Educated by Tara Westover

I have had this book recommended to me by several different people but never got around to reading it. Then it was chosen as our January book for book club so I was excited to get reading.

I'm not always a lover of non-fiction but there have been some recent exceptions to that (Unbroken, The Glass Castle and Thunderdog immediately come to mind). If you liked any of those books, you will probably enjoy this one as well.

This is the story of Tara Westover who grew up in rural Idaho. Her father, a devout Mormon, doesn't believe in government, medicine, or education. As a girl, Tara is being raised to be a wife and mother. Her father owns a junkyard and often puts all his children to work there, frequently in unsafe conditions. Tara is the youngest of seven children and by the time she comes along, homeschooling has been mostly forgotten and she is put to work in the junkyard, or occasionally helping her mother as the local midwife.

Eventually, at the urging of one of her brothers, Tara takes the ACT and earns a scholarship to university. Once there she realizes how unprepared she is for life in the real world and how little knowledge she has of anything that wasn't on the ACT. She learns how to learn and becomes a dedicated student.

At the same time her family is in turmoil, their unsafe working/living conditions cause several family members to be injured in accidents. The family doesn't believe in modern medicine (Tara never even took Tylenol until she was at a friend's house as a teenager) so many of them don't receive the proper care for their injuries. She suffers horrible abuse at the hands of one of her brothers and her parents turn a blind eye to it.

In spite of all this, Tara rises above her circumstances to move on to a life outside of Idaho. Her strength and resilience are inspiring.

Some members of her family are speaking out against the book so it can be hard to know where the truth lies. However I still found this to be a compelling read (I read most of it on a 2-hour flight yesterday). I highly recommend it and would love to talk it over with anyone who has read it.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

I heard about this book several years ago and picked it up a good while back but for some reason I just never got around to reading it. So when I needed to pick a book for my book club for this year I decided to choose this one so I would finally get it read. I'm so glad I did.

A.J. Fikry lives on Alice Island, on the Northeast Coast of the United States, not far from Providence, Rhode Island. Although still a young man, he has been recently widowed after his wife dies in a car accident. A.J. is still running their independent book store but his heart is no longer in it. He's drinking heavily, not taking care of himself and hating his life. The one item of value he had in his life was a rare copy of Tamerlane by Edgar Allan Poe and it gets stolen from his house one night after he has had too much to drink. This book was his retirement savings plan and now his financial future is uncertain because the book store isn't making a lot of money.

Then one day there is an unexpected delivery at the store and A.J.'s life changes in an instant.

This is a delightful read, filled with talk about other books. Because A.J. runs a book store he is always talking about books with other characters. Book lovers will love that aspect of the story. I love A.J.'s opinionated ways and his strong feelings about literature (many of which I share). The book is filled with fun characters and an engaging story. Maybe it all comes together a little too easily, but it is still a sweet little book. It won't take you long to read it, but almost everyone in our book club enjoyed it. One member said she wasn't really getting into it, but everyone else really enjoyed it.

I really don't think you can go wrong with this one, especially if you are the type of person who could spend hours browsing in an independent or used book store. This one was a big hit for me.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Only four people were able to attend our book club meeting last weekend and none of us had finished the book. It was expensive with long waits at the library so some of us had a hard time getting our hands on a copy. I actually bought a digital copy (which I really don't like doing, I love turning actual pages) so I could read it. I'm so glad I did. This one was a big win for me.

This is the story of Count Alexander Rostov who, in 1922, was tried and convicted of being an "unrepentant aristocrat" and sentenced to life under house arrest in the Hotel Metropol in Moscow. He is given a tiny room in the attics of the hotel and eventually given a job as the head waiter in their high end restaurant. The Count is forced to watch as the Russia he loves crumbles and is replaced by new leaders and new ideology. From his place within the hotel he watches the  country change over the course of several decades. He creates a family made up of the employees of the hotel, along with some other notable guests. As he ages he is given the responsibility of raising his friend's daughter, Sophia. Not knowing anything about children he is a bit overwhelmed at first but can't imagine how big a role Sophia would go on to play in his life.

Admittedly, I don't know a lot about Russia's history but I found this to be a fascinating read as you see how the ideologies shifted and how that affected the people. I was intrigued by stories of propaganda (rural peasants not being allowed in the cities, city residents not being allowed in the country, train windows being blacked out) so no one could truly see how others were being affected by all the changes.

In addition to being a great story it was also beautifully written. Some parts were quite funny, some heartbreaking, but it was all beautifully done. This guy definitely has a way with words.

If you are looking for a book with a lot of action, this isn't the book for you. It's certainly not a page-turner in the traditional sense. Because it is all set in the hotel, there's not a lot happening. But the wonderful writing, fascinating history and interesting characters combine to make a fantastic, quiet read.

The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year Old Man by Jonas Jonasson

Several years ago, I, like many others, found myself completely enamoured with Allan Karlsson, The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Then Disappeared. I found the book to be incredibly unique and laugh-out-loud funny. I bought it as a gift for several people and recommended it highly.

I hesitatingly watched the movie when it was on Netflix and really enjoyed that as well.

I started another book by the same author the next year (The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden) but just couldn't get into it. It is one of three books I have abandoned in my reading career (accompanied by Catch-22 and Captain Corelli's Mandolin). It just wasn't for me. Last year Rob read and thoroughly enjoyed Jonasson's Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All  but after my experience with  The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden I didn't read it myself.

For this reason I found myself a bit torn when I saw this book in Costco this summer. I just wasn't sure what I would think of it. Would it recapture the magic of the first book or would it mirror his later writing that I didn't enjoy? The first book is one of Rob's all-time favourite books so he bought it right away. He has been too busy with work to read so he gave it to me to read first under strict instructions not to reveal anything about the book to him.

