Atonement by Ian McEwan

Another book by Ian McEwan. In my defense, I had picked this up at the same time as Amsterdam. As I started to read, I was pretty sure I had read this before. So obviously, since I didn't remember it, I clearly hadn't liked it. This book is LONG and wordy and I didn't like the main charecter (seems to be one of his strong points). The conclusion is less than sastisfactory. I just must be too immature and unintellectual for this author.

The story line is this: a precocious 14 year old has an unreasonable dislike for a friend of her sister as well as a very active imagination. Then some bad stuff happens (I don't want to spoil it). Then there is her atonement (get it??) which is in NO WAY adequate.

Did not like it, but didn't hate it. Hopefully I remember that I read it this time so as to not have to read it a third time! :)

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

This is the first book I read through kindle from my local library. It was odd and I wondered if portions were left out when it was digitized. The story is about the two granddaughters of the founders of a women's club in a mountain town. There are random instances of the supernatural that aren't well seamed into the story and not really commented on by the characters. At times, I wondered if I was going crazy. After finishing the book, I am not totally clear what the title means, which is something that really bothers me. Parts of the story were good but it was just odd in a 'what am I missing?' way.

Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

I picked this book up because in another book I read there was a quote which I will paraphrase: She read intelligent books, books by ....McEwan. I thought I had read other books by him, but turns out I was thinking of Iain Pears.

This seems to be one of those 'intelligent' books that I think is stupid. The book begins at the funeral of Molly which is really just a means of introducing us to four men, all of whom, it is presumed, have slept with Molly. One is the Foreign Secretary, the next is the editor of a national paper, the third, a famous composer and the last is Molly's husband.

Some stuff happens and I think we are supposed to question who is a hypocrite, who is sanctimonious and who is morally corrupt.

None of the characters is likeable so you end up not really caring. The 'shocking' events weren't really shocking because at that point I just wanted to be done. I guess this book reminds me of those books we were forced to read in school because someone at some point decide they were 'important pieces of literature' and they were boring and stupid. Who get's to decide that, anyway?

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Dr. Marina Singh heads into the rainforest of Brazil in search of answers surrounding the death of her colleague. This was a good book, hard to get into for me but an interesting premise. It reminded me of the Poisonwood Bible (which I didn't love) and other books with similar themes of the innocent American thrust into an alien land and alien culture. Didn't love it, it was wordy when there was nothing going on and then super concise when EVERYTHING was happening. Lots of obvious parallel stories. It was okay.

Before I go to Sleep by S. J. Watson

GO GET THIS BOOK. Seriously, this is one of the best books I have read in a LONG time. I don't even want to tell you much about it because I don't want to ruin anything. I picked this up just grabbing it off the new book shelf at the library. It was in my stack of spooky Halloween books and my October book club book, Left Neglected. In the way that those things seem to work, it strangely related to both. The story centers on Christine who loses her memory ever night while she sleeps. Every morning starts with a rediscovery of who she is, where she is and how she got there. I LOVED THIS BOOK.

Horns by Joe Hill

This was the 2nd of three books that I got in homage to Halloween. It centers on Ig, who wakes up one morning to discover horns growing from his head. Along with the horns, comes a few strange abilities. We also meet Ig's best friend Lee, his brother Terry and his now-deceased true love, Merrin. Merrin was murdered and while Ig was suspected, no one has ever been charged. The book was good, the premise was great but I didn't feel like it lived up to the possibilities. I would definitely recommend it and would be interested in reading more by this author. He also wrote 'Heart-Shaped Box' which I feel like I heard about but maybe not?

The Ridge by Michael Koryta

I recently got a few books at the library that were spooky, in honor of Halloween. This was one that was recommended in a local publication. The story revolves around the Ridge, an isolated area in the hills of Kentucky. The Ridge is home to a lighthouse (yes, in land-locked Kentucky), an old railroad bridge and the new home to a big cat sanctuary. Then lots of strange things start happening. It was spooky and I liked it a lot. Unfortunately, the other 2 books I got were a bit better. Well worth reading though and I will look into other books by this author.