Book Review: Bossypants

I had heard a lot of good reviews of this book, so was very excited when I finally got a copy to borrow from my public library (if I bought all the books I read it would take over my apartment, I'm very grateful to the library).

Honestly, while I didn't know what I expected, I felt the books started out a little too heavy on the satire, and a little light on reality. Yes, it was funny. And yes, I do enjoy Tina Fey's sense of humor. But I was interested in knowing more about her life, while enjoying a funny book.

Luckily, as the book continues, the writing does become more serious, specifically when she starts to talk about her comedy career and how she got on SNL and later how she created 30 Rock. The behind-the-scene parts, and the insights to how she got 30 Rock up and running, for example how they got Alec Baldwin on the show, were fascinating to read. In true form, Tina Fey has written an enjoyable, sassy, smart and humorous book, with a nice balance of life stories and lol's.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5

Book Review: The Monster of Florence

A gripping true life story of the unsolved serial murders that took place in Florence, Italy, from 1968-1985. The author, Douglas Preston, moved to Italy, and while working on a new mystery novel meets a fellow journalist, Mario Spezi, who had written about and followed the story of these brutal murders from the beginning. The novel recounts the original events, as well as the effect the original reporting had on Spezi and in a weird twist of fate, the authors themselves become the focus of a police investigation.

They do a good job of presenting the facts of the case in an interesting way, as well as explaining what they think the prosectors are getting wrong. It's a fascinating look at the workings of the Italian judicial system, and the underlying corruption that has lead to these murders not being solved. While the identity of the murderer may never be known, this book had enough to keep me engaged, and had a satisfying ending.

Rating: 4 out of 5

January - What I Read

I just started using GoodReads in december and not sure what I would do with out it. I love lists and keeping track of things, so it's a god-send to have a place to easily track my reading and books I want to read. I set a goal of reading 50 books this year, so having read 8 this month, I'm 16% ahead of schedule... maybe I set my goal too low.

So, thanks to GoodReads, I know everything I read this month...

Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America, by Robert Whitaker
While I didn't technically finish this (I skipped a couple chapters), I read it for my book club and discussed it so I feel I have a good understanding of that I skipped over. While this book is a bit alarming, he backs up everything with statistics, making a good case for doctors to think twice before prescribing medicine for psychiatric patients. I'm not a doctor, and not giving out advice, but I recommend this book to anyone who finds this topic fascinating. It can get a little repetitive, so if you do skip over any parts, be sure to at least skip ahead and read the last chapter.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette: A Novel, by Maria Semple
OMG, so good! A bit of satire, a bit of Gone Girl, a whole lot of fun. A quick read, great for a trip to the beach.

Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son, by Anne Lamott
In some ways a follow up to her book Operating Instructions, this book follows the first year of her son's first son. I love Anne Lamott, and enjoy her memoirs the mosts.

The Boy Next Door, by Meg Cabot
Quick, fun, chick-lit. Meg Cabot is one of my more favorite chick-lit authors, and I've read most of her book. What I didn't like about this was it was all told through emails. So it was all told in first person, which got old really fast.

Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection Hardcover, by A. J. Jacobs
It took me a long time to read this, a few months, since I was just reading it at lunch time. I've enjoyed all of Jacobs' books, maybe I see a little but of me in him. While I sort of wish I had the guts to commit to the experiments he does, it's nice to be able to just sit on the couch as I read his struggles and successes and laugh with him about it. (I also reviewed his book The Know-It-All)

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Novel (Flavia de Luce Mysteries), by Alan Bradley
The second book in a series for young adults. I don't hear much about it (i.e. not as popular as Hunger Games, Harry Potter, etc....) but I have really enjoyed the series so far and will continue to read the rest of it. FYI: the German edition has a much cooler cover design.

Water for Elephants: A Novel, by Sara Gruen
I've been wanting to read this for awhile, and was glad I finally gotten around to it. Fascinating story, and much better than I expected. Haven't seen the movie yet. Is it any good?


In Process......
This Book is Not Good For You, by Pseudonymous Bosch: love this series!
The Casual Vacancy, by J. K. Rowling: I own this so library books usually get read before this.
Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell: Had to return it to library, but was enjoying it so far.

Book Review: Peter & the Starcatchers (*spoilers)

A fun and well written story about how Peter Pan became the Peter Pan we know today. His journey from being an orphan in London, making friends with Molly who is a Starcatcher, getting attacked by pirates, saving the world, and finding Neverland. 

It also fills in the backstory of why Peter Pan never ages and the creation of Tinker Bell. 

Looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Book Review: Everything Changes

Figured I should read a "adult" novel (meaning not young adult), and this was a great choice. Not sure where I got the recommendation to read this, but I am glad I did. 

The characters are realistic, but go through quite the roller-coaster of life changing events. Like true life they make good and bad decisions, with consequences. Liked this enough, I may need to check out other books by this author.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Book Review: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Part of the Flavia de Luce series, this is a story of a young girl, who lives in an old house, with an unusual family, and likes to solve mysteries. Set in the 1950’s, it’s fun and witty, with enough details included to make it a really great mystery.

In this book, she discovers a stranger, dead in their garden, which leads her on a quest to discover his identity, while bringing her closer to her family.

The house where they live, has been in their family for generations, and a great uncle had been an amateur chemist, and had built an amazing chemistry lab in the house. Since no one else is interested in the lab, it’s been gifted to Flavia, and she spends her free time experimenting and brewing new potions. I love the description of her chemistry lab, full of beakers and potions. Would look great in a movie, hu?

While I enjoyed it, I wasn’t sucked into the story like I was in a similar book, The Mysterious Benedict Society (which I highly, highly, recommend), so we will see if I read any others. And why are the international cover versions so great!?

Review: 4 out of 5

Book Review: The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World. What really defines intelligence? Book smarts? Street smarts? Problem solving smarts?

An interesting look at what A.J. learns about the world, and himself, as we reads through the entire Encyclopedia Britanica. Woven between random facts - The serrated edges on coins were created as a deterant to criminals who shave the metals off old coin - he shares stories of how what he is learning is impacting his life, in good ways and bad. At times humorous, he is more likely to remember the odd and off-kilter facts, as opposed to tiny rivers in Namibia. Making it both an educational and enjoyable read.

(I also highly recommend another book by A.J. Jacobs, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible)