Collective Reads May- June.
- Sarah Schoggin
- Jul 22, 2016
- 6 min read
So this month I mixed it up with memoirs and fiction. There is something about memoirs that really get to me. I don't know if it's because the stories I am reading are true or if I just like reading stories period. This was a bit of a slow month for me. I started out really strong in the first month and now I seem to be dwindling. HELP! It's too early for this! Slow and steady wins the race? Not in my case apparently!
Without further ado: This months reads!
1.) Yes Please by Amy Poehler. This book was just the right amount of sassy, humor, self help, and serious. I read so many mixed reviews on this book and was not sure how I was going to like it, but alas I could not put it down. It is filled with stories, lists, photocopies and so much more. She uses all different types of media to get her stories across to her readers. Amy holds back on nothing in this book. Well, except for her divorce. Something that is completely understandable to not want to share with the entire world. It includes quips from her parents, her friends, and also annotations from two of her friends/show mates throughout one entire chapter about Parks &Recreation. I got so much more than just her life story out of this book. It is more of a self help book than a memoir where she uses examples of her life to show you what to do or not to do in your own. I recommend this book to everyone that I know. Amy Poehler shines through from the first page to the last in this beyond amazing read!
2.) Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. Oh my goodness gracious. How does Nicholas Sparks get your heart with every single book he writes. Okay.. so this is the first one I have actually read. I'll admit I cheat and I've seen nearly every movie he has come out with. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE this story. It was so descriptive and I felt like I was actually in the book with the characters. He leaves nothing to imagination and that is honestly what I crave with an ending. I want to know where the author goes in a story and I hate finishing a story with a list of questions like: "Why did this happen?" or "Well what happened to this character?" Not with this novel! Everything was finished with a little red bow on top. It is quite a bit different than the movie, but that's nothing new and really not that disappointing because they are both good in their respective media format. Definitely a great starting point for someone wanting to give Nicholas Sparks a try!
3.) Truly Madly Deadly by Hannah Jayne. Don't you hate when you read a book the first time and you absolutely love it... and then you read it a second time and its not as good as you remember? That's exactly what happened here. I read this book about a year ago and I fell in love with the mystery surrounding Sawyer Dodd. I think I was blinded to all of the mistakes that falter throughout this book. First I will point out that when she is kissing Cooper under the bleachers she chases after Logan feeling guilty that she just turned him down for a date. However, she doesn't turn him down until a couple of chapters later. Thus, starting the chronological issues that go on throughout the story. Secondly, there is a part on page 157 where the author calls Officer Stephen Haas, Nate. So I guess originally his name was Nate and she changed it to Stephen and the missed one of the changes. There was also several grammar issues that I caught and a couple of misspells. I know, I know.. nobody is perfect and blah blah blah. However, if I was sending something to be printed for readers across the world, I would check for mistakes like name changes and story lines. Not only did I start out loving the mystery surrounding Sawyer Dodd, I thought she was a great character. But this time around I thought she was a big Sawyer Dudd! There were numerous clues pointing to who the killer was. All around her, and I swear about every other chapter she had "white hot heat searing down her spine" or she had a "cold prick of fear". There was no variance as to how she felt when anything happened in the story. It was all the same. It also bothered me how nobody seemed to care that she was probably so depressed/anxious because her boyfriend died.. and then a bunch of other people around her did soon after. They just expected her to jump back within a couple of weeks like nothing ever happened. I understand the guilt or whatever and that she really needed to move on, but really give the girl a break. Anyway... Overall, I am really disappointed because a book that I loved and told everyone they should read turned out to be a let down. I may give the other book the author has a written a go.. we shall see.
4.) In the Country We Love by Diane Guerrero. I had this book queued from my library long before it arrived. As a huge OINTB and memoir fan, I thought I hit the jackpot. I was not wrong. Diane Guerrero hit her mark when trying to inform people about immigration. I wont delve into politics because that is not what anyone is here for. However, it opened my eyes to a different side of it. Do I think immigration is a problem within the United States? Absolutely. But there are people who try doing the right thing and get screwed and leave behind families and memories. As sad as that is, it is the reality of the situation. She got her message through by using stories of her life and it was as if I was there living them with her. She was so descriptive you could almost say that she wrote step by step what was happening in a journal knowing she would write a book about it one day. Diane holds nothing back when talking about the hardships she faced before, during, and after her parents' and brothers' deportation She goes into detail about being alone and trying to make it but ultimately falling into depression and taking her life to drastic measures.I truly loved the parts towards the end when she spoke of her acting career. The entire book talked about dark times, fear, and uncertainty. However, when she started acting the whole tone of the novel changes and it is a really beautiful and clear transition.
5.) Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf. I happened across the book at my library and liked the cover so I thought I would give it a chance. I have to give this book three stars because that's exactly how I feel about it. It wasn't awful but it wasn't amazing. The main character was a little dull for me. I mean I get that she was depressed after everything she had gone through, I just wish she was pierced with a little more emotion. My favorite character was Blake because I felt like he grew the most in the story, and I thought I thought he was written fantastically. My least favorite was definitely trip's dad. That guy was awful and I wanted to poke his eyes out with a searing hot fire poker. I will say that Jennifer Shaw Wolf handled relationship abuse really delicately. There is a fine line that you need to walk when writing fiction about trauma and she walked it very profesionally. I will say though what was up with everyone treating Allie like crap after Trip died? Like oh, all of the sudden because her boyfriend isn't there to physically abuse her you have to mentally do it for him? Everyone acted like she was a grieving widow. Granted, they did date for a couple of years but its not like she was married to the guy. Everyone treated her like they were ready to pin a red A on her sweater. It was really annoying. I totally did not see the ending coming. Okay, well I did because I'm bad and read ahead or read spoilers before reading or in the middle of reading the novel. I really didn't see that coming though! It was sad and sweet at the same time because you know the killer didn't mean to kill him he was just protecting Allie in the best way he could. Overall it was a decent read. The imagery in this book was the best part, I could really visualize everything. Hopefully her next book will capture my heart with the story more.
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