Guided Ashes by Rosamund Hodge (Read 1/11/16)

This was a short story I picked up as a filler between my book club books. It was a super quick read, novella length. I choose it because I liked Hodge's other book Cruel Beauty.

The story is about Maia (i.e. Cinderella).  Maia's dead mother haunts anyone who hurts her, and her stepsisters are desperate for their mother's approval.  Then Maia become the messenger for her stepsister trying to win the love of Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis.  Of course nothing goes as planned but maybe there will still be a happy ending.

I liked this story, it was nice to see the Cruel Beauty world again, and the demon king still was granting wishes that were not what the person expected.  It was a fun read, I still prefer Cruel Beauty, but it was a nice filler story.

Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell (Read 1/13/16 to 1/21/16)

This is a book I received in one of my Book Riot Boxes.
The book takes place in London in 1976. I had to keep reminding myself hat it was the 70's and technology want as it is today, no cell phones etc.  London is having a record-breaking heatwave, and Gretta Riordan’s newly retired husband has cleaned out his bank account and vanished. Which brings all three of Gretta's children home for the first time in years. Michael Francis is a history teacher whose marriage is failing.  Monica is an unhappy woman whose past has driven a wedge between her and her younger sister.  And Aoife, the youngest, whose new life in Manhattan is elaborately arranged to conceal a devastating secret.  This book is full of secrets and misconceptions that finally are revealed and accepted or not.

I liked the book, it was a nice light read. I wasn't so engrossed that I couldn't put it down, but it was a nice filler book.    The character I care most about was Aoife, I wanted to know how her storyline turned out more so than the others.  I was a little disappointed by the ending as I didn't feel it was resolved.  I felt like the character were moving down a path of resolution, but we don't get to see it and only have our imaginations to fill in the end.  I used to enjoy those types of endings, where the author leaves it up to the readers imagination, but I have noticed of late that my taste has changed and I want the author to wrap it up already.  I feel like, I paid for this book give me a conclusion not just an ending. But other than my changing taste, I liked the book. The story was interesting and light.  Good enough to keep me reading, but not so deep I had to stop being a parent to finish the book.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (Read 12/30/2015 to 1/9/16)

The description is "At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled "quiet," it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society.  Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so.  Finally, she offers invaluable advice on everything from how to better negotiate differences in introvert-extrovert relationships to how to empower an introverted child to when it makes sense to be a "pretend extrovert."
This was a great read.  I'm an introvert myself, although after reading the book I believe I am a highly reactive introvert, which means I can play the role of an extrovert when there is something I am passionate about.  I felt the research and write up of the research on personality types was interesting  and easy to read, unlike some books were the research portion puts me to sleep, Cain wrote in a manner that kept me interested and awake.  There were many parts of the book where she was describing introversion, and I went "Ah  yes, that is me"  or "Ah yes, that total sense."  There were some great tips on how to get along in an extroverted world, but to still be true to your introverted self.  Remember, Introversion doesn't mean Anti-Siocial, it just means limited dosages or smaller portions of social interactions.

The Christmas Cottage/Ever After by Samantha Chase (Read 12/28/15 to 12/30/15)

This was a book I received in my December Lit-Cube Box.   The description is "THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE:  Lacey Quinn does not believe in happily-ever-after or the legend of the Christmas Cottage. But her best friend does, and she’s the one getting married. It’s Lacey’s job to make sure everything at the cottage is perfect for the newlyweds. Instead, she finds herself snowed in with the best man, and she begins to wonder if fairy tales really can come true.
EVER AFTER:  Ava Callahan wants desperately to believe in love everlasting. But when Brian McCabe walks back into her life and upsets her carefully organized world, her commitment to perfection makes it hard to accept the love that’s right in front of her. Will it take a night in the Christmas Cottage for Ava and Brian to find their happy ending?"

I am not normally a romance reader, but it was christmas time and after the Fisherman I wanted something I knew would have a happy ending, and Romances have a formula that include a happy ending, so this was my next read.  This fit the bill pretty perfectly.  The two stories are intertwined, and flow together very nicely.I forget how perfect romance novels make love seem, that once in love all the troubles go away because love conquers all.  It was a nice change of pace.  Enjoyable and an easy read.

