The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

TITLE:  The Goldfinch

AUTHOR:  Tartt, Donna
GENRE:  Fiction

DATES READ:  11/13/2017 - 1/12/2018

MY RATING:  1/5

Read for regular Book Club. Downloaded the audiobook.

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This epic follows Theo Decker from his childhood through adulthood. During his childhood he survives an accident that kills his mother, and ends up attached to small painting known as "The Goldfinch". This painting guides the through-line of a story filled with loss, self-invention, survival and fate.

Dear lord... it took me forever to read this book. I heard such good things about it, and saw so many five star reviews. But for me??? What a bust!

I don't know if I'm missing part of my brain, but screw the Pullitzer! This book is not and never will be a favorite of mine. It was miserable and stressful. It was actually starting to affect my personal like because I typically get emotionally involved in my books. And it was not a good effect.

I barely liked any of the character. Maybe Hobie, but even he had his moments. The only good thing I can say is that it is memorable. And for all of the Boris lovers out there... HOW? He's a great character and all, but what a horrible person!

This one's just not for, so I can't recommend it to anyone. But clearly there are other people out there that love it.

Will read and write soon!

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A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley

TITLE:  A Desperate Fortune

AUTHOR:  Kearsley, Susanna
GENRE:  Historical Fiction

DATES READ:  10/22/2017 - 11/12/2017

MY RATING:  3.5/5

I've loved all of Susanna Kearsley's novels and cannot wait to read this next prize from a library book sale!

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A new time-slip romance mixing the past journal of Mary Dundas, a Jacobite exile, and future codebreaker Sara Thomas, who must crack the journal's cipher.

Another classic time-swapping Kearsley tale! I love her style. She always mixes romance with history, drama, past and present. In this particular novel, I liked the characters in the past much more than the character in the present. But then again, I do love historical fiction. Mary was brilliant. And who couldn't love the mysterious Hugh?

I appreciated Kearsley widening her horizons and including a main character with Asperger's syndrome. She was strong and bright and vulnerable. A lovely character. I also really enjoyed the secret codes (ciphers) involved in the story.

Overall, another lovely read. If you like Kearsley's other books, you will love this.

Will read and write soon!

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Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

TITLE:  Heart-Shaped Box

AUTHOR:  Hill, Joe
GENRE:  Horror

DATES READ:  10/26/2017 - 11/2/2017

MY RATING:  5/5

My Stephen King Book Club decided we wanted to add an extra book on this month to read some of his son's work. I'm leading this month's discussion, so here's hoping it s a great discussion book. Looks like it's about ghosts...

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Aging rock star, Judas Coyne, has an obsession with all things macabre and fancies himself a collection. So when he gets a chance to purchase a ghost online, he jumps at the chance. When the heart-shaped box box arrives, it contains not only a dead man's suit but a vengeful spirit. A vengeful spirit that has it out for Judas...

Oh my gosh! This book was just plain horrifying in the best way possible. In the beginning, I wasn't sure. What's scary about buying a ghost?

Good lord, everything...

Judas Coyne was such a great/iconic character with a strong impact. The aging rocker persona just worked. It was perfect and added to foreboding vibe. You wanted not to like him (calling his ladies by their home state to dehumanize them...) but in the end, his true nature comes out and you root for him.

It was a little happier of an ending than I expected, but it's one of the scariest books I've even read. Joe Hill truly is his father's son. Highly recommended for anyone who doesn't mind some serious creep factor.

Will read and write soon!

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True Grit by Charles Portis

TITLE:  True Grit

AUTHOR:  Portis, Charles
GENRE:  Classic/Wester

DATES READ:  10/18/2017 - 10/26/2017

MY RATING:  4/5

Read for regular Book Club. Downloaded the audiobook.

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Mattie Ross (14 years old) loses her father when the corward, Tom Chaney, shoots him, steals his horse and all his money. She avenges her father's death by hunting down Rooster Cogburn, a US Marshal. They pursue Tom Chaney together into the Indian Territory with the desire for vengeance.

I'm so happy that I listened to this audiobook!

