What I Read - February 2013

February was another great month of reading for me.  I had two great books that I read for my two (!) book clubs and one other book that I squeezed in.

Two books clubs?!  Am I crazy or what?

Yes, I am cheating . . .

My first book club, which I adore, is filled with ten incredible, accomplished, fun, beautiful and very busy women.  So busy though, that we hardly read any books anymore.  We still meet once every couple of months for dinner and drinks.  We have great discussions.  We just rarely talk about books.  That is okay with me, because I enjoy these women and the time that I spend with them.  I don't want to lose my commitment to them.

But, it leaves me wishing I had someone to talk books with.

Lo and behold, I started talking books with a friend.  One thing led to another, and we started our own little book club of two!  Very low key, but I love it!  And it fills that desire I have to discuss books on an intellectual level.

Such a slippery slope cheating is.  The justification.  The "it's not you, it's me".  Oh, my!

Seriously, though . . .

For my new book club:

11/22/63 by Stephen King - 

This is the first book that my friend and I decided upon as our inaugural read and there is nothing like starting off with a bang!  I used to read a lot of Stephen King in high school.  He was definitely a favorite author of mine, but I fell off the King bandwagon in college and beyond.  This novel, despite it's almost 900 page size, was incredible.  I loved the story line, the characters, the dilemmas, and eventually even the length.  It is the somewhat familiar question of what would have the world been like if JFK not been assassinated?  King takes the question a bit further though and you get to see the ripple effect ("butterfly effect") of some other smaller events as well.  Time travel, combined with love story and historical fiction proved to be a real winner for me.

If you could go back in time and change an event, would you?  Your answer might change after reading this!

My Goodreads rating:  5/5 stars

For my "old" book club:

Chanel Bonfire by Wendy Lawless -

Now,  after totally dissing my "old" book club, this was my other book club read for the month.  Only a couple of us actually read the book, but I was impressed a book was even chosen (usually we don't even delude ourselves).  Points given.

This is a memoir along the lines of Mommy Dearest.  I actually liken it to The Glass Castle with money.  In Chanel Bonfire we have an addicted, mentally ill (I would guess manic depressive) mother with two daughters that provides a lot of fodder for a novel. While the novel doesn't necessarily give a lot of depth, it does score highly on the train wreck/entertainment scale.  I found myself turning the pages quickly if only to see what other horrible things these poor girls had to endure.

The novel does invoke a lot of questions/discussion about the powerlessness of children in situations of addiction and mental illness.  I also think it is interesting how oftentimes the fathers are not held to a higher standard of protecting their children when this is going on.

If nothing else, you will walk away from this thinking, "hey, my childhood was not that bad!"

My Goodreads rating:  4/5 stars

And lastly for this short month :

Heft by Liz Moore -

My own pick for the month, Heft is the interwoven story of 4 people who all carry a burden on their soul.  Be that burden 550 pounds, mental illness, addiction, parental desertion, loneliness, whatever . . .  and the toll that weight takes on your life.  Loneliness is a big theme in the book.  It is how the various characters deal with that loneliness, and how the others in their lives confront it as well, that was so interesting.  Do you embrace your aloneness?  Do you wallow in being lonely?  All very singular reactions.

I loved this book and the character development.  My heart ached for the figures depicted.  I had a difficult time when it ended for I wanted to continue with their lives.

My Goodreads rating:   5/5 stars


What is Goodreads you ask?  Only the most awesome place to connect with your friends and fellow readers!  Get great book recommendations.  Read interesting book reviews.  Share your love of reading!  Join me, I'd love to be your reading friend!

Did you read anything great in February?  Any wonderful books to recommend to me and my new book club of two?  Who do you cheat on?!