Stepping Into Psycho

Stepping Into Psycho

Jan 7, 2013

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Release Date: May 2012
Publisher: Random House | Crown
Pages: 419 pages
Source & Format: Bought; Hardcover
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (from Amazon)

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? 

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Thoughts on Gone Girl

WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ? That pretty much sums up all of my thoughts after reading this book.

I started it as my plane took off from Atlanta, headed for San Francisco, and didn't put it down for a single minute. We landed five and a half hours later, and I had about twenty pages left. And there was no way I wasn't finishing this book.

So, I read it while standing there in baggage claim. And when I finished and looked up, all I wanted was someone who'd also read it so that I could talk about all this crazy.

Here's the thing about this book - I can't say much about the plot without giving things away. Married couple, seemingly normal, wife goes missing. All is not as it seems.

I'm torn on this book. I think people should read it because I really respect the way Flynn keeps you guessing with twists and turns you'll likely never see coming. But these are also some of the most unlikeable characters I've ever read about. And that ending! ARGH!

This book is deserving of all the raves it's been getting, but I don't know if I'd actually recommend it for everyone. You get a sense of the characters in the first few chapters, so start there. If you can't stop, just keep going and be prepared to step into psycho. Consider yourself warned.

So Quotable

"Give me a man with a little fight in him, a man who calls me on my bullshit. (But who also kind of likes my bullshit). And yet: Don't land me in one of those relationships where we're always pecking at each other, disguising insults as jokes, rolling our eyes and 'playfully' scrapping in front of our friends, hoping to lure them to our side of an argument they could not care less about. Those awful if only relationships: This marriage would be great if only... and you sense the if only list is a lot longer than either of them realizes."

"I go on dates with men who are nice and good-looking and smart - perfect-on-paper men who make me feel like I'm in a foreign land, trying to explain myself, trying to make myself known. Because isn't that the point of every relationship: to be known by someone else, to be understood? He gets me. She gets me. Isn't that the simple magic phrase?"

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Stacking the Shelves {1}

Stacking the Shelves {1}

Jan 6, 2013

STACKING THE SHELVES

Be sure to check what everyone else has added to their shelves over at Tynga's Reviews!

Gifted:

The Comfort Table by Katie Lee

This is a Cookbook by Max Sussman & Eli Sussman
The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier by Ree Drummond
Keys to the Kitchen by Aida Mollenkamp
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child
The Newlywed Cookbook by Sarah Copeland
What Katie Ate by Katie Quinn Davies

Gifted for Kindle:

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
Reached by Ally Condie
Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Bought for Kindle with Christmas Money:

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Finally & Forever by Robin Jones Gunn
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
In Between by Jenny B. Jones

Bought for Kindle with Christmas Money:
The Passing Bells by Phillip Rock
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
Cinder by Marissa Meyer

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The Heart Remembers

The Heart Remembers

Jan 5, 2013

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

Release Date: July 2012
Publisher: Macmillan | St. Martin's
Pages: 372 pages
Source & Format: Bought; Hardcover
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (from Goodreads)

Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six year old television producer, living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and satisfying relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. 

From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s perfectly constructed world—and her very identity—will be shaken to its core, resurrecting ghosts and memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her.

Thoughts on Where We Belong

I don't know about you, but I figured out the connection between Kirby and Marian just from the cover blurb. I don't read Emily Giffin expecting a mystery, so I didn't mind knowing a little bit about what was to come in this book.

Where We Belong flashes between present day and some years earlier. We see Marian with her current love, Peter, and with her first love, Conrad. We also meet Kirby. About to graduate from high school, she's searching for something and believes she can find the answer with Marian.

The novel is narrated from both Marian and Kirby's perspective, and I do believe Giffin successfully transitioned between the two. They had unique voices and distinct personalities, which is a must if you are going to allow both characters to narrate.

I thought Marian was a typical Giffin heroine. She's smart and successful, but she also has the same sort of selfish streak that I often find in Giffin's books. It doesn't typically bother me too much - they are often realistic and relatable heroines.

In this case, I found myself questioning Marian's actions and wondering why she chose to handle certain things the way she did. Not because her choices seemed out of character - more because I couldn't always identify with her way of thinking. That's the only thing that made the book a little harder to get into. I did, however, really love Kirby. I thought it was smart to let her voice be a large part of the book because she was what pulled me in to the story.

The ending was a bit of a disappointment. I don't know for sure, but it certainly seemed like it was set up for a sequel. If a sequel isn't in the works, then I'd definitely say this is a bit of an unfinished ending. Still, Giffin does deliver good women's fiction, and I enjoyed the time I spend with these characters. I didn't love it, but it'd be great with some sun, sand and nice cold Diet Coke.

So Quotable

"Where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourself - a place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that our heart remembers forever."

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New Year, Pt. II: 2013 Bookish Resolutions

New Year, Pt. II: 2013 Bookish Resolutions

Jan 1, 2013

1. Read 100 books.

I read 127 books in 2011 and 142 books in 2012. While I considered setting this much higher to really challenge myself, I decided I wanted to get it at 100 so that I still felt like I could relax and enjoy what I'm reading. I've also noticed that I often avoid picking up thicker books because all I can think about is how long it will take me to read. I want to stop doing that in 2013!

