Goodreads | The Train of Small Mercies, Love Wins & The Girls

You know that feeling when you finish a really good book and you don't want to start another one just yet because you're still hanging on to the last one? Or maybe you start another book but you just can't get into it because you're still thinking of the one you just read? That's how I felt after each of these books because they were all so good, but SO different! Check it out: The Train of Small Mercies by David Rowell. This is one of the best books I've read in a loooong time. I flew through this thing; it helps that it's an easy read. This is a story about multiple characters and how they react/deal with Robert F. Kennedy's assassination ... and all the tragedy that the country has faced up to this point. The entire book revolves around the train carrying Kennedy's body from New York to Washington, D.C. I'm embarrassed to say I knew almost nothing about Robert Kennedy, so bonus points for learning something, as well as being entertained.

Love Wins by Rob Bell. I've been a Rob Bell fan for awhile now because of his NOOMA series, but I had never read one of his books (it's now checked off my 101 in 1001 list). I needed to read this book. One that, yes, explores heaven and hell, but also pounds home the point: God loves you ... always. I really like Bell's writing style (very casual), and after I finished this book I felt like I needed to pick it up and read it all over again. There's so much packed into 198 pages, and Bell can so poetically put into understandable words and sentences things that I could barely comprehend before starting the book. Go.read.

The Girls by Lori Lansens. I can't say I've ever read a fiction (or non-fiction) story about conjoined twins ... until now. Rose and Ruby have been joined at the head since birth, and now, at 30 years old, Rose (the writer of the two) has decided she's going to write her autobiography. While she tells a lot of stories, I think the most interesting parts are about them: how they get around, how they decide what they're going to do each day, and how they lead a fairly normal life having never been alone in 30 years.

Goodreads | Run & The 19th Wife

Now that I'm not planning a wedding or working three jobs (ridiculous), I have some extra time to read! My goal this year is to read more often and pick up some books that I wouldn't normally. If you have any recommendations, please leave them in the comment box below! And I hope a couple of you pick up one or both of my Goodreads recommendations (they both got 4 out of 5 stars on my Goodreads shelf): Run by Ann Patchett. My dear friend Leah recommended this book, and it did not disappoint! I was about three-fourths of the way in before I realized that the entire book had taken place over the course of about 24 hours. That's the sign of a good piece of fiction ... you get so wrapped up in the story that you forget about the logistics. This modern-day novel follows a family through a Boston snowstorm and beautifully uncovers the lasting impact that the storm will have on the family's makeup. The snowstorm, however, doesn't define the story; it's more of a secondary character that subtlety nudges the book in a certain direction.

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. Before I opened this book, I knew next to nothing about polygamy. Yep, you heard me ... I don't watch "Sister Wives." (Because, clearly, that's the best place to go to learn about polygamy!) Really, even after having read this book I'm not sure I can say I'm an expert because the story is obviously a work of fiction, BUT it was fascinating nonetheless and I feel a little more informed about the history of the practice. Ebershoff intertwines a present-day murder mystery involving a polygamous and fundamentalist sect of the Church of Latter Day Saints with Ann Eliza Young's (Brigham Young's infamous estranged wife) memoirs about her fight to end polygamy. Certainly an entertaining read if nothing else!

Goodreads | Installment #2

For those of you who missed my first installment of Goodreads (totally not my name; find out about the real Goodreads here), let me sum it up for you:

1. I am what some might call a book nerd, which means that I like to read ... a lot.
2. This also means that I like to give and get book recommendations. So keep the love coming, people! :)

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. This is one of those books that I judged by the cover. A few years ago (yes, years), I bought this book for book club and I never ended up reading it. Ha! If you see it in the store, you'll know what I mean. It's dark and, well, manly looking, and I didn't really want anything to do with it. But I've recently been trying to "clean out" my bookshelf, so I picked this up. It surprised me. Big time. It is pretty dark and slightly disturbing at times, but it's really original. A little boy runs away from home and finds himself living the fairy tales he's been reading in his room. But the fairy tales have a twist. Let's just say that Snow White isn't the pretty princess we all know and love.

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares. And THIS is the opposite of The Book of Lost Things. For those of you familiar with the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, yes, these are the same characters. I admit, I really like the series. I seemed to follow Lena, Tibby, Carmen and Bridget in age and experiences so I got into those four books. This book, however, has a totally different feel. I was expecting a warm, fuzzy, feel-good book that would tie the series together, and it's actually a little bit dark ... and dramatic in my opinion. Still, a super easy read and one you should definitely check out if you're loyal to "The Sisterhood." :)

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. Love, love, love! I don't normally read mysteries but this one you definitely can't miss! First, the character is super cute and ridiculously witty for an 11-year-old. Second, this book is smart and sharp and will keep you guessing. Third ... there's no third, just go. run. grab. read! The narrator, Flavia (c'mon! Flavia?! How could you not like her?), finds herself (well, most like inserts herself) in the middle of a murder and is determined to figure out what happened before the police. There's a blackbird, valuable stamp, custard pie and red-haired Norwegian that are pieced together in the end.

Happy reading! :)

Goodreads | The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake & Olive Kitteridge

I have two questions for you: 1) Do you like to read? (If that answer was no, what's wrong with you?! :)) 2) Are you on Goodreads? If you answered yes and no, respectively, you need to get yourself on over to www.goodreads.com and start getting and sharing book recommendations! If you love to read AND you're a super organized person, you REALLLLLY need to get yourself over to Goodreads. I think my favorite part about the whole site is that I now have a place to "shelve" my "To Read" books ... other than that little piece of scrap paper that I always seem to lose.

In the last couple months, I've read two awesome books (actually, just two books period, which I feel like must be some sort of record in Lane World considering how little time I have to read! Let's just say I've been staying up waaaay too late):

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. I've been excited to read this book since I saw the mouthwatering cover at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. Yes, mouthwatering. I love cake! The inside pages didn't disappoint. The story follows a young girl who finds that she can taste feelings in food, and you learn how this "talent" affects her life, for good and bad. There's definitely a sense of magical realism in the story, which I'm generally not a huge fan of, but this is a quick and easy read that keeps you wanting more.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. You know that feeling when you finish a good book and the thought of starting a new one is almost too overwhelming? OK, maybe it's just me, but after really getting into a good story, I have a hard time starting at square one again. That's how I felt when I picked up Olive Kitteridge, but after the first couple pages, I was already hooked. The novel is uniquely set up in that you learn who exactly Olive is from a number of connected and unconnected narrators. Each chapter starts almost all over with a story that loops Olive into the mix. I liked this perspective. Because each person has a different image of Olive, you really have to piece it all together and form your own opinion of the character.

Happy reading! :)