The Woman in the Window by A.J. Flinn (Read 1/20/18 to 1/21/18) - 4 star

This was a book from my #onceuponabookclubbox for January.  This book was marketed as "a twisty, powerful Hitchcockian thriller about an agoraphobic woman who believes she witnessed a crime in a neighboring house."  The story is told from the point of view of the main character, Anna Fox, a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside.  Anna spends her days drinking wine, watching old movies, and spying on her neighbors.  Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son, a seemingly perfect family.  But one night Anna sees something she shouldn't; and it leads to her world crumbling as reality meets the fiction she has created.

I was super excited when I saw the Gillian Flynn review on the cover. But I'm sad to say it doesn't live up to her writing.  If I was to compare it to anything, it would be The Girl on the Train.  Which I enjoyed greatly, so that is still high praise for this book, I was just hoping for a bit more I suppose.  I would, and in fact already have, recommend it to friends.  The story moves along nicely, the writing is good, and I really like Anna Fox.  She is a hot mess, but a likable and relatable hot mess.  I liked the mystery, it wasn't a completely new idea, but I enjoyed Flinn's spin on it.  The back story to Anna was pretty easy to decipher, I had it figured out by page 106.  The "villian" however did take me almost to the end of the book to figure out.  Overall this was a very enjoyable read, and I really wanted to find out who the killer or if there was one, it kept me turning pages fairly quickly.  

Divorced from Justice by Karen Winner (Read 1/13/18 to 1/19/18) - 3 Stars

The second book from my pile was Divorced from Justice: The Abuse of Women and Children by Divorce Lawyers and Judges by Karen Winner.  This book was published in 1996, so it is outdated, sadly I can still see that even now 22 years later a lot of the same issues are present.  "An investigative reporter and former policy analyst, Winner exposes the corruption at the heart of the American legal system and demonstrates exactly why divorcing women -- more than half a million in the U.S. per year -- face terrible economic hardship after being processed through the legal system. This landmark expose, based on years of painstaking research and documented with compelling, real-life stories, paints a vivid picture of a divorce industry fueled by greed, favoritism and self-interest, and a judicial system that claims to value the sanctity of family yet allows unethical judges and attorneys to exploit and manipulate the laws for their own benefit." (Excerpt from back of book.)
This book would have gotten a higher rating if it had been more current, it got as high of a rating as it did because sadly it is still relevant.  It focused a lot on poor billing practices, which I am not sure are still prevalent, I had no issues at all with my lawyer's billing and I felt she was very reasonable and fair.  I wish it had focused a bit more on the bias issues, and it didn't touch at all on the issue of parent alienation, which I feel is a larger issue now.  It was eye opening as to the fact that some of these issues have been around for so long.  I feel the reading it after my divorce was final made no difference, the data is a little too outdated to be useful.  I wish the writer would do a revised version, she if and how things have changed in the last 22 years.

Sing Your own Song: A Guide for Single Moms by Cynthia Orange (Read 12.28.17 to 1/1/2018) - 3 Star

Well, I fell off the wagon last year, I published almost no blogs.  It was a year of recovery and change and finding my footing again.  I did read though, quite a bit actually.  I managed to read 66 books in 2017.  But I want to get back into the habit of blogging my reviews, so starting with the first book I read in 2018, lets do this.

I purchased as a "gift" to myself when I refinanced my house, most of my wish list from Thrift books, lots of them are considered self help, or self improvement books, there are also a ton of parenting books, so be prepared for a lot of non-fiction reviews this year.

