Delaney Paige

Recent Reads | 009

I took a huge stack of books out of the library a few weeks ago, and it wasn't until I got home that I realised that all but one of them were dark crime-y reads. What can I say - I love this genre. Unfortunately, not all of the books I took out of the library that trip were readable, but I finished the following three, one of which has become a favourite for sure.

We Need to Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver

What: After her son commits a grisly school shooting, Eva tries to understand how this could have happened. The story is told in a series of letters (an epistolary novel!) to her estranged husband, starting with their decision to have a child and working up to the present day.

Why: This book is a chilling book at the nature versus nurture debate. Eva is unsure whether she wants a child, feels blank at his birth, and is unable (or unwilling?) to bond with her son. I found it haunting and exquisitely executed. I don't want to say too much without giving any spoilers... but if you can handle a dark and emotionally unnerving book, this one is definitely worth a read. It keeps you thinking long past the final page. Seriously, five stars for this one.

Reconstructing Amelia Kimberly McCreight

What: A mother gets a call from her daughter's school instructing her to come to the school immediately after her normally well behaved daughter has been caught cheating. When she gets to the school, her daughter is dead from an apparent suicide. Then she receives an anonymous text message... "She didn't jump". What follows is Kate's attempt to figure out who her daughter really was so she can find the person responsible for Amelia's death.

Why: I came across this book on a "must read" list, and added it to my library request list. It was a harmless read, but nothing spectacular. The writing was average at best, and several of the plot twists were really predictable. To be honest, I had to rack my brain to remember the ending. It's ok, but just ok - worth reading if you're gifted it or see it in the library, but not worth putting any effort into tracking down.

Defending Jacob William Landay

What: Andy Barber is an assistant district attorney, and he is as shocked as everyone in his small town when a young teenaged boy is found murdered in the woods near the school. He is even more shocked when his own son is accused of the murder. 

Why: I think I saw this book on the same "must read" list as Reconstructing Amelia, and I enjoyed this book a lot more. I didn't realise until reading Defending Jacob how many of the books I read have a female narrator; this was a refreshing change. Whilst I didn't always agree with Andy's choices, I believed most of them. The book was decent, but the ending was unexacting and infuriating, although in a (mostly) good way. This wasn't the best book I ever read, but I would recommended it if you want a light legal thriller with a side of family drama.

I've moved on from crime to a few kids books and a classic - will be back to share soon! In the meantime, let me know what you're reading!

Recent Reads | 008

I've been all over the map the last few months, reading a bizarre range of books. I don't share every book I read here, some because they are too obscure and bland to mention, others because they're so popular that my endorsement is probably irrelevant. I try to keep these reviews for fantastic unsung books or popular books that I really didn't like. And guess what... this post features both!   

The Nightingale Kirstin Hannah

What: In a sentence, this is the fictional story of two French sisters in France in WWII. 

Why: My mom and sister recommended this book to me when I was in Canada. I normally enjoy historical fiction about WWII, but any time I've tried to read a book set in France during this time (Sarah's Key, All The Light We Cannot See), I've been left wanting more. Clearly, I was just waiting for The Nightingale. If you read one book about WWII this year, please let it be this one! I think it might be the best book I read in 2015, or top three at least! I feel like I finally understand what the Nazi occupation in France looked like and how gravely it affected the lives of the French citizens throughout the war. Both sisters deal with their feelings about the occupation in different ways, and their stories diverge as they choose vastly different ways to survive the war. Seriously though, stop reading this review and just go get this book. You won't be sorry.

The Goldfinch Donna Tartt

What: The Pulitzer Prize winning story of a young boy's upbringing after his mother dies unexpectedly and under tragic circumstances.

Why: This book was ALL the rage last year. After hearing about this book EVERYWHERE, I ended up buying it in a sale one day, but given that I was trying to plow through 52 books last year, a 700+ page novel was night high on my priority list. Still, I was intrigued, and it was the first thing I picked up this year. I struggled through it like I've seldom struggled before. To be clear, I think it's a beautifully written book and very likely to become a modern classic, but it was not my taste. At all. Way too dark and dreary and depressing for my liking. I persevered to the end, but won't be picking this up again in a hurry (read: ever). If you're into dark, detail-drenched books, you'd be sure to enjoy this one, but it fell very wide of the mark for me.

The Creative Habit Twyla Tharp

What: A famous choreographer's guide to creativity and how to grow as an artist.

