Since I had veered away from Oprah's list for a while, I decided to venture back in by choosing Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. It had gotten amazing reviews and I love longbooks. Unfortunately, I couldn't have possible found it more boring. I kept on trekking through it because I figured maybe it started a little slow and picked up in the middle. Well, I got close to 300 pages in and still nothing more fascinating than a brief affair. I figured I gave it as much attention as it deserved and dropped it off at the library. I absolutely hate not finishing a book, but I also hate wasting my time. I know it's a bestseller but I personally do not recommend it.
While I was reading Freedom, my husband was reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I had every intention of reading it after I finished Freedom, but then he bought me a Kindle! Now, I had mentioned in an earlier post that I was worried that technology was going to ruin the sanctity of the written word. I did read all three of the Hunger Games books on the Kindle (in less than I week I might add-those books were addicting!) But I find that while the Kindle is pretty cool, I will always love holding a book.
So I did pause my reading of Freedom (I was not sad about it) to read The Hunger Games, Chasing Fire, and Mockingjay. What an amazing journey! It was such an interesting concept and I enjoyed every minute of this trilogy. And while I do think it could have ended a little better, I would still highly recommend this trilogy to EVERYBODY. And make sure to read it before the movie comes out!!
After I finished that series, I went back to Freedom. And after dropping it off at the library a couple days later, I went back to the trunk of my car to see if I still had Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay back there. I did not, and instead found a novel that my aunt (well, she's basically my aunt) gave to me. It seemed like it would be more of a beach book, but I had nothing else to read at that moment, so I started reading it. And I was pretty much right. It was called The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty. It was about this teenage girl who accidentally hits a girl with her car and kills her. It's told from the point of view of her mother and it is all about the mother-daughter relationship. It was a cute read, but I thought it ended rather abruptly. I wish there were another couple of chapters to really tie up all the ends, but I would definitely recommend it for a beach read.
After finishing that book, I searched the bookshelf at home to see if maybe I had brought Sarah's Key into the house, like a normal person. I really didn't want to go searching in my car again. And alas! There it was. So I tucked it in my purse and prepared to read it at lunch the next day. So far, I am really enjoying it! I like the way the chapters alternate from present day to the roundup in France. I am looking forward to seeing how they interconnect, although, I think I may need to put that on hold for a bit...
The worst thing happened. I had put 2 books on hold at the library: The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks and The Next Always by Nora Roberts, two of my favorite authors. As I was on long waiting lists for both, I assumed they would come in at different times. Unfortunately, they did not! When I went to the library to today to pick up The Next Always, I saw, with dismay, that The Best of Me had also come in. What are the odds? So I stood there at the self-checkout counter...one book in my left hand, one book in my right. The worst. I knew I couldn't have both, since they were 2 week books and I would never be able to read them both in that time. So sadly, I returned The Best of Me to the bin and walked out with Nora. Because I just love her more. So back on the waiting list for Nicholas I go. So I will start reading The Next Always and return to Sarah's Key when I finish.
Happy Holidays!
