Revolutionary Road

This is one book I was ready to be done with. Get divorced already! This is the story of a miserable unhappy couple in the 1950's. Then again maybe they are just a normal couple who seem miserable with each other and with themselves. From the outside appearances to their friends and neighbors they seem like the perfect average couple. He has an average job, they live in an average house, they have two kids. But, they each have such a huge longing for more than they have. She wants to be an actress, he just wants. He's in what he feels is a nothing job that he feels he was forced to take after he got married and found out his wife was pregnant. She didn't want to be pregnant, he didn't really want kids but couldn't stand the thought that she might choose to not have HIS child, so he convinced her to have it and took a job he hated in turn. From there the hate grew, and they continued to do things neither of them wanted to do.

Then one day she decides she wants them to be happy and hatches this grand scheme for them to be. They will run away, leave the country, she'll go to work and let him find himself. Then a wrench gets thrown in the plan, as she finds herself pregnant again. At the same time, Frank discovers that he might actually like his job and maybe he doesn't want to leave after-all.

The constant push and pull they go through with each other left me wanting them to split up. They were both so unhappy why would they stay together, and as the reader I was left wanting nothing more than to see her leave him or him leave her. While the ending was not quite what I expected it wasn't really a huge surprise either.

I really could not find one redeeming value in either April or Frank; both were completely selfish. Both manipulated each other to their own means. So in the end I guess this couple really deserved each other. I guess you could say that this book is about the damage that we do to one another when we don't stop to care about anything but ourselves, when we only try to redeem ourselves instead of feeling for someone else.

Watching the movie, it seemed that Frank was the bad guy, granted April wasn't completely blameless, but the movie seemed to give her a lot more credit than I found in her in the book. In the movie, I almost felt a little sorry for her, but the book didn't really allow for that.

The Last Days - by Brian Evenson

I want nothing more after reading this than to find the Novella that started the story. After reading too many books that all start to look the same, I was looking for something "different" and reading the back of the book cover, I could tell this would be it.

I realize there is a fetish out there for EVERYTHING and I know the fetish exists for amputation/ mutilation, but this book takes it to a whole new level creating a world where those involved are beyond fetishists and have created a cult surrounding the idea of "if they hand offends thee cut it off". Except they take it to a whole new level. After determining that removing one hand must bring you closer to God the only logical next step is that removing more limbs brings you even closer. And then what happens? Well what happens within any religion, hierarchies are created of those who have achieved a higher level of enlightenment and then sects split and form new versions of the same religion.

Into all of this craziness has stumbled a detective, Kline. After the word has spread that he allowed someone to remove his hand then cauterized the wound himself before killing that same person, the cult wants him as one of their own, it would seem. They bring him to help them investigate a murder... or is it robbery? Or maybe it's a smuggling operation... perhaps there's no investigation at all. As he finds his way through this crazy world and is introduced to more and more of the gruesome and obscene you can't help but wonder "will he join them?" "Will he decide that since he's already missing a limb that that is where he really belongs?"

This book is full of the unexpected, as Evenson manages to take a unique topic and approach it in a unique way keeping you reading and never sure what's going to happen next.

Evidently, this book was written as a continuation of a novella that he wrote years before, a novella that is very hard to find (hard enough that copies available on Amazon are selling for $95 and up). Maybe I'll get lucky and find it in a compilation somewhere, in the meantime I'm sure I'll be reading more from this author. His grasp of the macabre brings back my early memories of the joy of Edgar Allen Poe and his wonderful stories.

The Sleeping Doll - by Jeffrey Deaver

Most widely known for his novel The Bone Collector which was turned into a movie several years ago, Jeffrey Deaver actually has an entire series of novels based around Lincoln Rhymes. This is not one of those. The Sleeping Doll is the first in his new series about a different kind of detective. He first introduced us to Katherine Dance in one of the Lincoln Rhymes novels and now has sent her back home to California to star in her own series of novels. Katherine Dance is a kinesics expert; a human lie detector who reads body language.

This story is about Katherine's search to apprehend an escaped convict/ cult type leader who has managed to fake evidence that he was involved in yet another murder in order to arrange his escape. The book takes place over the course of a week and during that time we meet several interesting characters, not the least of which is Daniel Pell himself. We get a unique insight into the mind of The Pied Piper, as well as into the type of women who will follow him blindly.

Of course there are many twists and turns as it seems Katherine will finally catch him only to to be just a few minutes too late. And then there is Winston, another FBI agent aiding Katherine, but is he who he seems to be? And what's up with Katherine's boss who always seems to give out just a little too much information to the press. And then there is the "Sleeping Doll" herself, a 17 year old girl who was the only one in her family to escape the murderous Daniel Pell 10 years previous. How does she fit in? And why is Daniel Pell sticking around the Monterrey area when everyone is looking for him, instead of trying to get as far away as possible.

All in all the book was a good read, although about 100 pages and 2 twists too long. At times it almost seemed formulaic... sorry Mr Deaver but we've been down that rabbit trail before, must we go there again?