Why: I picked up this book after seeing Elise recommend it over a year ago. I've been slowly going through it a chapter at a time over the last few weeks. If Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert outlines the "why" of creative work, this book provides the "how". Whilst I enjoyed the read and may find some of the exercises helpful, I think this book would have more value to someone making a living creatively. As someone who undertakes creative work as a hobby, some of the material felt less relevant to me. For example, I don't really worry about getting into creative ruts - if I'm not feeling scrapbooking, I fill my time with books or sewing or something else. Eventually the scrapbooking urge will hit again, and when it does, I'll dive back in. Regardless, it was enjoyable and informing. 

What are you reading? Try taking a page from my book (ha!) and reading something you bought ages ago and haven't read yet. And then let me know what you think of it!

Recent Reads | 007

A Year of Magical Thinking Joan Didion

What: A startlingly honest and personal account of grief following her husband's sudden (but not entirely unexpected) death. 

Why: This book appears in Elise's most recent book report, and because I'll pretty much read anything she recommends and found it in stock in my library. It was a quick read - I was through it in a couple of hours. I have always been fascinated by the small details, routines, and habits that make each relationship special, so I ate up all of the personal stories throughout the book. I found some of the poems and quotes more difficult to relate to, but I appreciate that she referred to other works to make sense of her grief. I'm not a huge fan of her overall writing style, but the content was strong enough to keep me turning the pages.

Finding Audrey Sophie Kinsella

What: A young adult novel about a teenaged girl who is housebound after an anxiety disorder interferes with her life. 

Why: I am a sucker for Sophie Kinsella's books. I loved the Shopaholic series, so I was willing to give this one a try even though it was written for a younger crowd. It gave a really accurate depiction of anxiety and how crippling it can feel, and I smiled every time Audrey talked about her "lizard brain", which is how her doctors explained her disorder to her. Plus, I loved the family dynamics - I often laughed out loud at the Daily Mail-obsessed mother's antics. If you have or want to understand anxiety, it's worth a read, young adult and all.

 Big Little Lies Liane Moriarty

What: A parent dies at a school fundraising event - the story is told starting several months before the event and leads right up to the night in questions.

Why: After reading "The Husband's Secret", I was looking forward to reading another one of Liane Moriarty's books. Because I found that book a bit predictable, I wasn't expecting was to love this book as much as I did, but it was a fantastic novel that kept me guessing until the very last page. It intersperses "story" with snippets of "witness statement" and you don't find out who died until the very end. Whether it is accurate or not (I don't know - someone fill me in!) the depiction of parent-of-young-chidren-politics was believable and entertaining. It was one of those rare "stay up late and get up early just to fit in a few more minutes of reading" books. I loved it! 

I'm off to Canada for a few weeks, so I'm loping to load up my Kindle with something good, although it probably won't get touched other than on the plane. Any good "easy to pick up and put down" recommendations for me?

Recent Reads | 006

This isn't your standard "recent reads" post because the truth is, I didn't read any of these books. Or, to be more accurate, I didn't finish reading any of these books. 

Part of what my reading goal has reminded me this year is that there are SO. MANY. BOOKS. I want to read. I often feel like I'll never make it through my "to read" pile, because it grows more quickly than my "read" pile.

What I've finally realised is that if I don't enjoy a book, I don't have to finish it. I no longer hold myself to an unrealistic standard of having to finish a book before I move to the next one. It doesn't matter whether I've read 2 pages or 200. If I'm not feeling it, I can hit pass and move on to the next one. 

Here are some books I have recently passed on and why.

All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr

I really, really wanted to love this book. I usually gobble up WWII historical fiction, but I just couldn't get into this one. I think this is a reflection on me rather than on the book. I had so much on my plate at the time I was trying to read it that I read it in tiny pockets of free time. When I rarely gave it more than 10 consecutive minutes, it was hard to get into the flow of the story. I did try though - I probably got more than halfway through it. Because it seems to be so widely loved, I will definitely give this one another try when I have more time to dedicate to it. 

Inside the O'Briens Lisa Genova

I really enjoyed "Still Alice" when I read it years ago, so I was really looking forward to this book. However, I didn't make it through more than about 10 pages. I found the writing so choppy and irritating that I returned it to the library within days. I don't know whether my tastes have matured or whether her writing style has changed, but this wasn't for me. I did consider whether the style would lend itself to an audiobook rather than the written word, but don't have the inclination to listen to books.

