Audio Reading

 "It's chance and nuances that separate the hero from the villain." Truth.

The Redeemer - Jo Nesbo

I have certainly read books that I couldn't put down. Just one more page, and maybe another, but I have never listened to an audiobook that I couldn't turn off. Just one more minute here or there. I'm home this summer with my son and have been listening to books instead of watching tv - win/win!  I loved this book and can't wait to hear more.

I will admit that the names are a bit confusing in the beginning but it comes together, as do all of the strings of the mystery. About half way through I felt rather discombobulated about all the details but man it tied up beautifully!  And I love nothing more than a mystery where the good guy/bad guy lines get blurred. Harry Hole is still a horrible name but he is a great character!  Full of issues and yet so smart.

(Four Weeks Later)

I also listened to The Snowman by Nesbo. I didn't like the reader as much in this version - but truly that is neither here nor there. This was a much creeper mystery. Not as much of a tangled plot but the set up of women waking to a snowman built in their yard overnight had me totally immersed and dying to find out who would do such a thing.

I will certainly be back for more Nesbo but I think next time I will do the reading.

Jealousy

“Be scared you’re fat, be scared your boobs are too big and be scared they’re too small. Be scared to walk on your own, specially anywhere quiet enough that you can hear yourself think. Be scared of wearing the wrong stuff, saying the wrong thing, having a stupid laugh, being uncool. Be scared of guys not fancying you; be scared of guys, they’re animals, rabid, can’t stop themselves. Be scared of girls, they’re all vicious, they’ll cut you down before you can cut them. Be scared of strangers. Be scared you won’t do well enough in your exams, be scared of getting in trouble. Be scared terrified petrified that everything you are is every kind of wrong. Good girl.”  Truth.

18.14 The Secret Place

I love Tana French’s books, I've read them all and preorder them as soon as they have a release date.  I set aside everything else to read them as soon as they hit my hands, but this was not great. In fact, my husband is now reading her first and I wish I could trade places.

I liked the detectives as always, seeing Moran and Mackey (or whomever) returns again is always a thrill in her books, but the mystery was totally lacking. Maybe it was the fact that the entire book happens in the course of one day - minus flashbacks - but it all seemed too easy. Too dumb really. Usually I love the private school setting. I think taking kids away from their parents to see how the truly act is generally a great writing device but here it just seemed odd. The girls friendship was odd, the reasoning of both the girls and the detectives was odd, the big reveal was a let down, and the ending was unnecessary.  The questioning by police of these minors seemed like it shouldn’t be happening, and the flashbacks were more tedious than insightful. And was that magic going on or were they all delusional... I don’t even know.

I’ll certainly be back for her next but I’m starting to wonder whether her formula is being counted on for success more than it should be.

Burrrrrr

“We all do what we think is best. Sometimes we make terrible mistakes, sometimes we do the right thing.” Truth.

17.14 The Winter People

It has been so hot here, and for so long, I’m dying for cooler temps.  I want to wear jeans, use blankets, wrap up in sweaters, and this book brought me some of those much needed chills. It is creepy in a way that makes you want to be in a very large, open space. No woods or caves to be seen, or to be seen in.

What I loved most was how it spun a ghost story as well as a mystery; both well developed and well plotted. Plus, we shift between an old diary and present day action, which is my favorite.  There are some similarities to other stories that have come before but it is a quick and easy read that made me want to look for the author’s other work immediately. Not sure the last time that happened but it is certainly a welcome feeling. I just hope I can read the next one curled up on the couch with a hot cup of coffee instead of sweltering by the pool being splashed by wild children.

Mysterious Ladies

“There weren’t many people in this world who would let you be vulnerable and still believe you were strong.” Truth.

8.14 The Thousand Dollar Tan Line

I’m a Veronica Mars fan, I backed the Kickstarter movie, and I read this book in two days.  Clearly, we have a history and I honestly have no idea how people would react to the book without the background I already had going in, but I enjoyed the book a lot as a fan, a lot more than the movie actually.  The mystery here is much more solid, as is the detective work, and thus the Veronica character.  The movie was so busy getting every cameo possible squeezed in that the entire plot failed a bit. 