The TIme Travellers Wife - by Audrey Niffeneger

Ok, I think the fact that I saw the movie halfway through reading the book really colored my view of the book. It seems this happens most of the time. Either I read the book first and am dissappointed in the movie, or I see the movie first and then am either really pleasantly surprised with the book, or the movie gives everything away and the book ends up dragging. In this case, it was the latter.

If you've seen the movie, it only covers about half of the book. Oddly the half it didn't cover (the first half) was the half of the book that I enjoyed the most.

The book alternates from the perspective of both the Time Traveler (Henry) and his wife (Claire), although the first half of the book is set prior to their marriage with small snippets here and there that show their future. The movie shows little of that "backstory", but then again in this story it's not really back-story, since Henry only met Claire when she was younger AFTER he met her when he was older. For Claire it is back-story. She grows up knowing this strange man who appears in her forest naked, beginning when she is 6 years old. However, for Henry none of those visits occurred until after they had met when she was 20 and he was 28. Confused yet? Don't worry it all makes more sense in the book. The author does an amazing job of jumping through time without completely losing the reader.

The movie doesn't include much of that back-story and really starts when Henry meets Claire for the first time, and tells the story of their marriage. Of a woman who gets used to her husband just disappearing in the middle of things and being gone for hours or weeks at a time, with no idea of when he will return. I guess in a way it's much like the life of a wife of an FBI agent or spy, except that at least in those cases the wife usually gets some sort of warning.

Unfortunately, since I watched the movie when I was halfway through the book, I knew how it would end. Of course, they changed a few things for the book, but I was able to see where it was going. In some cases that makes a book easier for me to read, in this case it made it drag just a bit more. The book is rather long to begin with and there are bits and pieces that don't seem to fit, bits of story that seem to not have a reason for being. Many times those bits fit together later to fill in a piece of the puzzle of why something else happened, but often not. The last 50 or so pages I just wanted to be done with the book already, and I was really pissed off with the ending - this is a case where the movie ending was better than the book ending (while not really being all that different).

All in all, it is a good story and it's told well. It's worth reading but I doubt seriously I will read it again.

Run - by Ann Patchet

This is a book about family and about politics and about parents who want you to be everything they weren't. It is about family in so many forms.

Bernadette Doyle wanted children, she wanted many children, so after only being able to have one son she and her husband Bernard decide to adopt. They are happy to adopt one black son but even happier when they hear that the mother does not want her sons separated and offers them her other son, who is 18 months old. Little did they realize that just a few short years later Bernadette would die.

The boys grow up, the real son seems to be a disappointment to his father who goes on to be the Mayor of Boston. But, the younger boys are nothing but joys in many ways, but still disappointing because they are not going into something like medicine or politics.

The story transpires over a 24 hour period of time. After attending a special engagement where they hear Jesse Jackson speak, one of the boys is pushed out of the way of a moving vehicle. He suffers only a broken ankle but the woman who pushes him out of the way is badly injured. Her 11 year old daughter is left standing alone as no one is there to claim her, so Bernard and his boys take her home with them. It is then that she informs them that she knows them much better than they know her. She's been watching them her whole life. This is a book of secrets revealed. Of how a Mother's love never dies whether it's the love for a son she gave birth to or a child that she has taken as her own.

While the book starts out slow and I honestly almost gave up before I was a few chapters in but I'm glad I kept going. It takes a bit to pick up but it did and it was worth it. In the end I finished it in two nights, so it reads pretty quickly. The book promises twists and turns but honestly it's predictable. The few twists you don't see coming are so far out of left field that they don't even really matter in the scheme of things. I like books that really make me think and all I really think about this one is that a month from now I won't even remember having read it.

Same Kind of Different As Me - by Ron Hall & Denver Moore

This book was really not at all what I expected. I picked it up at the bookstore one day on a whim. It looked like it might be interesting and then after I bought it I found it was an upcoming book for one of the library reading groups I was going to. I started it late so I didn't end up going to the book club to discuss it, but it is well worth discussing.

"Same Kind of Different As Me" is written by two men and is the story of their separate journeys that eventually merged. Denver Moore was born in Lousiana on a Plantation to a family of share-croppers. Slavery was long since passed, but share-cropping had replaced it, meaning that the black families still lived in small shacks on the white family's land and still worked the land in exchange for those houses and whatever they needed, but nothing more. They were not paid in money, and were given "credit' at the "The Man"'s store to buy the things they needed. Credit they would have paid off with the cotton they harvested if the harvest had ever been more than what they owed; remaining forever in debt to "the man". Once Denver was grown he eventually jumped a train to Texas where he found himself homeless but felt it was still a step above the life he had previously lead.

Ron Hall, on the other hand, had grown from the son of a poor farming family to a multi-million dollar art dealer, living in the lap of luxury, but kept grounded by his wife. His wife convinced him to join her in her efforts to help the homeless after she dreamt that that was something she needed to do. They began showing up regularly to the shelter and helping to cook and serve meals and it wasn't long before they were helping in other ways. Ron's wife had another dream about a homeless man who would change things. When she first saw Denver, she knew he was that man and tried to convince her husband to befriend him; not at an easy task.

