Atlas Shrugged (novel)

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

My first book review of the year is for a book I did not finish. Not only that, but I chose this book for my book club to read, and I will be hosting the discussion later this month. Yet, I did not finish it.

This was my second attempt at this epic novel. Though it was originally published in the 1950s, I had never heard of Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, or any of her other works until about a year ago when a friend of mine mentioned it to me and told me it's the best book she's ever read. She also told me that the protagonist in the story reminded her of me (I still don't get that, but maybe I didn't get far enough into the story to draw any similarities).

The author, Ayn Rand, was born in 1905 in Russia. She lived through the Communist takeover, and her life was personally and profoundly affected by it. She eventually came to America, which she viewed as the one true free society. Her novel, Atlas Shrugged, basically illustrates, by way of fictional, larger-than-life characters, and a ficitional, larger-than-life society, the struggle between Socialism and Capitalism. In Ms. Rand's view, Socialism is evil and leads to corruption and apathy in a society, and Capitalism - people in a society motivated by self-interest and self-preservation, nurturing an environment of competition in the marketplace - is the only true path to a free society. She illustrates by extremes in her novel what would happen if true and absolute Socialism took over America, and the brightest minds in a society withdrew in protest. In a nutshell, the society collapses.

The premise of the story is fascinating, and story itself is an interesting one. The big problem is that it is just far too long and laborious to read. Every person, place, and thing is described in minute detail. Every dialogue involves pages-long speeches. It's exhausting. My copy of the book is 1169 pages long, and I finally gave up at page 435 (so I do feel that I gave it a decent attempt). I think the entire thing could have been condensed by at least half and not lost anything the author was trying to get across. My feeling is that this is one of those books that you may want to read if you want people to think you're Super Intelligent. It's like a feather in one's cap if one can say, "Oh, yes, I read Atlas Shrugged." As for me? I'll do without the feather, thank you very much. I felt quite liberated when I gave myself permission to quit Atlas Shrugged.

As for my upcoming book club discussion? I made myself read the Spark Notes as penance. It appears to outline everything anyone really needs to know about the book, and it's a much more enjoyable read.

My copy of Atlas Shrugged is up for grabs. Good riddance.

Just Kids [memoir]

So, the first book I decided to read this year was Just Kids by Patti Smith. In spite of my love of 70's & 80's punk/alternative rock, I never quite understood the reverence musicians had for Patti Smith. "Because the Night" and "Dancing Barefoot" was pretty much all I knew about her.

Just Kids focuses on the early years and Patti's development as an artist and her extraordinary relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. I wasn't sure what to expect, since I wasn't familiar with either artist's work.

I was really engaged with the book. Watching these two grow as artists and all the sacrifices and self-discoveries they made was fascinating. I've always admired artists, but had no idea what makes them tick, and it was a great insight.

There were a few classic rock 'n' roll encounters, but they are just in passing. There were quite a few literary and musical references that I didn't understand, though. And I thought the ending felt a bit rushed. But overall, Patti Smith really has a gift with words and storytelling. I'll probably give her music another listen as well!

This one's on my Kindle.

Book Giveaway Extravaganza!!

Have I mentioned that I have a book-buying problem? I do. I love to buy books. Problem is, oftentimes the books I buy will sit on my shelf for months and months and eventually I will be forced to acknowledge to myself that I don't know why I bought such and such book and it's highly doubtful I'll ever read it, because suddenly it looks far less interesting (to me) than it did in the bookstore.

Lucky you, however! You can benefit from my habit! I've recently done some housekeeping and am offering the following books up for grabs, free of charge! Just drop me an email at bloggymamaATgmailDOTcom with your address if you want any of the books listed. I'll ship on my dime within the continental U.S.

Renegade: The Making of a President by Richard Wolffe

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (this one I actually read; excellent book!)

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by David Eggers

Letters to My Daughter by Maya Angelou

My Lobotomy by Howard Dully

Autobiograhy of a Face by Lucy Grealy

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Paradise by Toni Morrison

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Self-Made Man: One Woman's Year Disguised as a Man by Norah Vincent

Remember Me; The Return; The Last Story

Remember Me; The Return; The Last Story by Christopher Pike

Three books in one!  What more could a gal ask for?  I guess you'll soon find out!

Before I start, I want to point out two things.  One, this is 3 reviews in one, so it's gonna be lengthy, and two, this is a Young Adult Novel.  I like to know what my kids are reading, or what their friends are reading, I want to know what they are talking about.  Many times I will jump on a book that looks interesting, so I can recommend it to them or maybe hide it away to see if they will find it on their own ::: wink wink :::  plus, they are easy reads - I plowed through the 800+ pages in two days.


