Book: Quidditch Through The Ages

 Book: Quidditch Through The Ages

Author: JK Rowling

Pages: 51

This is my 152nd read for the year

From Amazon:

If you have ever asked yourself where the Golden Snitch came from, how the Bludgers came into existence, or why the Wigtown Wanderers have pictures of meat cleavers on their robs, you need Quiddith Through The Ages.  The invaluable volume is consulted by young Quidditch fans on an almost daily basis.

I read this book to fullfill an alphabet challege (needed a Q!).  It short and a bit of a manual, but had a few chuckle parts as you would imagine where Quidditch is concerned.  Took me all of an hour to read it, but it always amazes me of an author's imagination of an enitre world leading to little novelettes.

Stars: 3.5

Book: Within Arm's Reach

 Book: Within Arm's Reach

Author: Ann Napolitano

Pages: 352

This is my 151st read for the year

This is the story of a large Irish American family.  The matriarch has had a small accident and all the family gathers to find out what to do about it.  There are 6 siblings and their various children and significant others who all have an opinion.  Beyond that, we learn about several members of the family - Louis who was first on the scene of the accident and a son-in-law;  His wife Kelly who cannot figure out why Louis has taken to sleeping in the den; Kelly and Louis' two children Lila (a medical student) and Gracie who has found herself pregnant and alone.  As they navigate their lives and care for their mother - they recount the grief from her long life that made her the person she is now.

This book was just eh.  I have readh Hello Beautiful and Dear Edward and was excited to find this novel by Napolitano.  But it just wasn't nearly as good as those two.  I did read the Author's note and so glad I did because this was actually one of her first novels back at the beginning of her career that really didn't take off, and so now it makes more sense.  The writing wasn't good.  I hated every single character.  The matriarch's children are all awful and self centered.  Lily and Gracie are no better.  Neither are any of the cousins that made a debut in this book.  IT is clear that no one likes anyone else and it just went.....nowhere.  And then it ended on a cliff hanger to leave it up to the the reader to decide what came next.  Hard no.

Stars: 2

Book: Thunderstruck

Book: Thunderstruck

Author:  Erik Larson

Pages: 480

This is my 150th read for the year

This is the story of two people in the late 1800s England- Hawley Crippen who is a doctor who may have murdered his wife and Guglielmo Marconi that developed wireless capabilities to communicate.Their lives intersect when Crippen - who seems an unlikely murderer goes on the run and comunication from various ships needs to be quick to find him. 

 This was a pretty good book. I loved Erik Larson's "Devil in the White City". He is no doubt a talented writer and skilled researcher. It was just a bit dry and a bit of a slog compared to the other book. It is overly detailed and I found myself wishing he would just get to the point and the reason he was telling two tales leading to one ending. I would have liked to see these as separate stores. I know why he did it, but two tales might have been better handled.

Stars: 3

Book: Jaws

 Book: Jaws

Author: Peter Benchley

Pages: 368

This is my 149th read for the year

A great white shark is terrorizing the small town of Amity.  In a matter of 24 hours it has attacked and killed three people.  The police chief wants to close the beaches, but for this small island - approaching July 4th is a terrible time to close down a beach town that relies on tourist revenue.  The mayor makes the chief keep the beaches open and another person is killed.  The beaches are forced closed and a shark expert is called in to try and capture this huge shark so the town can reopen.  This proves a daunting task and the shark eludes capture leaving the towns people worried that they may never be able to go into the water again.

This was an okay book.  It started VERY strong and quite scary.  I found myself grasping the book hard as I read the first few chapters as this shark claimed its first victims.  However - the middle of the book is dull.  We veer quite a bit away from hunting the shark (or at least the scary aspect of what I have come to know of Jaws by watching the movie) to the lives of some of the towns people and a small love triangle that I couldn't quite figure out how it fit into the story of a great white shark.  There really aren't any likable characters.  

In this case, sadly I found the movie better.  The book lost its momentum and I found myself not caring what happened in the end.

Stars: 3

Book: Joyland

Book: Joyland

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 288

This is my 148th read for the year

This is the story of Devin Jones.  In 1973 he is a college student who is working an amusement park for the summer.  During the summer he works the rides, spends time as the mascot, and meets a mom and a young dying boy whom he takes under his wing.  He also learns that there was a murder that happened and he wants to figure out who it was that killed a young girl.  Told when Devin was in his 60s and looking back at this year of his life, he recounts how his life was changed.

This was an okay book.  I liked it just fine, but it seemed like too many things were going on in this short novel.  A murder, help for a dying child, and learning the ropes at an amusement park felt like one story line too many.  It was missing the magic of character development and I really didn't feel anything for any of them by the end of the book.  

Stars: 3

 

Book: Sandwich

 Book: Sandwich

Author: Catherine Newman

Pages: 240

This is my 147th read for the year

This is the story of Rocky and her family.  Rocky is a member of the Sandwich generation - her parents are aging and her children are almost grown, and she is in the middle.  She is going through menopause and feels so up and down with her emotions.  Each year she and her family escape to a house on Cape Cod for one week of being together and relaxing.  This book is day by day of their week together with Rocky remembering what it was like when the kids were little and they took this trip.  And how no matter how desperately tired she was when she had little ones to care for, she misses those tiny ones who relied on her for everything.  Her parents join them on the Cape for two days, and when her mom reveals a health issue, Rocky feels the balance of her life start to falter.

This was a great book.  It is very short, but considering I am a woman right like Rocky, I felt it deeply.  I have two 18 year olds and a 21 year old.  I have 75 year old parents.  I am the middle of the seesaw trying to balance all while dealing with the chaos of menopause.  I also had some laugh outloud moments in the book, and quite a few chuckles.  It really hit home.  I knocked it a star because even with it being so short it was a bit rambly, but overal - solid read.

Stars: 4

Book: Dolores Claiborne

 Book: Dolores Caliborne

Author: Stephen King

Pagges: 336

This is my 146th read for the year

This is the story of Dolores.  When the old rich woman she cares for falls and dies, Dolores is brought in for questioning.  She has been at the police station before - 30 years ago when he husband dies.  She is innocent of the woman's fall, but decides it is time to come clean of her husband's death years ago.  She starts her tale at the beginning and recounts her life with her abusive husband, Joe, her children, and her years as a caretaker.  

This was a great book.  I listened to this one and the narrator is Frances Sternhagen which was perfect.  She made the audio version for sure.  The story is well told, and I found myself wanting to continue to listen to find out where the story was going.  The whole story is a long monologue and it is just very well written.  King can be hit or miss but I found this one a hit.  No rambling.  A good story from beginning to end and I am glad I read this one.

Stars: 5