Over time, Ron & Denver did become friends and they taught each other a great deal. This book is their story and one well worth reading. Is is the story of how one person can create great changes in the life of many. It is the story of dreams that do come true and lives that can be changed. I can understand why this book made the best seller list and has stayed there.

I don't know what I expected when I picked it up, but it wasn't the story I found or the way that it touched my heart and made me actually glad I had read. Few books leave you with that kind of feeling.

The Double Bind - by Chris Bohjalian

This is an interesting book that looks at both homelessness and mental illness from a unique angle while combining some American Literature in such a way that you feel it's all true.

The story centers on Laurel, a young woman who has recently graduated college and moved into the real world. However, while she was in college she collided head first with the real world when she was attacked by two men on a dirt road while bicycling. The book opens with this attack, as well as a bit of back-story about Laurel and the area where she grew up. She grew up in Long Island in the area where the book "The Great Gatsby" was set. She has grown up believing the story to be true, or at least based on truth.

Despite her attack, when she finished college she went to work for a homeless shelter where she met "Bobby Crocker" and helped him find a home. Upon his death, her boss discovers a box of pictures that it appears Bobby had taken during his lifetime, among them is a picture that appears to be Laurel on that same dirt road where she was attacked, possibly even on the same day.

An amateur photographer herself, Laurel is taken by the photos and takes on the job of cataloging his images. As she pours over there she discovers many things that connect Bobby to hear past and to the area where she grew up, and possible to the "Great" Jay Gatsby. She gets so wrapped up in her "work" with these photos that she begins to let the rest of her world slide by, worrying those who care for her the most and making them fear that she is quickly becoming unhinged. While her family and friends are trying to take the photos away from her, you are rooting for her to find the answer and solve the mystery. But, maybe the mystery was all in her head. You'll be left wondering just who really is mentally ill in this story as it weaves through many twists and turns.

The Power of Positive Thinking - Norman Vincent Peale

It's interesting that a book written over 50 years ago could still have so much impact in today's world, but the insights that Dr Peale shares are not marked by time. Dr Peale uses Biblical ideas in non-traditional ways even by today's standards. To think that this was written in 1952 makes you marvel at just how far ahead of his time this man was... or perhaps we've just moved backwards. It makes you wonder if perhaps in today's world of technology, if we haven't just lost sight of some of the common sense that we once had.

While Dr Peale uses Biblical ideas and verses to enhance and back up his ideas, the concepts are strong even if you don't believe the Biblical side of things. It is easy to read this book and understand that somewhere in what he has written was the root of the idea for "The Secret". It's not that far-fetched that one you reap you sow, the thoughts you put out into the world are what you will get back. If you focus on the negative, you will get negative. BUT, if you focus on the positive you will get that as well. The ideas that we can be physically healed by thinking positive thoughts has been proven too many times. And the knowledge that we can make ourselves physically ill through our mental states is widely known as well, much more widely known now than when Dr Peale wrote about it over 50 years ago.

I picked this book up because I felt I had been allowing myself to get bogged down in too much negativity; from people around me, but mostly my own negativity. It's easy to do when you don't physically feel well; but that is the time when it is most important to focus on the positive in an effort to feel better. While there were parts that I skimmed and other parts that felt repetitive, there was much to be gained in this book, and much that I felt I could easily apply to myself. I can honestly say that in doing so I do feel that I have been able to express a more positive outlook and attitude in recent weeks.

Living Dead in Dallas - by Charlaine Harris

The second book in the Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampires) series, Living Dead in Dallas is just as engaging as the first. This book picks up where the first left off and soon enough we find someone else dead in Bon Ton. But, before Sookie can even start to think about finding that killer, she is called away to Dallas by the Vampires.

After helping them previously she committed that she would continue to use her gift to help them whenever they needed it, so long as they allowed any humans involved to go free. Escorted by her boyfriend, Vampire Bill, she heads off to Dallas to meet a new set of Vampires and find out why one of their friends has suddenly gone missing.

Her investigation leads her to a local anti-vampire religious group that has plans to use their friend to display God's wrath, and before long Sookie has become part of their plan as well. Getting some help from some unlikely sources, Sookie manages to escape and let her new Vampire friends know what is going on before heading back to Bon Ton again.

Once back in Bon Ton, Sookie is wrapped up in trying to clear the name of a local cop in the murder that occurred before she left for Dallas. This investigation takes her to some interesting places locally; places and events she had no idea even existed in her little town.

A Child Called "It" - by Dave Pelzer

Billed as "the extraordinary inspirational story", I can't say I found it very inspirational. I was almost finished with the book before I even realized that the author was actually the child involved in this story - one of the worst cases of child abuse in the history of the state of California.

