Talk Talk- Boyle [Book #5]

Wow. Just. Wow. TC Boyle is easily one of my favorite writers and this book certainly sealed the deal for me personally. This is a jarring novel about identity theft and just how badly it can affect someone's life. The story follows a thirtysomething woman who is deaf and is arrested for crimes committed under her name. She and her boyfriend are determined to find out the man who did this and make him pay. The story is told from the perspectives of herself, her boyfriend, and the criminal in question. I found it very difficult to put this book down and was overall quite satisfied with the ending.

Book of Joe- Tropper (Book #14)

I love anything this guy writes. He is similar to Nick Hornby who I also love though he deals with sometimes a bit harsher issues. This is a story about Joe and how he wrote about his town Bush Falls in scathing terms and never returned for 17 years until his father got ill. He returns to learn that the town residents hate him for the words he wrote. What follows is a look into dying, prejudice, the meaning of life, and so and so forth. I find myself often underlining passages and parts of this book. Its just beautifully written. It's deep without being heavy handed. I find it interesting though, as a side note, that the more ou read certain author's collective works, the more you learn a bit about them too. I've begun to identify themes in Tropper's books that show up in all of them. As you read more and more of an author's book you begin to feel you're treading in autobiography more than you previously thought. Still, this is definitely a book I might read again.

Momma Zen- Miller (Book #11)

There are a million and one books written about motherhood and parenting but if you must purchase one book let it be this one. Miller writes beautifully about her journey in motherhood with small chapters filled with beautiful reflections and advice that I truly took for heart. It's a must buy and re-read.

Zeitoun- Eggers (Book #8)

A must read. The true story of a Syrian man Zeitoun, and his family's hellish ordeal through and after Hurricane Katrina. The book is so powerful without even trying to as we learn about what this heroic man Zeitoun had to endure both through the failed policies of Katrina as well as the 'war on terror'. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and feel sad that I knew so little of what happened in Katrina. Why. WHY doesn't the media actually do its job? These stories should have been front and center.

The Happiest Baby on The Block- Karp (Book #2)

I'm a big Karp fan because I've found that when I instinctively have tried the five S's he advocates in his book, they do work on babies I've held in the past. This book is essentially a book on how to soothe colicky or fussy babies up to three months of age. He has five things called the 5 S's that he says are guarunteed to work each time.

1. Swaddling
2. Sucking
3. Side/stomach holding
4. Swinging
5. Shhing
   

This book should serve as a companion to watching his DVD of the same name where he demonstrates how to actually implement the five S's into the life of your newborn child. This book is good to get the theory behind why these five Ss work so well.

The Help- Stockhard (Book #1)

I have considered reading this book so often but I always put it back in 2009 due to its length. A book club I joined was reading this book and I'm so glad I finally got a chance to sit down and read it. The Help focuses on three women in the south at the cusp of the civil rights movements. Jim Crow laws are still in effect and the south is resisting the changes to come. We follow the lives of two black maids and a white woman Skeeter as they live their lives and slowly decide to undertake a project that could jeopardize their futures but one they can't seem to walk away from. It took me about 30 pages to get into the book and I admit had I not been reading it for a book club I might have just put it away after the first few chapters because the vernacular threw me off and I could not seem to get past it. I'm glad I kept reading because Stockhard has a gift for story telling and her writing keeps you turning the pages and you are sad when you reach the end of this beautiful story.

Happier- Ben Shahar (Book #88)

I truly enjoyed this book written by a Harvard professor on the science of happiness. The book emphasizes finding meaning and purpose in your life, that money does not equate happiness, and remembering that this is it, this life we have, and to be happy we need not wait for a goal to be fulfilled, life is the journey. All of this is cliche but he does it a lot more thoroughly. I think its a must read for people who are confused about where they are in their lives and are searching for what they must do to be happy.

Operating Instructions- Lamott (Book #83)

I like Anne Lamott and as I've shown in my book reading selections of this year, when I like an author I start reading everything they write (Russo, Tropper, etc). I heart this book. Its an honest insight into the first year of raising a baby as a single woman and I found the book both hilarious, honest, and heartbreaking.

This is where I leave you- Tropper (Book #74)

I was afraid this book would be bulky and heavy like Jonathon Franzen's The Corrections but this was instead a well-written funny book about family. Judd, the main character is in the middle of a divorce and his father died. He is at his childhood home with siblings he rarely sees and with whom he has much built up resentment. This sounds like really heavy duty stuff, and it is but its told so well that you end up feeling uplifted in every way. I plan to read many more of this author's work!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- Smith (Book #64)

This is a classic tale of young Francie growing up in Brooklyn at the turn of the century. This book follows her life as she grows up in poverty. Her mother is a janitor, her father Johnny works sporadically as a singing waiter, and her Aunt Sissy has ten dead babies and goes through husbands like spring coats. This is a book focused on character development. It is a coming of age tale as we see Francie first feel amazed and enchanted by her life, and then as she grows older, we see her disillusionment and her doubts for her future. I enjoyed this book very much, the writing is gentle and beautiful and I fell in love with Francie. The author did a great job making each character feel real and true to life.

Secrets of a Former Fat Girl- Delaney (Book #61)

This book is a great practical guide to losing weight that doesn't teach you any new secret fad diets but simply gives you motivation to pursue whatever diet plan you are on. She is someone who struggled with weight for years and finally reached her goal. I've read the book three times now and each time I learn something new.

