The Wives of Los Alamos

When I started reading this book, the writing style bothered me.  It was written in a collective voice, "we arrived, we traveled, we kept secrets".  I quickly got past it and I really loved this book.  We (see what I did there) all know the story of Los Alamos.  Some of us may have even watched the amazing tv series Manhattan.  Have you ever thought about what it was like for the wives and children of the scientists who were sequestered in the middle of the desert for years? This book tells the stories of those wives.  The symbolism of the one voice is exactly perfect for this story. I highly recommend.

Wilderness by Dean Koontz (Short story, introduction to Innocence)

Addison Goodheart is 8 and there is something very wrong with him.  His mother can hardly tolerate to look at him and sends him out into the wilderness until she can face his presence again.  She tells him the story of the midwife who, horrified by what she saw, would have killed him had his mother not pulled a knife to defend him.
One day, while wandering the woods during a banishment from the isolated cabin that is all the home he has ever known, Addison is spotted by a hunter.  The hunter, who is enraged by the sight of Addison, tracks him through the woods.
This short story is the prequel to a series which begins with the book Innocence and that was released in December 2013.  I will be adding it to my list the second I finish this review.
I adore Dean Koontz.  My favorite book of his is From the Corner of His Eye.  I am particularly pulled in by his treatment of good and evil.  No moral ambiguity for Koontz, which I find refreshing.

The Deer and the Woodcutter: A Korean Folktale by Kim So-Un

One day, a humble woodcutter saves the life of a hunted deer.  In gratitude, the deer tells the hunter how he might win a beautiful fairy as his wife.  Daily the fairies descend from heaven to bathe in a pool in the mountains.  If the woodcutter journeys to the pool he will find all of the feathery robes which belong to the fairies.  Should he take one robe and hide it, the fairy whose robe he has hidden will not be able to return to heaven and will become his wife.  The deer cautions that he must always keep the robe hidden, until the time that the fairy has given birth to four children else he will regret it. 
Folktales make me wonder, who is the person that first told this story?  What is the genesis of it?  What folktales will our grandchildren know? 

Broken Harbor by Tana French

I was a bit apprehensive about this book because I read another of her books In the Woods which was sooooooo disappointing.  Basically, while that one ended, a huge portion of the story was NEVER EXPLAINED.  Which is not cool Tana French.  BUT, the story itself was so intriguing, so I thought I would check this out.
I finished this book a few days ago and then I have been thinking about the story and thinking about the story.  I REALLY liked this book.  It was pretty disturbing.  It wasn't hugely gory but I just can't stop thinking about it. 
A family has been murdered and only the mother survives.  The family's computer has been wiped clean and their are signs that some weird things were going on in the house.  The story follows 2 police detectives and their quest to find out what happened and why.
It's a great book and there are a lot of things to discuss. 

Up from Orchard Street by Eleanor Widmer

This book took a few chapters for me to get engaged in.  HOWEVER, after that, I really loved this book.  It is the story of an emigrant family in New York.  The matriarch Manya, is a widow raising two small children, her son Jack and her little sister sent from Odessa.  The story follows Manya, her child, her sister and her grandchildren.  It is an enlightening story about what life was like for those in the Jewish Ghettos of New York.  I really liked this book, it would be fabulous for a book club study.  According to the book notes, much of this story was autobiographical and this is the now deceased author's only novel.  She did write a book about censorship and  testified as an expert witness in an obscenity trial involving the banning in San Diego of Henry Miller's controversial novel, "Tropic of Cancer." Fascinating and so different from any of my experiences.  A great book!

A Good American by Alex George

This was a good book.  The story of two German immigrants who settle in Missouri and try to be 'good Americans'. They open a restaurant, have kids, have grandkids, go to war.   It was interesting and a good read. 