The book takes up exactly where the movie leaves off, Keith is still recovering and Veronica is still struggling with the decision to do what she feels like she needs to versus what she feels like she should, and, as fans of the show know, a conflicted Veronica is a snarky and sassy Veronica.  She is great when she is a little angry.  The mystery is a bit darker which fits with her more grown up world and there is even a twist I never saw coming.  Overall, it left me excited about where this possible avenue of continuing Veronica’s story can go.

Plus, brilliant move to initially print in paperback.  Why are not all publishers doing this now?  With all the distractions available to people now, are many still willing to pay more now for what you can get for less later?  Maybe it’s just me.

“Look.  There is only one of me, and it’s all I’ve got.” Truth.

6.14 The Haunting of Hill House

I read this book a while ago and decided to include it here because what I really took away from reading this horror story was the female characters.  I was kind of distracted from the plot because I kept remembering the movie version that came out a few years ago, but I was impressed with the quite modern relationships and lifestyles being portrayed without apology being that the book was first printed in 1959.

Bond, Gabriel Bond

“‘Remind me to never get on your bad side.’” Truth.

7.14 The English Girl

I think this is the 13^th book in the Gabriel Allon series, and I have read every one.  I know the characters from descriptions without needing names; I know where they have friend and where they have enemies.  I know that they fight the good fight against very bad guys, and I know that they basically do it the same way every time.  The Allon books are familiar and familiar is good, but sometimes familiar needs a bit of shaking.

As I started The English Girl I was a bit shocked to see things take a bit of a different route.  This is not the typical case that Allon is used for, and he goes it somewhat alone (even getting his hands dirty with an ex-foe).  And I liked that.  I liked him doing the actual work without having everything he needs at his fingertips, it was good to see why he is known for being so good at what he does, but I also wondered why he was doing it. Why did he care?  And when the plot takes a supposed shift – along with reverting back to the tried and true plot structure of books past – I still didn’t get why he would care.  Why would any of them really care?  I still don’t really get it. 

But what I do know is that seeing Allon in new circumstances was exciting, much more exciting than seeing him do again what he has always done before.  I mean, after a while we all know he is going to do it every time right?  Where’s the fun in that?

Best Laid Plans

"I watch her go, envying the certainty of her youthful confidence - the confidence of thinking that everything will go according to ones plans." Truth.

4.14 Arcadia falls

When I got back into reading, and began blogging, I never thought that I would lose my footing again. And then last year I lost all my footholds at once and I was shocked to see the salvation I had found in reading fade into the either of daily drudge. It also didn't help that my son stopped napping.

I made lists, I made stacks. I read the old blog posts to remind me how much the reading had helped me normalize the last time my life felt listless. I finally stormed through a book and thought I was cured only to languish again. In 2011, I read 67 books; in 2012, 23. My brain has felt the effects, and so has my soul.

As the 2014 started, I saw tweets about Goodreads already scolding participants of their reading challenge that they were behind. I'm not great at accepting scoldings but I thought joining the group might give me the right kind of push. I set my goal at 25 books, not lofty I know but I'm still feeling a bit fragile. And so far I am on track having just finished my fourth book - on track but certainly not burning up the highway - but what I love is that I am picking books based on the challenge instead of what I see going on in the reading world. Fact is, some books can be read in two days and not need to be anguished over and analyzed to death. So if I start falling behind it's time to pick something quick. Arcadia Falls fits that bill perfectly.

I read a lot of Carol Goodman when I was teaching high school. Mainly because a good escape was needed but also because the older girls liked to read them as well and I never recommended or lent out anything without reading it myself first. The blueprint here is the same as her others: Eastern boarding school, new teacher, some sort of literary mystery leads to a modern murder, final twist that I see coming a mile away. And a book read for my challenge in three days while feeling the awesome sensation of looking forward to finishing it.