The Good Life Hugh Mackay

I read a passage from this book on Cup of Jo over a year ago, and it inspired me so much that I ran out and bought the book. To it's credit, I think the book is probably amazing. My problem was that I found every page so thought-provoking that I couldn't digest it all at a time. I kept putting it to the side in order to let the ideas sink in, which really disrupted the flow of the book. I don't think I made it through the second chapter. I do intend to pick it up again at some stage - probably at the end of the year when I'm no longer trying to get through a book a week. It's not that kind of book. I guess there's also the chance that the book is terrible, and the quote I've linked to is the only pearl of wisdom in the whole thing. Have you ever read the book? Do I persevere?

I hope you've enjoyed this unfinished books report - if you're a book-quitter like me, what reads have you given up on lately? 

Recent Reads | 005

It's been a while since the last review, so I've got a lot of books waiting in the wings to be reviewed. This lot is a mixed bag: one good, two not-so-good. 

Station Eleven Emily Mandel

What:  A travelling Shakespearean theatre group making sense of their new world through the performing arts 20 years after a fast-moving disease wipes out almost the entire population. The stories of 6 people are woven together, flashing between the time of the outbreak and 20 years later, outlining how the character's lives cross paths either before, during, or after the outbreak, sometimes in unexpected ways.

Why: I wasn't expecting to, but I really enjoyed this book. Normally I steer clear from post-modern / apocolypse-y books because I can't buy into the whole zombie / alien / sci-fi aspect that I assume dominates the genre. However, I can totally buy into "superbug wipes out everyone", and was therefore able to embrace this book with a passion. I'm also not a huge  of "the arts" in the traditional sense. I don't really enjoy museums / theatre /  etc, which makes it even more surprising that I enjoyed this book as the story centred around a travelling performing group, making sense of the world they now lived in through art. A line from Star Trek is written on their caravan: "Because survival is insufficient." While I appreciate that one of the underlying theme's is appreciation of and the power of art,  what I really took away was a sense of appreciation for modern life and how much we take for granted. I don't know whether Mandel's depiction of post-modern society was accurate, but she convinced me. This was literally the perfect "out of the comfort zone" read.

Edited to add: if you're interested, check out this amazing review, which hits the nail on the head and describes this book much more eloquently than I did!

Dark Places Gillian Flynn

What: 25 years ago, Libby Day's mother and two sisters were murdered, and her older brother has been in jail ever since, mainly based on her testimony. However, when Libby is contacted by a group of true crime fanatics who are convinced that her brother is innocent, she starts to wonder what really happened that night.

Why: Written before Gone Girl, Dark Places is another dark suspense novel by Gillian Flynn. I loved the twists and turns of Gone Girl, so I was excited to give this one a try. I found it really hard to get into, probably because I strongly disliked Libby's character. I mean, yes, she'd had a wildly traumatic life, but I just wanted to shake her and tell her to stop moping around... I clearly wasn't feeling very compassionate at the time! The wild twists and turns I was expecting did eventuate, but it felt like the book took way too long to get interesting. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have nothing better on your to-read pile.

The Woman Who Stole My Life Marian Keyes

What: Stella Sweeney is an Irish woman who has returned to Ireland after a whirlwind year in New York promoting her self-help book. The circumstances are shady - why did she write this book? Why did she move to New York? Why is she back? What happened in between?

Why: I am a huge Marian Keyes fan. I loved the Walsh family series, and I literally wept reading The Brightest Star in the Sky a few years ago.  However, this book wasn't up to the usual Marian Keyes standard. I found the characters all puzzling, and the end was unsatisfying. Whilst Marian's books are badged "chick-lit" (interesting article here), they generally touch on some pretty deep topics. I don't know whether the same can be said for this book. It was exactly what I'd describe as chick-lit - something easy to read on a beach or on an airplane, but nothing to make you think or feel on a deeper level. No lives would be changed because of this book. At most, it's harmless fluff. If you haven't read any of Marian Keyes' books, I encourage you to do so, but probably not starting here.

This "I'm going to read 52 books this year" project has really shaken up my reading style. If you'd told me a year ago that I'd rate a post-modern survival tale over a Marian Keyes book, I never would have believed you. I'm branching out, and it feels good! If you have any recommendations, let me know. I'm feeling inspired to continue trying new genres!