Catching Up on Reviews

I haven't posted reviews for the past couple months, so here's my quick attempt to do so:A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I'm so glad I bought this book instead of checking it out from the library. Not only is it one I will read again, it contains a forward that gave me insight to this book.

This book is thought to be a memoir about it's author, Betty Smith. Betty Smith describes her life and the times she lived in with great detail that I often found myself lost in. While her life was hard, I found myself yearning for the simpler life style I saw on the pages of this book.

What you should know about this book is that it IS a memoir, and not a story. Nothing "big" happens. Don't look for a plot or a climax. Just allow yourself to get lost in Brooklyn in the early 1900s.

The Shining

I have never read a Stephen King book...until this past month. I've seen a few of his movies and those allow terrified me enough to keep me away from his written work. However, since this was the book our group picked for October I read it.

I thought it was a great book! It was very well written and descriptive. I love how much detail King went into to depict his characters. I felt like I knew them. I felt their pain and their fears. I was also pleasantly surprised that it wasn't overly terrifying. Yes, I was scared at times and would never read this book in a hot bath (my all time favorite leisure activity...if you've read this book you know why I wouldn't do so), but in the end good wins and that made it worth the read.

November & December Picks

Last night GAB met to discuss The Shining...I'll blog about that in a bit. After our discussion we decided to choose 2 books (which seemed like a daunting task because for the past 2 months it has taken us at LEAST an hour to chose our next pick), one for November and one for December. Surprisingly we found 2 after only 1 trip around Borders!



For November we will be reading Valley of the Dolls. One thing is for sure, being in this Book Club is making me read more variety than I would normally read on my own!! We opted for a "light read" for November because our December pick will take us a few weeks to get through. Here's the synopsis for Valley of the Dolls.

Dolls: red or black, capsules or tablets; washed down with vodka or swallowed straight-for Anne, Neeley and Jennifer, it doesn't matter, as long as the pill bottle is within easy reach. These three women become best friends when they are young and struggling in New York City and then climb to the top of the entertainment industry-only to find that there's no place left to go but down-into the Valley of the Dolls.

I've been longing for us to choose a classic, so here we go, Valley of the Dolls is "The All-Time Pop Culture Classic"!!

We opted to choose 2 books last night because when we meet in December it will be for dinner and a Secret Santa gift exchange. We knew we wouldn't be at Borders with millions of books to help us make our decision...so last night we settled on The Pillars of the Earth as our December pick. Here's a synopsis of Pillars:

The novel The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett was a historic novel set during the 12th century. It centered on the lives of several people from different section of society and how the turbulent times of the English Civil War were affecting their lives. The book also concerns the building of the Kings bridge Cathedral and the murder of Thomas Becket. (For some reason this is the best synopsis I could find...)

There you have it. These 2 books will round out GAB's book selections for 2009. It's been a fun first year and we're looking forward to more fun in 2010!!

What the Dead Know...Review

In 4 words...DON'T READ THIS BOOK! 'Nuff said.

What The Dead Know

We at GAB have read chick-lit, we've read light hearted mysteries, we've read feel-good, friendship books, we've read political novels and even one that would fall under the adult best seller list.

This month we're going to embark on something darker than anything we've read. Here's a brief synopsis of What the Dead Know:

Thirty years ago, the Bethany girls, ages eleven and fifteen, disappeared from a Baltimore shopping mall. They never returned, their bodies were never discovered, and only painful questions remain. Now in the aftermath of a rush-hour hit-and-run accident, a clearly disoriented woman is claiming to be Heather, the younger Bethany sister. Not s shred of evidence supports her story, and every lead she reluctantly offers takes the police to another dead end - a dying, incoherent man; a razed house; a missing grave. But she definitely knows something about that terrible day - and about the shocking fissures that the tragedy exposed in the foundation of a seemingly solid family.

Hardesty Regional Library just notified me that my copy is ready for pick-up...I'll be heading there within the hour!

These Past Couple Months...Whitney's Reviews

I was completely surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I love mysteries, but was a little leery of one written from an 11 year old's perspective. BUT, she was so eleoquent that I forgot all about her age in the first chapter.

Between her outstanding detective skills and her keen mind for chemistry I fell in love with young Flavia de Luce! I can't wait to see what kind of journey she and ALan Beadley will take me on next time!

In July GAB read Firefly Lane. It was a great book about a 30 year friendship. Nothing extremely devestating or exciting happened throughout most of the book (However, I did find myself laughing out loud and wiping away a tear on more than a few occassions). It was just a well written story about 2 girls, their friendship and their lives (together and apart). Scenarios the "could" happen kept popping into my head as I read, but Kristen Hannah did a fabulous job of keeping her characters consistent. To date, this is my favorite book we have read!

Was it Worth It??

Yesterday I worked at Scholastic's Semi-Annual Warehouse Clearance Sale. I had been looking forward to it ALL week, until Saturday morning. I was scheduled to work from 12pm until 6pm that day. I'd had a crazy busy week and just was not looking forward to being at this sale for 6 hours. But, I went because I said I'd be there and I wasn't going to cancel the day of.

Things were a little awkward when I was there because it was obvious that other 6 workers knew each other and worked year after year together. At first time went by REALLY slow! But a few people I knew came to shop and I had people to talk to!

I knew that I would get $10/hour in books for working, but I kept asking myself, "Is this worth it?" Well, here are the titles I walked away with:

1. The Bobbsey Twins Ready to Read

2. A Very Special Snowflake

3. Little Miss Star

4. What Do You Call A Rhyming Riddle?

5. Firebears The Rescue Team

6. Bodies: Peel Back the Layers from the Outside In!

7. Highschool Musical 3 Picture Book

8. United States of America Jigsaw Book

9. Baby Mouse Queen of the World

10. Roscoe Riley Rules #1

11. The Magic Tree House: Dragon of the Red Dawn

12. Amazon Fever

13. Star Wars Last of the Jedi

14. Magic Tree House Reswarch Guide: Penguins and Antarctica

15. Ashes of Roses by Mary Jane Auch

16. The Foreshadowing by Marcus Sedgwick

17. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

18. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

19. Gregor the Overlander

20. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

21. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke

That's $120 worth of books that I got for FREE...well, actually for $60 of Scholastic credit (everything was at LEAST 50% off) for working from 12pm-6pm. So back to my original question...Was it worth it?...yes, yes indeed it was!

New Beginning Hesitations

I might be weird and this might sound completely absurd, but I'm going to share anyway...

If I'm going to spend time reading a book I want to make sure it's worth my while. I'm a busy mom with 3 kids, a part-time job and I hold a position on the Exec board at my boy's school...so when I read I don't want it to be a waste of time. I'm always fairly certain the book I'm about to read will be good. But there's always that "period" at the beginning of each book I read that I question my decision to read that particular book. VERY few books have hooked me within the first few pages. Twilight and An Offer You Can't Refuse were two books that had be from the beginning. Sadly, The Sorcerer's Stone took me 2 tries and encouragement from a dear friend (Thanks Lisa) before I made it through.

So what's it like for you...aside from Book Club picks, when you read a book are you hooked immediately, because after all, it was your choice to read the book? Or are you a bit skeptical when beginning something new. It's fine if I'm the only weird one...I'm content with my quirkiness. :-)