Reading Goals: Fall

Today I am doing a reverse book review! Instead of posting about the books that I have read lately, I am posting about books that I want to read this Fall and Winter! I have a large collection of books, so I just picked a few from my collection that I want to read, finish, or re-read!

I have read "The Depression Cure" before and found it very helpful, so I am looking forward to refreshing my mind and reading it again!

I purchased "Successful Women Think Differently" at an airport and read through it so quickly, this time I want to read it slowly and take lots of notes!

Both of these books I have started, but for some reason got distracted and stopped reading. I am looking forward to finishing them!

I absolutely adore Elizabeth Gilbert because of "Eat Pray Love" and also her Ted Talks. So I am sure I will love "The Signature of All Things!"

My Mom gave me the book "Wild" as a gift, and I have started reading it but never finished it. (Notice a pattern here lol??) 

I think I will be reading "Wild" first!

What are you reading this Fall?

Book Review: Water for Elephants

Surprising, poignant, and funny, Water for Elephants is that rare novel with a story so engrossing, one is reluctant to put it down; with characters so engaging, they continue to live long after the last page has been turned; with a world built of wonder, a world so real, one starts to breathe its air.

-via GoodReads

This book is written from two perspectives: that of a ninety-year-old protagonist who is living in a nursing home, and the just-out-of-vet-school protagonist who runs away with the circus (the same man at different ages). I am currently working in a nursing home, and I used to perform with a circus. So you can guess why this book appealed to me!

Jacob Jankowski is the protagonist of this story. In some reviews I have read that some of the characters, in particular Marlena, were shallow and under developed, but I don't agree with this. I think that Jacob was designed to be the main character and all of the other characters were built off of his perspective. Not to say that he thought Marlena was bland, but he was simply in love with her. This is not a spoiler because he basically falls in love with her the moment he sees her. For those of us who have found true love, it may be easier to believe than those who haven't. Jacob is works a veterinarian, and Marlena has a marvelous way with animals, particularly horses, as well as a love and sensitivity for them which Jacob shares.

This isn't a happy-go-lucky story about clowns and dancing elephants. This is the real side of a traveling circus - the dark, dirty, honest side of performing life that has to stay hidden in order for people to enjoy the show.

I would definitely recommend this book. I gave it four stars because I would have loved even more character development. I love my characters! There was a loose metaphor in the story, but the final message failed me. It was a great story that will certainly take you on an emotional roller coaster. It is also a cultural and historical journey into a different world. 

Have you read Water for Elephants? What did you think?

Also, are you a member of GoodReads? If you love to read and love to blog, you should consider it! I just love reading other people's reviews of books I have read. Especially ones that have a different opinion than me... is that weird?

Book Reviews: Visitation Street

Chosen by Denis Lehane for his eponymous imprint, Ivy Pochoda’s Visitation Street is a riveting literary mystery set against the rough-hewn backdrop of the New York waterfront in Red Hook.
It’s summertime in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a blue-collar dockside neighborhood. June and Val, two fifteen-year-olds, take a raft out onto the bay at night to see what they can see.
- Excerpt from Amazon

Book: Visitation Street

Author: Ivy Pochoda 

A crowd gathers on the corner of Visitation Street after the disappearance of two local girls--one of whom has washed up on shore, barely alive--and our narrator teases: “The story develops slowly.” The same can be said of Ivy Pochoda’s atmospheric debut, which is as much an ode to the ragged neighborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn as it is a slow-burning mystery. At times I felt I was reading of some foreign or forgotten city, a moody and crumbling place in the shadow of Manhattan. While the damaged-goods characters are quite memorable--a woman spends her days “speaking” to her dead husband; a music teacher drinks to oblivion, haunted by his dead mother; an immigrant shop owner dreams of a better Red Hook--the star here is “the Hook.” One character describes it as “a neighborhood of ghosts,” where trash rolls like tumbleweed--hazy, smelly, noisy, blue collar, crime-ridden, yet full of heart and hope. Says one character, who wants to flee Red Hook in the boat his murdered father left him: “It’s not such a bad place … if you look under the surface.” The same can be said of Visitation Street, a deceptively literary tale that brings to mind its benefactor, Denis Lehane, who published the book under his new imprint. --Neal Thompson

My Rating: 3.5 out of 4 Stars!!
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
1. It addressed issues that I am already interested in, including race relations, class, and gentrification. Even in a lower class neighborhood, people are still divided by race.
2. Character Development - I like a story with many characters, when the author tells each of their stories separately and then in the end bring them together. I really like to know the characters inside and out. I want to feel as if I know them personally.  While everyone loves the character we "love-to-hate," I especially love the kind of character that I "hate-to-love." There is one such characters this book.
3. Plot - The story does develop slowly. But this is a necessary requirement for this particular story to be told. While it is a mystery, it is not a crime thriller. You will find yourself thinking about a lot of other things besides "whodunit" by the end of the book.
4. Easy Read - While the story itself was slow to develop, the book was not difficult to read. It was very engaging and entertaining. with each scenario that was portrayed, I could feel myself right in the middle of the scene, seeing and feeling what was happening.
5. New Ideas - I love a book that has new ideas. While I wouldn't call this book life-changing (at least not for me... maybe it will be for you!) it definitely portrayed some things that we often look at as negatives in a different light. Examples include vandalism, gang activity, and juvenile imprisonment.

I would definitely recommend this book. Ivy Pochoda is a great author and I look forward to reading more from her! If you have read it, I would love to hear your thoughts!