The book was almost too easy to read for the subject matter; I finished it in about 2 hours. I actually felt really detached from the child and never really felt connected to him as the story was told, which made me feel as if some other third party was relaying the story and telling it as if it was from the perspective of the child. Even the author's notes, when I look back at them, refer to himself as "the child" or "the boy", as if he were referring to someone other than himself. Despite the feeling of detachment, the story was compelling, making you want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen to the boy, even though you already knew.

Perhaps he truly has managed to move past all that happened to him as a child, but those types of comments lead me to believe that there is large part of him that still does not really connect all that happened to him as a child and looking back sees it as having happened to someone else, or a story that he was told. Perhaps that is really all that has kept him from repeating the errors of his own mother and allowed him to turn into a productive citizen and good father.

The book covers the childhood (from age 4 to 12) of a boy from what seemed like a normal home, and in the beginning it was normal. But, something happened along the way and his mother turned to alcohol and began to take out all of her anger on him. Despite having 4 siblings, David took all of the abuse. While it was his Mother who did the abusing, his Father simply stood by and allowed it to happen, often watching it. He let his son know that he wasn't happy about it, but he never did anything to stop it. His Father finally left the home and left David in it to continue to receive the wrath of his Mother, a wrath that only grew worse when his Father was not there. From withholding food, to forcing David to sleep on a cot in the cold basement garage, to leaving him locked in a small bathroom with a bucket of ammonia mixed with bleach, she thrived in finding new ways to "punish" David for her imagined infractions. For years she managed to convince anyone who questioned his bruises or strange actions that there was just something wrong with him, but eventually someone finally gained enough of David's trust for him to admit what had been going on so that they could rescue him from it.

The book leaves a lot of questions unanswered, and I can only guess that perhaps they are answered in his later books, as he says this is the first of a trilogy about his life. I can only hope that his Mother was finally punished once the truth came out. Perhaps the next book explains what happened to him when he was removed from the home (a fact that actually opens this book). The biggest question is one that probably won't be answered and that is how a parent (his Father) could watch another commit such heinous acts and not stop them, not remove the child from the home, when he himself left.

The Shack - by William P Young

This was not an easy book to read, nor is it an easy book to really think about reviewing. It's one of those books that I really feel like I'm going to have to read again to really absorb it fully (if even one more reading would be enough). I've talked to many people about this book both before reading it and since and I find it interesting just how polarizing this book is, not just in theme but in the actual writing.

I did not find the book to extremely well written and I've heard from many people that they found the first 4 chapters the hardest to read. Those were the chapters where I felt the writing lacked the most. That part of the book read the most like any other book you might read with a little bit of a family story and mystery to it. The book opens with a foreword, that along with the after words, left many confused as to whether this was a true story. It is not, it is a work of fiction that tries to use a story many can relate to to express some ideas about God that are controversial to many.

The story begins by telling us about Mack and his family and the loss that they have recently endured. While not well-written the story does pull you in and you feel the heartbreak they have felt. You can also understand how due to not only this circumstance but to many others in his life, Mack has lost his faith; not just his faith in God, but his faith in life and in people, and even in himself. He blames himself for a tragedy that he could not control and in turn he also blames God.

One day, while getting the mail, Mack finds a note in his mailbox. The note is either a sick joke or it is a note from God himself. Mack decides to find out which and the note leads him to the place of his greatest misery, the shack where his daughter was most likely murdered. As he heads there, he does not know who he will meet, if it will be the murderer or God himself, or no one at all. When he discovers who is occupying the shack, Mack is quite surprised, to say the least. God is waiting at the shack, along with Jesus and the Holy Ghost.

When Mack first meets God the book begins to feel very preachy, much like a sermon as God attempts to explain the holy Trinity to Mack. An explanation that I'm not quite sure was successful.

I have to say that after the feeling of that chapter, I wanted to put the book down. It was DEEP, very DEEP and like I said, preachy. I didn't want to read a sermon. But, I'd committed to reading this book, both to those who had suggested it to me, and for a book club. So after taking a break and reading another book or two, I did go back to it and finish it. In going back to the book I found it to be not nearly as preachy as it had initially seemed. Perhaps it was just the attempted explanation of the Trinity, that turned me off.

As the book continues, Mack has many discussions with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit which are all rather interesting and take the time to attempt to explain many things about God. I found that some of the themes paralleled those found in Eat, Pray, Love: which I read recently; mainly the idea that God is not a Christian. Go figure. If the word "Christian" means "Christ Like", how can God be a Christian when he is actually Christ. But it's not just about the terms, it's the idea that God is not committed to any one religion and that he (or she) has children in all religions. This is just one of the many controversial ideas presented in this book. Another is the idea that God does not want us to be his sub-ordinates, but rather his friends. He wants the same relationship with us that we give our friends. The same eagerness that we have to spend time with our friends is what he wants us to have towards him. There are many other big ideas presented in this book, including the attempt to explain why God allows bad things to happen.

