Seeing Me Naked - by Liza Palmer

Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer. This is her second book and the second book of hers that I've read. Her first book, Conversations with the Fat Girl, was amazing and I actually used a quote from it as my quote on Facebook.  The way that Liza Palmer talks about life is just real. You can't help but feel what her characters are feeling be dragged into their neurosis and cheer for them to overcome them.  You laugh with them and you cry with them.  That's just what I did, again, in Seeing Me Naked.  Initially, it was just another good enjoyable book that I picked up and read during my nightly bath, putting it down and picking it back up the next night. But around the third night, about halfway through the book, I just couldn't put it down and I had to finish it.  It was really that good.  The characters are so fleshed out that they just feel real. And when the book is over you don't want it to end, you want to keep reading and know more about what happens as their lives continue.  To me, that's the true mark of a great book and a great author.

Seeing Me Naked is the story of Elisabeth Page. She's the daughter of a great Pulitzer Prize winning author. Her mother was heir to a family fortune. Her brother has followed in his father's footsteps becoming a great author in his own right.  Elisabeth, however, has followed her own path, she's a pastry chef.  Her 5 year plan has become an 11 year plan as she fights to pull herself out of the shadow of her family to discover who she really is.  It's not until she can really look at herself for who she is that someone else can do the same.  This is a love story but it's really more about learning to love yourself and learning what love really is and how to do it.

It's Hard Not to Hate You - by Valerie Frankel

It's hard not to love this book and to love Valerie after reading it.  Heck, I think I love myself a little more for reading it.  To say that I couldn't put it down would be an understatement.  I LOVED IT!  From the first chapter this book resonated so honestly with me that I felt like I could be reading my own story. 

For the record, unlike most of her other books, this is a memoir, a story of Valerie's life as a writer, a mother, a wife, but most of all a hater of the worst kind.  It began for her in 6th grade when she was shunned by her friends, laughed at in school and generally mistreated.  She decided to put on her "poker face" and not let the world see how much it got to her.  She let her hate fester and grow, but at some point it had to get out.

In her 40's after working years as a writer, losing her first husband to cancer in his 30's, leaving her with 2 small children and remarrying, she finds that she's inherited a rare genetic predisposition to cancer.  Luckily, her tumors were pre-cancerous, but this finding set her on a journey to discover a few things about herself.  She was angry at life, angry at everything, and hated everyone.  She had to learn how to let it out and calm down.  Over the course of a year, her discussions with a psychic, a Buddhist monk and Joan Rivers finally allow her to find a calmer version of herself.  She learned how to express her needs rather than just standing by and letting things happen around her (or not happen). 

"I'd ask you to please......" Read This Book.

It's Hard Not to Hate You

*I received a free promotional copy of this book for the promise of doing a review.

Radio Shangri-La by Lisa Napoli

It's a true sign of a good book when you are still thinking about it a week after finishing it (while halfway into another book). I've wanted to write a review for a while but I've had a really hard time processing my thoughts on this book to get them into words and I wanted to say a little more than "I really liked this book".

From the very start, "Radio Shangri-La" felt a bit like "Eat, Pray, Love", with that vibe of journeying across the world to find ones own self.  Lisa's journey is a bit different and in some ways maybe not as profound as Elizabeth Gilbert's, but at the same time just as important.

The subtitle of the book is "What I Learned in the Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth", and it is not just what she learned about herself that makes this such a good book and so interesting a story. As much, if not moreso, it's what she learned about Bhutan itself, and its inhabitants. 

Through a strange twist of fate meeting, radio reporter, Lisa Napoli gets an offer to go to Bhutan and help the Kingdom start their first radio station.  This is a Kingdom that rarely allows outsiders and when they do they charge a pretty steep travel surcharge.  Until the mid-90's, the people there did not even have television.  A one month trip to volunteer becomes several trips over the course of a couple of years and through her trips and her eyes we watch two parallel evolutions.  We see how Lisa changes how she looks at herself and at life in general, and we see how the people of Bhutan change their outlook on life.  Perhaps it is seeing possibilities that keep one from being happy?

Unlike Elizabeth Gilbert in "Eat, Pray, Love", Lisa didn't embark on this journey as a means of self-discovery or looking to change herself.  It was just an opportunity that fell in her lap and bored with the status quo she decided to accept the opportunity, with little knowledge of what she would find when she got to there.  In the end, I think that's what really seperates this book from the other.  While Gilbert's book is internal, Napoli's is external.  This book is less about her and more about others.  However you choose to look at it, I think it's a great book, not only interesting in the story but interesting in an informative way of learning about a culture you've rarely, if ever, heard of.

I was sent a free copy of this book from Read It Forward, which is an online service that provides advance reader copies of various books (free) with the idea that when you are finished, you pass it on.  I already know who this book is going to.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - by Khaled Hosseini

I was drawn into this story of two girls who become women in Afghanistan. The story begins with Miriam, a girl who grows up with only her mother in a small hut, in the 1960s. Her father is a rich man with several other wives, and her mother was one of his servants. When she got pregnant she was removed from the town. He visits weekly and tells Miriam stories that differ from the stories her Mother tells. He brings gifts and smiles and she soon believes that he is the "good" parent. When he fails to appear one day, as promised, Miriam walks into town to find him. Turned away at his door she returns home to find that her mother has committed suicide.

At 15 she is given as a wife to a man 30 years her senior. He wants children, and when her attempts to provide children fail, he punishes her.

Laila is born in the early 70's to progressive parents, in an era when Afghanistan is open and allows freedom to women. She grows up believing she can do and be anything. But, times change and wars come. Her best friend and the love her life leaves with his family to try to find a safer place. Weeks later, her own parents are killed.

This is where the lives of Miriam and Laila collide in an emotional heart-wrenching story that gives the reader a look into the lives of women in Afghanistan over the course of 4 decades.

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

This is the kind of book I love, full of mystery and a little air of fairy tale and hope. The kind of book that leaves you with a smile on your face at the end and just makes you feel good, even while the story itself was dark and sometimes dangerous.

The heroine, if you can call her that, is a dark and brooding woman who believes herself responsible for the death of her mother; the result of a wish come true. When she was only eight years old, in a spiteful moment, she wished her mother would disappear, only to wake up the next morning to find out she'd died. She spends the rest of her life blaming herself, cutting herself off from life as punishment for this one deed. She buries herself in books and in attempts to make amends takes care of her dying grandmother. As proof that her wishes do come true, she finally wished her grandmother's pain would end, only to have her pass in the night.

Returning home for their grandmother's funeral, her brother, Ned, finds her morose and depressed and decides that the best thing for her is a change of scenery. He moves her to Florida, where he now lives. On the drive down, she voices one more wish - that she be struck by lightening. Little does she know at the time that the town in Florida, where she is moving to, is the lightening strike capitol of the world. A few months later, yet another wish comes true. She lives and finds that the strike has changed her, taking away things she'd previously taken for granted and introducing her to people she never would have thought possible.

In a therapy group for lightening strike survivors, tales are told of other survivors who won't attend the meetings, people who hide out because of the powers or changes that have occurred within their bodies and minds. She seeks out one such man, known as Lazarus Jones. The friendship she strikes with him is like a fairy tale, removed from logic, yet true nonetheless. As she finds out his secrets she learns those of others around her, and learns about herself. In opening herself up, she finally finds herself.

This is a story about wishes, death, change and endless possibilities of hope.

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.

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).

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

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