Great literature it may not be, but turns out Goodreads doesn't judge.

Old School

This post disappeared but it was for Nancy Drew's The Bungalow Mystery.  This is what I said on Goodreads.

I picked this up at the library because it said it was the original story printed in 1930. I’m sure I read the 1957 reprinting.

The first page is basically a disclaimer from the publisher saying that readers may be “extremely uncomfortable” with the stereotypes and racial language used. I didn’t see any racial language in this particular story and while I was always impressed by Nancy when I read the books as a child, I had to laugh at the fact that she didn’t do any sleuthing to solve this particular crime. She instead overheard the bad guy, who conveniently spoke out loud to himself and detailed all of his plans. I know these are for younger readers – but come on!

3.14 The Bungalow Mystery

What It Is Versus What It Appears To Be

“We’re all just in the muck trying to believe we’re capable of greatness, but closer to breaking than we want to admit.” Truth

“The story you walk in to, he has learned, is always more complex than it first appears.” Truth

23.14 S

I loved this book:

This is a book lover’s dream – an old library book whose author is being researched by two students who write all of their notes in the margins as they go.  I have always dreamed of finding a mystery in a book, keeping notes.  It is an amazing piece of work, and quite honestly baffling to think of the process it took to put it all together. I truly loved every page.

I didn’t like the story:

Maybe I read it wrong.  Maybe I should have read the original “book” and then gone back to the marginalia.  Maybe the other way around.  But I know for sure that I generally read as a way to escape the feeling that everything I am doing in life is wrong, so to read a book and feel that way was just no fun. I truly hated very page.

So, what to say?  It’s beautiful, and adventurous, and tedious and frustrating.  In the end it will sit on my shelf to be looked at and never read again.  I will tell friends I loved it but not to read it.  So what’s the point? Not real sure myself.  But it kind of sums up 2013 for me – some huge changes for me and mine coupled with a very strong feeling of what the hell am I doing.  Things looking good on the outside but kind of all over the place on the inside.  So, how about in 2014 we just keep it simple and get back to basics.  I think I’ll start with Longbourne, because if the Bennets can’t get me back on track no one can.

Too Much Cuckoo

“When you are young, and beautiful, you can be very cruel.” Truth.

23.13 The Cuckoo’s Calling

This book took me far too long to get through. I picked it up thinking a well-written mystery would pull me in immediately, and once it was the hottest headline that JK Rowling was the actual author behind the story I jumped on it.  And then I floundered.  Seriously floundered.

It took me weeks to read, and I found myself trying to avoid it.  There was something about the whole thing that was very sad.  Of course, a murder mystery isn’t the most cherry of subject but that wasn’t all.  Everyone here was sad.  Lying about who they were or what they wanted.  Refusing to ask help from the ones they should trust most.  There was just something about it that made me feel even more shut in and lonely – and that was the last thing I needed when I picked it up.

Is it well written? Absolutely. Rowling can paint a character with words better than anyone else.  I guess I just needed her to paint someone a bit more happy to be living the life they were.

Rough

“‘Boss,’ he says. ‘I need to do something.’

‘So go on then,’ she says. ‘What?’

‘I can’t tell you.’”   

Luther’s Truth.  And once you know him, you know he means it.

22.13 Luther: The Calling

Luther is a BBC show that I totally stumbled on, and I was completely mesmerized.  Idris Elba IS Luther. He embraces the character in a way I have never seen before.  I stood up clapping and crying when he won the Golden Globe.  And yet, Luther is awful.  In the way Tony Soprano is awful.  In an I-totally-want-that-guy-on-my-side way.  In an I-feel-like-I-should-be-embarrassed-to-admit-my-adoration kind of way.  In fact, I don’t recommend this show to many friends because while I love it so much I also think it is probably a bit too real and too rough to be admired by too many.

Luther’s life is a mess.  His marriage, his career, his mind… All of it is falling apart and yet he manages to get the bad guy – generally with the help of some other rather shady guys – because he believes in justice.  Every single episode of the show is emblazoned on my brain in a way I can’t explain, partially because they are plain and simple rough to watch.  All of it is really violent, really realistic, and really rough. It reminds us how there is a bad side to everyone and maybe the ones who hide it more are really the worse ones in the end. Again, it is really rough and so is this book.

I am not sure you should read it if you haven’t seen the show, it is written by the creator of the show so it evokes the characters flawlessly, but if you didn’t already know them I am not sure it would work.  I am not going to talk about the plot but I will say any fan of the show needs to read this because it is a case you want to know more about.  Apparently there will be more books, and they take place before the events in the show, which is an interesting choice especially because he chose to write about immediately before those events.  I twas expecting to see a Luther pre-breakdown, but no – he is still a mess, and while that is completely compelling I was hoping to get a bit more insight into why he is the way he is.  Although, maybe it is better not to know, maybe I have no idea what rough really is.

It Is What It Is

“We don’t have access to private jets for authors of tomes about religious history. If you want to write Fifty Shades of Iconography, we can talk.”  Truth. And yes, this really is in this book. My gawd. 

17.13 Inferno

I have hit the post move funk and all I can come up with to tell myself is that: It is what it is.  We have left that place and are now in this place, and even though it is a place we have been before it isn’t the same.  Because life rolls along and time passes, people change and some stay the same. I may need to adjust where I go and what I do but really, in many ways, it stays the same because it is what it is.

If there is anything that is said over and over about Dan Brown is that he is what he is, and is said almost like an excuse.  His books aren’t great literature but they are generally great page-turners, so while they are ok for being one thing they aren’t treated as another by many.  So while Inferno is what I expected to be, I also feel kind of over it.  (Much like Reno; it is much like I expected it to be but I also already feel kind of over it. And that PISSES ME OFF!!! Get over it Karen, it is what it is.  It isn’t what it was, or what I imagined it to be, or what I need in every way; it is what it is, and it is my fault for not choosing to make that positive and fun instead of sad and lonely.)  Anyway, back to the book, it felt just like a rehash of the other Langdon books and even less interesting.  Maybe it was because there have been so many really well done homages to Dante and Inferno.  Honestly, what this book did most was make me want to go back and re-read The Dante Club – now that was fun!

Often in my life I have found myself reading the perfect book at the perfect time. But this time I didn’t find the perfect book but the perfect movie.  The Most Exotic Marigold Hotel.  It is wonderful, and happy and sad.  And while I am sure it was marked as overly sentimental by some I was so happy to watch it, and to learn from it.

“There is no past that we can bring back by longing for it.” The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  Truth.

Feeling Old

"A senior moment."

"You can't remember your own birthday?"
"No," said Gabriel, punching in the code. "I just cant believe it was that long ago."  Truth.

16.13 The Fallen Angel

We just moved – again – and I have never felt so old.  One day of moving boxes was followed by one day on the couch with a knee swollen to the size of a grapefruit. One trip to Home Depot was followed by three others because I can’t remember everything I need.  One goodbye to a neighbor was followed by hysterical crying because I never thought this would happen again, and now I have my heckles up anticipating what will come next.  Needless to say, I am a mess… but I finally made it through a book and it only took 4 1/2 weeks. Grrrrr.

It seems that life is catching up with Gabriel Allon as well, even though the formula of the books remain the same.  Now everyone knows his name and his face.  They know he is an art restorer and a spy.  They know who he works for and with.  And they know all about his friends in high places.  And maybe I know too much as well, because usually I fly through these books dying to know how it will end but this time I just didn’t care.  I don’t know if it wasn’t as exciting because it wasn’t so undercover, or because I just didn’t have the energy to make anything exciting.  I love Gabriel and I love reading my yearly Silva, but this one just didn’t do it for me.  However, that certainly doesn’t mean I won’t be back for the next one though.

Changes

“We can’t be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don’t have something better.”  I really hope this is the Truth.

The past few months have been crazy in my life and thus I have not been reading or blogging.  While planning a ten day vacation to Germany, my husband got a phone call asking him to come back to the job he left almost seven years ago and it threw us for a huge loop.  We took our trip, the following weekend he flew down to interview for the job, last weekend we drive down and put an offer on a house, and this weekend we have started to pack up our house here.  I am pretty devastated to be leaving Oregon and never imagined raising my son in Nevada, but it is happening no matter how much I push back against it.  But honestly, I am scared and sad.  So my mind isn’t in a great space and while I wish I could read I probably should just give up because even the reading I have done hasn’t been done well.

15.13 A Death in Vienna

This audio book was an absolute lifesaver on the 8 hour drive to Nevada one day and the 7 hour drive back two days later.  I have read all of Silva’s books but my husband just won’t try them out (probably because I say he should) but we both enjoyed this and it made the time fly.  Plus, Gabriel is truly the best.

16.13 The End of the Wasp Season

This is the second Mina I have read, both featuring DCI Marrow, and while I like her character and find her intriguing, the format of shifting between the investigators and the criminals just kills the mystery for me.  Since we know everything and everyone as it happens I just can’t get invested in watching Marrow solve it.

17.13 The Twelve

I started this on the plane to Germany and was so excited to really tuck into it on the ten hour flight – but oh my god! You now have your own TV on those flights and it has been years since I watched an adult movie of my own choosing so instead of reading I watched: Anna Karenina, Jack Reecher, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Hitchcock, The Help, Twilight – somethingridiculous, and The Hobbit.  Do I feel guilty?  Kind of, but such is life.  Honestly, I haven’t even finished this one but I do plan to, I just figure I won’t be very qualified to write a review by then so I am including it here.

Lose Ends

“Novels gave you a completely false idea about life, they told lies and implied there were endings when in reality there were no ending, everything just went on and on and on.” Truth.

13.13 Case Histories

It feels lately like every time I tidy up one lose end at least ten more unravel, and this month the ends are out of control!  I can’t even focus my mind on reading a book, which kind of made Case Histories perfect. 

At the center of the plot is Jackson Brodie, a PI and father who is hired by various people to solve their various mysteries.  But it is much more complicated than that because all the stories over lap and intertwine is both insignificant and significant ways.  But really each story is about family, and how they look like one thing from the outside but are on the inside very different, much like the mysteries being investigated.  I have seen Atkinson’s name a lot in the book press lately and I can see why people read her books.  She is a true storyteller, but I am not sure she is a great mystery writer.  The cases are all solved off screen leaving very little for the reader to play with and so I felt less invested in the outcomes.  There are also point of view and time shifts that I found a bit jarring, but overall Brodie is a character that I would like to spend more time with since he seems to be the only one with more lose ends to tie up than me.

**Let's be honest, this is a terrible post - but I swear to you I cannot get my mind to focus.  I am leaving tomorrow for a ten day trip overseas and I haven't packed, and when we come back we need to deal with possibly moving to one place, or definitely moving to another when, truth be told, all I want to do is stay still.

The Rumor Mill

“I suppose villainy, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.” Truth.

10.13 The Daughter of Time

Last month, archeologists found the skeleton of Richard III in a carpark in Leicester.  My first thought was why the hell are we spending money digging up carparks, and my second thought was The Daughter of Time.  Or simply put:  The Truth.

There were many rumors about King Richard addressed in Daughter of Time, and the discovery of his body has put a few to rest and confirmed another:

Withered arm – No evidence

Hunchback – Evidence of severe scoliosis, so not a hunch per say but he certainly would have appeared hunched over.

Born with full set of teeth – No evidence

His kingdom for a horse – Lots of carpark jokes

But one rumor remains.  Was he a murderer of boys?

The portrait Grant looks at in the book.

The facial reconstruction of his skull.

