Here's the Story

I found this book to be quite engrossing. Who knew Marcia Brady was a cocaine addict. Yes, the book was also very sad. I think Maureen McCormick is probably still pretty messed up, even though she tried to tie the book up in a happy ending. I am not so sure I buy it. I did however like that she really barred all this memoir. I really found it fascinating. The only complaint I had was that chronologically she jumped around a lot. I had a hard time keeping track of what year it was. She would tell a story about something that happened in the 1984 and then a few paragraphs later would talk about something that happened either earlier or later and then come back to 1984. Other than that, I was actually impressed with her writing. Every easy to read, yet again, very engrossing. For anyone who likes the Brady Bunch or is even interested in the 1970’s or who just likes a good memoir, I would recommend this.

The Uncommon Reader

I think some of the British humor was lost on me, I still enjoyed this short read about the Queen of England discovering the joy of literature late in her life. It was funny, though again I think some of it went over my head. I thought the characters were well developed for it being only a 120 pages. Nicely written, not a word was spared.

The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea

I much prefer Mark Haddon's novels to his poetry. There was maybe one poem I actually enjoyed; mostly they just didn't make any sense to me. I have never been much of a poetry fan to begin with (exepct for Longfellow and Bukowski) but for some reason I keep trying. I think I should just give it up and realize poetry just isn't for me. This book of poems did not help.

Eyes, Breath, Memory

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were very fullfilling. I loved the Magical Realism touch to it. It was beautifully written, but bordered just a bit on chick lit. That's okay though, it was still a great, quick read. I am looking forward to reading Danticat's other book, Krick, Krack.

Gifted

I was excited about this book. I thought the premise was interesting, But in the end I was disappointed. There wasn't much follow through on some of the initial parts of the story line that I liked (her first trip to India for instance). It started of varying between the mother, father and Rumi's point of view, but stopped once she went to Oxford and I thought that was disappointing. I also had a hard time connecting to the characters. Rumi was just to weird for me, and the mother really got on my last nerve. I also didn't like the father character at all. Plus the ending did nothing for me. So it goes.

Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits

I liked this book well enough. It wasn't what I had expected after the first chapter. The stories were interesting. I liked how the book was divided into two parts; the story of before they decided to immigrate and then the story of what happened to them after they arrived. It was very well written, but nothing to jump for joy about. I liked the different take on immigration. I am used to reading books about people immigrating to the US, so this was a nice change.

The Mole People

I found this book fascinating! It was an easy read and well written. Who knew that many people were living "down there". I enjoyed reading about the different types of homeless in the city and how they group themselves. This book was more about homelessness in general in NYC than anything. It kind of jumped around a lot and some of the stories told I still have a hard time believeing. Though, I do believe Toth wrote what she was told. I am sure many of those stories were made up by the people she encountered rather than Toth herself. The most fascinating part of the book I think for me was the anatomy of the city and the underground. Learning about the different levels of the tunnels and subway is a bit mind boggleing.