texas.  Wonderful to read about surviving the flash floods, the homes that were built in dugouts. It's not everyday we learn what some people really thought about indoor plumbing. The world turns modern real quick and what about the kids growing up on a ranch and then penned in when they move to the city. Stories of the one room school house versus the bigger schools.

Reading Half Broke Horses is like sitting down with an older loved one as they talk about the olden days. Stories that are just matter of fact, just the way things were done, no big deal stories, but stories that we find fascinating.  A mere 272 pages that I read non-stop and finished in one day. I can't wait to share this book with my friends.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I first heard of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins at my monthly book club. It wasn't one of the books that we were reading, rather it was discussed in hushed whispers.
"Did you read it yet?"
"Oh yeah," replies the reader with wide eyes and bobbing head.
Another voice whispers, "What? What book did you read?"
A long pause follows. "The Hunger Games."
"OMG, I loved that book. I've read all three."
Head bobs harder, "Oh yeah, I've already got them."

For some reason, I don't care. If it has to be hush hush, I got no time for this nonsense. But I can't escape it. The Hunger Games keeps coming up in conversation without much being said about the plot.

THEN comes the film. I saw the trailer. Sweet. They did a remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Running Man and used teenagers instead of adults. Still not that interested, but not dismissing it completely.

I cannot escape this book. At the writing group, it comes up again and I learned something new. This is actually a young adult fiction. Maybe that's why the hushed tones. Adults were reading this and really enjoying it. I hear that there is a lot of violence in this book, perhaps too much violence for a book aimed at young readers.

I've had enough and it's time to read the darn book. Lucky for me, this book was available at Amazon's reading library. Instant access and I didn't have to buy it. Woo Hoo!

I read the Hunger Games in one day. Almost one day. I read one chapter which was enough to get me hooked, I just ran out of time. Once I picked it up again, I read the whole book. Finished it at 12:30 AM.

The Plot
The country is reduced to 12 districts surrounding the capital. There had been 13 but rebellion had broken out and the 13th district was destroyed and the rebellion squashed. As retribution goes, each district pulls names to choose who will participate in the hunger games.

The Hunger Games participants one male, one female from each district between the ages of 12 and 18 They are sent to a section of wilderness where they fight to the death by hunting each other down. The whole thing is televised. Reality TV and Survivor combined. The survivor gets a home and food on the table which is a lot considering the general population strives hard not to starve to death.

This story concentrates on Katniss who volunteers to play the game in order to save her sister from going.

I'm not going to give any spoilers here. Suffice it to say that it is a good book. The foundation is solid and the tension is good.  The amount of violence was minimal in my opinion. It didn't go into the blow by blow, the screams and agony, the despair. Don't misunderstand me. The book does contain these items, but it doesn't go over the top with it.

The Hunger Games is the first of the triology.  I'm going to skip the 2nd one Catching Fire simply from the reviews I read about it.  As soon as I'm eligible to check out another book from the Amazon library, I will definitely read the third book Mocking Jay.

On a final note, I would like to say that The Hunger Games theme reminds of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood in the sense of how the future can go horribly wrong by the freedoms today. The Hunger Games reflect reality today as The Handmaid's Tale reflect the computer's technology controlling our finances.  Let the paranoia begin.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

   Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs WAS AWESOME! Okay, maybe not exactly awesome, but I read it in two days and I am so disappointed that his next book is just about photographs and not a sequel to this one. 

Amazon has a movie quality trailer for this book and I will say that it would also make an awesome film. I would buy my ticket right now. 

Jacob has a close and loving relationship with his grandfather who would tell him fantastic tales of a house on an island where peculiar children lived. He shows him the pictures of a girl who's feet don't touch the ground, of an invisible boy, of someone holding a large boulder. As Jacob grows older, he realizes his grandfather has simply pulled one over him. I won't say anything more less I give the story away. Suffice it to say that Grandpa wasn't telling fairy tales and Jacob finds his self traveling to the island. 

I enjoyed this story. Every time it looked as if things were going to work out, Bang! A new obstacle slammed in over and over and over.  I did not get bored and I could not put this book down. When I read the last page, I was immediately at Amazon looking for the sequel. The good news is I saved my money because there is at this time no sequel. 

