Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk

Book 68 of my 2014 Reading Challenge

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris

Summary (via Goodreads)

Featuring David Sedaris's unique blend of hilarity and heart, this new collection of keen-eyed animal-themed tales is an utter delight. Though the characters may not be human, the situations in these stories bear an uncanny resemblance to the insanity of everyday life. 
In "The Toad, the Turtle, and the Duck," three strangers commiserate about animal bureaucracy while waiting in a complaint line. In "Hello Kitty," a cynical feline struggles to sit through his prison-mandated AA meetings. In "The Squirrel and the Chipmunk," a pair of star-crossed lovers is separated by prejudiced family members.
With original illustrations by Ian Falconer, author of the bestselling Olivia series of children's books, these stories are David Sedaris at his most observant, poignant, and surprising.

My Opinion

This was a super fast read. Stories about animals with moral lessons will draw an inevitable comparison to Aesop. The dark drawings contrast the funny lightness of the stories, and they spell out the lessons for readers who don't get subtlety. 

Favorite Story
"The Crow and the Lamb"

Normally, This Would Be Cause for Concern

Book 67 of my 2014 Reading Challenge

Normally, This Would be Cause for Concern: Tales of Calamity and Unrelenting Awkwardness by Danielle Fishel

Summary

A memoir by Danielle Fishel, an actress best known for her role as Topanga on Boy Meets World.

My Opinion

Ugh. The book got off to a bad start for me in the first chapter when she talked about being too good for horror movies and soap operas. She's had success for many years but it was basically because of ONE role (I know she's done other things but I assume the majority of her recognition comes from her time as Topanga). Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Boy Meets World fan and loved her in that role (and can't imagine anyone else playing her as I learned almost happened) but reading that was off-putting, especially as she talked just a few pages later about learning not to be so judgmental.

I jot notes as I read to help with my reviews and I actually wrote this to myself 23 pages in - "Okay, calm down, it's just a light book, settle in and let it go". As a caution to people that don't always finish the books they start like I do...it may start off on the wrong foot but it gets a little better. More 'ba dum bump' cutesy than awkward (and definitely not worth the comparison to Mindy Kaling she received on the book jacket), but better nonetheless.

She redeemed herself with her stories of appreciation for fans and how approachable she is for photos. There were some fun facts - I didn't know she dated Lance Bass. The story about people having trouble distinguishing between her and her character, leading to her getting dirty looks when out with her boyfriend as if she was cheating on Cory, was funny.

As an editing note,  it  was difficult to grasp the full complaints she had in the story about her hair color at her wedding since the accompanying photos were in black and white. But I always like photos in memoirs and it was fun to look back and remember the show. 

A Few Quotes from the Book

"Before we take our relationship any further, I have something important to tell you. Hello, my name is Danielle Fishel, and I am a total klutz."

"I can still do the splits (if I don't have anywhere I need to walk the next day)."

All But My Life

Book 66 of my 2014 Reading Challenge

All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein

Summary (excerpted from the book jacket)

When Gerda's father told her to wear her ski boots to the work camp in June, he could hardly know that they would help in her desperate fight for survival. Three years later, one of the two hundred slave girls remaining from the four thousand who were forced on a thousand-mile winter march, she took them off her frozen feet and extracted the family photographs which she had hidden in her soles. The Nazis had taken from her indeed all but her life. Every member of her family, every friend, died in the concentration camps. Gerda tells of many courageous people, lost now but for her story, and of her own unbelievable struggle, through the darkest hours of her people's history, to survive by hope alone. Despite incredible experiences, and the complete destruction of the world she knew and loved, she was able to begin a new life based on her compassion, love, and faith.

My Opinion

As a note, the edition I read had a copyright of 1957, not listed on Goodreads.

The stories about World War II have always been heartbreaking but now that I'm a mom it adds another layer. Yet I continue to read them...it hurts like hell but these people need to be honored and remembered.

