my books. my life.

Apart from all of the things I am thankful for in life – my friends, my family, my job, and this new little person growing inside me – I am thankful for all of the things reading as brought into my life.

• Books. They’ve always been there for me. Even when I haven’t been there for them. Like right now.
• Book Blogging. I am so thankful to be part of this community. I’ve met so many wonderful people as a result: other bloggers, authors, publishers, and plain-old-readers.
• You. My readers mean the world to me. I know I can be inconsistent (and a bit whiny) so I appreciate that you continue to come back. One of my favorite things in life is when someone tells me they bought a book as a result of my blog and loved it.

Title: The Radleys
Author: Matt Haig
Genre: Contemporary Fiction; Paranormal
ISBN: 9781451610338
Pages: 400
Year: 2010
Publisher: Free Press
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
Rating: 3.5/5

Summary:

The Radleys are your average suburban family. Peter finds himself attracted to another woman when his wife, Helen, grows distant. Rowan, the school loser, is in love with a girl he can barely talk to, and Chloe is going through a vegan phase. Oh, and they’re all vampires. Only Rowan and Chloe don’t know it yet. That is, until Chloe does something that makes it clear they’re anything but normal. As we follow the Radleys through the less-than typical week that follows, we see suburban England through a darker lens.

My Thoughts:

The Radleys gives the normal suburban novel an interesting twist. By adding vampires to the mix, Haig adds some satirical bite. The book is still mostly about the dreary lives people lead; the vampires are just used to highlight the ways people suppress their desires.

To do this, Haig has to do some world-building. It’s always interesting to see how an author develops the classic vampire myth. The Radleys can go out in the sun, but it’s not a pleasant experience. They don’t live forever – just longer than us. And they can fly. The Radley’s live by The Abstainer’s Handbook which is almost a book within the book. I give Haig a gold star for all of this.

The plot got a little bit crazy. There were times that I really wanted it to slow down a little. It was like revelation after revelation and I kind of thought that just the whole dealing-with-learning-you’re-a-vampire-thing would have been enough. But it kept the pace up at least.

I totally get it if you are sick of vampires. But this one might be worth slipping onto your TBR. There’s actually some substance here.

Full disclosure: It took me a long time to read this book for reasons completely unrelated to the book itself but which still colored my opinion of it. It became a bit of a chore to finish and eventually I only did so because I was trapped on an airplane. I don’t know how to factor this in, so I just tried to give the most honest review I could (as I always aim to do).

Others’ Thoughts: Check out the blog tour

Buy It Now: Amazon; IndieBound

Good morning, all. It is Sunday once again and I have nothing to show for my week reading-wise. But at least you all know why now. I do plan on attempting to finish Shatter Me today as I have now been reading it for over two weeks.

I am also hoping to get some reading done over Thanksgiving. My dad and his girlfriend will be staying with us for a week so this might not happen but I will try. Once again, I will be lazily participating in the Thankfully Reading Weekend. For more information, click here. So if you see the #thankfullyreading hashtag show up, that’s why.

I’m not usually a big readalong participant. I tend not to finish the book as soon as I sign up for one. But when I saw that Erin Blakemore, author of The Heroine’s Bookshelf, was hosting a readalong for Their Eyes Are Watching God, I couldn’t resist. I read this book in high school so a rereading is definitely due. This time, I am going to try the audio edition (which I think will be fantastic with all of the dialect in the book).

Are you participating in either of these events? Or is there something else coming up in the bookish world you are excited about?

On Tuesday I shared the books I would be reading if I still read books. Obviously I’m exaggerating a bit when I say I’m not reading at all. In fact, I’m in the middle of a bunch of books, including these ones:

I am so excited that I am far enough along that I can finally share my news with you. Baby Appleseed (so nicknamed for it’s size when we found out) is slated to make his/her appearance sometime around May 28. Ben and I are beyond thrilled (and a bit terrified).

Did I surprise you? Or have all of my tweets about being exhausted given me away? (at least two people figured it out on twitter despite my best efforts to hide it from you)

As for me, I was feeling pretty awful there for a few weeks but that appears to be nearing its end (which is good since I was growing desperately tired of ginger ale and saltines as a “meal”). Now I am just waiting to get my energy back so I can stop sleeping 10 hours a night and hopefully my reading/blogging mojo will come back with it. Who knew growing a baby was such hard work?

So…any advice for me? Any books I need to add to that pile?

I know I’ve been lamenting my lack of reading/blogging a lot lately. Part of the reason that it is so frustrating to not be reading is that there are SO MANY good books out there right now. So I figured that since I am being a slacker and not reading or writing reviews, I could at least share the books I WISH I were reading and reviewing.

So, if I still read books, these are the books I would be reading.

Sadly, I’ve actually had to return several of these to the library unread. Are there any books you wish you had the time or energy to get to right now but just don’t?

It’s Sunday again and time for my weekly apology for my lackluster blogging appearance. Once again it was a week where I read very little and blogged even less. Thank goodness for audiobooks is all I can say right now because without them, I’d pretty much be finishing nothing. So far this month, I have finished three books (The Radleys, Fallen, and Liesl & Po), two of which are audio (and the only reason I finally finished the print book is because I was trapped on a plane).

At least this week I have an excuse. We were in Pittsburgh last weekend for Ben’s sister’s wedding. No reading time there. And later in the week, my best friend from high school and her husband arrived for a short visit so I’ve been busy with them.

