Friday, December 14, 2007

Mega Book Reviews

Ok, I've been seriously remiss in updating you all (all two of you!) about my reading progress. I have been reading some fantastic books, but the time to write about them hasn't been forthcoming. So below, without graphics or fanfare, are my opinions about my latest 11 books:

Fall on Your Knees: An Oprah book, if you want to know. Seriously, though, a couple of people chose it for the Something About Me challenge and I'd been wanting to read it. Engrossing, a quick read, very good. I'd highly recommend it, especially if you are interested in literature about Nova Scotia.

Prayer for the Dying: I've wanted to read more of Stewart O'Nan since I read The Good Wife a year or so ago. This was the one the library happened to have so I picked it out. But geez Louise, this was a hard book to read! It's about a town in Civil War era that is swept by cholera. Stewart O'Nan is a beautiful writer, but man oh man, don't choose an emotional time to read this one.

The Bridge of Sighs: I love, love, love Richard Russo. When I saw he had a new book out, I couldn't wait to read it. So I didn't. I listened to it, through Audible.com. I had to drive to San Diego (6 hours) by myself, and hour of commuting for 12 days and then home again. So I needed something to do, and I listened to this book the whole way. Like other times when I've listened to a book, part of what I come to love about it is the reader's voice and the ambiance of listening to it, so I can't say if you'll love it as much as I did if you read it. But I bet you will. Richard Russo has a way of bringing you into small town upstate New York life like no one else.

Eat, Pray, Love: Yeah, I know, everyone has read this one. Reading it at a yoga training makes it even better. This is non-fiction, if you don't know. I really don't like non-fiction, reviews always claiming that they are "laugh out loud funny" and they don't even make me crack a smile. This one really did make me laugh out loud. It's feel good all the way. If you haven't ever had a spiritual crisis, or any other kind of crisis, I guess maybe you won't really get it. But for the rest of us, it's solid gold.

Twilight/New Moon by Stephenie Meyer: These are the first two books in Stephenie Meyers series. I don't know how many books she's planning, but me and all her other readers (I'm sure about this) hope it will go on forever. I heard about these in the book blogging world, hesitated because I'm not a vampire story lover, but finally gave in. I finished Twilight on a Tuesday about noon, and we were supposed to travel on Wednesday. I actually drove to the bookstore and bought the second one for my trip, something I rarely do. I'd had to wait a month for the first one from the library and I wasn't about to wait that long again!! I've got the third one, Eclipse, on hold now. Everyone I've gotten to read Twilight has promptly called me to tell me they hate me, as piles of laundry threaten their lives. Yep, you won't be able to do anything else once you start.

Water for Elephants: What an unusual book. I almost got this one several times and decided I wasn't in the mood to read a story about a traveling circus. Finally I read it because my sister in law loaned it to me. All I can say is, don't hesitate!! What wonderful writing, what a departure from all the run of the mill books you might choose. It's powerful, you'll love it, go get it right now.

A Little Love Story: Well, I liked this book. A book about falling in love. Falling in love with someone sick with cystic fibrosis, to be exact. A good, fast read. Really didn't like being left hanging at the end, though. It's not a bad book, but I could take it or leave it.

Blood Memory: I'm a psychotherapist, and my supervisor once recommended this book in our supervision group as having a lot of information about working with people who have childhood sexual abuse issues. I put in on my list, as that's not my specialty but you never know when it will show up. But if you're not a psychotherapist, never you mind. It's a gripping crime novel type read. Nothing majorly literary about it, it's very John Grisham/James Patterson/John Sanford-y (although I think Greg Iles is a better writer than some of those). It's a big book and I read it in two days. You just have to know what happens!

72 Hour Hold: I'm reading this now and almost done, so I'll leave a review, because heaven knows when I'll be back here. I wonder if this book is fascinating to me simply because I'm a therapist, or if it would be no matter what I did. I'm not sure. The writing is good, it really delves into the dynamics that happen to parents when their kids turn out to be mentally ill. If you have no interest in this area, however, I just don't know how much you'd like it.

Alright, that's it. See you in six months! haha. Just kidding. I hope to be able to update this more regularly in the new year...it's not a resolution or anything, mind you.....

11 comments:

Joy said...

Well hello there! It's so nice to "see" you. :) Thanks for sharing the summaries of the books you've been reading. A new one for me is Blood Memory. I'll be looking into that one. Hope we'll be seeing you more often.

Literary Feline said...

I really enjoyed The Way the Crow Flies by MacDonald, which I read this year. I hope to read Fall on Your Knees one of these days. I am glad to hear you enjoyed it! Bridge of Sighs is another one I really want to read. And Eat, Pray and Love. Okay, so most of the books you mentioned sound good! Haha It's good to see you again.

Tasha said...

Thanks for the reviews. I'm not a huge vampire fan (anymore...), but I'm curious about the Twilight series. I've heard that fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will enjoy it, and I was big into Buffy back in the day. I plan on checking out some of the other books you mentioned, too.

SuziQoregon said...

Well it's about time you popped in here :-)

tanabata said...

I hesitated about Twilight too, not being a vampire lover either, but it's very addictive. I need to read New Moon soon.
I've really enjoyed both books by Ann Marie MacDonald. I wonder when she'll have a new one out.
If you're not back before then, have a Happy Christmas and New Year!

raidergirl3 said...

Certainly, more than two readers...

I've been reading about Water for Elephants in several places, and you aren't the last person to read Eat, Pray, Love yet.
Great little reviews.

kookie said...

I've got about 70 pages left to go in "Bridge of Sighs" and I love it. LOVE IT. I want to pack my bags and move to that town (polluted river and all).

LK said...

Good list! See my website and see if you can pick two!

Bookfool said...

Well, I haven't yet read Eat, Pray, Love. I've had it on my wish list at Paperback Swap for 18 months, now, but I'm finally #1 (out of 617). Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

And, I felt the same way about Twilight - not a vampire person, but I finally gave in and I thought it was more romantic than paranormal. I loved it! I'm waiting for the second one to arrive in paperback.

Lucy Burdette aka Roberta Isleib said...

Hey Lisa, came across your blog while surfing this morning. I would like to send you a copy of one of my mysteries--the main character is a psychologist who dabbles in a little yoga and writes an advice column. The first came out in March, called DEADLY ADVICE. Would you email me if you're interested?

Roberta
www.robertaisleib.com

ps I also enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love, and more recently THE GRAVING DOCK, DEAD EX, and Ann Patchett's newest, RUN.

Suey said...

Hi! I'm commenting WAY late on this post because I'm so behind in my blog reading. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I enjoy these short snippet "get to the point" type of reviews way better than the really long detailed ones many people do. So...thanks for that! Many of these books sound very interesting to me and they may show up on my lists soon.