2. Read books I own, and get TBR below 50 books.

This is modified from my resolution last year - I felt like I needed to be more specific so that I could have a measurable goal. As of this moment, and if I've updated Goodreads correctly, I own and have not read 98 books. Ideally, I'd love to get that number below 50 books, but I think that's a good number to aim for right now. I don't think it will be too hard if I'm focused and purposeful about my reading this year.

3. Don't buy a book unless I'll read it immediately.

I have a problem, and it's not just that I buy too many books. The truth of the matter is that I'll buy a book I just have to own right away and let it sit on my shelves or Kindle for months. I have seriously purchased so many books that I don't end up reading for a long time. In 2013, all that has to change. I can't keep this up.

Instead of buying books just because the fancy strikes, I'm going to challenge myself to not purchase anything that I don't intend to start immediately. No more Kindle one-click binges where I end up with five or six new books. This will possibly be the most difficult change for me to make this year, but I think it's necessary and will be a good thing in the long run.

4. Read one classic and two re-reads per month.

I love reading classics, but it requires a totally different frame of mind and reading focus than most of the stuff I read. I don't usually find myself reaching for a classic because I'll think, "I could read three or four books in the time it will take me to read that one." However, classics are usually so worth the time invested! That's why I want to read at least twelve classics in 2013.

Re-reading is one of my favorite things to do, but I've put it off recently because I've been buying way too many books or getting grabby hands in the library. Instead of just talking about wanting to re-read some favorites, I'm going to actually do it. Two re-reads a month is the goal, and I'm actually really excited about choosing two old favorites to revisit every month.

5. Take notes on finished book before starting new one.

For a period of time, I was doing really good about keeping a reading journal. All that changed when I took my blog hiatus, and I haven't really picked it back up since. I will finish a book intending to write the review for it right away, but then a few days go by and next thing I know I've read two other books since and haven't taken notes on any of them. It has to end! Plus, I know my reviews would be better if I took some more notes while I was reading.

6. Write more discussion-focused blog posts.

I mentioned this in my End of the Year Book Survey, and I actually think I've already figured out how I'm going to incorporate this into my blog on a regular basis. Some of my favorite posts by other bloggers aren't reviews - they are discussions, reading rants, conversations with their readers. I really hope to accomplish that this year.

7. Reply to all blog comments.

If you take the time to comment, I think it totally deserves a response. I make no promises on the time frame in which I want to respond to comments, just that I really do want to reply to all comments. I was doing really good at this for a while, but I've gotten slack lately. Time to get my head in the game and start responding!

8. Stay up-to-date and comment more on blogs I follow.

I think part of the problem is that I follow so many blogs, but I just can't bear to take any off my reader. There are so many good thoughts floating around out there, and I love seeing what other bloggers have to say. However, that often means I'll check my reader after a week or two and have 200+ blog posts that I haven't read. Ummm.... struggle. So, I'm going to make more of an effort to stay up-to-date on the blogs I follow (even if it means cutting back that number a bit), as well as commenting more. I love getting comments, and I can only imagine that other bloggers love getting comments, too.

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New Year, Pt. I: 2012 Resolution Recap

New Year, Pt. I: 2012 Resolution Recap

Last January, I posted my 2012 Reading Resolutions for the New Year. How did I do? I'll do a quick self-assessment below, but you can also stop by the original post to read why I made each resolution. And later today I'll post my resolutions for 2013!

1. Slow down and enjoy what I'm reading.

Even though I read more books in 2012 than I did in 2011, I'd still say I did okay at this resolution. I may have read some books really quickly, but I didn't feel pressured to rush through anything. I wasn't constantly thinking about what I was going to read next, and I feel like I gave each book my attention.

2. Read what I already own.

This was a major, major, major FAIL. Y'all. I am seriously so embarrassed. First of all, 65 of the 142 books I read this year were from the library. While I didn't spend any money on those books, I'm still mad that I spent so much time reading those when I could have read stuff I already own... including the 70 books it appears I bought this year. I would have guessed I bought like 30, maybe 40, books. A number of them were from used bookstores, on sale or free for my Kindle, but still. I did not keep this resolution at all.

3. Re-read some of my favorites.

I get half credit here. In my resolution post, I specifically named nine books/series I wanted to re-read in 2012. I did re-read The Book Thief and The Opposite of Love, which were on my list. I also re-read the first three of the Anne of Green Gables series, even though the whole series was on my want to re-read list.

I also ended up re-reading Delirium (before I read Pandemonium) and Love Walked In (before I read Belong to Me), but I essentially only re-read them because I was about to read the second or companion book. Finally, I re-read the Hunger Games series after the movie. Mostly because I can always make time for Katniss.

4. Keep a reading journal.

This is another half credit resolution. I did keep a reading journal for a lot of the books I read, but I didn't consistently take notes on everything I was reading. When I stopped blogging for a while, I also stopped taking notes on what I was reading and I have yet to pick the habit back up. Oops!

5. Get to blogging.

I had just started blogging at the time I wrote my 2012 resolutions, and I'd already started and quit another blog (or two). So I was really excited to realize I could write about sending I was passionate about and hopefully inspire others to read more! I think I was pretty successful at this resolution (despite my little hiatus) and I'm excited to see where the blog takes me in 2013.

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