Let’s do storytime (since I need to entertain you somehow). Twelve years ago, two 16-year-old girls planned a 9-9-99 party. They had so much fun planning and throwing the party. At the time, they did everything together, so it seemed only natural that they would be best friends forever. They vowed to throw another party on 11-11-11, when they were 28. Meanwhile, they parted ways for college, met their future husbands, and settled into homes 1200 miles apart. They remained friends throughout but naturally saw a lot less of each other. Yet when 11-11-11 actually began approaching, they knew they had to make this happen. So on 11-10, one friend + one husband hopped on a plane so they could all be together on this insignificant significant date. And they had jello.

I am incredibly lucky to have such a friend.

[Pretend there is a picture of us at 16 here. I was going to pull one out but Janelle is sleeping in the guest room where the albums are and does not appear to ever be waking up.]

Me and Janelle yesterday

Update: She woke up. I couldn’t find a picture of us from 16. But here we are at 18 at our senior prom:

This week’s topic – the top ten books I read that were out of my comfort zone – is an interesting one. I think I read a wide variety of books but there are still plenty of genres I don’t read. Yet you all make me try. And this is what happens.

Note: These are books that were out of my comfort zone WHEN I READ THEM. They might, as is the case with audiobooks, now be a regular for me.

Book: The Eye of the World
Genre: Fantasy
Verdict: Not for me

Book: Blankets
Genre: Graphic Novel
Verdict: Love at first sight

Book: Right Ho, Jeeves
Genre: Audiobook
Verdict: The start of a new type of reading love

Book: The Emperor of All Maladies
Genere: Nonfiction w/ Medical Focus
Verdict: Not a new fave but super interesting

Book: Chasing Brooklyn
Genre: Novel in Verse
Verdict: Love love love

Book: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Genre: Russian Lit
Verdict: Russian Lit is AWESOME

Book: A History of God
Genre: Religion
Verdict: Religion is fascinating. This book is not.

Book: Love Begins in Winter
Genre: Short Story
Verdict: Beautiful

Book: Shutter Island
Genre: Thriller
Verdict: Not for me

Book: Zombies vs. Unicorns
Genre: Zombie/Unicorn Fiction
Verdict: I apparently love Zombies

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme hosted by the fabulous The Broke and the Bookish.

I just got back from Pittsburgh so I’m posting my Sunday Salon a little late (9pm is stil Sunday). Also, I want to stay consistent with this subpar blogging thing I have going on. Accordingly, there will be no photos.

In October, I read:

1. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
2. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (audio)
3. Every Step You Take by Jock Soto
4. Supernaturally by Kiersten White
5. Storm Front by Jim Butcher (audio)
6. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
7. I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
8. Goodbye, Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson
9. Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Title: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Author: Rebecca Skloot
Narrators: Cassandra Campbell (with Bahni Turpin)
Genre: Narrative Nonfiction
Pages: 384
Audio: 12.4 hours
Year: 2010
Publisher: Random House Audio
Source: Library
Rating: 4/5

Summary:

Henrietta Lacks’ contribution to medicine is immeasurable. Her cells (called HeLa) – which are uniquely immortal – have been in continuous use in medical research since the 1940s and have given us the polio vaccine, advancements in cancer and HIV treatments, and much more. But Henrietta never knew this, nor did she consent to the use of her cell line when she went into Johns Hopkins for cancer treatment all those years ago. Should her family receive a piece of the success that HeLa has become? Rebecca Skloot sets out to investigate this question by researching HeLa cells and the Lacks family.

My Thoughts:

This is my kind of nonfiction. Informative but not dry; telling the story of both the science and the people involved in the science. Rebecca Skloot did an excellent job researching a topic that had very little research (despite the excessive research on her cells, Henrietta has long remained a mystery).

The story jumps between Skloot’s attempts to contact Henrietta’s family and the story of Henrietta and the HeLa cells. Which suits the book well and keeps it from getting bogged down in either the medicine or the family drama.

A few issues though. It was a bit long (or it felt long). And because of this I got a bit bored. I started this before I left for my month-long trip to Europe (I know I’m ridiculously behind on reviews) and I didn’t finish it until I was on the train heading toward our last city. Also, I was really hoping to find out WHY Henrietta’s cells are “immortal.” Do we just not know? (Or did I miss it?).

Despite these issues, I think this is definitely a book worth reading. It raises interesting ethical questions and contains some fascinating science. Plus, Henrietta deserves to have her story heard.

Audiobook Thoughts:

Cassandra Campbell did a fantastic job as narrator of this one. Some science-y books can have flat narration but Campbell kept the science just as emotional as the personal story. If you’re going to read it, I highly recommend this one in audio.

Others’ Thoughts: Book Addiction; Helen’s Book Blog; Take Me Away Reading;

But It Now: Amazon; IndieBound

Happy Sunday once again. I hope you all are having a lovely weekend doing whatever Halloween activities you crazy kids do (for me that means – at most – eating some candy since I don’t really get the appeal of Halloween like so many others).

I’m still in a bit of a blogging/reading funk. But I’m not too worried. It’ll be back eventually. I hope you all can bear with me.

The only book I finished this week was my audio reread of The End of the Affair. I’m still working on The Radleys (which I promise I’m enjoying even if it’s taking me awhile) and I started listening to Fallen by Lauren Kate (I felt like I needed soem YA after Graham Greene).

What are you up to today? Any fall activities? Or good books?