Emma by Jane Austen

I'm halfway through my quest to read all of Jane Austen's novels!  I have mixed feelings about Emma - the character and the novel. Unlike most of Austen's protagonists, Emma is wealthy, comfortable and not looking for a husband.  Instead, she is busy trying to set up everyone in the neighborhood but she keeps failing miserably.  Its easy to predict that the love of her life is right under her nose.  What I didn't like was how the plot dragged in the middle for at least 100 pages.  I also got tired of Emma meddling and being so obnoxious about levels of society. That being said it is still Jane Austen and still lovely to read.  Just not my favorite so far!  I'm planning to read Sense and Sensibility next.

Read: April-May 2012

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

I don't even know how to summarize this one.  It focuses on three recent college graduates as they struggle to figure out what to do with their lives.  Madeleine, an English major who is all too normal, falls for Leonard, a troubled loner.  Meanwhile, her old friend Mitchell from freshman year, has decided Madeleine is the perfect girl for him.  It was a decent book with an interesting plot, but I'm not sure I recommend it unless you are prepared for language and obscure literary references.  I read it mainly because his two other books are so highly reviewed but now I probably won't read them.  

The title comes from the "marriage plot" found in the great English novels by the likes of Jane Austen, George Eliot and Henry James.  You know, where girls have to go out and find a husband, preferably one with a good name and some money.  Does the marriage plot work now?  Or is there a modern version?

Anyway, I apologize for this review.  It really gives you nothing to go on.  I just wanted to document that I read it.

Read: April 2012 (via CD from the library)

The One I Want by Allison Winn Scotch

My firm had a table at a Chick Lit Luncheon (doesn't that sound like a fun work event??) so my work friend and I took a few young banker clients with us.  To prepare, we decided we just had to read a book by the speaker.  Allison Winn Scotch has written three (maybe four) books along the lines of Emily Giffin - chick lit but with a serious theme. 

The One I Want is about Tilly Farmer, a girl who married her high school sweat heart, has a great job, lives in her home town and is trying for a baby (sound familiar??).  Then, after visiting a fortune teller's tent at a local fair, she gets the gift of "clarity" and starts to see her life for what it really is.  She questions her choices - examining what she really wants her life to be.  

Overall, good chick lit.  Solid female character, a love interest, relationship drama, some introspection and a quick read.  I might read her other books, but there are a lot of books on my list that have priority.

Read: April 2012

11/22/63 by Stephen King

My first (and probably last) Stephen King novel!  And that is mainly because this one was not scary.  The premise is that Jake, a teacher in his 30s, finds a portal in a local diner that goes back to 1959.  Every time he goes back, he arrives on the same day at the same time.  Each trip is a complete re-set and only takes him a minute, no matter how long he stays in the past.  Jake learns that he can change things in the past and affect the future.  He decides to go back in time to stop Lee Harvey Oswald from shooting JFK in 1963, a task that will mean living in the past for four years.

I liked the book overall.  It was an interesting premise and Stephen King is a good writer.  My complaint was the length.  The book was 800 pages and did not need to be that long.  It languished in the middle when you just want it to hurry up and get to 1963 already.  But if you are interested in JFK and don't mind a long book, this is a good one.

Read: March 2012 on my iPad

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus - also called the Circus of Dreams - is the site of a competition between two magicians - Celia and Marco - who are bound to each other as children.  As they struggle to determine the rules of the competition, they create a fantastical circus.  I enjoyed the creative story and the descriptive writing style.  It kept me guessing.  But, as other reviewers have noted, the character development was a little lacking, especially for the two main characters.  I also thought the ending was sort of confusing - you need to pay attention to the dates and I found myself needing to flip back to figure out where I was in the timeline.  People have compared this to Harry Potter and I don't think that is accurate at all.  The Night Circus was an entertaining, creative, well-written book, but not the next Harry Potter.

Read: February 2012 via Kindle

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

I have been reading this book off and on for about a year.  Its a memoir of Hemingway's time in Paris and each chapter is fairly independent from the others.  I had a hard time sticking with it because it never felt like much of a story.  But reading The Paris Wife was the perfect motivation to finish the book and see the same story from his point of view. I am just not much of a Hemingway fan, but this was one of his better books, particularly the chapters on F. Scott Fitzgerald.  I'm glad I read the book (if for no other reason than it gets Brian off my case) but I can't say I plan on reading any more Hemingway anytime soon!

Read (or finished): February 2012

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

My husband is a HUGE fan of Ernest Hemingway.  He has read most Hemingway books and will always order a Hemingway cocktail if there is one on the menu.  He even dragged us to Hemingway's favorite bar in Venice on our honeymoon (which sadly required coat and tie so we couldn't go in).  Anyway, The Paris Wife is a fictionalized account of Hemingway's first wife Hadley and their time in 1920s Paris during the heyday of Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Although technically fiction, the novel is based on real events, including Hemingway's memoir and their letters.  I enjoyed the book - the writing was easy and Hadley was a likable narrator.  It did make me sad because from the very beginning you know that Hemingway was a womanizer and that he had two wives after Hadley so you know how it will probably end.  It was the perfect way for me to learn more about Hemingway without actually reading him.  I think this one is worth reading!

Read: January 2012 via Kindle

P.S. This is Brian outside of Hem's favorite bar in Venice on our honeymoon.  You can see why we didn't fit the dress code!