True Sisters by Sandra Dallas

I am obsessed with religious beliefs.  Also, I (head bowed in shame) watch Sister Wives.  So this book was FASCINATING to me.  I knew some of the story of Mormon history.  Brigham Young, Joseph Smith, the trek across the country.  I did not know that hundreds of Mormons traveled halfway across the country PUSHING HANDCARTS.  Elderly, ill and pregnant women, little kids, walking day after day, allowed 17 pounds of belongings, pushing handcarts.  Through the heat, the snow, without adequate medical supplies, food, or clothing.  This is the story of 4 women who made the journey.  It was good but emotionally difficult to read. 

Pure by Julianna Baggott

If you liked the Maze Runner or the Hunger Games, you should read this book.  It's the first in a planned trilogy about life in a post apocolyptic world divided into those who live outside of the dome and those who live within, the Pures.  The second book is scheduled to be released February 2013.

In the Night Room by Peter Straub

I got this book by chance.  I went online and did a search for spooky books and found one by Peter Straub so then I just reserved a bunch of books by him.  This is kind of the sequel of lost girl lost boy.  In fact, the book lost girl lost boy is a charecter in this book.  Which is confusing and awesome.  About halfway through this book I was shocked and then wanted to stop and reread the first half.  It was thought provoking and scary and good.  It's one of those books that really makes you think and rethink and then think, 'but what about...OH!'. 
It's about a bunch of stuff that I can't really tell you without giving everything away but this is a great thinker's book.  :)

Vacation by Matthew Costello

This book is scary and good.Here's the synopsis from Amazon: 

In the near future after a global crisis causes crops to fail and species to disappear . . . something even more deadly happens. Groups of humans around the world suddenly become predators, feeding off their own kind. These “Can Heads” grow to such a threat that fences, gated compounds, and SWAT-style police protection become absolutely necessary in order to live.

After one Can Head attack leaves NYPD cop Jack Murphy wounded, Jack takes his wife and kids on a much-needed vacation. Far up north, to a camp where families can still swim and take boats out on a lake, and pretend that the world isn’t going to hell.

But the Can Heads are never far away, and nothing is quite what it seems in Paterville. . . .

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Honolulu by Alan Brennert

Earlier this year my book club read Moloka'i by the same author and it was fabulous.  This book is about a young Korean woman who travels to Hawaii as a 'picture  bride' to marry a man she has never met.  It then follows her family through the decades.  It was fascinating and informative and really entertaining.  So go read this and then go read Moloka'i!

In Lucia's Eyes by Arthur Japin

This is the book that explains why Cassanova became Cassanova.  Cassanova was a real person and he wrote a book about his life.  This author takes one detail from that book and weaves this story.  It is about Lucia, a young woman who is stricken with smallpox and lives, but is horribly disfigured.  In order to survive, she dons a veil and become a courtesan.  It's a good book and an interesting story.

Tag Man by Archer Mayor

Ehh.  This book was alright.  It is a series about a police department.  It was alright.  There were parts that were pretty suspenseful but then there were parts that were confusing (don't know if it was poorly written or if I was just bored).  AND it was another of those books were the jacket notes are not only not really related to the book but just plain WRONG.  So stupid and annoying.  Pick a different book.

Run by Ann Patchett

This is the story of family and the weird twists of life that seem to be fated.  Bernard is the father to 3 sons.  His oldest is estranged due to an accident that he was involved in.  The younger two are adopted and brilliant and do not want the life that their father has laid out for them.  Bernard wants them to be politicians.  So he drags them to see every democrat that comes to the city for speeches, community events, and protests.  One night they all go out to hear Jesse Jackson.  Upon leaving, one of the sons is in an accident.  The story then proceeds to all those involved.  On a side note, this is another of those books that the jacket notes make you wonder, did the person writing this READ this book?  Hate that.  Oh, and this is not the best book I have ever read.  Of course, I don't love this author as her books must be too deep for me (so deep that I think they are shallow and wonder WHO CARES???)  See also:  State of Wonder by the same author which I disliked so much I didn't blog.