Up a Road Slowly - Hunt (Book #60)

In the lovely book Shadow of the Wind, the author describes how the first book a reader reads and loves remains forever in their hearts much like first love. I agree and this statement prompted me to turn to Up A Road Slowly for a re-read, perhaps my fifteen re-read since childhood. This is a young adult tale of growing up. The story finds Julie, seven years old, recovering from an illness that took her mother's life and hysterical with grief and fear. She is taken five miles up the road into the country to be raised by her spinster aunt Cordelia because Julie's father is busy teaching and her eldest sister busy with school. Julie hates it there at first but overtime she grows up in the home and this is a gentle, slow story about the pain of growing up and the lessons we learn along the way. This book held magic for me as a child and now as I read it fully grown reading this book felt like visiting my childhood once again.

The Gift- Hafiz (Book #59)

I read this book ten years ago and re-reading it was a treat just as it was then. This is a collection of poetry by the sufi master Hafiz translated into English by Ladinsky. I enjoyed this extensive series of poems very much. I posted my favorite poem here.

The Shadow of The Wind- Zafon (Book #58)

Very few books capture one's imagination and transport them completely into another world. This book is just such a book. It's a book I remember from childhood where you fall into the story and forget everything around you. This is a complex gothic novel translated from Spain about a boy Daniel who discovers a book, the only one of its kind and falls in love with the writing. When he seeks out other books by the author he learns that someone is going around methodically burning all the books by this author. So begins Daniel's quest which unravels in exciting and unpredictable ways. The writing is breathtaking and the insights are profound. This is a book I will certainly be purchasing for my bookshelf soon.

Harry Potter Book 7- Rowling (Book #56)

Unless you've lived under a rock you've likely heard of Harry Potter. This was my second read of Book 7 but I kind of needed to lose myself in a good book and though its a bit lengthy particularly considering I'm on a 100 book challenge and falling behind, it was worth the detour. Not much to say by way of summary except she touches on many issues that go beyond the wizarding world and her last book is by far my favorite.

I'm So Happy For You- Rosenfield (Book #53)

It's been a good long while since I've read such a delightful fun and honest novel about life. I simply could not put this book down, it was unpredictable until the end. I'm So Happy For You is about the nature of friendship between women, particularly two women, Wendy and Daphne. Both have been friends for fifteen years and the novel shows how their friendship formed, and how Wendy perceives her friend. Wendy felt in a comfort zone when beautiful Daphne couldn't get her act together but then Daphne does. She meets a rich handsome guy, gets engaged and pregnant while Wendy struggles with an unemployed husband, months of futile babymaking, and a job she is less than thrilled with. The novel follows how their relationship unfolds as their lives change.

It's funny because I was just talking to a friend about how I feel Im not good at this friendship business. I've experienced so much of both what Daphne has experienced as well as Wendy. Daphne represents so many friends I've had and so does Wendy. This novel helped me reach a better understanding of the nature of friendship making me feel less alone. Rosenfield did a fantastic job capturing a powerful human relationship: female friendship.

The Garden of Truth- Nasr (Book #49)

This book just may change my life. Dr. Nasr is a Sufi himself and this book is a beginner's guide to understanding Sufism and provides a brief history on Sufism. I was surprised at how little I knew of Sufism and how truly thoughtful and deep it is. My favorite part that I have written and practically memorized is this hadith:

Who seeketh me findeth me. Who findeth me knoweth me. Who knoweth me loves me. Who loves me him I love. Whom I love him I slay. Whom I slay him must I requite. Whom I requite, Myself am his requital.

Confetti Girl- Lopez (Book #44)

I finished this book wanting to give it a standing ovation. This book was beautiful, flawless. This is a YA novel about Lina, and her life after losing her mother. She lives with her father, a book aficianado who is coping with his wife's loss by turning to his books and fumbling with all sincerity to be a good father and mother. Her best friend lives across the street with a single mother who begins the novel hating men and making confetti eggs. This is a snapshot of the life of a middle schooler dealing with love and loss. I wept at least three times reading this book. The writer has a gift with words, and I plan to buy this book one day.

I've tasted tears before. They're salty, just like the water below, and I wonder if the ocean is made of tears from all the peple and all the animals that have lost their mothers. After a while my dad comes and sits beside me. "I miss her," I say. "He says, I miss her too, m'ija." Then he puts his arm around me and we spend a few minutes filling the ocean together.

On Hearts: real hearts are reddish purple -- like bruises. No wonder it hurts to love.

Shopgirl- Martin (Book #42)

I've heard good things about this book but I always hesitated because Steve Martin was the author and he's an actor. I pictured it a foray of an egocentric actor thinking, writing? How hard could it be? I borrowed it from the library because I saw good reviews and it was short. I've been reading some doozy long books lately and I needed a breezy short one. I read Shopgirl in one sitting and though I expected to dislike it because the main character was one of those depressed wanderers and I thought oh great, its just going to be a bunch o kids experiencing agnst. Yawn. But the book rocked! This is a novella about a girl and her relationships but its more than that. It's about loneliness and what loneliness can drive us to, misunderstandings, jealousy, feeling lost in ones life, and the differences between men and women. All of that in a short little book. I really found Martin insightful and I know I will be reading other work by him now.

It's Pain That Changes Our Lives- Martin

Waiting For Daisy- Orenstein (Book #37)

I have enjoyed Orenstein's other books and this book is no different. Its an honest and very easy to read memoir of her struggles to conceive. I very much enjoyed the read. She is a good writer.