One of the most polarizing things in this book is probably the way that God presents to Mack. To many it makes perfect sense, to others it is blasphemy on many levels. It made sense to me. Not only did it make sense but I could immediately picture the person who would (or at least in my mind should) play God in the movie version of this book. This book isn't going to change my life or anything, but it did make some sense of a few things and I liked the ideas that were presented.

Big Stone Gap - by Adriana Trigiani

Many of the books I've been reading lately are book club picks for the various book clubs that go on at the local libraries. I usually pick them up and read a bit and if I'm enjoying the book I'll finish it. If I find I can't get into the book, I put it down and move on to the next. This is how I found this book. It showed up on the list for book club books for this month and it looked like it might be interesting so I picked it up. Interesting, it definitely was.

Big Stong Gap is the story of Ave Maria (like the prayer), an Italian girl born and raised in the mountain mining town of Big Stone Gap, VA. Her mother was Italian married to the local pharmacist. After her father's death, Ave Maria took over the local pharmacy and took care of her mother. After her mother's passing life continued. Ave Maria is 35 and single. She tells herself she's single because she's not wanted, but the truth is she's never wanted to get married; she's always had too many other things to do.

In her effort to understand why she never connected to her father she once read a book on Chinese Face Reading and through that has come to believe that something monumental will happen to her in her 35th year. It is in that year that we discover Ave Maria, still single and now orphaned after her mother's death.

Many exciting things do happen to Ave Maria that year, she discovers that her father was not actually her father, a huge celebrity visits town and Ave Maria finds herself being proposed to by two different men. As she goes through all of this she discovers that many things she always thought she wanted, were not what she wanted after-all. It is only after she finally allows herself to see who she is that she can decide what she wants and go after it, but it may be too late.

This is a book about finding yourself, and understanding what people and place mean to you. But, mostly it's a book about learning that it's not the place where you are that makes you, but rather you make yourself.

This is one of those rare books that gets better as it goes along and when it ends you want more. It's a good thing there are sequels.

Next: The Shack - by William P Young

Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris

After the last few books I read I was in the mood for something a bit lighter. I tried a few different books and ended up putting 3 down before I got through the first 50 pages. I'm not one for a lot of extraneous descriptions in my books. I like to be able to use my imagination a bit and when you feel the need to use soliloquy and metaphor to describe how someone's dress hangs, it's a huge turn off for me. That was why I took a pass on yet another book by Carol Shields, in this case - The Stone Diaries: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition). There was another book I passed on for the same reason, but I can't even recall what it was. Then I tried Patricia Cornwall. I hadn't read any of her books before I typically enjoy a good suspense novel. I picked up The Body Farm (Kay Scarpetta) and gave it a try, but in the end I just found it way too dry.

After three failed attempts I finally settled on Dead Until Dark: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel . I'd had several people recommend both the book and the new tv show to me on multiple occasions. Oddly enough when I placed the order for this book, I did not realize it was the same one that the show was based on, or that so many of my friends had recommended it. It just looked entertaining so I ordered it.

The story begins with Sookie Stackhouse, a slightly strange young lady, discovering that there is a vampire in her bar (the bar she works in, that is). At this point in time Vampires have come out of the closet and have been "accepted" by society and are allowed to live among the living. It is believed that vampirism is a virus that these folks have acquired that causes them to be allergic to sunlight and garlic and need blood to live. She's been rather enraptured with the idea, and has been looking forward to her opportunity to meet one. So she was quite happy that night when one appeared in her bar. She's not the only one who is taken with him, though. As she watches another of her patrons begins to take an interest in him.

There's another little twist here, and that is that Sookie is a bit different herself. Most people think she is just strange, but the truth is she can read people's thoughts, or rather hear them. It's not that she tries, in fact she tries not to, but she can. As she watches, she allows herself to listen in on the thoughts of the couple who has taken an interest in the vampire and discover that they have ill intentions for him. When they leave with the Vampire she follows and ends up saving his life. Thus begins a very unique relationship between a mind reader and a vampire.

The story takes many twists and turns as murders begin happening in Sookie's small Louisiana town. At first it is believed that her new vampire friend is the culprit, but she doesn't believe that. However, after Sookie herself becomes the target of the murderer she takes a serious interest in what is going on and takes it upon herself to discover who the real murderer is and why they are going after the women in her town.

The story is endearing and fun and you can't help but keep reading. It's no wonder that they turned this series into a television show. After reading just one book, I've ordered the rest of the series, as well as the first season of the tv show. I look forward to enjoying many more adventures of Sookie (and Bill, her vampire).

3 Cups of Tea - by Greg Mortenson

This is a truly inspirational book, proving the ignorance is our true enemy.

Greg Mortenson set out in 1995 to climb the world's highest peak - K2. He failed on that endeavor but what he accomplished because of where that failure brought him was something far beyond any mountain climb. After getting lost in the Pakistan wilderness, Greg Mortinson found himself in the unfamiliar village of Korphe; a village not even on his map. This village treated him as one of their own and after seeing what they had and didn't have, he made them a promise. He would return one day and build them a school. The people of this region are used to foreigners making promises they don't keep so they were not surprised by this promise but they were surprised when Greg returned less than 2 years later to fulfill his promise.

