The Girls by Lori Lansens

The Girls by Lori Lansens
368 pages
Finished 3/7/08












I loved this book. A lot. Seriously. It wasn't what I expected at all. To be quite honest, I wasn't sure what to expect at first.

The novel is about conjoined twins. It is written in the voices of both of the twins - Rosie, the thinker of the twins, who has always enjoyed writing, and Ruby, the beautiful sister, who is writing because Rosie wants her to.

It's really nice having the two different voices telling the story - Rosie really tells her story with a lot of detail and back story, while Ruby is very blunt, straight to the point, and fills in some blanks that Rosie omits.

Like I said, I did love the story. My only regret with the book is that I really wasn't reading it very closely at first, so there were a couple of times when I got confused - I couldn't remember if some of the details had been revealed by Rosie or Ruby.

Five stars.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
983 pages
Finished 1/8/07












Wow. This book is absolutely amazing! Definitely the best book I've read in 2008. :) I had never heard of it before (until a few weeks ago), and I'm still trying to figure out how I was able to make it this long without reading it.

I actually picked up the book solely based on recommendations - I literally had no idea what it was about when I started reading it. When I saw that the Prologue took place in the year 1123 (the book spans 1123-1174), I was a little nervous, simply because I don't always dig historical fiction. Luckily, I was engrossed in the book from the first page. To be honest, I think I liked it more because, while it's set in the 1100's, the dialog in the book is fairly modern - I typically go crazy trying to read old fashioned writing.

Anyway, it is seriously an awesome book. I can't wait to read the sequel (I didn't even know there was one)! I will have to wait awhile, though - since I didn't know there was a sequel currently out in hardcover, I bought the mass market paperback version of this book. Since my series books have to match, I'll have to wait until the mm paperback is released of the sequel (or upgrade my current book to hardcover...hmmm).

One other thing - I have no idea what rock I've been living under, but I had no clue that this book was chosen as one of Oprah's book club picks. This is particularly disturbing since I get automatic emails regarding her choices. I admit, I've just been deleting them for months now without paying much attention to them...I guess from now on I'll research the book a little before deleting her emails.

Five million stars. Ok, just five stars.

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
348 pages
Finished 11/13/07













Wow. That's all I can really say. I thought this book was seriously amazing - I loved it. The plot is pretty crazy - it's basically about a family of "circus freaks" - the catch is that the circus family intended to make a family of freaks. The mother ingests a ton of things during each pregnancy - drugs, insecticides, arsenic, etc.

Geek Love was very well written, interesting, and disturbing all at once. I could barely put it down. The only downside was the sub-plot, which led to an only fair ending. It didn't seem like it really belonged in a book that was so fascinating. Still, that wasn't enough to diminish my love for this book - I would seriously recommend it to everyone. It is probably one of my top five books of all time.

Five stars.

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Ok, first let me just start out by saying how much I love the cover of this book. Yeah, yeah, you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover (I TOTALLY DO!!), but come on - this cover is gorgeous. I seriously want to lick it. I think it's beautiful. I'm practically in love with it.



Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
384 pages
Finished 10/25/07












Done gushing about the cover now.

I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but before reading the book, I wasn't even entirely sure lepers were real. Yeah, there, I said it. How did I not know? I have no idea. I had always just heard stories about them, or had seen them briefly mentioned it books, and it was always about how body parts were just randomly falling off. Clearly not very accurate. So, when I started reading this book, I really wasn't sure if this was based on a true place, or what. Of course, once I got done reading the book, I did a ton of research on Hansen's disease, because I'm nerdy like that.

So, back to the review, and I must say - I adored this book as much as I adore the cover. I absolutely loved it. I think it was beautifully written, well researched, and an overall very compelling story. I was very drawn in to the characters, and I loved how the book spanned Rachel's lifetime.

I am a champion crier, so it didn't surprise me (too much) that I cried a little in the book. One of the parts touched me so much I marked it with a piece of paper (literally the first time I have ever done that). It was the part where Rachel's father Henry was leaving her after his first visit to the Island, and as she hugs him, she cries and says, "I need you all the time!" It just sounds like something a child hurting would say - it makes me teary just thinking about it.

Seriously, I loved, LOVED this book. One of my all time favorites.

No surprise that I gave it five stars.

Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock

Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock
292 pages
Finished 10/2/07












It feels a little weird to be breaking out the five star rating so soon, but this book definitely deserved it. This was a book that I always walked by in the book stores because I had read another book by the author and wasn't impressed...I wasn't looking to try this one out. I finally decided to give it a whirl after seeing it again at the Half Price Bookstore.

The whole time reading it, I really felt for Carrie and her sister Emma. It was such a sad story. There were a couple of times that I got a little confused and had to go back and re-read the previous page(s). I can't give it the full review I'd like to, because it would spoil the book for those that haven't read it, but it's a book I can't get out of my head.

I loved the book - I am actually considering reading it again very soon.

Like I said, I give it five stars.

Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster

This book is a bit of a follow up to the author's first memoir, Bitter is the New Black.


Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster
382 pages
Finished 9/29/07











I don't really like to use the 5 star rating that often, because there aren't many books that I find "amazing." I was a little reluctant to use it for this book, because I don't want to imply that it's literary genius or anything - I just thought it was a really funny book that I was able to lose myself in for a few hours. I think this is the only book that I can actually say I laughed out loud reading...and I did it while I was reading in bed, and I had to stifle the laugh so David wouldn't hear me and think I am crazy (or, crazier).

The book is basically a collection of essays about her life. She adds in her two cents to everything and includes witty footnotes. This will never be called great literature, but it's amusing and really light-hearted. Jen Lancaster is someone that I could see being friends with - she's funny, smart, and likes to drink. :) The only downside is that she's a Republican. Can't win 'em all, huh?
I give it five stars.