Week 16: The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues

This week's book:

The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues

Edward Kelsay Moore

This week's book was the next installment of a book I read a few months back. I read the original book because I was leading a book group about it. I liked the book so much I went out and bought the second book before I had even finished the original book. 

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat a few months ago was about mothers and this week's book was about fathers and forgiveness. I will be honest I enjoyed this book but not quite as much as I liked the original book. 

The three main characters were still all in the book but it mostly focused on one of them. Luckily it was my favorite of the three ladies (Odette), and her husband James were more of the focus in this book. This installment was about the blues and the pain and loss about how a child is really hurt by not having a father in their lives. This book didn't have as much humor as the first one, but it is still touching and a good read.

 A friend from my church went to see Edward Kelsay Moore, the author of both of these books, and she said he was a delight. The character of James was based on his father. She also said the author might be working on a third installment of this story. It did seem like Moore was kind of setting up for another story. I can't wait to read it if he ever does write it. So you probably don't need me to say it but I would recommend this book if you liked the first book.

Week 15: Wonder

This week's book:

Wonder

by R.J. Palacio

A lot of the time I try to avoid books that everyone is reading or talking about. I like to rebel and go my own way. One summer I worked in a bookstore. I know, what a shock, that I worked somewhere that I was surrounded by books. I worked in a library in college too! Anyway the summer I was working at Bookland (hand to God that was what it was called) The DaVinci Code was the big thing. I refused to read it for almost two years after that summer.

This week's book is a book I have been looking at for a while every so often. The book is Wonder. The story is about a boy starting fifth grade at a new school. August, or Auggie, has never been to a “real” school due to his different health issues. His face is described in a lot of ways but it seems like everyone is startled or freaked out about it.

Without going into too much detail, a while back our little kindergartner’s teacher told me some news that really upset me. She made me feel like my hubby and I made the wrong choice for him to start school this year as a five year old. I was in a dark place because this teacher made me feel like a crap mom and like I couldn't do anything right. We had a parent teacher conference and our little guy's report was great and I finally felt like maybe our little guy was going to be alright. Then last week his teacher left another note on his classwork that boiled my blood again. So between that teacher making me feel like crap, this being Thanksgiving week and the movie adaptation coming out last Friday, I decided I would read Wonder.

I will admit the book sent a lot of emotions into play. It was sweet, heartbreaking, way too sugar sweet at some points and really pretty well written if I'm going to be honest. It is a young adult book so it's a pretty quick read, but I think it holds up for any age group to enjoy. I would definitely recommend the book. As a mom, or someone feeling like an outcast, or really anyone, you should check this book out. I'm assuming I will someday see the movie once it's in the Redbox. Let's be honest, I am a mother of two amazing kids five and under and the only movie I see nowadays are animated.x

Week 14: Treasure Island

This week's book:
Treasure Island
By Robert Louis Stevenson

This week would have been Robert Louis Stevenson's 158th birthday. In honor of that I decided that this week's book would be Treasure Island. Just a heads up that the only reason I knew about the birthday was because the guy that was doing storytime this week told me and our little girl. Also it needs to be noted that the husband and I had been reading Treasure Island to our big kindergartner. We finished the book a while back and I kept forgetting to write about it. We had been trying to read chapter books with our little guy, but we have gone back to mostly picture books now at bedtime.

Treasure Island takes you back to the world where pirates are the coolest. Parrots and buried treasure. I had never read it so I really enjoyed it. If I could have stopped laughing at the character named Long John Silver it probably would have helped a lot. My dad had wanted to be a pirate when he was young, which if you have ever met my dad it's kind of funny. The hubs and I both enjoyed the story of Jim (the young man who is narratting the story) and entering his life of piracy. I dont really know how much our little guy liked the book, but who knows. 

I would totally recommend reading Treasure Island. It's fun and if you want to read it to your little person, or if you want to go back to a time of pirates, then read this book.

Week 13: The Lilac Bus

This week's book:
The Lilac Bus
By Maeve Binchy

Two days ago (Monday November 6th) marked the sixth anniversary of the day we found out we were going to have our little guy. It also unfortunately the fifth anniversary of the day my mother passed away. The day is a weird mixture to say the least.

If you never got the chance to meet my Mama, you really missed out. She was the most amazing Mom/woman in the world. Now you will think "you have to say that, she's your mom" but you would be wrong, wrong, wrong. She was a social worker and saved hundreds, if not thousands, of kids in her lifetime. She was an amazing Mom and even had an article written about her explaining how awesome of a mom and human being she really is. She is everything my sister and I try to be and hope to achieve as women. If you can't tell, she has always been my role model and will always be.

Like I said, my mom was a social worker;  she battled cancer for years which lead to four really scary surgeries, chemo and radiation. She went through a divorce and ended up marrying the love of her life (my step father). She went to every game, play, and dance recital. She packed our lunch everyday and put a note in it to tell us how proud she was of us.

When I met my husband I had been hurt by a few not very nice boys and really didn't see how I could give my heart to this silent "nerd". She told me that if I messed up with this "nerd" I would be sorry. She hadn't even met him yet and she knew me well enough to know I would end up with my new hubby. She was honest, always honest, and always a lady. I could go on for days how awe inspiring my mom was, but words will never be able to explain who she was.

In honor of my mom, I read one of her favorite books, The Lilac Bus. It's a collection of chapters all from the different point of view of the people that ride on this little bus. I had read the author's most popular book Circle of Friends. I don't know if it was because my little guy was sick again or the anniversary of mom being gone or the 50th anniversary party the hubs and I threw with his brothers for his parents, but I had a hard time getting through it. I don't really think the book is to blame but who knows. I wish I would have read it when Mom was still here. It would have been neat to talk to her about the story. Last year I read a book about one of her idols, Peace Pilgrim. If you want to know what my mom was about, read the Peace Pilgrim. The Lilac Bus was a quick read, I'm assuming if you aren't super busy, go ahead and give it a try.

Week 12: Dark Matter

This week's book
Dark Matter
By Blake Crouch

Okay y'all, you ready for the last Halloween type of book for a little while? This week's book was Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. The reason this review is a day late is a three way tie between our little man was sick most of the weekend while on fall break (bummer right, totally takes after his Daddy), Tuesday was actually Halloween and who has time to do anything other than trick or treat that day? And the third reason was because I started another book and then noticed it was the 17th book in a series of over twenty....I do not have that much time to devote to one author.

Back to the book at hand: Dark Matter. It is well written, I will give it that. I will be honest, I don't think I have a good enough imagation to understand fully what was going on. The book is Sci-fi, horror and romantic all in one. I am told it's maybe going to be a movie and think that would help a lot. It's hard to explain, but here we go.

The story is kind of like It's a Wonderful Life and Mr Destiny, that Jim Belushi movie from the early 90's. Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if things were different? Maybe everything would be better if you had kept dating that guy who turned out to be a millionaire or not ate that lobster that sent you to the ER with food poisoning? This book is a trip like that. A man is kidnapped and awakens in a world that isn't his. Which sounds fun but turns out scary. Then the plot gets really confusing, or at least it was for me. There is what can only be compared to time travel, but it's not different times, just different options of what your life could be. My personal complaint is really that I have always been depressed by the thought of one person's life being played out in many different plains. What if I wasn't living up to my potential? What if I'm messing up everyone else around me? Maybe I'm not cool enough to enjoy the ride, I don't know.

I would recommend the book if you like Sci-fi and being confused. Like I said it is well written, just not up my alley. Have a good week.