In the time that fell between Greg tried anything he could think of to raise the $12,000 his research determined it would take to build the school for Korphe. He wrote letters to any person he would think to write to. In the end, his first donation came not from those letters but from other children, after his mother, a school principal, invited him to speak to her students. Those children, on their own started a campaign to donate just their pennies to Greg's cause, raising over $600. Eventually, he found other donors, one specifically who sponsored the bulk of Greg's endeavors which eventually expanded beyond just a school. When he returned to Korphe the village leaders informed him that before a school could be built they needed a bridge (how else would you get all the supplies to their village). In the meantime, he had several other villages fighting for those supplies and for his help.

It took him about 4 years from his original promise to finally get that first school built. But, after doing so, his original benefactor determined that this is what Greg should be doing and chose to make a difference with his own life by providing the funds to see that this work continued. In the years that followed Greg built many more schools, provided women's services, medical services, plumbing and just about anything the various communities of Pakistan needed through his foundation, the Central Asia Institute.

He saw first hand the changes that were occurring in Pakistan as the Taliban poised to take over and he was in Pakistan when the World Trade towers were attacked. While other ignorant Americans were putting bumper stickers on their cars that read "Kill them all, let Allah sort them out", Greg was fighting terrorism by returning to Pakistan and building more schools. He continued even as he saw his efforts being over-shadowed by the money that the Taliban was bringing into Pakistan by the suitcase full, and by the schools and maddrassas that they were building to teach, not language, math and science but extremism and war. While the American government was promises to rebuild the damage we had done in Pakistan, he was actively doing it.

As American's it is easy for us to think if they want change they should do it themselves, but through Greg Mortenson's story you see a different side of the Muslim people. A people who have been ignored by their own government, small villages so far away from their government that the government doesn't bother. It's not that these people don't want more it's that they have not had access to it. To think that $12,000 could build a school for an entire village and that just $100 could pay for the teachers for that school for a year. We as American's take so much for granted, our price to live is so high here and all these people really want is the basics of life, the things that we take for granted. This book really makes you think about those people and what they are struggling through. You realize where this war came from and how it came about and how many more people are suffering that we don't even think about because we just lump them all together as bad people.

We need many more Greg Mortenson's in the world; people who will step up and say that yes one person can make a difference IF THEY CHOOSE TO DO SO. It's easy to keep walking and pass by a person in need and think "it's someone else's job" or "if they want change they should just make it happen". It's not easy to stop and put out your hand and lift someone in need up. It doesn't matter if that someone in need is a school child in Pakistan or a your neighbor, or a stranger on the street. Sometimes the smallest thing can mean a lot, even when you think it's nothing or not worth bothering. We consider our own needs so much more important than someone else's, yet someone like Greg Mortenson and his family can make such huge sacrifices to help others. This book leaves you asking not "can I do something to help?" but "What can I do to help?" and "How can I not help, knowing what I know now."

Eat, Pray, Love - by Elizabeth Gilbert

I had passed this book by many times. I remember first hearing about it 2 or 3 years ago and thinking it just didn't sound like something I'd be interested in. Perhaps it just wasn't the time. I picked it up recently because it was a listed book for a local book club I wanted to join. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down and if you know me you've heard about it. I have recommended it to every female I know and talked about this book constantly for the last few weeks.

The book is a journey, a true journey in so many ways. It is Elizabeth's journey but it is also my journey and I believe most any woman can identify with it many ways. The journey begins with Elizabeth decides she no longer wants to be married, she no longer wants the life she had committed to. She'd told herself (and others) for many years that when she was 30 she'd be ready to have children. 30 came and she was still not ready, but she realized moreso that the life she was leading was not her own, and was not a life she wanted.

Following a horrendous divorce, she begins to explore what SHE really wants in life and the answers came. She wanted to learn Italian - so she did. She wanted to visit Italy and thus the journey began. Somewhere during this process she discovered God. Not the God most of us picture if we've been brought up in a religion but what I can identify with as being a real God, the god within and without. It's hard to explain. She decides to take one year and travel and explore herself, learning who she is and how she relates to the world; to accept herself and love herself, so that later she can allow another to do the same.

Her journey begins in Italy where she decides to explore the pleasure side of life. For her that is centered around food. She also increases her effort to learn the beautiful Italian language. She makes friends and she learns more about herself along the way.

In the second part of the book, Elizabeth goes to India and stays in an Ashram (religious retreat) for 4 months. This is the part of the book that touched me the most. In this section of the book she really explores God and religion, the idea that there is this "God" that society has created and the differences between that God and what God really is or should be. The same goes for religion as she examines how so many times people get caught up in the rituals of religion without really thinking about or questioning why they follow these rituals, why are they there, what do they mean and do they matter? She finds her own way to God during this time and more importantly finds a way to let go of those things that have held her back.