New York by Edward Rutherford

If you like a saga, this is a good one.  It starts in the times of the Indians and Trappers and goes all the way through modern times in the city of New York.  It primarily follows the descendents of a few families throughout the wars, fires, corruption and mayhem that formed the city.  If I was a literary-type, I would no doubt add that the main character is the city herself.  Did you like that?  It was good and very informative and I am now an expert on the history of the city.  Probably a better book for winter when you have time to tackle the 880 pounds. Oh, and if you liked this book, also try The Devil in the White City and Thunderstruck both by Erik Larson.

The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice

Anne Rice's werewolf book.  Ehh.  Apparently going to be the first in a series.  Some people will love this book (if you like her, if you liked Twilight, etc.)

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

This book takes true details from the Titanic disaster and adds fictional details to flesh out a story.  Normally that really bothers me but this time it seems to work.

Tess works as a maid but wants to start a new life as a dressmaker.  She decides that she will get hired by the Titanic and get free passage to the United States where she will face endless opportunities in a new country.  She arrives too late and is instead hired by the famous designer Lady Gordon.  She and Lady Gordon both survive the sinking of the ship and become embroiled in the aftermath.  There are hearings both in America and in Britain regarding who knew what, who did what and why no one helped all those who died.

This was a good book and I learned a lot about the Titanic that I never knew.  I would recommend it but it won't make any of my favorite lists.  Overall, a good book.

The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Meyes

I hate the title of this book.  I LOVED everything else about it.  It is the 1960s in London and Jennifer is a young married woman.  She has been in a car accident and doesn't remember anything.  She is reunited with her family, her husband and friends and has no memories of them.  Her life seems lacking, she doesn't identify with the woman everyone expects her to be and then she finds a letter.  Signed "B" it is from someone who evidently loves her with a passion.  She sets out to figure out who B is and what happened to them.
I LOVED THIS BOOK.    It's not silly, it's not graphic, it is just lovely.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This book is not for everyone but I liked it a lot.  It reminds me of Neil Gaiman's Star Dust.  It is a fantasy.  It is beautifully written but until you get used to the prose can be a bit of a struggle to get into.  It's about the battle between two magicians.  They have each selected an apprentice to compete against each other.  I can't describe much more without it coming across as confusing so this is stolen from Wikipedia:The Night Circus is a phantasmagorical fairy tale set near an ahistorical Victorian London in a wandering magical circus that is open only from sunset to sunrise. Le Cirque des Rêves, the Circus of Dreams, features such wonders and "ethereal enigmas" as a blooming garden made all of ice and a fire-breathing paper dragon. The circus has no set schedule, appearing without warning and leaving without notice; they travel in a train disguised as an ordinary coal transport. A network of devoted fans who style themselves "rêveurs" develops around the circus; they identify to each other by adding a splash of red to garb that otherwise matches the characteristic black and white of the circus tents. The magical nature of the circus is occluded under the guise of legerdemain; the illusionist truly transforms her jacket into a raven and the fortune teller truly reads the uncertain future, and both are applauded for their ingenuity.
The circus serves a darker purpose beyond entertainment and profit. The magicians Prospero the Enchanter and the enigmatic Mr. A.H— groom their young proteges, Celia and Marco, to proxy their rivalry with the exhibits as a stage. Prospero teaches his daughter to hone her innate talents by holding ever larger and more complex magical workings in her mind. Celia takes her position on the game board as the illusionist, adding tents and maintaining wondrous aspects from the inside. Mr. A.H— trains his orphan ward with books in the ways of glyphs and sympathetic magic. Marco takes a position as majordomo to the producer of the circus; he works from the outside in, connected to the circus but not a part of it. The two generate nightly wonders for the circus and for each other, soon falling in love despite being magically bound to a deadly competition with rules neither understands; the magical courtship strains the fate laid out for them and endangers the circus that has touched the lives of so many and cannot survive without the talents of both players.

An Available Man

This book is about dating after the death of a spouse.  It was a great book, hopeful and beautiful.  Edward's beloved wife has died.  He becomes the target for widows, divorcees, friends of friends, etc. who are looking for an available man.  His adult stepchildren have placed a singles ad for him.  His former fiance has reappeared.  Edward just wants to be left alone, but slowly reemerges.  It is a great book.