The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell

I read this after hearing about it on the "Books on the Nightstand" podcast. I did like this book and though I knew going in it was about Jesuit priests in space (I kid you not) having the first contact with an alien planet and race, I was still not expecting a huge underlying theme to be about faith in god. I am not religious at all (pretty much a flaming atheist), so some of that brought on some internal eye rolls, but I tried not to let it overshadow the book as a whole. Interesting commentary on our treatment of other people, other races, and other species..and though some of it may seem shocking there are an alarming number of parallels to present day life. The question is...do I read the sequel?

Keep Reading!

Helene

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan (Illustrated by Maira Kalman)

This is a quick but informative little guide but the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan. It has eighty-three little rules for eating food, many of which the average person would probably love to have printed on a nice little poster for the kitchen. They all revolve around the summary statements from his books on nutrition. Quite simply...Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Some examples include: Eat close to the earth, and Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. All are accompanied by an explanation if necessary and most have charming illustrations.

Not too much to say here, it will always have a place on my cookbook shelf. Enjoy. 8/10 from this reader.

Food writing rules!

Helene

Close your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian

I've only read one previous book by Chris Bohjalian, The Sandcastle Girls. That was about a 9.5/10 for me and I started to collect his books as I love his writing style. Sometimes the next book by an author is not what you expected but this one delivers and I now have a favourite author whose books I plan to savour, slowly. Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is a relatively short read at just under 300 pages but there is so much in here. It's been a while since I've read one that makes me stay up late to squeeze in a few more pages.

It's about a teenage girl named Emily whose father may be responsible for a meltdown in the nuclear plant where he works. Suddenly orphaned (her mother also worked at the plant) and afraid the world would hate her because of her parents, she becomes a street kid and invents a new identity for herself. She frequently references her favourite poet Emily Dickinson so fans of her poetry will like the regular references. As expected, she has a frightening existence on the street and toss in a minor child she starts to care for, some dangerous people and an undisclosed mental illness to contend with, Emily manages to survive her self-imposed exile. Almost everything that happens in this book is poignant and relevant and the most memorable part for me was the revelation of the source of the book title. Enjoy the mastery of Mr. Bohjalian and the life of Emily.

 9/10 for this reader.

What to read next...

Helene

10% Happier - Dan Harris

I first heard about this book on Gretchen Rubin's podcast "Happier", where Dan Harris was a guest.  Gretchen is the author of " The Happiness Project" and often reviews and introduces books and other items that she thinks may contribute to the happiness of her readers.

This book is about Dan's path to reducing his stress after a live melt-down on a national TV show. He goes through many avenues to search out a way to calm his anxiety and focus, and includes interactions with such noted gurus as Depak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, and even the Dalai Lama. The first third was engaging as he described his life leading up to the wake up call for things to change. The middle felt a bit repetitive and self-indulgent (but what memoir isn't) and the last part was surprisingly useful with tips and steps that many people could incorporate into daily life. Meditation and Buddhist practices play a large part in his self-help methods and I think provide an incentive that would appeal to more average people, than other books that may appeal to those who need to be all or nothing in their approach. This is one book I will listen to again as learning how it all came together in the end can help bring focus to the methods he found most useful. The book was narrated by Dan himself in the audiobook so it's more like storytelling than reading. 8/10 from this reader.

Keep reading!

Helene

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

So I neglected to mention that while I was reading one book, I also had an audiobook on the go too. I drive a lot so it gives me more opportunity to get more "reading" into my world.

I'm not sure how I missed Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides in the past. It won the Pulitzer prize in 2003 and I say well deserved. This is a sweeping three generation saga about the events leading up to the birth and life of the main character, Calliope Stephanides. Calliope is a hermaphrodite, and this is not a spoiler as this is revealed in the first few sentences of the book. She is from a Greek family and the trials and tribulations of their history is played out in great detail. It's not for everyone as there are explicit descriptions of some activities that some may consider taboo, but they are necessary for the story. I suspect many things happening were and are not uncommon in some parts of the world, but unsettling nonetheless. As mentioned, I listened to this as an audiobook and it was great. The narrator did a great job assigning voices to the many characters. Sometimes this spoils the listen for me but not in this case. Shout out to narrator Kristoffer Tabori. I'm going to rate this a solid 9/10 for me.

I am still slogging through " The Rosie Effect". It's not the ride that " The Rosie Project" was but I'm going to finish it. I've pledged to read 50 books this year so every one counts.

Until next time, keep reading!

Helene

Life With Books - The Pilot

Life With Books - The Pilot

So here it is Jan 1, 2016 and I'm starting my little vanity project. I have always been a bookworm, from very early in childhood and happy to say I still suffer from the affliction. I'm always looking to chat with people about books and talk about the ones I've read. I've found some kindred spirits online and in real life but this blog will let me steer in the direction I want to go. It might just be for me but if I find a few who want to follow along, all the better!

In this little corner of the universe I plan to talk about books, review books and whatever else bookish or paperish (I just made that word up!) comes to mind. Did I mention I'm also addicted to stationery? Must be the paper thing!

Every year I try to do some sort of cataloging of the books I read or do some sort of challenge. This year I am doing a reading challenge on Goodreads and I aim to read 50 books. My last book for 2015 was The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and to follow up my first read for 2016 will be the continuation of that book, The Rosie Effect. Speaking of Goodreads, if you haven't checked out this website you need to. Great community of readers and authors and a great place to catalogue any books you have read or want to read. Here's my profile page, check out my shelves.

Until next time, happy reading!

Helene