But, you can't live in an Ashram forever. I can imagine that even if you could it would be easy to eventually forget why you do what you do and lose your connection to god in all the rituals. She leaves and goes to Indonesia (Bali). There she learns more about spirituality from a Bali Medicine man, she explores the culture, relaxes, makes friends, and maybe most importantly allows herself to fall in love. This section of the book is made most interesting by her discussions and investigations into the Bali culture and how it works, how it differs from our own culture.

I would go so far as to say this book is "life changing" for me, at the very least it has allowed me to see things in a different way and to acknowledge that the reality as I have seen it is not just something I've made up but that others see it too. This book allowed me to ask questions within myself and find answers that I didn't know were there.

I discovered today that they are making this book into a movie (go figure), starring Julia Roberts (of all people). I imagined this would happen, but this is one of those books that is so internal you can't possibly convey the scope of the book or the books message (even remotely) on a screen. It's just not possible. On the screen we will see her physical journey, but we won't see her spiritual journey as it took place within her, nor will we really see her emotional journey.

I could write about this book for days, but I won't. Just go read it and when you do, I'd love to know what you think.

Next Book: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

My Sister's Keeper - by Jodi Picoult

This is the first book I've ready by Jodi Picoult and I couldn't put it down. The story is about a 13 year old girl who was conceived to be a genetic match to her older sister who suffers from a rare form of Leukemia. In her few short years she's already given several donations to her sister, from blood to bone marrow and now she is being asked to give her kidney. She is asking for the right to have a say in this decision.

The book alternates first person POV from Anna who is struggling to obtain her own identity for the first time in her life. To Kate, the sick sister who has fought hard and would like her own chance at a normal life. To Jesse, the brother who has become invisible to the family so wrapped up in his sister's illness. To Sara, the mother so wrapped up in trying to save her daughter she doesn't realize what she is doing to the rest of the family. Brian, the father is a fire-fighter, who has dedicated his life to saving people yet he can't do anything to save his daughter. Campbell, the lawyer that Anna hires, has his own issues. He initially takes the case seeing an opportunity for glory but realizes that he has a much larger opportunity. Julia, who is appointed as the Guardian Ad Litem to help make the decision as to whether or not Anna or her parents should have final say in Anna's choice to help her sister.

The book goes back and forth in time and shares the history of this family as well as the current state of affairs. It is a book about family and how we take them for granted. It is a book about how easy it is to slip through the cracks and become or, at least, feel invisible even amongst those who love you the most. It is a book about the masks we wear and how we try to hide our weaknesses to be strong for those around us. The book addresses some hard choices, from the current situation with stem cell research and the idea of creating a "designer baby" to the choices many of us have to make at some point in our life when it comes to health/medical issues of those we love.

The ending was not at all what I expected, but it really did end the only way that the book could end. Throughout the book you will smile and you will shed tears, sometimes for happy moments and sometimes for those moments in life that are sad not because of what happens but because of the circumstances that can't be avoided.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I intend to. However, from the previews I have seen it is apparent that they do take some license with the book, I just hope they don't take too much.

Review: The Soloist by Steve Lopez

The Soloist by Steve Lopez

This book was recently made into a movie, which I have not yet seen, but I can't imagine that it comes close to telling as much of the story, as honestly, as this book does.

Mr. Lopez initially meets the homeless Cello / Violin player on the streets of Southern California. Mr Lopez is a newspaper columnist and in Nathanial Ayers he sees a column (or three). Out of his own selfish need he takes the time to get to know this man and learn why he is on the street. How can a man who is so obviously talented be living on the streets? Would could have happened to him to bring him there? These are the questions that Mr Lopez sets out to discover. In doing so, he decides to take on the mission of trying to help Mr Ayers, a mission he admittedly wishes would be done soon. Mr Lopez is brutally honest in telling this story of what he does in his attempts to help this man. Through his own selfish need to have something to write about and his both selfish and unselfish attempts to help Mr Ayers, he ends up helping many more by bringing the plight of the homeless in LA to the forefront of everyone's mind, including that of the local government.

The book starts off wonderfully as he tells this story, in addition to Mr Ayers story, we learn about the stories of others who are also homeless, and the state of homelessness, in general. How did it get to the point that so many are living on the streets, and why can't we do more about it. Unfortunately, about 2/3 of the way through the book, it seems that the book becomes much like Mr Lopez initial need to fix Mr Ayers, a project he wishes would be over soon. The book changes tone and seems to become repetitive. Information we've already learned about Mr Ayers is repeated and sometimes the story becomes jumbled and I wasn't sure if bits of the story he was telling were happening at the same time. By the time the book ended, I too was ready for this project to be over. But, I was left wondering about a few things. What did become of Mr Ayers? Granted this story has not truly ended yet, so we won't know the overall outcome until after he dies. Did Mr Lopez feel that he had really helped or fixed Mr Ayers? And did he continue the friendship after the project was over? Because although Mr Lopez called Mr Ayers his friend, I never really got the feeling that he was ever more to him than a project that he would do whatever needed to be done in order to see through to the end.