The first book I choose from the pile was Sing Your Own Song: A Guide for Single Mothers by Cynthia Orange.  I finished it on the first so it barely made it into the 2018 year.    This is a book for single mothers about how to cope, finances, love etc.  It "brings equal parts information and inspiration to this pragmatic yet soulful guide for single moms. Managing time and money, juggling the demands of work and child care, balancing personal needs with parenting responsibilities-these are the everyday concerns Orange addresses with preach-free common sense and welcome candor. Interwoven with firsthand stories and experiences, Sing Your Own Song resonates with affirmation and support for single moms everywhere. "

Some things have changed in my life, and I'm not single but we haven't reached the point where I'm not a single-mother though either.  It's changing, and bit by bit my boyfriend is stepping into a parental role, but we aren't rushing it.  So reading this book gave me some mixed feelings, it was and it wasn't appropriate for my life stage.  At least that is how I felt until I read it.  There was a lot of great advice about how to parent.   That family isn't defined by anyone besides those who are in it.   That the relationship that I have with my best friend across the country, my best friend down the street, my boyfriend and my parents are all part of the definition that makes up "My Family" and that makes up the definition of family for my children.   That I have created a community, without realizing it, I have a strong support system for myself and my children.  That I take the time to take care of myself, that it isn't really taking away from my children as allowing me to be whole and that gives them more than running myself down ever could.

It wasn't until part 5, Raising Reslient Children, that I started to feel like the book was reaching out to me instating of just re-affirming my actions.   "It is not our job to protect our children from life.  It is our job to ready them to meet life's challenges with grace and confidence so they can discover how they might turn the challenges into opportunities."  I have always felt this way, but I hadn't been able to state in so cohesively before.  This section spoke to me, and gave some great tips about listening and how to really prepare my children in 10+ years to fly the nest.

I felt that this was a good book, I think that if I had read it a year ago I would have found it more helpful and probably have given it a 4 or a 5 star rating.  But it was more of a confirmation that I was on the right track, rather than assistance to get where I already am.

2017 - April to Now

Well once again, I have done it.  I fell off the wagon and having been publishing my books.  Ooops…here’s another omnibus of my reading.

Sandman Slim (Sandman Slim#1) (Listened 4/14/17 to 5/9/17) – 3 star

I really liked the book, the problem is that it was an audiobook it at some point I lost track of where I was and who with who because it was audio and I had to restart it. I think that if I had read it rather than listen to it probably would've given it a higher rating. At the same time the narrator is really good and I do want to finish the series.

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron (Read 4/30/17 – 5/17/17) – 3 Star

This is another Buddhist teachings based book, about how to find happiness and peace when suffering from our current lives situation.  This had some passages that spoke deeply to me, that I used as a jumping off point for some posts on my other blog.  She doesn’t speak to me as deeply as Thich Nhat Hahn does, but I still found plenty of insight in the message she was telling.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (Listened 5/26/17 -5/28/17) – 0 Stars

This was an audiobook the kids and I listened to on a road trip.  It was light and fun, and it really kept my son’s attention.  We had seen the movie, but as usual the book made far more sense and explained what was happening way better than the movie did.

 Love and Gravity by Samantha Sotto (Read 5/24/17 to 5/28/17) – 4 Stars

This was from my subscription box Once Upon A Book Club Box.  I read the back, and I was thinking it would be a meh book.  Time travel, romance, and Issac Newton.  I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did.  The time hopping aspect had a chance of being very confusing and hard to follow, but Soto did a really good job of keeping the reader engaged and able to follow.  The presents that came along at various points were lots of fun too.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein (Listened 6/11/17) – 4 Star

This was an audio book that I checked out at the same time as The Tale of Despereaux but we didn’t listen to on the trip, so I listened to it while doing chores.  It was a fun light read that has a puzzle solving aspect that I enjoyed, it is aimed at younger readers, but was still a lot of fun.

The Five Love Languages for Singles by Gary Chapman (Read 6/15/17) – 4 Stars

I had read the original 5 love languages while still married, and I had this one to see if there was any new insights for being back in the dating world.  There wasn’t.  There was the same info I had before.  The reason it received a 4 star instead of a 2 star though is because it had a lot of great insight on how to interact with others in your life, such as parents and co-workers that I found extremely helpful and applicable.  The premise is the same for love languages across the board, but the practical application in day to day life I found very valuable.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (Read/Listened 4/4/17 -6/16/17) – 2 Stars

This was a BOTM book club read.  I was bored out of my mind, as you can tell by how long it took me to finish.  It was just more Jane Austen dribble about finding a husband, and miscommunication in the process because how could anyone ever actually talk to anybody, they just go by rumors and gossip blah blah blah.  I find Austen completely unromantic and dull.

Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic by Esther Perel (Listened 6/4/17 – 6/19/17) – 2 Star

This was a recommendation by a co-worker.  It was talking about how the domesticity kills lust, but that there is a way to keep it alive.  It just didn’t seem to strike a chord with me, it was all stuff I felt like I already knew, there was no revelations here.  It felt like common sense to me.  I was a little bored.

American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes, and Trial of Patty Hearst (Read 6/4/17 to 6/19/17) – Not Rated

I knew nothing about Patty Hearst going into this book.  I found her story interesting.  However the writing of the book itself left a lot to be desired.  There were far too many tangents to keep track of what was happening.  I would often get lost because the author would go off on a side story for 5-10 pages before coming back to Patty and I rarely saw the point of the side story.

The Experiment of Dreams by Brandon Zenner (Read 6/5/17 – 6/26/17) - No Rating

BOTM reading.  It was a quick read, it was a mystery thriller sort of.  Printing things from your memories, but there a twist of a dark and dangerous past.  It didn’t really stick with me, and I had practically nothing to comment on during the read itself.

A Strange Companion by Lisa Manterfield (Read 6/26/17 – 6/27/17) – 4 Stars

Another Once Upon a Book Club Box read.  This one was still ok, I liked it the least so far.  I think on this one, the gifts really helped keep me engaged, it was about reincarnation and lost loves.

The Forever Watch by David B. Ramirez (Read 3/1//17 – 7/5/17) – 3 Stars

This was from a book box I received in 2015, I believe it was a Star Wars Box.  Obviously, this book didn’t grab me.  I had to restart and finish it mostly because I was tired of seeing it on my Current Reading list.  I would say that the last quarter was good, the storyline started moving and it had a great ending, but sadly the 1^st 3 quarters were hard to get through.  Very slow and just didn’t peak my interest.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman (Read 7/5/17 – 7/21/17) – 4 Star

This was a NNCC read.  I really enjoyed it, the writing was humorous and the characters were very engaging if not likable.  The author did a great job of keeping me guessing as to who was the bad guy and what the secret was.

The Painter by Peter Heller (Read 7/21/17 to 7/25/17) – 1 Star

This was my last BOTM club book I read this year, it was after this one that I decided I needed a break.  I HATED this book.  I couldn’t stand the characters, the story line left nothing to be guessed, the ending pissed me off.  There was too much fishing talk and it added nothing to story.  The main character was an asshole and I didn’t feel sorry for him.  The tragedy of his daughters death was stupid, the author made it seem like it was a big EVENT, which yeah she died but the method was idiotic.

The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey (Read 7/26/17 – 7/30/17) – 4 Star

This was a really fun Once Upon a Book Club Box read.  It is set in the 40’s and follows a group of friends through an importan year in their lives, they all had different backgrounds and dreams and it was just a fun “Chick Lit” book.  The writing was good, the storyline flowed really well and I enjoyed it.

My Story by Elizabeth Smart (Listened 7/26/17 – 8/7/17) – 2 Star

I checked out this audio book for a drive and I regretted it.  It was boring.  I felt like the entire book was Elizabeth saying, no I never was brainwashed and defending herself.  Which maybe she felt the need to do, but it got a bit redundant.  Also her timeline was hard to follow.

The 5 Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman (Read 7/30/17 – 8/20/17) – 3 Star

I think besides the 5 Love Languages for Men, I have read them all now.  This was more of the same from the other books, and it was a lot of the same info.  There were some insights for kids, but nothing that was as revolutionary as I had hoped.  It was a still a good read, and hopefully it can help me reach my kids better.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters (Read/Listened 4/5/17 -8/23/17) – 2 Stars

So same story as original, in fact a lot of original text was used.  But now there is a sea monster element.  It was still just as dull and hard to get through though.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Read 8/24/17) – 4 Star

This was  nice light read about WWII and thwarting the Nazi’s.  I enjoyed it, WWII escape/survivor stories are a genre I really enjoy.  The stories that encompass the human resilience gives me hope.  The lengths some ordinary people went to, to help the Jews and other persecuted ones, amazes me and fills me with hope for humanity.  We are not all as selfish as we appear, or at least we are capable of not being so.