Daughter of Time sets out to answer that question; trying to consider the facts of history as opposed to the facts claimed by historians and other educated men of the time.  The book has a clear opinion that I won’t spoil here, but what I really noticed is how much we love a mystery that cannot be solved.  We go back again and again even though a solution can never be truly discovered. Why do we still wonder about Richard and the boys in the Tower when so many other rulers have been overtly awful?  Why are we still trying to unmask Jack the Ripper when so many horrible murderers, with many more victims, are found out and imprisoned? Where is Jimmy Hoffa and why do we care?  I don’t think it is because we actually want to know the answer, I think it is because we love to gossip and spread rumors, the more sordid the better.  Be damned the truth.

Fridgid B*$#h

“Don’t ever get old. With each year that passes, the old Viking idea of jumping off a cliff to one’s death looks better and better.” Hopefully not a Truth.

6.13 The Ice Princess

Blergh.  Bad book. 

The heroine was annoying, acting one minute like a competent girl and the next like a total idiot; stealthy breaking into houses to uncover clues while also worrying about weigh watchers points and what underwear will keep her tummy in line.  Or when she sits on her mittens so as not to get a UTI from a park bench (Seriously, maybe I should have stopped reading here.) Did I mention she is 35.  Plus, I am not even sure she is supposed to be the main character.  Was it supposed to be the police officer?  Because he seemed like he was new to this whole solving crime thing even though, based on his age, he should have been at this for at least ten years.  But you see, they knew one another as kids then moved away, and now they are in love.  Wait, is this a romance or a mystery, or is there a new hybrid? Romstery perhaps?

Spoiler Warning!

Anyway, the murder case was over done with too many plot lines meandering and big clues suddenly being revealed, and then it doesn’t even finish.  I mean, I think the guy did it, not his mom right?  I am pretty sure it isn’t good to have your reader come away not sure.  Also, I figured out the other big plot twist halfway through because I used to watch Days of Our Lives.

Other highlights include:

All men are bad.

All women are victims.

The none victim females are not complete until they find a man and once they do they stop doing anything interesting and just start cooking.

Plus, the writer is Swedish so lots of street names and meaningless car travel though the snow.

And shoveling.  Lots of shoveling.

Balls. Blergh. Bad Book.

A Case of Fanfiction

“I’ve a rule about one-eyed yellow idols – and, indeed, idols of other precious hues with any number of eyes, arms, heads, or arses.  Simply put: hands off!” Truth.

4.13 Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D’Urbervilles

I am so glad I had this book to read while I suffered through the plague.  I could barely read, much less make sense of particular details of a plot, so the fact that this is a collection of familiar tales was perfect.  This is a love letter to Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes, in which the Holmes role is played out by the dastardly Moriarty, and the role of Dr. Watson is filled by hired hit-man Colonel Moran.  All told from Moran’s POV, we revisit the adventures of Holmes from the side of the bad guy, all the way until the final fall, and it turns out to be just as much fun as you would expect.

Essentially, this is fanfiction.  In fact, Titan Books had published an entire series of what amounts to Holmes fanfic - made much easier by the fact Doyle is long dead and his works are part of the public domain.

There has been a lot of debate about fanficion in the publishing world lately as 50 Shades of Grey has become a certified hit (shudder).  EL James, the “author” has made millions off of her books that were originally published online as a Twilight fanfic. (They call it Pull to Publish as names are changed and all references to the original removed.)  My general opinion about fanfic is that it is great, as long as it remains exactly what it is.  Someone taking the characters and ideas of someone else and expanding on them, while giving all credit due to original author, actor, creator, etc.  I think it is great that so many people find a path to writing through inspiration from television, movies, or other books. I say use the characters, use their names, and be thankful for their origin, but please, don’t write it that way, then cut and paste in new names and say it is original in the effort to make a profit, it isn’t original and the authors (and now publishers) know it. 

A Royal with Cheese is still a Quarter Pounder, and Anastasia Steele is still Bella Swan, so just own it, and honor it, and if doing so means you pay royalties to someone else then write the check and be thankful.

A Great Comfort

“Unhappy people say lots of things they don’t really mean and do lots of things they wouldn’t otherwise do just to try to forget their unhappiness.” Truth.

