A Thousand Splendid Suns

Book 31 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from April 11 - 19

A Thousand Splendid Suns

by Khaled Hosseini

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2007

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years—from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding—that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives—the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness—are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

My Opinion

4 stars

As with The Kite Runner, I loved the writing and was absorbed into the scenes and characters he created.  Since this focused so much on women it was bleaker which is expected yet sad.  

As Laila's story continued and continued I was confused about such an abrupt ending for Miriam but then the last part of the book when they were together again brought me back and I enjoyed their dynamic the most.  I didn't see any of the endings coming for the characters and even though I wanted something different I was also satisfied.

Quote from the Book

"Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam."

The Archived

Book 30 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from April 7 - 18

The Archived

by Victoria Schwab

Book 1 of The Archived series

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2013

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.
Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.
Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous—it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost, Da's death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself may crumble and fall.

My Opinion

2 stars

I'm so disappointed.  Excellent premise, decent writing, poor execution.

I liked the main plot point but there was so much going on - brother, grandfather, moving, multiple love interests, the Archives, the other residents - that it was too hectic and the pacing felt off and bogged down.  Not a single thing was resolved/answered until the final third of the book and then everything was rushed.

One of the two romance plots felt weird and quick and didn't make sense based on her behavior with the other interest.  Plus I know that some reality must be suspended in these types of books but I can't believe her parents pay so little attention to her that she can spend so much time over the span of a day or two working on all of this and nobody notices anything.

I'm not sure if I'll continue this series or not.  Maybe now that some introductory stuff is out of the way the next book wouldn't be so jam-packed but who knows?  I would probably read this author again though.

Once Dead, Twice Shy

Book 29 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from April 9 - 11

Once Dead, Twice Shy

by Kim Harrison

book 1 of the Madison Avery series

Summary (via the book jacket)

published 2009

Madison's prom was killer - literally. For some reason she's been targeted by a dark reaper - yeah, that kind of reaper - intent on getting rid of her, body and soul. But before the reaper could finish the job, Madison was able to snag his strange, glowing amulet and get away.

Now she's stuck on Earth - dead but not gone. Somehow the amulet gives her the illusion of a body, allowing her to toe the line between life and death. She still doesn't know why the dark reaper is after her, but she's not about to just sit around and let fate takes its course.

With a little ingenuity, some light-bending, and the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys! Maybe...), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison's ready to take control of her destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her.

Well, if she believed in that stuff.

My Opinion

4 stars

This was a fun, quick read.  It was the kind of book where I completely zoned out of my surroundings and lost track of time which is especially impressive considering I'm quarantined in my home with my husband and our 4 teenagers.

I loved the ending because it set up a really fun premise for future books (I think that premise would also make a good tv show).  I have the second book here at home and will probably read it within the near future as well.

Murder of a Small-Town Honey

Book 28 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from April 5 - 9

Murder of a Small-Town Honey

by Denise Swanson

Book 1 of the Scumble River Mystery series

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2000

When school psychologist Skye Denison left Scumble River after high school, she swore she would never return to such a small minded town. But when credit card and boyfriend trouble caused her to slink home, she tries to blend in unnoticed. However inconspicuous has never been one of Skyes attributes, as the small-town busybodies try to bring her out in the public eye whenever they can. When she stumbles upon a dead TV personality, the police accuse her brother and she is forced to prove him innocent. This proves to be a daunting task, but Skye is up to the task. She is bright, persistent, gutsy and the perfect amateur sleuth.

My Opinion

4 stars

Cozy mysteries are a dime a dozen but this series caught my eye at the library and I'm glad I decided to give it a try.  It took me way too long into the book to notice that the chapter titles were songs so that was a fun addition.

There were a few things I found odd, such as the character accused of murder continuing about their life pretty casually, but I rounded up to 4 stars because I'm interested in the main characters, especially Skye, and will continue reading to see where they go.  However, I won't be as generous while continuing to read the series if Skye's weight continues to be brought up and a few other "small-town" stereotypes don't calm down.

Quote from the Book

"When Skye Denison was forced to return to Scumble River, Illinois, she knew it would be humiliating, but she never dreamed it would be murder."

The Kite Runner

Book 27 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from April 1 - 7

The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2003

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.

My Opinion

5 stars

Books like this are why I love reading.  It was recommended to me in the "what? you haven't read this yet? you HAVE to!" way that is the best part of finding a fellow book lover.  The bonus in this case is the recommender was my 16 year-old daughter who read it for school and had to get her own copy so she would have it to loan out to everyone she's recommending it to.

It was the kind of book you get utterly lost and absorbed in, where you close the book and have to take a moment to reorient yourself to your surroundings because it's shocking not to be in the settings of the book.

It ripped my heart out in the best possible way.  Because that's another characteristic of a book lover - you have to be a little sadistic in the way you look for your emotions to be toyed with and your heart stomped on.

Curse of the Spellmans

Book 26 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 28 - April

Curse of the Spellmans

by Lisa Lutz

Book 2 of The Spellmans series

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2008

When Izzy Spellman, PI, is arrested for the fourth time in three months, she writes it off as a job hazard. She's been (obsessively) keeping surveillance on a suspicious next door neighbor (suspect's name: John Brown), convinced he's up to no good -- even if her parents (the management at Spellman Investigations) are not.

When the (displeased) management refuses to bail Izzy out, it is Morty, Izzy's octogenarian lawyer, who comes to her rescue. But before he can build a defense, he has to know the facts. Over weak coffee and diner sandwiches, Izzy unveils the whole truth and nothing but the truth -- as only she, a thirty-year-old licensed professional, can.

When not compiling Suspicious Behavior Reports on all her family members, staking out her neighbor, or trying to keep her sister, Rae, from stalking her "best friend," Inspector Henry Stone, Izzy has been busy attempting to apprehend the copycat vandal whose attacks on Mrs. Chandler's holiday lawn tableaux perfectly and eerily match a series of crimes from 1991­-92, when Izzy and her best friend, Petra, happened to be at their most rebellious and delinquent. As Curse of the Spellmans unfolds, it's clear that Morty may be on retainer, but Izzy is still very much on the case...er, cases -- her own and that of every other Spellman family member. 

My Opinion

3 stars

I don't re-read books often but I reached for this series again during a time when I knew I would want some light reading.  I read this for the first time pre-Goodreads so I'm not sure what I thought at the time but for now, it's not my favorite of the series because I didn't really like any of the mysteries she was dealing with but I love the characters and look forward to revisiting them as I continue to re-read the series.

An Abundance of Katherines

Book 25 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 28 - April 1

An Abundance of Katherines

by John Green

Summary (via the book jacket)

published 2006

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail and an overweight Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun - but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layer comic novel about reinventing oneself.

My Opinion

2 stars

The reason I picked this book off the library shelf is because I was getting light reading material to occupy me while my daughter's recovering from surgery (she's fine).  Her name is Katherine (but she's always a Katie) so I thought the title was funny.

I didn't really like it.  It's unusual to have the boy be the whiner and piner but that doesn't make it easier to tolerate.  

It started to pick up when the cave conversation happened, ironically when it became less about the Katherines, and I settled in.  At that time I was thinking this would probably be a 3 star rating where I rate it neutrally as an acceptance that I'm not the target audience for the book and that could contribute to some of the reasons I didn't like it.

What took me right back down to a 2 rating were the number of times "retarded" was used.  There's no reason for it based on the time period this book took place and it wasn't a misguided attempted at shock value because nobody responded to it.  Both "good" and "bad" characters used it so it wasn't to show the character of someone, although it could've been to further a "hick Southern" stereotype based on the people that used it.  No matter what, no reason for it multiple times.

A Few Quotes from the Book

"It rather goes without saying that Katherine drank her coffee black. Katherines do, generally. They like their coffee like they like their ex-boyfriends: bitter."

"The thing about chameleoning your way through life is that it gets to where nothing is real."

The World As It Is

Book 24 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 22 - 31

The World As It Is: Inside the Obama White House

by Ben Rhodes

Summary (excerpted from the book jacket)

published 2018

For nearly ten years, Ben Rhodes saw almost everything that happened at the center of the Obama administration - first as a speechwriter, then as a deputy national security advisor, and finally as a multipurpose aide and close collaborator. He started every morning in the Oval Office with the President's Daily Briefing, traveled the world with Obama, and was at the center of some of the most consequential and controversial moments of the presidency. Now he tells the full story of his partnership - and ultimately, friendship - with a man who also happened to be a historic president of the United States.

My Opinion

3 stars

The writing was really good which is to be expected from a speechwriter.  Nothing felt dense even when getting into minutiae about policy.  Some of the chapters felt a little long depending on how much interest I had in the topic but he was very forthcoming about the good and the difficult parts of the job.

3 stars isn't a bad rating by any means but the reason I didn't rate it higher even though I liked the writing is because I expected more about him since it's listed as a memoir.  He made occasional references to the time constraints and how it affected his family but I would've liked more.  He touches on it a little with passages such as this one about foreign trips: "You stay in beautiful places, see strange things, meet famous people, and develop an intense camaraderie with the people you are with.  But I felt like it was impossible to explain these things to people back home - my wife, my parents, my old friends.  It was like you inhabited two parallel lives - one that made you who you were, and the other that was consuming that person, and transforming you into someone else."

Quote from the Book

"Every presidency is a story with one person at the center of it. This is how America organizes its political life and history books." 

Dear Martin

Book 23 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 27 - 28

Dear Martin

by Nic Stone

Summary (excerpted from Goodreads)

published 2017

Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.

My Opinion

5 stars

My 16 year old daughter came to me for a book recommendation for an English project.  They'd finished reading "To Kill A Mockingbird" as a class and the assignment was to individually read a contemporary book by a diverse author.  The goal of the project was to compare the two to see if English classes should continue to use the same "required reading" list year to year (or to quote my daughter, "old books by dead white guys") - are the classics still relevant or should new titles be rotated through as well?  She'd used "The Hate U Give" for multiple projects last year and was ready to branch out so I thought of this book.  She read it first and then I read it.  I will include her thoughts after mine.

This book isn't really something that I can summarize in a review but I really want to talk about it with people that have read it.  Part of the reason it hit me so hard as I was reading is because I hadn't read the full description of the book (the book jacket doesn't have much information) so I thought I knew what the main act of the book was and had no idea what was coming.  Even saying that makes me leery so I will end it there to avoid spoilers.  The ending and some of the character arcs were a little much but this is an easy 5 star rating because I FELT and REACTED to this book.  I highly recommend this book and then I have a million things to say!

Alison's Opinion (age 16)

"It was really good.  I liked it.  I would recommend it.  For my project, the events in this book were more relatable to me than "To Kill A Mockingbird".  I don't think we should be forced to only read old books as part of class when there are newer books that we're reading on the side that give the same lessons.  I think this would be a good addition to a class reading list."

Quote from the Book

"It's like I'm trying to climb a mountain, but I've got one fool trying to shove me down so I won't be on his level, and another fool tugging on my leg, trying to pull me to the ground he refused to leave."