The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

I am a few books behind. The most provocative part of this book, for me, was the about the author portion where I read that Ms. Obreht and I were born in the same year. It made me feel inadequate...that's not quite right. I'll figure it out.

The book trades point of view between a young doctor and her grandfather as a boy. The style of writing reminds me of more traditional literature. Less is more with description. At times the lack of explanation left me wanting more. Not in the way that when you read a book you don't want it to end but rather in a demanding way. Like, as a reader, you deserve more to the story.

It is beautifully written and certainly a book of substance. But not the light pre-summer read I was looking for. I recommend this more for a student looking to dissect a work.

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese

I am glad I made it through. In the beginning I was completely disinterested. Several people recommended it. My mom's friend recommended it for her saying it is her all time favorite. The style it is written in is reminiscent of Wally Lamb. I wouldn't call it my favorite but it is a good read. It will give you a glimpse into Ethiopia and the life of an Indian-English immigrant doctor in the United States. But those things are backdrop. The story cycles through two generations of intrigue. I recommend it.

Hunger Games Update

----->This is Josh Hutcherson. The actor slated to play Peeta in the Hunger Games movie. Initially I was bummed. Peeta was my favorite character and this is not how I pictured him but I think he'll do a good job.
<-----This is Liam Hemsworth aka Miley Cyrus' beau. He'll be playing Gale Hawthorne...also not who I pictured. He's too pretty for this role.
Hopefully they will both act well and we won't have another Twilight adaptation where the actors are pretty but terrible.

Hunger Games Trilogy Wrap Up

It's not everyday that you come across a book that you can't put down. These books have that particular quality. These books are a guilty pleasure read right up there with the Twilight series only a little more thought provoking. There's a love triangle (like Twilight before the bad acting) but the plot is mostly concentrated on action. There's plenty to satisfy both the romantics and the action seekers.
I'm not going to summarize the plot. I went into it blind. I worry about setting expectations. Just read it and enjoy. It's a young adult novel with adult themes.
The movie adaptation has begun to cast. Can't wait to see how this goes. So far, I'm pleased. The main character role of Katniss Everdeen is rumored to be filled by Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence. She was in last years' "Winter's Bone." (didn't see it but as soon as it comes out I'll rent it and review it as an addendum to this post). It was Lawrence's first acting role. Not bad to score an Oscar nod on your first go.
Titles you might also like that relate in some way or another: Fahrenheit 451, Twilight, Animal Farm, Harry Potter, The Host.

Let me know what you think in the comments!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Love it. Finished in about 3 days. It's a Sci-Fi young adult novel so you'll whip through it. I rank it in the same vein as the harry potter and twilight series. On to the sequel. Stay posted. There are 3 books in the series.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

It's historical fiction. Takes place in the Middle Ages. Generally speaking, I like historical fiction. And overall I like this book. I'm glad I read it. With it I have a new appreciation for Cathedral architecture from the Middle Ages. (Look out England- here I come!). That said, I would not call The Pillars of the Earth an enjoyable read.

Pillars is an asthmatic's marathon of a book. There are ups and downs. But mostly downs. The novel took about a month to finish. It's just shy of 1000 pages. Thick enough to regret not purchasing it for the Kindle. I picked it up at Meijer after finishing up the Steig Larson Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy (there may have been a few filler books in between). This is a different type of book entirely. But here I was at Meijer in the late late hours of the evening in a pinch for a new read. So I took Oprah's Book Club seal as recommendation enough.

It took at least 400 pages before I was fully invested. The characters were difficult to identify with. Maybe because they were in the middle ages. But mostly because they were bad people. ***Spoiler!*** The good news is that the inability to connect with the characters pays off as they continually die off. (I wonder if this was done intentionally by the author? Were people in the middle ages assholes to prevent their loved ones from suffering emotional pain at their death?)

Tragedy continues throughout. Just when you thought you were free and could relax you realize there are still a million pages of story/misery left to navigate.

I have been advised by several advocates of the book that the other jumbo reads by Follett are pretty similar so I'm not going to be jumping to get my hands on the sequel anytime soon. Nor will I be so trusting of the Oprah Book Club seal for an exciting read in the future. The last one I tried was Anna Karenina. I didn't make it through that one. From what I hear Anna Karenina didn't either. Tit for tat.