Remember Me  Shari Cooper is your stereo-typical 18 year old California girl.  Blonde hair, blue eyes, rich parents, big house by the beach, perfect family.  She has a drop dead gorgeous boyfriend, is popular, drives a red sports car, oh!  and did I mention she is dead?

Yep!  Two weeks from graduating high school, Shari is found dead under a balcony, 4 stories up, where she had been attending a birthday party.  The death is ruled a suicide, even though she showed no signs of being suicidal.  Looking on on the other side, she has no idea how she was killed, she only knows she never would have jumped.  Before she can "go into the light", she wants to know what happened.  Shari spies on her "friends" to see how they handle her death and she follows Detective Garrett as he pieces together the clues that unravel the mystery.

The Return  Shari Cooper's murder has been solved; she can finally rest on the other side.  Only she can't.  There was so much of her life left to live, and she is so much more aware now.

Shari is given an opportunity reserved only for rare souls.  She has the chance to be reborn, but not as an infant.  She will take the place of an 18 year old girl who has given up on life.  Shari will become a Wanderer and will turn this otherwise destined-for-nothing life into something others will look up to.

The Last Story  Shari Cooper/Jean Rodrigues, has overcome amazing challenges.  She has returned from the dead and has narrowly escaped another death.  She is now a famous author, traveling the world while changing it with her stories.  Her latest book is about her former life, or really, her death.  She writes as her previous identity, Shari Cooper, from beyond the grave.  She publicly details her involvement in the solving of her murder, even though it may hurt the people she wants most to help.

But has she lost sight of her purpose?  The reason for her re-birth?  Shari/Jean struggles to overcome the obstacles that fame and money throw in her face as she works to unravel a new story forming in her mind.  Will she understand the deep memories of the past before it's too late?

I read the publishers synopsis of the book and thought it sounded similar to The Lovely Bones, which is a book I love and have read a number of times.  I have always enjoyed books about the supernatural.  I didn't realize that it was actually a 3-book series.

I finished the first book (300 pages) in an afternoon and honestly I was impressed with it.  It didn't drag on with annoying details and it ended well.  I could have walked away from the story feeling satisfied that it was over - no loose ends, no what-ifs, no feeling of "it should have explained more ...".

and if you have read my last few reviews, you'd know this has been an issue with me

The second book was a total mess.  While I respect where the author was trying to go with it, I really felt it was thrown together to fulfill a contract deadline.  It was short, jumbled and confusing.  Characters were introduced, but never elaborated on, which alone was no big deal until they were reintroduced in the 3rd book, and well ... I had no idea who they were! Being a closet sci-fi junkie, I had no issues with Shari taking over Jean's body, or even the religious background to the story, I just felt it could have been done SO much better.

By the 3rd book I was honestly just looking forward to putting the series to rest.  It was better than the second, but it still felt rushed and incomplete.  The story line jumped around, characters that were meaningless in book 2 were reintroduced and remained, still, pretty meaningless.  The passion behind the story was gone and I felt kind of sorry for the author.

I really enjoyed Remember Me, I may even read it again sometime, but the sequels I could live without.

I have a 1.5 pound book to pass along if anyone is interested ;0)

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearle Cleage

Ava Johnson is a successful hairdresser in Atlanta.  She has her own shop, she surrounds herself with the finest clothes and the finest people, and she enjoys living her life to the fullest.  She has all she hoped for when she left Idlewild, Michigan 10 years ago

... and then some

It all begins to come to a screeching halt when a woman barges into her shop demanding that Ava "take it back!".  What she wants her to take back, is the letter that Ava had written to this woman's husband.  The letter that she'd sent out to every sexual partner she'd had in Atlanta.  The one explaining she was HIV positive.

Ava sells her shop and plans to head west to San Francisco, but first she wants to stop in Idlewild to visit her sister, Joyce.  What Ava thinks is a lazy summer visit, turns into a new challenge when she finds that the troubles of the big cities have invaded the lazy town she'd grown up in.  Her sister needs her help and Ava can't convince her to pick up and move with her, so she stays to help out and it turns out not to be a bad choice afterall.

This is one of those books I downloaded on a whim.  It has been sitting on my kindle for months, but aside from the interesting title, I knew nothing about the book.  I finally sat down to read it and finished it in just a couple of days.