The book for me was more about the feelings it left me with than actual points I can sum up in a review. Since I can't quote the entire book, I don't have much more to say. 

I highly recommend this book. 

A Few Quotes from the Book

"As I finish the last chapter of my book, I feel at peace, at last. I have discharged a burden, and paid a debt to many nameless heroes, resting in their unmarked graves. For I am haunted by the thought that I might be the only one left to tell their story."

This poignant exchange, after her brother Arthur left she and her mother went to visit her grandmother's grave. Her mother talked to the grave...
"I saw Mama put her head on the stone, as she must have put her head against her mother's breast many times as a child. Completely engrossed, she muttered, "My child...my child...oh mother!" and started to cry bitterly. I could not catch all she said. It was a strange, quiet, soliloquy, yet I felt that a voice was screaming within her, "Oh God, bring him back to me."
Then Mama stood upright and addressed the stone in a different manner.
'You are lucky, mother. If only I could be certain that someday my children would be standing on my grave'."

"Why? Why did we walk like meek sheep to the slaughterhouse? Why did we not fight back? What had we to lose? Nothing but our lives. Why did we not run away and hide? We might have had a chance to survive. Why did we walk deliberately and obediently into their clutches?
 I know why. Because we had faith in humanity. Because we did not really think that human beings were capable of committing such crimes."

"In the years to come the moon became my loyal friend, my only friend that was free. Each month I counted the days until she returned, and often when she hid behind clouds I thought that she was avoiding the horror on earth."

William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back

Book 65 of my 2014 Reading Challenge

William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher

Summary (excerpted from the book jacket)

The saga that began with the interstellar best seller William Shakespeare's Star Wars continues with the merry reimagining of George Lucas's enduring classic The Empire Strikes Back.

My Opinion

There shouldn't be any surprises for someone picking up this book.  A fun read for Star Wars fans, what you see is clearly what you get.

There were two points in the afterword that I found especially interesting.  First was the ideas the author considered for Yoda's speech since his very distinct word order really doesn't stand out as much when writing in "Shakespearean" (is that the word for it? I'm going with it.).  The second was when the author mentioned listening to specific critiques about William Shakespeare's Star Wars when writing this book (for example, he used 'The Chorus' to describe settings much less frequently).

A Few Quotes from the Book

"Han:  - Agreed. Methinks
           The Empire knoweth we are here on Hoth.
           [Aside:] My sense of doom and dread is not without
           Its cause, for this event is grave indeed."

"Luke:  In troth, I understand, and I shall try.
Yoda:  Nay, nay! Try thou not.
            But do thou or do thou not,
            For there is no try. "

"Leia:  O Luke, pray fly!  'Tis but a trap!  A trap!
            Flee now, dear friend, ere thou art captur'd too."

"Vader:  - No, I am thy father.
Luke:  Nay, 'tis not true!  It is impossible!"

Immortal in Death

Book 64 of my 2014 Reading Challenge

Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb

Book 3 of the In Death series

Summary (via the book jacket)

She was of the most sought after women in the world. A top model who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted - even another woman's man. And now she was dead, the victim of a brutal murder. Lieutenant Eve Dallas put her life on the line to take the case when suspicion fell on her best friend, the other woman in the fatal love triangle. Beneath the facade of glamour, Eve found that the world of high fashion thrived on an all-consuming obsession for youth and fame. One that led from the runway to the dark underworld of New York City where drugs could be found to fulfill any desire - for a price...

My Opinion

Whew, the red flags I had from the second book were resolved and not an indication of the series!  I'm glad I'm finally reading this series and look forward to continuing it throughout this fall and winter.

Imagine my surprise when a major life event happened in this, the third book!  Take note Ms. Evanovich...it is possible to have some resolution but still maintain interest.  A new character was added (that I assume will stick around) and she had some of the comedic dating issues Eve was currently not in the position to experience.  Great idea!

