I had no idea what to expect. This year was a total winner. An espresso machine. Super strong, user friendly and delicious. I am looking forward to mornings and being able to just walk into the kitchen and get a fantastic cup of joe. I have the French press but just put it in the closet for a hiatus. The side gift was beans from Joe's, Gimme Coffee and 9th Street Espresso. Three of the best coffee places in NYC. Delicious!
Cristina Alger: The Darlings: A Novel
i LOVED this book. First time novelist. Well written. She does a great job of describing each character. The story is loosely based on a Madoff type character. Total NY story. Page turner. She knows her town and these people. Really LOVED this book.
Stephen King: 11/22/63: A Novel
This is my first King book. He is an incredible story teller. Quite a book, very creative, interesting idea and story. It is so long. 850 pages. I get why he is one of the best selling authors
Whitney L. Johnson: Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream
I was so graciously asked to write a blurb for this book. It doesn't come out until May when I will write a post but for the time being you can pre-order.
Here is my blurb;
Every woman, regardless of age or profession, should read this book.
Through stories of real women, their dreams and their struggles, Johnson's
book has created an instant community. What's more, she has opened the door
for women to empower themselves to dare, dream and do.
Russell Banks: Lost Memory of Skin: A Novel
An interesting novel about the underground topic of child molesters. Banks takes on a disturbing topic as he weaves a variety of strange characters into the fold. Maybe I wanted some kind of closure from the book. The book is a big idea which really navigates a slice of America. Really well written but not so sure I'd recommend it. I stuck with the book but I didn't love it.
Susan Weissman: Feeding Eden: The Trials and Triumphs of a Food Allergy Family
The name of the book says it all. Every parent and every teacher should read this book.
Tom Perrotta: The Leftovers
I have read a few of Perrotta's books. He is an incredible writer but I always feel so unfulfilled when his books end. This concept of this book is that one day random people disappear and the world changes. The book focuses on one particular community and a few families. At the beginning I was wowed by the premise of the book but as always his books begin to ramble and the end was so bad it was if he couldn't figure out how to finish it. Literally the last paragraph made me say to myself, "seriously"?
Alice Hoffman: The Dovekeepers: A Novel
I wanted to finish it, I really did. But half way in I moved on. Really beautiful book. A story of four women who lived on Masada who are thrown together through fate as they tend to the doves. Wonderful history and interesting paths of each character. Just super dense. I hope to return to finishing it. After all...it is on my kindle.
Deborah Copaken Kogan: Between Here and April
This book tracks a terrible tragedy of a mother who took her life and her childrens in the 70s. I was interested in it because it happened where I grew up. Unfortunately the book bounces all over the place and only focuses on the authors own issues that she believes to be connected to this but in essence it is a serious reach and rambling.
W. Bruce Cameron: A Dog's Purpose
It took me a while to get into this but a very clever book. Life through a dogs eyes. Really well done.
Kyung-Sook Shin: Please Look After Mom
International best seller. Not only a peak into a past generation of Korean life but a disturbing look at alzheimers. Sticks with you.
Kathleen Flinn: The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks
Flinn writes about how she transformed 9 people to love cooking, understand food and what they are eating and basically changed their lives. Good book.
Julie Salamon: Wendy and the Lost Boys: The Uncommon Life of Wendy Wasserstein
What a fascinating life. I actually liked the last 25% of the book the best. A woman of the generation that was told she could have it all and with all her success she still felt unaccomplished. A worthy read.
Michael Ondaatje: The Cat's Table
A beautiful memoir of Ondaatjes solo journey from Sri Lanka to London as a young boy of 11 to return to his mother who had been residing there for 3/4 years. Those 3 weeks made quite an impact on his life as he threads those stories back to his life as an adult.
Jeffrey Eugenides: The Marriage Plot: A Novel
loved this book. brilliantly written, great character development, literature references abound, questioning of religion, depression issues, post college angst. loved loved.
Julie Otsuka: The Buddha in the Attic
I read Otsuka's first book, When the Emperor Was Divine and really enjoyed it. Her writing is very distinct and her prose is written in a way that is different, imaginative and interesting. The book is a bit of an extension of the first book. The topic is on America's stained past during the war, in our own country, when we locked up all the Japanese people living here because of pure fear of nothing. Otsuka's book gives the read insight into how the Japanese lived prior to that time and really what wonderful immigrants they were and are. Opens up a chapter of American history that we should all be very disturbed by.
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