The book was an easy read and fairly entertaining, despite the number of tragedies that seems to continuously attack these poor women.  There is quite a bit of information on HIV and AIDS and some colorful observations of African American life. The dialogue is straight forward and you definitely feel the change from one character to another ... the brutal teenage drug addicts and the quieter, prayerful sister.

The only complaint I had about the book was I felt it ended rather hastily (I think this is becoming a pattern for me?).  Now that I have opened up my reading genre, I am finding that some authors have a talent of leaving a book at the right time ... closing doors in a timely manner and leaving the reader satisfied.  Other authors tend to build up the action til the last couple of chapters and then slam the door  I was left feeling like I'd just watched an epsiode of The Cosby Show ... laughs, problems, laughs, the big problem comes to a head ... then let's wrap it all up in a big bow for the last 5 minutes.  It left me feeling cheated as a child and all these years later I am finding the same sentiment.

I would still recommend it, though.  I would love to pass along my copy, but it's on my kindle ♥

Look Again

Look Again by Lisa Scottoline
Ellen Gleeson is a successful newspaper reporter and a single mom.  The story opens with her juggling the daily routine of working mom ... coming home from a day of work, hands full with mail, briefcase and Chinese take out for dinner.  Only, something in the mail draws her attention.

Have you seen me?

We've all seen the card in the mail.  The one with the picture of the missing child and the story of their horrible disappearance reduced to a list of dates and a short description of what they looked like, or a computer generated version of what they may look like today.  Only the child on this card looks exactly like Ellen's adopted son.

The story leads us with Ellen's nagging feeling that the familiarity with the boy on the card is more than mere coincidence.  As a reporter she has learned to trust this instinct.  As a mother she fears it.  We watch her put the pieces together as she risks her job, her heart and her life fighting her need for the truth and her desire to keep her little boy.

This book was lent to me by a friend who raved about it.  The book sounded good, but as a mother of an adopted child I have to admit I was hesitant reading anything that challenges our relationship, both legally and emotionally.  I read half the book in my first sitting, and then I reached a part - a legal loophole, if you will - that had me set the book aside.

The book dredged up some feelings I thought had been laid to rest.  It made me question the extent that one would go to, to do right by their child.  Do you stay blissfully ignorant and go about your life knowing that there are people whose lives have been shattered and that you  may hold the key to putting the pieces back together?  Or do you risk shattering your own life by looking for the truth?

I finished the rest of the book two days later.  I honestly could have walked away from it and never looked back, but the perfectionist in me says I have to finish what I started.  I figured I knew how it would end, I just wasn't sure I was ready to go there.

Any book that can reach in and yank out my heart, in my opinion, has some good to it.  It was well written and easy to follow.  It held a little bit for every reader - romance, suspense, action, mystery.  I thought the torn-emotions between wanting to know the truth vs wanting to pretend nothing would change came across pretty clearly. But the book ended rather abruptly, in my opinion,  it seemed like the author just kind of pooped out after getting to a point and threw in an Epilogue to tie it all together.  I wasn't real pleased with that.

I recommend as an easy read, despite it's almost 380 pages.

Moloka'i (a novel)

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

This is the story of Rachel, a young Hawaiian girl, beloved by her family and living an idyllic childhood in late eighteenth century Honolulu, who contracts leprosy at the age of seven and is ripped away from her family and the only life she's ever known and sent to live in exhile in the leper colony on the tiny island of Moloka'i. Although fictitious, this novel is populated by a number of people who actually did live, and on historical events that actually took place.

Heartwrenching as it is reading about a little girl torn from her family and sent away to live out her life diseased and orphaned, the book actually ends up being uplifting without feeling contrived or saccharine. Rachel manages to carve out a life for herself in the leper colony, becoming part of a new family of other people, young and old, living with the same disease as she, the same feelings of loss, and the same determination to live. Full of lush descriptions of the Hawaiian landscape and culture, it was easy to visualize the story as it unfolded.

I never knew a whole lot about leprosy (now called Hansen's Disease) until reading this book, which inspired me to do a little further research. What has historically been viewed as the scourge of the sinful and unclean (and is still viewed as such today in many cultures), it is actually just a bacterial infection that, tragically, causes horrific disfiguration if left untreated. Fortunately, there are very effective treatments today that arrest the disease. Knowing this, however, makes it all the more tragic how many thousands and thousands of people were stripped of everyone and everything they had and forced to live out their lives as virtual criminals in exhile.

I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it (I read it on my iPad so don't have a copy to give away).