I enjoyed the dialogue/banter between the characters, the pacing of the story, and the brief but HOT sex scene.

I also like that Eve is a capable detective and doesn't solve the case solely through being in the right place at the right time (again, are you taking notes Ms. Evanovich???).  It definitely helps that she has access to all sorts of equipment and contacts through Roarke's wealth but she's also really good at her job.  Hopefully as the series continues it will remain the same and her access won't be a lazy way to resolve the plot.  

A Few Quotes from the Book

"That was New York, she thought with a faint smile. Take it at your own risk.
  She loved the crowds, the noise, the constant frantic rush of it. You were rarely alone, but never intimate. That's why she'd come here so many years ago."

"A man can be pulled in by beauty and not see beneath it."

"She'd learned quite a bit from Roarke over the past few months. One of the most important lessons was that there were times she had to push aside all the worries, the responsibilities, even the thirst for answers, and just be Eve."

The Biology of Luck

Book 63 of my 2014 Reading Challenge

The Biology of Luck by Jacob Appel

Summary (via the book jacket)

Odd-job queen Sunshine Hart is about to go on somebody else's perfect date. At twenty-nine, the usually carefree Sunshine has realized that it is easier to start sleeping with a man than to stop. Her lovers include one of the last underground members of the Weathermen and the dilettante heir to a lawn chair magnate. Both men have staked their romantic future on her. Her only respite is her impending dinner with the non-threatening but unattractive tour guide Larry Bloom. But Larry, too, has a stake in her future. He has written a book about their impending dinner in which he fantasizes about Sunshine's life on the day he wins her heart.
The Biology of Luck juxtaposes moments from Larry's guided tour of New York City on the June day of his "dream date" with excerpts from the novel in which he imagines Sunshine's concurrent escapades. This highly imaginative love story creates a provocative, funny, and keenly observed pilgrimage through the underbelly of Gotham.

My Opinion

After discussing how much I enjoyed Phoning Home: Essays, a friend mentioned she had another book by the same author and I was very happy to borrow it from her. Unfortunately, I didn't like this book nearly as much. I'm not saying this was a horrible book but even an "okay" book is disappointing after enjoying a previous book by the author so much. 

I really liked the afterword so I'm going to chalk it up to me not completely understanding the ambitious storyline. The description made it sound like it was going to be more about Starshine than it actually turned out to be. Starshine was the kind of woman I don't like (using tears and manipulation to get her way) so that was fine by me - sometimes it seemed like she was in on the joke, sometimes not. I also couldn't decide if the Larry Bloom chapters were intentionally overwrought or not. 

It was a small attention to detail but I did like that the author's name changed on the pages from "Larry Bloom" to "Jacob M. Appel" throughout the chapters to further clarify if I was reading the book or the 'book within the book' at the time. 

Even though this book wasn't for me, I will definitely read the author again.

A Few Quotes from the Book

"Today, an otherwise balmy and thoroughly nondescript day in June, Larry Bloom will discover both love and fortune."

"She is Starshine. She is beautiful. She is happy."

"Although Times Square in a battleground, the international crossroads of those who appear on magazine covers and those who use those magazine covers for insulation, Larry is merely a disinterested spectator to the combat. He holds absolute no stake in the outcome. If there were any feature of the theater district to which Larry could relate, it would not be found among the gaudy placards or the flashing XXXs of the video rental shops, but a block away from Times Square on Sixth Avenue. It is the National Debt Clock. Ticking. Ticking. Ticking. But accomplishing nothing."

"He is a new Larry Bloom. He will make his own decisions, look after his own interests, set his own pace. He will not let other people's needs and goals interfere with his lift. Except people who matter: And nobody matters more than Starshine."