I loved Mattie Ross and Rooster. Our book club had such a great time and my mom and I made corn dodgers for a treat! This book is a classic western with plain and simple speech and plenty of action. There's wonderful comic relief in Mattie's seriousness and stubborn attitude.

She really was the only one with "true grit". Would recommend to any and all ages. Just a classic!

Will read and write soon!

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Pet Sematary by Stephen King

TITLE:  Pet Sematary

AUTHOR:  King, Stephen
GENRE:  Horror

DATES READ:  9/25/2017 - 10/21/2017

MY RATING:  4/5

October Stephen King Book Club choice for Halloween-time. I've heard it's really scary!!!

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When the Creed Family move into their beautiful new home, they have no idea what secrets the wood hold. A mysterious cemetery. And the neighbors don't really want to talk about it... for good reason... something dead IS better...

Oh my goodness... this has to be one of the scariest books I've ever read! How horrifying.

I went into it knowing the premise already but it was still such a harrowing read. I can't imagine reading it when it first came out and having no idea. My first exposure to Pet Sematary was actually the movie Pet Sematary 2. I remember watching it alone at night during the summer when I was much younger, and not being able to sleep well for long time. Thinking back, I think that was my first exposure to Stephen King.

This was such a harrowing read. I felt no sympathy for the main character, Louis, throughout all of it. I did feel for his grief, but overall I feel he reaped what he sowed.

The idea of things brought back to life being "unnatural", moving differently, and the overall vibe was so eerie. It sent chills down my spine. I stayed up late to finish it and then had to turn all of my lights on!!!

Not to mention, my family has cats, and now they give me the creeps a little bit. Not a book for the faint of heart. Perfect Halloween read!

Will read and write soon!

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

TITLE:  The Haunting of Hill House

AUTHOR:  Jackson, Shirley
GENRE:  Classic/Gothic

DATES READ:  10/9/2017 - 10/20/2017

MY RATING:  4/5

October regular Book Club choice for Halloween-time. I've always wanted to read it after watching The Haunting.

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Four seekers travel to Hill House looking for evidence of a "haunting". Dr. Montague, Theodora, Eleanor and Luke. What starts as odd happenings feeling becomes deeper and darker. Perhaps Hill House wants one of them for its own...

This book is so creepy! And in such an old school way. No wonder Shirley Jackson is so renowned for her writing. She's inspired so many tales of hauntings.

Her language is fabulous and it's very different from the movie I watched. It was a pleasant surprise.

Such a different take on a haunting too. It was much more a mental attack and was an original unreliable-ish narrator. Was the house really haunted? That remains for the reader to decide. In a way, that makes the ghost story so much creepier.

The film took so many liberties and lost the original integrity of this classic. But I guess, any excuse to get Catherine Zeta Jones, Owen Wilson and Liam Neeson on screen together is a good one!

Will read and write soon!

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The Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

TITLE:  The Girl in the Blue Coat

AUTHOR:  Hesse, Monica
GENRE:  Historical Fiction

DATES READ:  10/10/2017 - 10/17/2017

MY RATING:  3/5

One of our book club member chose this for our November read. I finished over a month early, so hopefully I'll still remember all of my talking points.

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Amsterdam, 1943. A girl named Hanneke deals in black market goods during the German invasion. One of her clients asks her to help find someone who's missing, and Hanneke's investigation will unravel a tangle of mysteries and open her eyes to the resistance.

This is tough to review because as a standalone pleasure reading novel it is a moving, fabulous and touching book. But it's tough to review as a novel for a book discussion.

I enjoy reading historical fiction about World War II, and the heroes that emerged from the wood work. It could be something as simple as hiding a piece of bread or as extreme as harboring Jewish people in an attic.

My only issue with our hero, Hanneke, is that she seems a little unrealistic. I guess I wanted more non-fiction in my fiction. I understand that she ran errands and traded on the black market and hid it from her family. But it all came across as a little too unique - that trope of being a unique "snowflake" in the literary genre.

Other than that gripe, I appreciate it when I can learn anything new about World War II history. In Amsterdam, there was the Underground Camera, and the rescue of babies from the detention center. I love learning about history! Something truth is stranger than fiction.

Definitely worth reading. Leans a little toward YA, but is very moving.

Will read and write soon!

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