I Eat Words

It’s okay, but just that.. okay. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Truth According to Us begins on Decoration Day (now known as Memorial Day) and ends on Labor Day in 1938 in the small West Virginia town of Macedonia. Layla Beck, a wealthy debutante who refused to marry her parents’ choice for her, is forced to earn her own living in the WPA writer’s project – her first assignment, write the history of Macedonia for its sesquicentennial. During her summer of research, Layla boards in the family home of 35-year-old spinster, Jottie Romeyn. Layla is smitten with Jottie’s brother, Felix, a lady’s man and suspected bootlegger. Felix’s two young daughters, Willa and Bird, also live with Jottie. The point of view jumps between the first-person told by 12-year old Willa and a third-person omniscient narrator. This shift is confusing at first, but eventually the reader catches on. The story is full of small town happenings -- some of which don’t really further the plot but add to the nostalgia, provided the reader is not in a hurry. Moreover, Macedonia has its share of eccentric personalities: an old man who periodically burns his shoes in sorrow over a dead son; twin sisters who, despite being married, live together Monday through Friday and visit their respective husbands on the weekend. Bit by bit, the entwined relationships among the citizens emerge, as well as the truth about the devastating fire at the town’s largest employer, the American Everlasting Hosiery Mill. Some readers may feel that the novel moves too slowly. Perhaps it’s best to take it at the pace of a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive or swapping tales while sipping sweet tea on the front porch. Readers may want to know how similar this book is to the author’s earlier The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (co-written with her now-deceased aunt). Although the author makes frequent use of letters, the story is far from an epistolary novel the way Guernsey is. Lovable, quirky characters permeate and enrich both stories, while the bond of family and community ties creates a welcoming atmosphere to which the reader will want to return.

So...I don't quite know where to start with this review: the brilliant, gorgeous writing, or the gut-punch of a story? I read this knowing it was based on a real life experience, and it's one that hits close to home for me. The relationship between Ronnie and Jeff is heartbreaking and true and hard to witness at times. As the flashbacks take you through their history, you get the sinking feeling that it won't all work out in the end. But even when it doesn't, Kathryn manages to plant a seed of hope for the fractured family's future. This is a sad, glorious book about facing loss and lack of control and inability to save someone else. Sometimes you just have to save yourself.

I had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading this. The whole book is written and drawn in a delightfully humours way. The art work is adorable, bright and eye catching. I enjoyed the whole book but my favourite drawings were the Wheel of Insomnia, A map of the Introvert’s Heart, Mediocre Housekeeping, Real Life Horror Movies and Dating: The Ride. At times it felt like Gemma has seen inside my head. I sat down and read this in about an hour, it’s the type of book you’d want on your coffee table to flip through time and time again (and a few of the comics could be good ice breakers for those who struggle with house visitors :-P). All in all it’s a quick fun read about modern westernised women’s problems, dealing with over thinking, social anxiety and the big bad world.

This book can make you laugh, cry, get angry and teach you a lesson. Zamperini was able to endure the hardships of life and torture of his captors but somehow he was able to forgive them when the war was over. This is without a doubt one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read. It may be a large book but it is definitely worth reading.

There seems to be only one line of human-friendly, large-boned female wolves with a handprint on their foreheads. Can he find an abandoned male wolf puppy to befriend? Will he ever return to his people as the victorious Dog Master? I'm curious. A sequel is needed.

On the other hand, the relationship with her mother seemed to be decided in ten seconds flat, when she should have felt more ambiguous about it. I felt that there was too much drama and not enough action in this book, so although I finished it, I wasn't satisfied.

Reading her work is hearing the truth that no one will tell, bald and open, like a hot coal that will burn away the floor if no one dares to come near it. Sara Novic doesn't just touch the coal, she takes it in her bare hands and shows us just how dangerous the thing is that we've been ignoring. That's what sets her work apart and makes it truly something to remember!

Overall, a good read, because I did like the first 2/3 of it; the ending dampened my feelings for it.

The climax is startling, but also, strangely inevitable. Filled with humor and insight, and enough murder and mayhem to satisfy even the most jaded reader, it is a peculiar hybrid that is hard to resist.