Deep Thoughts from a Hollywood Blonde

Book 62 of my 2014 Reading Challenge

Deep Thoughts from a Hollywood Blonde by Jennie Garth

Summary (via the book jacket)

From her sudden rise to fame as a golden-haired teen beauty to recently redefining herself as a single working mother to three growing girls, Jennie Garth has defied the odds and thrived in a town that can be more than a little tough on its blondes.
Since Jennie landed in Hollywood at just sixteen, she has built an enduring career as a television and film actress, producer, and director, beginning with her iconic turn as Kelly Taylor on Aaron Spelling's Beverly Hills 90210, a show that ran for a decade and cemented Jennie's place in American pop culture.
Recently, Jennie found herself facing her forties from a place she never expected to be: newly single, in demand again as an actress after years spent focusing on her family, and all over the tabloids. So she decided to do something that surprised many, including herself: to write about it - to tell her own story, in her own words.
And now, in this intimate memoir, she explores the highs and the lows of her life, both in front of the camera and behind closed doors, revealing the real Jennie Garth - smart, funny, and stronger than she ever realized.

My Opinion

The book had a good balance of stories between her personal and professional life. Being familiar with all of her TV shows helped me picture the people and places as she described them. 

Relationship dynamics fascinate me and although she never explicitly states a preference, there was a big difference in how she talked about her dad versus how she talked about her mom and I found it very interesting.

Regarding her time on Beverly Hills 90210, she was dishy but with the reflection of adult analysis. She talked about the "rule of three" - when three young women are together, one will always feel left out by the other two. To quote her describing her infamous rivalry with Shannen Doherty, "We were, back then, just two immature girls who were ruled by hormones, and forced to be way too close to each other for way too many hours a day. In short, we were like oil and water - or gasoline and a match, depending on what day it was." She also includes her own hand in the competition (such as who got to wear a red dress in a promo). But she wraps it up by saying everyone gets along now - Tiffani and Tori were in her wedding and she "now counts [Shannen] as one of my dearest, closest friends."

Overall, the book was quick and readable but not polished, which could be a good thing because it makes it more real or could be a bad thing because she did have a co-writer. I'm not talking about glaring typos or anything, just more like a few repetitive stories (such as her chopped hair) that could've been eliminated with a few more readthroughs prior to publishing.

A Few Quotes from the Book

"You would think that having such a dim memory would make writing a memoir very, very difficult, but actually, once I got started, writing seemed to activate the dormant recollection part of my brain, and my life as I had forgotten it began to come back to me. The more I wrote, the more I remembered. And the more I remembered, the more I began to realize how good this process was for me. About halfway through, something even clicked, and I realized that by writing about my life, warts and all, I was really getting to know myself in a way that was at times humbling, at times horrifying, and definitely always eye-opening and entertaining."

"You know how one day you can just wake up and before you know it your whole life has taken a crazy, fantastic, unexpected turn? How all of a sudden, you find yourself going down a road you never even imagined, a road that leads you to the most beautiful, soulful, meaningful stuff possible?"

"Life was quiet in a way that I found so fantastic, because it was actually anything but quiet: It was filled with squealing and laughing and lots of running of little feet (our girls were active!)."

"At first, when I did hit that bottom [as her marriage ended], it sucked more than anything I've ever experienced before, and it was only when I began to pull myself together, broken bit by broken bit, that I realized this was actually the best thing that had ever happened to me. You need to get shattered in order to put yourself back together properly. The trick, though, is not to try to glue the pieces back into the same old places and in the same old pattern. The better way is to learn and grow and be brave enough to take on a new shape, a new outlook, a new wisdom."

"So many of us moms, without even knowing it, just kind of let ourselves go. I don't just mean that we stop putting on makeup, or mindlessly eat what's left on our kids' plates, or start to wear the same yoga pants four days running, and rubber bands become our favorite hair accessories. There is all that, of course. But what I mean is that we let our innermost self - our warrior woman, hot-mama, sexy-goddess self - check out on us. When this happens, we get heavy: heavy of heart, heavy of thought, heavy of butt."