Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

We picked Northanger Abbey for book club this month mainly because we couldn't think of anything else and it sounded very book clubby to read an Austen novel.  I expected to slog through heavy Austen language and be slightly entertained by a semi-predictable love story.  I did not expect to find that Jane had such a sense of humor!  I literally laughed out loud in certain parts and made Brian listen while I read the particular paragraph to him.  In Northanger Abbey, our heroine is the slightly naive Catherine, who has read one too many gothic novels for her own good.  She goes to Bathe for the season meeting new friends and potential suitors.  Complications and misconceptions ensue.  I highly recommend this one - it was entertaining and you can pat yourself on the back for reading a classic!  Win/win, people.

Read: August 2011

One Day by David Nicholls

I really liked this book! Em and Dexter meet on the last day of college, spending a day together and forming a relationship. Each chapter of the book provides a glimpse at where they are - together or apart - on the same day each year. Although that sounds like a chick flick love story, the book has much more depth and deals with some tough topics. The narrative structure is unique and I liked how the author developed the characters and wove their story together. Definitely read this book - but hurry because they are making it into a movie with Anne Hathaway that comes out later this month!

Read: October(ish) 2010 (I'm a little behind on my reviews)

Black Heels to Tractor Wheels (Pioneer Woman)

I love, love, loved this book! If you drool over PW's food blog on a weekly basis, then you will love her account of how she met and married Marlboro Man. How she gave up plans for a big city life when a cowboy swept her off her feet. Such a sweet love story and a good romantic read. Almost made me want to live on a ranch. Almost. Definitely made me grateful for my own love story.

Read: March 2011

Bonus: I got an autographed copy at Border's during their store closing sale!

The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)

We read this for Book Club in February and I really enjoyed it. I listened to it in the car (is that cheating?) on a drive to visit Sara in Houston. The Red Tent tells the biblical story of Jacob's four wives - Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah - and his daughter Dinah. In the Bible, you read about the rape of Dinah and how Jacob took revenge by requiring the Canaanite tribe to be circumcised and then slaughtering them all in their sleep. This fictional interpretation re-creates the life of Dinah and describes the events from her point of view. This was the second time for me to read this book and I really enjoyed imaging the story behind the short biblical account. It also inspired me to study Genesis again to compare. Highly recommend!

Read: February/March 2011

Heart of the Matter (Emily Giffin)

Its hard to say exactly how I feel about this book. Its about infidelity from the perspective of the wife and the other woman. The chapters alternate between the two women so that you see both sides. Guilt, insecurity, worry, suspicion. Lots of emotions in this one! I wanted to know what happened - whether the wife found out, how she handled it, what the other woman did, etc. And it was very quick to read. But at the same time, reading about infidelity is hard because I just don't want to think about it. So read at your own risk! Emily Giffin's first two books were her best (Something Borrowed and Something Blue). I haven't loved any of the others. Not sure I'll try again.

Read: December 2010

Ender's Game

Ignore the totally sci-fi cover and pick up this book. Our book club read this at Angela's insistence when she discovered no one else had read it. I was skeptical, but I'm always willing to try a book that comes highly recommended. And it was good, so now I am recommending it to you. Here's a quick summary from Amazon:

Intense is the word for Ender's Game. Aliens have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. To make sure humans win the next encounter, the world government has taken to breeding military geniuses -- and then training them in the arts of war... The early training, not surprisingly, takes the form of 'games'... Ender Wiggin is a genius among geniuses; he wins all the games... He is smart enough to know that time is running out. But is he smart enough to save the planet?

Read: August 2010

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (Aimee Bender)

We just finished this book for Book Club, which is one of my favorite things every month. Anyway, after reading this book, I discovered that it is in the genre of "Mystical Realism", which explains so much. The book is about a girl who can taste the feelings of whoever cooked her food, whether she wants to or not. With her gift, she discovers that her seemingly happy mother is hiding some strong feelings of emptiness and dissatisfaction. The book is well written and and the main character, Rose, draws you in, but the storyline is just odd. And I felt a bit unsatisfied at the end.

I kept hoping for the book to turn into chick lit. You know, girl ends up with guy who she has been in love with her whole life. Not girl ends up with folding chair.

I would not recommend rushing out to buy this book in its hardbacked glory (sorry, Sara), but if you stumble across it at Half Price Books someday and need something interesting, then it would be perfect.

And do not be deceived by the lovely piece of cake on the cover. This is not a book version of The Waitress!

Read: July 2010 (on a Kindle!)

Next: Camel Bookmobile

29 Gifts (Cami Walker)

Not really sure how to describe this book. Its part memoir, part challenge, part new-agey weirdness. The author, Cami Walker, was diagnosed with MS a few weeks after she got married. She had several bad episodes with MS, throwing her into depression and challenging her new marriage. Then her friend (a new-agey healer) challenged her to give a gift to someone every day for 29 days. The book chronicles her experience with the challenge and how her outlook on life changed.

The overall idea of giving a gift everyday - whether its giving money to a homeless person or buying your friend a cup of coffee - is good. Giving helps you focus on other people and not just yourself.

Be warned that the book has a lot of new-agey stuff about religion, healing, etc. And you have to buy it in the Self-Help Section of the bookstore. But the overall message is good and I did learn a lot about MS.

The Help (Kathryn Stockett)

I. Loved. This. Book. It was so good! I listened to it on CD from the library, which really helped bring the characters to life. Either way, this is a must read. The story is told through the perspective of three women in Mississippi in the 1960s - two black maids and one young white woman. They weave together stories of what its like to be a maid in a white household in the Sixties. The characters really grip you. I didn't want it to end! Sometimes I would sit in the parking garage for an extra few minutes because I couldn't turn it off. I highly recommend.