As if that would stop me! A little more research and I find that Sophistikatied Reviews says that there will be a sequel released in Spring of 2013. I am marking my calendar now!

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

I don't normally read memoirs but I enjoy them when I do. I usually enjoyed reading of the old stars like Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Joan Crawford in Mommy Dearest. I've recently read Peter Falks biography shortly after he passéd away and I have one of Carol Burnett's, The Time We spent Together, sitting on the shelf waiting to be picked up.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is her story growing up with two parents who lived life by the seat of their pants. Constantly on the move, paranoid about the government getting into their business, high dreams, liquor, and rarely food on the table.

The Glass Castle was chosen by my book club. I had to remind my self more than a few times when I kept asking my self the question, "Why am I reading this?" and "Why would I care?"
It came close at one point to being thrown across the room. That's only happened once before when I read Twilight (seriously, how many times can we read that Edward is just so beautiful?) Since I was reading this on the Kindle, I did refrain my self.

Why did I want to throw it across the room? It was a bit over the top? For the longest time, I had no idea what time period we were in. Was this the thirties or forties or what? Past midway I finally discovered this was set in the sixties and onward. I can relate to this. I'm out four years older than our character here. Even have a few things in common and a few things that weren't.

Maybe I wanted to throw it across the room because I could relate to it more than I want to admit to myself. We all have our coping mechanisms.

One part really got to me is that she knew her parents, especially her father who was a drunk, why on earth would they put their money in a clear piggy bank out in the open, and NOT expect it to get stolen. It was over the top (and I believe every word of it).

I think she glossed over the part when she got to New York. It seemed to easy, to perfect, but you can read between the lines and know it wasn't a picnic and yet it was so much better than what she left behind.

Would I recommend it or read it again? I don't know. I know I finished it in two day because I wouldn't put it down. I can't say yes or no. I'm still working hard at keeping walls up of things I don't want to remember. The past is what it is and it makes us who we are today and that's where I shall focus my thoughts. Today and tomorrow.

I will also say that I bought Jeannette Walls second book, "Half Broke Horses". This is a novel based on the things her mother told her about her grandmother. I expect the same over the top reactions as I had when I read the The Glass Castle. I expect it to be a hoot.

Update to The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

I did finish reading The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. I'm not sure now if I want to see the film after reading this novel and now that I know how it ends. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, I'll see the film. Actually I think the film will be much scarier if the environment is right. As long as it's dark and cold, and maybe if the wind is blowing and no one is talking.  You don't want to blink because you might miss something. Hollywood does tend to embellish and make creative changes, so yes. I think the film will be good.

The book not so scary and I think that was because of the prologue. We know that he will survive and that makes us less anxious about what is going on. But beware, not all survive.

I think that when I read this book, I did not invest my self into it. I didn't give way to just how terrifying it would be in his situation.  So my advice when reading it is to dive in and imagine what it would be like to really be there.

I will definitely read this book again.

Story Engineering by Larry Brooks

Story Engineering by Larry Brooks was brought to my attention from watching a video posted by the The Creative Penn on YouTube. I am so glad I saw the video before attempting to read the book.

This is a how to write a novel book. Yes, there are many out there, but this one did stand out a bit to me. First of all, I actually did read it from start to finish. Yes, that also means I scanned. I scanned a lot, but I did get the meat and potatoes from this book.

When you sit down to read this book, I suggest that you have the mindset that you are attending a workshop. That means pen and paper on hand to take notes. I, personally, took eight pages worth.

Face it, if you really want to get published, your novel must have structure. Things happen in a certain order and there is no getting around it. I found this book most helpful in explaining how this is done.

If you read the reviews on Amazon, many speak of his having a chip on his shoulder and an angry tone. Tsk. Not to worry. Watch the video and you will see this man's tone. He is enthusiastic. Sure there are people who just want to sit down and right. It isn't so much that he is arguing with them-you-the reader as he is wanting to get his point across.  I enjoy his tone. I think the video helped with that because I had a face and a voice to go with the written words.

The only negative I have to say about the book is that it made me think of watching the evening news on television. It seems like 75% of the news is them telling us what is coming up next. It takes a while to get to the meat and bones in this book, but the meal was worth it.

