Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I didn't really get to read in November because I was so busy between work and preparing for finals, but once school wrapped up, I jumped back in to my reading list. The next couple posts will be featuring my December reads.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Published by Mariner Books on Apr. 4, 2006
Genre(s): Contemporary,Historical, Adult, Fiction
Format: Paperback
Pages: 326
Goodreads

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and collector of butterflies. When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he discovers in his father's closet. It is a search which leads him into the lives of strangers, through the five boroughs of New York, into history, to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima, and on an inward journey which brings him ever closer to some kind of peace.

I liked the story, it was raw and allowed for a different perspective of historical events that I might have never truly been able to understand. I felt that the characters could have been better developed and a couple certain plot lines could have been further explained. Overall, it was a good, easy, and quick read that I very much enjoyed. It was not emotionally draining or anything like what I was expecting. Instead, it was thought provoking and feeling inducing, causing me to reconsider life in general- why and what we live for, things like that. I worried it would be dark and depressing, but even though it centered around a sad and touchy subject for our society, it was so much more than that. It gave me perspective in an unusual way. Like my feelings on the characters, I wish some topics might have been further explored and discussed, as I felt slightly confused at the end. Overall, I quite enjoyed it.

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Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Published by Broadway Books on Apr 25, 2009
Genre(s): Mystery, Fiction, Thriller
Format: Kindle
Pages: 370
Goodreads

From The #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Of Gone Girl

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice" of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.

I had to read Dark Places after how much I enjoyed Gone Girl and I'm so glad that I did. I realized that I liked it so much more not only because the story was much more interesting to me, but because it was (in my opinion) a little bit better written. I realized after reading this book by Flynn that I didn't love Gone Girl as much as I thought, I still love it, but Dark Places kind of took the gold for me in the line up of Flynn books read thus far. Sharp Objects still to come...

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Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Published by Faber and Faber in 2005
Genre(s): Dystopian, Science Fiction
Format: Kindle
Pages: 272
Goodreads

From the acclaimed author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, a moving new novel that subtly reimagines our world and time in a haunting story of friendship and love.

As a child, Kathy – now thirty-one years old – lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.

And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.

A tale of deceptive simplicity, Never Let Me Go slowly reveals an extraordinary emotional depth and resonance–and takes its place among Kazuo Ishiguro’s finest work.

I originally picked up this book because it had good reviews on Amazon and it was a cheap Kindle edition book at the time. I though that it was interesting, but overall, it just wasn't really my style of writing/storytelling. The topic was good and the plot was well done, but I just couldn't really get into it.

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If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Published by Dutton Books on Apr 2, 2009
Genre(s): Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Paranormal
Format: Kindle
Pages: 207
Goodreads

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now. I sit up as much as I can. And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

I'm a huge sucker for books based on movies, so as soon as I saw the movie trailer for this and learned that it was based on a book, I had to have it. I read it fairly quickly, it was an easy read, but I wasn't in love with the ending. I did enjoy the plot and the writer's own sense of style in her writing. I wish that it had been a little bit fuller at the end. I didn't gain a proper attachment to the characters like I had hoped for, nor did I feel settled after it was all over. I do know there is a second book that follows up, so maybe that's just what I'm missing...

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Into The Wild

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Published by Anchor Books on Feb 1, 2007
Genre(s): Nonfiction, Biography, Adventure
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
Goodreads

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, a party of moose hunters found his decomposed body. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.

Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and, unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented. Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw away the maps. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild.

A very good friend of mine recommended this book to me. I saw the movie a few years ago and I really enjoyed it, but I forget most of what happened, so I decided to give this a go. I finished the book in just one day and it quickly and easily made it's way onto my favorites list. I highly recommend this book for a dose of excitement, a break from reality, while remaining grounded and considerate. I laughed, cried, and truly deeply FELT while reading and experiencing this tale.

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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Published by Broadway on May 24, 2012
Genre(s): Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller
Format: Kindle
Pages: 578
Goodreads

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

I loved this book, but who didn't? I haven't yet seen the film, but I do hear it's a good adaptation. (Is it?)... This was probably the first mystery/thriller I've read aside from Harry Potter (no, seriously), so I was on-the-edge-of-my-seat/uneasy-with-the-lights-out/paranoid-on-the-sidewalk into it. I'm not one of those people that can sense what is going to happen next, either, so the twists and turns that Flynn laid out took me very much by surprise EVERY TIME. I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing for an exciting step out of reality but doesn't have a ton of time or focus. This book only took me a few days and was a pretty easy story to follow.

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Summer Reads

Hello!! Long time, no post, I know. Summer is in full swing, and while I have been busy busy busy with work, summer classes, and getting things together for Seth and my big move in August (more on that later), I still have been able to find time for my favorite hobby, reading.

I have always been a big reader, and I can think of few things more relaxing and enjoyable on a lazy summer day. I have a hard time choosing favorites, but one of my go-to book genres are those that are soon-to-be recreated for the big screen. I'm a pretty big movie lover, too, so reading a book before it becomes a movie, then seeing the film adaptation is always fun for me. I like to do it the other way around as well, just for comparison, even though the book is almost always better. (In my personal opinion, one of the only films that does successfully outdo it's book counterpart is The Notebook...I am just not a big fan of Nicholas Sparks' writing.)

Here are some books that I have loved over recent years that currently top my must-list:

{1. Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech. 2. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. 3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. 4. The Time Traveler's Wife  by Audrey Niffenegger. 5. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling.} 

Since my spring courses have wrapped up, I have finished 6 books, and I am halfway through my 7th. It sounds wild, but I'm actually going pretty slow for my typical pace of one book per week! LOL
Here are my most recent reads:

{1. Psychos: A White Girl Problems Book by Babe Walker. 2. Never Let Me Go by Kazua Ishiguro. 3. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. 4. The Giver by Lois Lowry. 5. Looking for Alaska by John Green. 6. A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One by George R.R. Martin.}

Summer is only halfway over, so I plan to finish the Game of Thrones series then move on to some others that have been catching my eye. Here are the upcoming reads that top my Kindle wish list:

{1. Paper Towns by John Green. 2. The Maze Runner by James Dashner. 3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. 4. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. 5. Serena by Ron Rash. 6. If I Stay by Gayle Forman. 7. Room by Emma Donoghue. 8. Wonder by R.J. Palacio.}

I personally enjoy reading on a Kindle, my favorite of which is the Kindle Paperwhite which allows you to read in direct sunlight without a glare, but also in poorly lit areas with advanced back light technology. When I am not using the Paperwhite, I also have the original Kindle Fire that is very similar to an iPad and allows me to see colored images and use the internet. And when I resort back to physical copies of books, I always turn to the book-trading website www.PaperbackSwap.com, which allows you to earn credits by trading your old copies of books in order to spend credits on requesting your next read from another user! I love it!

What have you been reading this summer, and what do you intend to pick up next? Any suggestions for an open-minded reading lover?

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!! xoxo

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The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on April 26, 1993
Genre(s): Young Adult, Fiction, Dystopian, Science Fiction
Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
Goodreads

This haunting story centers on Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he's given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community.

Of course, like most people, I read this book in middle school. In light of the upcoming release of the film adaptation, I wanted to refresh my memory (no pun intended). It was just as good as the first time around; however, I realize now why it is read in sixth grade and not eleventh. It's very much a book for a young yet exploratory mind.

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Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog! I’m so excited to begin sharing my thoughts, ideas, and experiences with everyone! xxo

image source: google images.

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