January/February Books

I've read 3 books in the five or six weeks and had pretty different opinions on all of them.  Water for Elephants was definitely my favorite among them, I would recommend In Cold Blood for people who like crime stories, and I wouldn't recommend Stern Men to anyone.  Have you read any good books lately? I'm always looking for suggestions!

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (3.5 stars)

I decided to read this because Capote is such a good author and I like crime novels.  The book is about the murder of a family in a small town in Kansas.  I liked it a lot, though it was slow in parts.  I never really connected to any one of the characters, but did enjoy the perspective from each.  People who don’t like crime novels wouldn’t enjoy this though, as there really isn’t another story line to it.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (4 stars)

This is a historical story told from the view of a elderly man in a nursing home about his experience working for the circus as a vet when he was young and how he fell in love.  I liked the book a lot, especially how honest it seemed about the negative aspects of the circus.  My mom read if first and said she didn’t like it because she doesn’t agree with how animals are treated in circuses and such – but to me, that’s exactly the point of the book – it’s honest that animals/performers were (are?) treated poorly and the consequences of that treatment.  The character descriptions were really rich and I was able to picture each one as I was reading.  I haven’t seen the movie yet.  I’d like to, but I think Robert Pattinson is in it and he kind of creeps me out.  I really glad I wasn’t picturing him as the main character while I was reading it – I didn’t actually know what part he played, but I could have guessed if I really thought about it. 

Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert (2 stars)   

I read this book because I liked Eat, Pray, Love (same author).  I did not like this book.  It was incredibly slow and there wasn’t much of a point to the story.  Most books either have mystery, drama, comedy, a love story, or a moral/life lesson, but I didn’t get any of that.  The drama was minimal, it wasn’t funny, no mystery, and I’m not sure what the moral/life lesson could have been.  It was basically just about an average girl who lived on a island.  It was really disappointing because the author could have cut out half of the middle of the book and added a love story for the main character in the second half – instead it was glossed over in the final chapter and the epilogue.  Or she could have at least included what it was like for the character to be sent away for school and her interactions with the non-island culture.  I just don’t even get a sense for what the purpose of this book was.  It was well written, but not interesting at all.  I couldn’t wait to finish it (I don’t really ever abandon books, and I was sure it would get good at some point). 

Some Favorite Books

Apparently I have really good taste in books.  No one actually told me that, but so many of the books I love have been turned into movies.  I guess I can’t always claim that I read the book before I knew there would be a movie, so maybe my theory is a bit off.

 I’ve always loved reading, but sometimes if just falls out of my list of “important” things to do.  When I worked night shift off and on at the psych hospital, I would read A TON – probably close to 600 pages a night, depending on who I was working with.  I loved some of my co-workers and we’d spend more time talking and/or watching movies together (patients were all sleeping and had motion alarms on their doors, so we just had to do walk-throughs a couple of times an hour and deal with them if they woke up).  If I was working with someone whom I disliked, I would read the entire time to discourage them from talking to me (they probably disliked me just as much).  There were some really shitty people who worked there…like my coworker who was sleeping while a patient tried to get a belt over my head to strangle me.  (I was able to push her off and restrain her– luckily it was a girl and not a guy twice my size). 

I stopped reading after I stopped working at the hospital (and when I worked days there, which was most of the time, I didn’t read much).  Once I moved in with Lo, I never read because I preferred to read when we went to bed but couldn’t leave the light on or else he couldn’t sleep.  I’m not sure what got me reading again last year, but I started reading under the covers with a flashlight.  In November, he bought a Nook, so now I read with that – still under the covers because he says it’s still too bright.  It works out okay though, so I don’t really mind.  

Anyway….I have a lot of favorite books, but know I’m forgetting some.  I marked whether I read the book or movie first (or if there isn’t a movie).  I pretty much always like the book best, but it’s nice to be able to picture the characters after seeing the movie and then reading the book.  In no particular order, here are some books I think you should read.  Especially Hunger Games. 

Favorite Books:

·         Hunger Games Series (3) – books only; 1^st movie comes out in spring - can't wait!

·         Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Series (3) – books first; saw 1st movie

·         Red Dragon – no movie (Silence of the Lambs prequel)

·         Silence of the Lambs – movie first

·         Black Hawk Down – not sure; probably movie first

·         In the Company of Heroes – no movie; it’s the captured soldier’s story from Black Hawk Down

·         The Time Travelers Wife – book first

·         The Devil Wears Prada – not sure which first - it was within a week or so of each other

·         American Psycho – I think movie first…because I was afraid to turn the pages sometimes. 

·         Room – book; don’t think there’s a movie in the making

·         Shutter Island – book only; haven’t seen the movie

·         A Time To Kill – book first, I think, but the movie made me obsessed with Matthew McConaughey until he got all weird and hippy-like

·         The Horse Whisperer – book first

·         Bridges of Madison County – book first

·         Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – book only; I think there’s a movie though

·         Into the Wild – book first

·         The Beach – not sure which first

·         Eat, Pray, Love – book first, I think

·         Memoirs of a Geisha – book first

·         The Great Gatsby – not sure; the only movie I’ve seen is the one with Robert Redford

·         We Were Soldiers Once…and Young  - book first

What are some of your favorites – I need some suggestions to load onto our Nook!