56.12 A Great Deliverance

I am not a re-reader.  I just can’t focus on rereading books when there are so many more to be discovered, but I do love the feeling of comfort reads.  So instead of returning to old favorite books, I return to favorite characters, Inspector Lynley and DS Havers certainly fit that bill.

I was first introduced to this pair while student teaching.  Well Schooled in Murder was the best way to get anxious to graduate high school seniors through those last weeks of British Literature.  Many even admitted to it being the first book they had actually read in high school – based on both plot and an appalling lack of Sparks Notes.  Then PBS adapted the series and I have watched every episode, so when I need to book to just read read  I love a good old Lynley.

This is the first in the series and I think quite well done, although I am probably giving it a bit of space simply because I know what else is to come.  I loved seeing Havers and Lynley feeling each other out and getting to know one another – although I had forgotten that Lynley is blonde in the books.  I also hated seeing the weaknesses in both characters because I know how they continue to struggle with them through the series, especially Havers.  Overall, the plot was a bit bloated with outside characters and red herrings, but over all it is a very satisfying mystery if a little dated.

Ripples

“I can feel a better version of me somewhere in there.” Truth. 

52.12 Dark Places

Little things make ripples, which then grow larger and larger, swallowing up more and more. Little things said, maybe misheard, suddenly believed because it is convenient. Ripples. A chance meeting or missed opportunity. Ripples. Some of the effects fade away, while others grow more and more out of proportion.

Dark Places tells a murder mystery backwards and forwards. We meet the players years after the fact, from the big outside rings of that original ripple, and we follow it back in seeing the whole story fall apart and come together. If you have read any works by Gillian Flynn, then you already know that no one can be trusted. Her characters are far too human for that. They are flawed, and hateful, and realistic in the darkest but simplest ways. Most of them are trying to escape who they really are and they fail magnificently. Libby’s growth throughout the book was very hopeful and I think she will be just fine. I love any book that can make me care so much.

However, this is a rough book. Sad and violent. Very violent. Full of head shakers and oh nos, but that is Flynn for you. Her books make you physically squirm and compulsively read in a perfect balance of agony and ecstasy.  They are certainly not for everyone, and I can’t say that they are even enjoyable to read, but I also can’t wait to pick up another. One thing you can count on for sure is that if you think you have the story all figured out, the truth is you know nothing.

Fallible Heroes

“I know you all work hard, but I am doubtful as to whether you think hard.”  Truth.

51.12 The Year of the Gadfly

 This book caught my attention via Twitter.  The author set up a “Novelade” stand in New York to self promote.  Buy the book and get free cookies – Brilliant!  I knew that if I walked by her I would buy the book, so instead of just thinking on it I went to my local store and picked it up.

Basically, this is a boarding school mystery, complete with secret societies, hidden pasts, and creepy basements long forgotten.  I think that A Secret History is still the best of the genre, and while I always go into these books thinking I will love them it seems that the older I get the less I like to revisit my own adolescent self as I read.  It is impossible for me not to compare my own experience, and with Gadfly I did it both as a teenager and as a teacher.  I loved seeing the passion Jonah had to make his students really think, and think for themselves, but all along he had to pretend that the part of him who had been so easily swayed as a teenager never existed. I liked the shifts between POV and time even though at times it became a bit confusing because the voices were not all that different.  The weaving of all the characters stories into one was done well but I never I bought that Iris was 14. The ending was a bit too much.  I do think there is truth in needing to get away from where you grow up to discover who you are or escape some of who you were, but I do not think that staying behind leaves you damaged.

What I liked best was the theme of heroes and whom we chose to look up to, be it teachers, siblings, or celebrities, it is never ourselves.  And because we see them as heroes we tend to focus on the aspects we want and ignore the other parts, just like we highlight what we think others like in ourselves while hiding some truths.  We pretend these people are perfect even though we know they can’t be, but why do we do that?  Does it make us work harder or try to be better, or does it just end up making us feel worse?