The Fishermen: A Novel by Chigozie Obioma (Read 12/20/15 to 12/28/2015)

This was a book I received in one of my Book Riot boxes. The description is "In a Nigerian town in the mid 1990's, four brothers encounter a madman whose mystic prophecy of violence threatens the core of their close-knit family.  Told from the point of view of nine year old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, The Fisherman is the Cain and Abel-esque story of an unforgettable childhood in 1990's Nigeria, in the small town of Akure. When their strict father has to travel to a distant city for work, the brothers take advantage of his extended absence to skip school and go fishing. At the ominous, forbidden nearby river, they meet a dangerous local madman who persuades the oldest of the boys that he is destined to be killed by one of his siblings.  What happens next is an almost mythic event whose impact-both tragic and redemptive-will transcend the lives and imaginations of its characters and its readers. Dazzling and viscerally powerful, The Fishermen never leaves Akure but the story it tells has enormous universal appeal. Seen through the prism of one family's destiny, this is an essential novel about Africa with all of its contradictions-economic, political, and religious-and the epic beauty of its own culture."
This book has a ton of great reviews about how magical the writing was and how profound the story was.  I found it depressing.  Their lives and what happened to the narrator at the age of 10 was depressing and awful.  I did not find it magical or enthralling.  I was not drawn to the characters or the story, I found myself forcing myself to finish it, telling myself that in the next chapter it would get better.  It didn't.  Obioma's writing was great, he was smooth and the story moved at a nice pace.  I just wasn't invested in the story.  I think I may have been in the wrong mood for the book, I wanted something with a happy ending and I didn't get it with this book.

A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip: A Memoir of Seventh Grade by Kevin Brockmeier (Read 11/12/15 to 11/19/15)

 This was a book I received in one of my Book Riot boxes. The description is "At age twelve, Kevin Brockmeier is ready to become a different person: not the boy he has always been—the one who cries too easily and laughs too easily, who lives in an otherland of sparkling daydreams and imaginary catastrophes—but someone else altogether.  Over the course of one school year—seventh grade—he sets out in search of himself. Along the way, he happens into his first kiss at a church party, struggles to understand why his old friends tease him at the lunch table, becomes the talk of the entire school thanks to his Halloween costume, and booby-traps his lunch to deter a thief."

I really was not thrilled with this book.  The cruelty of the 7th grade boys hit a little too close to home for me I guess.  I found myself forcing myself to read and just hurry the f**k through.  The problem wasn't the writing, he had great writing, it was the storyline.  I felt too much like the bullying I experienced in 7th grade and I didn't want to relive those feeling through another character, my experiences were enough.  I did force my self to finish, and the ending was a little better than the beginning.  Junior High is a rough time, and this reminded me just how much.  I suppose it is a credit to Brockmeier that his writing did resurface so many memories.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (Read 12/6/15 to 12/22/2015)

This was the BOTM selection for December. The description is "A reluctant centenarian much like Forrest Gump (if Gump were an explosives expert with a fondness for vodka) decides it's not too late to start over.  After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant).  It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: Not only has he witnessed some of the most important events of the twentieth century, but he has actually played a key role in them. Starting out in munitions as a boy, he somehow finds himself involved in many of the key explosions of the twentieth century and travels the world, sharing meals and more with everyone from Stalin, Churchill, and Truman to Mao, Franco, and de Gaulle."

I did the audiobook version for this month's read, audiobooks are harder for me to focus on, and I find myself re-listening to large chunks because I loose focus and miss stuff.  I like all the characters, they are all screwy and screwed up, in some ways they remind me the Royal Tenenbaums.  Their background stories make me chuckle.  Overall I would say that it was 3 star.  It was chuckle worthy and entertaining, but I wasn't ready to rush out and recommend this book to everyone I know.  It ran a little long, and wrapped up a little too nicely.  But if you want a light, laughable book this one fits the bill rather nicely.