Just when I was resigned to the end of the book only being a few pages away, Joyce surprised me - with the most perfect, unexpected ending. If you loved Harold Fry's story (and I would recommend reading Harold's story first to fully appreciate this book), you'll love Queenie's too. This is one of my favourite books of 2015.

Part bodice-ripping steamy romance, part devil worship and occult, part secret societies and hidden knowledge, part artistic Paris during the Belle Epoque era, and, always in the background, a husband determined to find the wife who has fled their unstable marriage across the Atlantic. Sandrine Verlaine has arrived in Paris, seeking her grandmother whom she has seen only rarely, but whom she loves dearly. Grandmother, it turns out, is one of the "great, grand horizontales" [courtesans] in the city. Sandrine uses disguise and subterfuge to gain entry to the "men only" Le Beaux-Arts, and finds her painting skills developing quickly under the tutelage of Moreau. She feels, however, that there is someone else inside her directing her brush and producing her work. She begins to investigate and research and finds evidence of "La Lune", a 16th century courtesan, who returned to Paris from Prague with the secret to immortality. ["Make of the blood a stone. Make of stone a powder. Make of powder, life everlasting."]La Lune seems to be a spirit "who enters into a susceptible person's soul, their very being, and takes over." "She incubates in a host in order to relive her past, always trying to re-create the time in Paris when she was painting,...being in love and being loved back." Sandrine's story of attempts to rid herself of this presence, including exorcism, is riveting and magical to the very end. I love the way she blends extensive research with her wonderfully vivid imagination, weaving a mesmerizing, spellbinding, intriguing, and completely fascinating story that will stay with the reader long after the book is finished. 

I have lots of feelings about this book. Too many, I think. I always knew I would love The Walls Around Us.  I have no idea how to share all my thoughts about this book. Because I have so many. And they are all over the place. So I'm going to start by saying that I loved this book. I loved it a whole lot. So this is a five star read for me. Despite it breaking my heart most of the time it was such a stunning novel. So beautifully written. I would say that the book is told from the point of view of Amber and Violet. But it isn't, not fully. It is also told from the view of so many girls. It is told is such a beautiful way. It should have confused me. And it did, a little bit, in the beginning. But then I got used to the writing and I loved it. It tells the story is a stunning way. So yes. The writing is amazing. There is so much to learn in this book. So much I wanted to know. And a bunch of things I did not want to know, but I got to know anyway, and it was worth it. Because The Walls Around Us is heartbreaking. It is full of pain and suffering and beauty. It is about 42 girls being locked up in a girls' juvenile detention center. They are locked up for murder, assault and other things. Just about all of them are guilty. Yet I didn't want a single one of them to stay in there. It was awful to read about. Girls are mean creatures. And one of the men working there. *Shudders.* This was an honest book. Full of horrible truths and yet it was full of beauty too. I couldn't help but loving this book to pieces. I truly don't want to talk too much about the plot in this book. Because I also want to share everything that happens. Which I will not do. But I will say that this book is beautiful. It is full of heartbreaking moments. So much sadness. Well, at least for me. There is some happiness too. But most of the book is sad. And my heart is still aching of how unfair it all is. Because this is a book about dead girls. And ghosts. Well, it isn't focused much on the ghost part. But it's there. It's done in a small but good way. We get to know so many girls in this book. First there is Amber. Who has been locked up for murder for the past three years. I had a lot of feelings for her. Most of the time I loved her. But I felt so sorry for her and I just wanted her to find happiness. Sobs. I loved getting to know about her life. But I'm still a bit confused about what she did. Is she guilty or not guilty? But either way, it doesn't matter. Because Amber was an amazing person. And I loved her love for books. I just wish more of the girls had cared. Then there is Violet. I cannot decide how I felt about her. She was such an awful friend. I didn't like her at all. But at times I felt sorry for her too. And I didn't want her to hurt. But then the next moment I wanted her to suffer. So I'm a bit conflicted. I liked reading about her. But. She had everything, while Ori had nothing. And she didn't do anything about it. I can't forgive her for that. I did like that they both did ballet. It was beautiful to read about and I loved that part of the book. I don't dance, but I enjoyed it. Sigh. And Ori. I wish I had gotten to read much more about her. Because I adored her. She was always so kind. And my heart broke for her. She lost it all. I wish I had gotten to see more of her and Miles, her boyfriend. They seemed adorable together. I just wish I had gotten to see her life. But I did love what I did learn about her. The story of her mom. Heartbreak. How her dad didn't care. Sniffs. How she was the best friend to Violet. Whom did not seem to care that much. Hmph. I still don't approve of that. There is so much to read about in this book. So many beautiful moments. So many things that made me sad and upset me. I loved getting to know many of the girls locked up. But what happened to them all.. it wasn't fair. Yet it was also perfect to read about. This book was just all kinds of amazing. So many things in this book. And every moment was amazing to read about. I'm so glad I read this book. I think it will stay with me for a long time. Mostly how unfair everything was. How much my heart is aching. The ending. I cannot not talk about the ending. But I will not spoil it. Though I want to. I want to talk about that ending so bad. But I will not :D But I will say that it is so good. Done so well. Though I have questions. And I'm so curious about what it means. But I also understood it. It was a bit brutal. And so sad. Yet also the most fitting end. It was justice. In a weird and kind of confusing way. But it was also just so beautiful. It was the ending that needed to be. And I loved it. Sigh. But, I might want a sequel. I don't know what else to say about this book. Okay, I want to say it all. But I think I have said enough for now. Now I just need you all to read it. The Walls Around Us is such a beautiful book. It is full of guilt, heartbreak and beautiful moments. This story will stay with me for a long time. Especially Amber. And Orianna. Even Violet. Well, maybe. I haven't decided yet how I feel about her. But I do not have any love for her. But the other characters in this book was written so well and I grew to care for them all.