The Lightkeeper’s Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol (Read 8/27/17 – 9/1/17) – 3 Star

This reminded me a lot of the Orphan Train, felt like almost the same story just I a different setting in fact.  I feel like if I hadn’t read orphan train, I would have enjoyed this much more.  But it felt like a re-read instead of a new read.

The Magician's by Lev Grossman (Read April 2017) - 2 star

This is my April NNCC book club selection.   Quentin Coldwater is a high school student who himself admitted to a very secretive and exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, Brakebills. This book was explained to us as an Adult version of Harry Potter.  And yeah the first part it, it is after part one that things go wonky.  Part 1 Quentin is in college and we get to have fun learning all about his magical school, it was great.  It had much more adult themes and there was drugs, and booze and sex, it wasn't Hogwarts for sure.  I enjoyed this section, I wish it had ended when he graduated, because it went down hill from there for me.
Then Quentin graduates and suddenly we are in Reality Bites, he doesn't know what to do with his life after graduation so he does NOTHING.  He is lazy and parties every day, eventually fucking up his relationship with Alice (an amazing girl) when low and behold his old school rival shows up with a magic button.  And suddenly we jump from Reality Bites into the Narnia novels, only they set in Fillory to avoid copyright issues I think.  Again much like Hogwarts, Fillory i.e. Narnia is a much darker place than the originals.  I felt like all the idea in this book were just recycled, lets take another books storyline, darken it and call our own.  I was very disappointed.

Mirrorgate by Nathan T. Bishop (Read 4/11/17)

So disclaimer, I actually know this author personally, so I'm a little nervous about this.  The book opens on a murder scene and Scott is trying to remember what happened:  blood, a machete, and a dead body.  Not such a good start for Scott. 
There were some great idea in this book, it just felt incomplete to me.  It felt like parts were still missing and the story just needs a bit more fleshing out, but it is a great start and a good premise.  Some of the early parts of the book left me confused as to why they were included, could the dog or the pranks tie in later on?  I think that is part of why I felt it was incomplete, it seemed like there was foreshadowing that didn't come back into play.  Nathan also left a nice set up for a sequel though.

Once Bitten, Twice Dead by Bianca D'Arc (Read 4/2/17 to 4/7/17) - 2.5 Star

This book was given to me as a birthday present.  There has been a mistake at a lab and instead of super soldiers, the scientist created zombies!  Officer Sarah Petit was attacked while on patrol, and instead of turning she is one of the very, very few who is immune and she joins forces with the Green Berets to fight the infestation in her home town.  There is a love story, here with Sarah and one of the Green Beret officers Xavier Beauvoir. I liked the story premise.  My issue with the book is the sex.  I'm not saying I had an issue with the sex itself, was it a little more unrealistic, vulgar and violent than my preference, yes but that wasn't my problem.  This is a paranormal romance, I expected sex and even some rough sex, and unrealistic romance novel sex.  Maybe my sex life has sucked for the past 18 years, but I have never had the sort of sex portrayed in romance novels, I've had good sex but not that connected OMG he kisses me and I come sex.  I don't mind that is how it is portrayed.  My problem was that the sex was a bigger part of the story than the story.  D'Arc has a great storyline with the attempt to make super solider and ooops we made zombies.  Its not a world wide epidemic yet, and it not a post apocalypse world.  It was what would lead up to that unless they get it under control.  I love that, I loved the science aspect and wish that had more detail.  I wish there had been more investigation into culprits behind the scenes, expand on that criminal thriller aspect.  I liked the fight scenes, and was disappointed that there were so few.  I feel like if D'Arc had focused more on the storyline and a little less on the "amazing" sex that I could have rated this book higher.