One last note, if you have a Kindle and Amazon prime, you can check Story Engineering out for free. The price is also reasonable if want to buy it.

The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story (Vintage) by Susan Hill

You know the book is always better than the movie and since  Daniell Radcliff latest film The Woman in Black is soon to be released, I wanted to get this book under my belt.  I've read the reviews from Amazon. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not. I'm not sure which it is in this case. I know I'm relaxed while reading it (somewhat relaxed - it is a ghost story after all) I know he survives his ordeal. I'm thinking this is more of a cozy mystery and I'm hoping there will be more answers than questions at the end.

I'll let you know what I think when I've finished the read.

The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin

I'm very excited to be reading The Dispossessed. It's a scyfy novel where a man leaves his world and his family behind as he goes to a new world. This book maybe over my head. I understand that there is a lot of politics symbolic representing the United States Vs Russia, capitalism vs communism. Perhaps. I'm only on page 14 and so far I'm enjoying the story. I've never been one to look deeper than the pages.  I mean, how can this be the US vs Russia? We are on different planets. (lol - I'm joking)

I'm excited to read this book. I haven't read science fiction in a long time and I'm liking the change.

Have you read The Dispossessed? Join me and tell me what you think of it.

update review:  I didn't finish it. I would like to someday, but other things came up and I'm afraid this book goes back on the shelf. It's me, not the book. I have a hard time knowing where I am in this story because of the foreign words and made up geography.

I came across a passage that really hit home with me. 
... he never knew he influenced them, he had no idea they liked him.
There is of course much more to that story, but that statement really stood out to me for I know it certainly applied to my life. We make a bigger impact on other people's lives than we are aware of.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This is the second time that I've read this book. I enjoyed it as much the second time as I did the first.                                                                                  The Help is set in the early 1960's in Jackson, Mississippi. It's about the time when the civil rights movement was coming along. It was a dangerous time for people of color. It was a time of segregation  and the Jim Crow laws.  It was a time where "the help" took care of the babies, cleaned the houses, took care of the elderly.  In the story, Skeeter comes racing home from college only to find that her beloved nanny has suddenly quit and disappeared without a word to her after thirty years of service. No one will tell her what had happened. Skeeter isn't the normal southern bell as her friends are. She went to college to learn, not to find a husband much to her mother's dismay. She wants to be a writer and when the publisher suggests she write something meaningful, Skeeter sees the opportunity to write about the helps view of what it is like working for their employers.  Not an easy task as no one wants to take the risk of being caught talking. They would lose their jobs, their spouses would lose their jobs, and they might even lose their lives. It was a dangerous time.  Yet when a maid is sent to prison, their need for change over rules their fear and we see the story play out. We see the benefits, the satisfaction, the beginning of change. 

      It really is a beautiful story. It has all the elements of laughter, tears, anger, frustration, fear. It is a satisfying story that I enjoyed. 

    There were two things I did not enjoy about the book. It took me a little bit of time getting use to the dialect she was using at the beginning of the book. It was from the maid Abilene's POV. It took some getting use to, but once I got into the story, I didn't notice it any longer.

     The second thing I did not enjoy was the part where we finally find out what happened to Constantine. We are only given a glimpse. 

THE BOOK VS. THE MOVIE

I read the book before I saw the movie.  The book is so much better. The film took to many creative differences that it seems like they missed the point of the book ESPECIALLY the end. The film does not show you what it cost these women to participate in writing the book. There is no real character development as to who they really were as it was done in the book. 

Frankly, although the main actors acted well, they were in my opinion, completely miscast with the exception of the character Minney.  Skeeter was much to pretty and her hair was gorgeous. This woman would have had men climbing all over themselves to get to her. Hilly was much to skinny. I did, however, love Hilly's mama. 

I think I would have been bored with the film if I hadn't read the book first. Don't judge the film on my opinion though because other people have seen it and loved it. I know that I was bored watching it and I'm really glad I didn't spend a lot to see it. 

If you haven't read "The Help" yet or seen the movie, I would recommend you see the movie first (if you want to) and then read the book. Just know that the book is WAY WAY WAY much better. 

Did you read the book or see the movie? Leave your comments below and tell me what you thought of it.