Don Tillman has become the thinking woman's heart throb. I will miss not having him around. It was a lovely change to read something a bit lighter, that was funny and with a bit of drama thrown in that only added to the story over all. For fans of this author you will not be disappointed. For those skeptics, I'm sorry to say Simsion has done it again. I have a feeling this will be just as successful as his first book.

Witty publishing world mystery with intelligent, independent (only occasionally grumpy) midlife female main character Since Samantha (Sam) Clair is a non-flashy middle-aged woman who works as a book editor and lives a quiet somewhat solitary life with just a few close friends, people tend to seriously underestimate her intellect, her powers of observation, her pointed sarcastic wit, and her won’t be brushed off or appeased determination. When one of her authors goes missing and police seem more interested in his yet to be published tell-all exposé than finding him Sam starts her own investigation. Readers who enjoy the challenge of puzzles may feel differently, but while I loved this smart, funny book and its good-hearted but sometimes grumpy main character, the solving of the mystery was the least interesting part of the story for me, especially when characters were systematically analyzing the meaning of clues. What I did like was following Sam around to see what she’d say and do next. One moment she’d be flattering an egotistical bigwig, lulling him into thinking this frumpy older woman respects and reveres him, but when that bigwig was dismissive or not forthcoming with information she was hoping to sweet-talk out of him she’d turn on a dime and dish out a devastating faux-innocent put down that would silence the room and then walk out without looking back, no longer interested, with me running along behind her. I also enjoyed being there for Sam’s interactions with her high-style gossipy author, her whip-sharp ultra-competent lawyer mother, her willing to innovate outside the box editorial assistant, and her reclusive never leaves his apartment neighbor. Sam has a somewhat skeptical attitude toward the nascent romance developing between her and the lead detective that’s refreshing because it’s so non-starry-eyed, and this book’s inside look at the world of publishing can’t help but be entertaining for bibliophiles. A fun book, especially if you’d like a slightly older, intelligent, independent woman as your main character.

The main character is likeable and identifiable - so much so that the novel reminded me of Smilla's Feeling for Snow, which I adored mostly because Peter Hoeg got Smilla so right. I'd never read a book by a man before that got a woman so right - but Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen does it too. (One small criticism of this in particular is that women don't really think about their nipples all that much, I don't think, but I'm letting that one go because the rest of Ella is so marvelously done.) There are things to be found out, as you see on the back cover - Laura White disappears and something odd is happening to the books (this is wonderful) - and there is also the Literature Society itself to disentangle. The Rabbit Back Literature Society is beautifully written, unusual, challenging, and frightening - I'd give it ten stars if I could. I hope more of Jääskeläinen's work is translated into English - and soon!