Next Book: My Sister's Keeper: A Novel by Jodi Picoult

Fear Itself - by Jonathan Nasaw

I will admit, Jonathan Nasaw is quickly climbing the ranks as one of my favorite fiction writers. I've always enjoyed a good thriller and he writes them well.

This particular novel takes us into the mind of a serial killer (don't they all?) who happens to be have an issue with phobias. His greatest fear is boredom (or the "blind rat" as his grandfather called it) and the best way he'd found to stave off his boredom is to prey on other people's fears. Find out what their greatest fear is and then taunt them with it and watch them squirm. The problem is that "flooding" someone with a phobia with the thing of their fears is often the fastest way to cure them. Once he's flooded them and they are no longer afraid, he's bored again so the only thing left to do is kill them.

On the other end of the scale is E.L Pender, a retiring FBI agent who was introduced in Nasaw's first book (The Girls He Adored). You can't help but like Pender when you read Nasaw's books. At this point in his life, he's ready to retire. He's all but handed in his gun and has headed to the West coast for a week of gold before he does just that. The lady chosen to take over for him has opened a letter (and a can of worms) on his last day that describes how one woman believes that her friends with phobias are being killed off one by one. Pender, being the helpful soul that he is, decides to look up the woman while he's on the West Coast. One thing leads to another and he finds himself up to his armpits in trouble and fear.

As the body count goes up, you keep turning pages to see what will happen next.

Nasaw typically writes his stories in a way that the reader knows who the bad guy is and is seeing the story as much from his (or her) point of view as from the good guy or the victim. It's at times frightening, disgusting and even humorous, but always an enjoyable read.

New Review: The Soloist by Steve Lopez

Nickel & Dimed: On Not Getting By In America - by Barbara Ehrenreich

This book got to me, but probably not in the way that it got to most people. It annoyed me! I grew up poor, I've worked many of the jobs that she sampled and survived. My family has worked and still works many of those jobs and yet we got by. Yes, there were difficulties but the attitude I was taught was that if you want to get somewhere you work your way there. Sometimes you suffer for various reasons, but you work to get what you need.

I felt like Barbara set herself up for failure going into this experiment. She set such rigid criteria for what she would allow herself or not allow herself that she precluded failure before she ever began. She also gave herself enough advantages that she never really saw the truth of the experience.

There were jobs she would not do, yet she said she would take the highest paying job offered to her. When you are struggling, there are not jobs that you will not do. There are no jobs that are beneath you or that you avoid because they are too boring or too intensive. You take the highest paying job you can get and you are willing to do anything.

She made sure that she always had a car. A car is a luxury to many poor people, who rely on rides from friends or public transportation. Cars add expenses. You have to pay for gas, insurance and to fix the damn thing when it breaks (and it will break). As I child I remember going through a pretty fair number of cars and thinking back I realize that that had a lot to do with my mother not having enough money to do regular maintenance on a car. So, cars didn't last and had to be replaced with another cheap car that also wouldn't last long because it was already old and probably would not be maintained very well.

She goes into each situation with enough money for a down-payment on an place to live (if she can find one she can afford). As she quickly learns a place of your own is a luxury for the poor, especially someone who is single. We lived with my grandparents for several years. At one point it was the three of us (myself, my mother and my brother), my grandparents, my aunt, and my mom's brother along with his 4 sons all in the same house. We lived there while we waited for an opening in government assisted housing. Because she was only in each situation for one month, she never saw what can be accomplished. You can't accomplish much in one month. You win through perseverance and patience, not by changing your circumstances every 30 days. Starting over takes a lot and the more you have to do it, the harder it is.

She does admit in her final chapter that she made many mistakes, including her choice to work at Wal-mart over taking another (possibly higher paying job). She passed on the other job because basically she didn't want to get up and go to work 2 days in a row (after working late the night before). That's part of life.

Yes, it's hard and yes she went from being a physically and mentally healthy woman to being tired and hurt. The difference? She came from a background where she was not used to having to do those types of jobs. She was used to doing what I am doing right now - sitting behind a desk and writing. If I had to go out right now and do the work I did for many years, standing on my feet all day. I, too, would hurt at the end of the day; and I'm much younger than she is/was. But, in time you do get used to it, and when it's all you've done you don't even notice it.

I worked my way up from the lowest wage jobs and taught myself new skills that I was able to use to make money. My husband went the harder route. He also grew up in a poor household with a single mother. He worked his way through college. He never took out a student loan. He worked restaurants and retail and sometimes two jobs at once while he went to school full time. Eventually, he graduated with a degree in Accounting, but he didn't stop there. He continued to work full time at his Accounting jobs while continuing his education to obtain his CPA and his Master's Degree.

Do I feel sorry for the people she describes in her book? To some degree. But, mostly I don't think that she ever really got it. They don't want us to feel sorry for them. They don't need it. That is their life and they are used to it. If they want more they can make it happen, but it is up to them. It does no good to hand it to someone, which seems to be what she wants to do.