Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh

My rating: 3.4

This book is about the 3 wives of Mr. Kimble.  I think that this will make an excellent book club discussion on why women marry men that they barely know.  While I really enjoyed the writing style the reason I am only giving this 3 stars is that despite having some empathy for some of the characters, I didn't like any of them.  Still, an enjoyable read and I will definitely read more by this author.

Reconstruction Amelia

My rating:  3.2

A single mother reconstructs her teenaged daughter's life, sifting through her emails, texts, and social media to piece together the shocking truth about the last days of her life. This was a compelling story that got into the minutia of a teenage girl's life. At times, it did seem far fetched and drawn out but, it still held me until the end.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

My Rating: 1.0
I was mildly entertained by this book and got 40% of the way through.  I had met Spider and all his glorious god antics and met Daisy and Graham Coats and all of their antics

I think there were too many elements that Gaiman was trying to juggle -I normally like mythology but, right about the time that Fat Charlie checked out, so did I.

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

My rating: 1.2 

Sutter is an arrogant alcoholic partying loser.  He was entertaining, for the first chapter.  The description of this book makes it sound like he will change but....he doesn't.  Just more and more of the same of his wasted arrogant wise ass behavior which gets very old and tiring.  I can't believe I read the whole thing.

Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty

My rating:  4.6

A hit-and-run car crash claims Laura’s daughter Betty, and her whole world is turned upside down. You feel Laura's grief come out and take hold of you in the pit of your stomach. Wow can Doughty write. Powerless stuff. The first 2/3rds of the book deals with the grief and the reeling and fall-out and the last 1/3 is about revenge. This book was one that I couldn't wait to get back to and thoroughly enjoyed.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wecker

My rating:  4.9

The Golem and the Jinni is an amazingly crafted magical fairy tale that weaves history, magic and religion together. The description of this book captures it better than I ever could:

In The Golem and the Jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York.

 Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899. 

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free 

Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker's debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.. 

The only thing I didn't like about this novel is that it is Helene Wecker's first novel. I can only say that I hope she writes quickly!

Everlost by Nick Shusterman

My rating:  3.2

Nick and Allie don't survive the crash, and now their souls are stuck halfway between life and death in a sort of limbo called Everlost.  Everlost is very magical, entertaining, a unique plot and a very good ending and yet, for me, it didn't quite hit the mark.  I much preferred Divergent or Unwind.  That being said, I could see this being a big hit with young adults.

Blue Nights by Joan Didion

My rating:  1.0

I wanted to like this book but have to agree with the other readers that the name dropping is nauseating, the book is written in a convoluted meandering style and so much of it is insecure neurosis that it is uncomfortable to read.  Besides all of that, we all know how difficult grief is.  After I went through dealing with a death and dealing with my grief, I wrote it all down.  Granted I am not a writer but, I quickly realized that what may have been a catharsis for myself was definitely not anything I should subject anyone else to.  Writer or not, if only Joan Didion had the same realization.

Out Stealing Horses by Per Pettersen

My rating:  2.8

As a boy Trond spent his summers in the country, where he became friends with the adventurous Jon. Now older, and with his days of adventure well behind him, Trond relives one particular summer, a summer that forever shaped his life and Jon's.

This is a quiet book, which I enjoyed.  I like quiet books.  I enjoyed hearing about Trond's days in the cold with his dog.  Still, this plot just felt thin and some of the content later in the book felt like filler.  Maybe the book should have been shorter?

The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty

My Rating:  4.3

Smithy Ide is a simple 43 year old Vietnam vet who eats and drinks most of his day.  A week after his parent's die in a car accident, overweight Smithy Ide goes for a bike ride.....and keeps on going.  On this wonderful grief stricken journey, we learn so much about Smithy, his long lost sister Bethany, his neighbor Norma and so much else.

This is a cross between Flowers for Algenon and Forrest Gump - you just have to go with it.  I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet book.  The only criticism I would have is that the author went into excruciating detail of EVERY thing - from the backgroun of every person that Smithy met on his journey to the book that Smithy read every evening.  If you can overlook that, then this book will warm your heart.

Lost In Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff

My rating:  3.0

The story of the soldiers and WACS that crashed on the island in New Guinea and what happens with the three survivors.

While I found the story of Shangri-La very interesting but there seemed to be lots of filler and fluff.  Not sure that I would recomm.end this

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

My rating: 4.6

Lucy Hull, a young children's librarian in Hannibal, Missouri, finds herself both a kidnapper and kidnapped when her favorite patron, ten- year-old Ian Drake, runs away from home.
 This was a wonderful, quirky, funny and a little far-fetched novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved both the characters but especially Ian! Lucy made me want to be a children's librarian. You just have to go with this story line, not object with too much logic, and enjoy the ride.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennet

My Rating:  2.5

This somewhat witty mockery of the Queen taking up reading was mildly entertaining.  I think the only reason this little book has gotten so much notice is that it was mentioned in The End of Your Life Book Club.... which is how it ended up in my queue.  I wouldn't recommend that you rush out to get this as there are so many other books that would be more worthwhile.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

My rating:  4.7

Ifemelu leaves Nigeria and her boyfriend Obinze, for life in America and discovers 'race' for the first time.  She starts a blog about 'race' and all of her perceptions in America.  More than all of this though, this book is about love.  A VERY good read.  I will be checking out more books by Adichie.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Bryson had me literally laughing out loud at times with the tales of him and his friend hiking the A.T.  At other times, I felt that it was a droning lecturing monologue but, thankfully even those were informative and didn't last too long before he got back to the adventures of him and Katz on the trail and totally cracking me up.  Enjoyable read that left me wanting to walk!