What I've Been Reading - September 2012

Hello!

 

I've read some really good books this past month, and I'm anxious to hear if you've read any of them!

 

So, let's get started...

 



 

My daytime book group, As the Page Turns, is reading both A Girl Named Zippy and the follow-up memoir, She Got Up Off the Couch - And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana for our October reads. 

 

I shared my love for Zippy earlier this summer.  The memoir of a 1970s childhood in small-town Indiana is both hilarious and touching.  The follow up about Zippy's mother Delonda is darker than Zippy, but similar in tone and topic.  Both are great reads, and I always enjoy meeting another Zippy fan!

 

One sentence synopsis from goodreads.com -  After years of languorous existence, this oversized couch potato emerged from the den to pursue a higher education.

 Loved  It

 

 

 

 

Several friends mentioned The Gallagher Girls series when talking of good Young Adult series that don't involve werewolves or dystopian dictatorships.  This series seems to be really loved by all - young adults, moms of young adults, critics, and other authors.  And it has been on the New York Times Bestsellers list for ages.

 

So, I had to check it out.  I read the first two in the series earlier this month and found them a refreshing change of pace.  The series is set at the Gallagher Academy that seems like a prep school for girls, but is actually a Spy School, training the young ladies for CIA positions after university.  The writing is sharp and the role models are refreshingly positive.  I'd recommend to any 11-15 year old young lady (not to mention this 41 year old!)

 

One sentence synopsis from goodreads.com -  Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. 

 

Really Liked It

 

 Gone Girl has received a ton of buzz this year.  I see it on all sorts of Top 10 book lists.  I put it on my library reserve list and was #36!  I was thrilled when my time finally came.

 

This has got to be one of the more suspenseful mysteries I've read in quite awhile.  I was sorely tempted to peek and find out what happened, but I held off.  Thankfully!  It's the story of a disintegrating marriage, a psychological thriller because Amy disappears under mysterious circumstances on their 5th anniversary.  The twists were entirely unexpected and enjoyable to follow.  While the characters were loathsome, the writing was great. 

 

One sentence synopsis from goodreads.com -  With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

 

Really Liked It

 

 

 

 

 

Pandemonium is the follow-up to last year's Delirium, another young adult novel set in a Dystopian world.  I did not care for the first half of Pandemonium, and almost stopped reading it.  It seemed almost identical to the second in the Matched series that I read earlier this year. 

 

I'm glad I did finish it though because the second half, and especially the ending, were worth it.  If you're new to the YA Dystopian world - I would recommend the Hunger Games or Divergent series over this series.  Although, I'm sure I'll read the follow up due out next year!

 

 One sentence synopsis from goodreads.com - This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

 

Liked It OK

 

 

 

Deborah from As The Page Turns, chose The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty for our November read.  I had no idea what this book was about, but from the first page, I was hooked.

 

No wonder it's on a lot of "hot fiction" lists right now.  I had a hard time putting this book down!

While I knew nothing about the famous silent film star, Louise Brooks, I didn't need to know much.  This book is really about her (fictional) chaperone to New York City - Cora Carlisle - and Cora's life in the late 1800s thru mid 1900s.  A number of surprising turns kept me engrossed, stealing moments to read a few pages whenever I could.

 

 

One sentence synopsis from goodreads.com -  The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922 and the summer that would change them both.

 Loved It

 

 

And that's what I've Been Reading this month!