Soooo, it's good he's probably not reading this.

It was a huge disappointment. There were a few funny sentences here and there, but overall it just wasn't interesting. It was very political which just isn't my thing. There are no flashbacks to Allan's past in this book (I guess the whole 100 years had been covered in the first book) so it was all set in the current day. Donald Trump, Kim Jong-Un and Angela Merkel are all characters. This is more of an ensemble story so Allan is almost like a supporting character (and kind of an annoying one at that). We all know Donald Trump is unstable and boorish. I hear about it on the news all the time. I read to get away from that sort of thing.

I did read to the end, but it wasn't worth it. If you loved the first one, like I did, then leave it at that. Don't spoil your image of that book by reading this one.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

I first heard about this book back when it was released and I saw an interview with the author on television. It seemed like a fun read, but I never got around to it. A couple of weeks ago I was in a book store with a gift card and it was on display again, preparing for the upcoming release of the movie. While in the store both a staff member and other customers saw me looking at it and recommended it highly. So I picked it up.

I'd call this one a fun summer read. Definitely not my favourite book of all time, but still fun.

This is the story of Rachel Chu, a Economics Professor in New York City. Her boyfriend, Nick Young, invites her to travel to Singapore with him for his best friend's wedding. What he doesn't tell her is that his family is one of the wealthiest families in Singapore and that this wedding is on par with a royal wedding. Rachel is completely unprepared for the lavish, extravagant lifestyle Nick's family leads and it leads to all sorts of problems.

Nick's mother doesn't know he is dating Rachel and isn't happy that Rachel doesn't come from a recognizable family tree. She wants Nick to marry someone rich, who can add to the family fortune. Nick's wife must be someone from the "right kind" of family and Rachel doesn't fit that bill.

I feel like some of these scenes were written with a possible movie in mind. The beautiful settings, incredibly scenery and over-the-top luxury will look incredible on the big screen.

The book is supposed to satirize the lifestyle these people lead, but at times I just found their disregard for how much things cost disturbing. The amount of money wasted was troubling at times.

One criticism I have is that when words need to be translated, this was done in a footnote at the bottom of the page. If I read that word again and couldn't remember where it was first mentioned, it was hard to find the right footnote. I would have preferred a glossary of Chinese terms at the end of the book as an easier reference.

For the most part, a fun read. I'll probably read the other two books in the series just to see where the story goes.

Pride and Prejudice Manga Edition by Jane Austen and Stacy King

I have written often about two things: the fact that I don't like adaptations of my favourite books and the fact that I love classic novels being adapted into graphic novels. So, now those two things have combined and I was hesitant to see how I would feel about it.

After falling in love with the Sense and Sensibility Manga edition a few weeks ago, Darcy and I got in line for the Manga edition of Pride and Prejudice. P & P is #2 on my all-time favourite books list and the source of Darcy's name. Once we picked it up from the library, she pounced on it and finished it 3 times in a day and a half. Darcy absolutely loved it and now can't wait to watch the BBC miniseries (be still my heart). Then it was my turn to read it.

I thought it was great! It was a very true adaptation of the original story, once again featuring incredible art. They inserted little character introductions throughout the story, which I thought was a fun touch and would help someone new to P & P understand the characters a little better. I don't think the characters were as well developed here as they are in the full version of the book so those backgrounds helped.

It's not the original, but it's a great, fun, modern interpretation. It made Darcy pick up the original, but she still found the language a bit daunting.

All in all, this is a fun way to spend an afternoon. It could help introduce a new generation of readers to this classic story. Take a look for it at your local library and let me know what you think.

Shooter by Caroline Pignat

Caroline Pignat is one of Darcy's favourite authors (she actually got to attend a writing workshop with Caroline earlier this year) who is actually based in Ottawa and is a high school teacher here. She writes books aimed at teens and teens love them. This one was released while I was doing my placement in a high school library and it was in high demand. Darcy read it then, but later bought the book at a meet and greet with the author at a local Chapters store. She's been on my case to read it ever since so I took the opportunity during my summer vacation to give it a read.

Anyone in my age group knows and loves the movie The Breakfast Club. We loved watching those five students trapped together in Saturday detention, starting the day as strangers and ending the day as friends. The situations they faced forced them to see beyond high school labels to the real people inside.

Shooter operates in much the same way. 5 students are trapped in the boys' bathroom during a school lockdown. Each student speaks in their own unique voice (poetry, prose, text messages, writing journals) and they combine to tell the story of what happens that day in their school. There's Alice, a lonely writer who is a caregiver to her older brother, Noah, who has autism. Hogan is a former football player who is always in trouble after the death of his older brother. Isabelle is the student council president and always feels pressured to present a perfect image to the other students and her parents. The final student is Xander, a social misfit who sees the world better through the lens of his camera and needs to do "social autopsies" on conversations after they happen so he can understand what transpired.

At the beginning they assume the lockdown is a drill, or simply related to a series of pranks that have been happening at the school in recent weeks. Things change when Isabelle receives a text from her friend locked down in the office that this isn't a drill or a prank, there is a shooter in the school.

These five students need to understand each other (and more about themselves) in order to get through. Maybe there is more to perfect Isabelle than she lets on. Hogan's painful past has damaged him in ways he can't get past. Alice feels a huge responsibility for Noah and may have to put her own dreams aside to help care for him. Xander is trying to fit in in a world he doesn't understand and the one friend he thought he had leads him on a dangerous path. These students look to each other and into themselves to learn how to work together to survive.

I loved reading this book and I highly recommend it for anyone, but especially any teens you may have in your life. My library doesn't currently own a copy of this book, but I'll be getting one during this school year. Please look into Caroline's work and support this fantastic local author! Here is a link to a review I did of Egghead a few years ago.