Review: The Social Animal by David Brooks

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Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

Published: 2011

It's about: David Brooks uses fictional characters to explore "how success happens". To quote the summary on goodreads (cheating): "Drawing on a wealth of current research from numerous disciplines, Brooks takes Harold and Erica from infancy to school; from the “odyssey years” that have come to define young adulthood to the high walls of poverty; from the nature of attachment, love, and commitment, to the nature of effective leadership. He reveals the deeply social aspect of our very minds and exposes the bias in modern culture that overemphasizes rationalism, individualism, and IQ. Along the way, he demolishes conventional definitions of success while looking toward a culture based on trust and humility."

I thought: The book is kind of a mix between books like "Blink" and "How We Decide" but it has a narrative running through it that makes the facts more interesting.  I really enjoyed the fictional parts of the book. I liked that Brooks set each story in present day instead of the time period it would really occur in. I especially enjoyed the first portion of the book which covered studies about dating, newlyweds and raising children through the experiences of Harold's parents. I felt that the book got too bogged down in details about Erica's work and the policies found there. I'm not interested in business or business models. I think it deterred from the book's thesis about how social interaction and relationships impact success more than anything else. I preferred my facts mixed in with the story.

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However, I did love all the new things I learned: You learn better when you vary the environments you study in, you should praise your children for hard work and not for being smart, sleep improves memory by at least 15 percent, a person's friends have more influence on your habits than their spouse, divorce peaks in the fourth year of marriage when it is difficult to transition from passionate love to companion love, Alexander Hamilton was a pretty amazing guy, people who are in love overestimate how attractive, funny, and intelligent their partner is, in healthy relationships you need to say five positive things for every negative thing, etc.

The book really made me think more about my social interactions with others. I love my current job and I know it has more to do with the people I work with and for then the actual duties of the job (cleaning up poop, vomit and urine?) Brooks says  "the daily activities most associated with happiness are all social--having sex, socializing after work, and having dinner with friends--while the daily activity most injurious to happiness-commuting--tends to be solitary." At my work we are constantly planning activities and getting together--it reminded me of how Erica wants to be a connector. I also loved
learning that social professions (corporate manager, hairdresser, health-care providers) correlate more closely with happiness than those that are less social (a machinery operator).

However, at times the novel made me feel discourage as if certain things were set. I felt like characteristics about myself were unconsciously inevitable because of my upbringing or background. Then I remembered that the author was using studies and information that proved certain points. Obviously if i cared enough I could find studies that proved the opposite point. Likewise, I could have researched the studies and looked into their methods and the exact results. But I didn't care that much.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Brooks has a wry sense of humor and insight into human character and personality that was spot on. The book is all about how "succes" happens. But at the end of it, I did not really think Erica was successful or made that many good decisions or had many good relationships. Or at least--she was not successful in ways that I would want to be. Religion did not play a big role in the book, but it plays a big role in my life so I would have liked some more information about that.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf. It's a good one to have to reference the studies and facts

Reading Recommendations: This isn't a book that is comfortable to read straight through. I read it in spurts and pieces over several weeks. It's a good book for a book club in that you could talk about the definition of success, nature vs nurture, and the interesting tidbits and facts found in the pages, but it's not a book that one would emotionally connect to.

Warnings: Scientific talk about sex. Some swear words.

Favorite excerpts:

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"Yet by far the most important decisions they will make are about whom to marry and whom to befriend, what to love and what to despise, and how to control impulses...We are good about talking about material incentives, but bad about talking about emotions and intuitions. We are good at teaching technical skills, but when it comes to the most important things, like character, we have almost nothing to say."

"Erica decided she would never work in a place where people did not trust one another. Once she got a job, she would be the glue. She would be the one organizing outings, making connections, building trust. She would carry information from one person to another. She would connect one worker to another."

"She was in the camp of the more-emotional-than-thou rather than in the camp of the more-popular-than-thou. This meant she was always exquisitely attuned to her superior emotions, and it also meant, unfortunately, that if she wasn't having an engrossing emotional drama on any given day, she would try to make one up."


What I'm reading next: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Review: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

photograph of the author via

Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

Published: 1987

It's about: The book follows the lives of two married couples who meet and become friends while living in Madison, Wisconsin during the height of the Depression. The book explores the small details of their inner lives, the complex nuances of their friendships, and the minutiae of their marriages.

I thought: This is an intricate and well-crafted novel. Although it is not plot driven, I eagerly read it quickly. It was fascinating for me to read about the realistic quiet lives. I loved how interesting Stegner made situations that occur in every day life. It made me think a lot about the intimacies of friendships and the small details that make people whom they are. The novel is focused and well-written. I could tell that every detail was deliberate. I really came to know the Langs and Morgans. The introduction of my copy calls the book a "modern classic" and I'd have to agree. Since graduating from BYU in English I never wanted to read another scholarly article analyzing a work of literature  but this book (KIND OF) gives me that desire. It is one of those books that I think about over and over even after it is finished.

Reading Recommendation: I enjoyed this piece on Stegner. It gives a lot of information about him as an author and gives insight into some of his writing decisions. After reading the book I was very curious about the meaning of the title which is explained in the piece: "Stegner says there is a kind of crossing to safety for each character in the novel. 'Every one of these four lives crosses to a different kind of safety. And crosses something different. And takes with him something different." The Paris Review also had a good interview with Stegner.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf or Rubbish Bin? Stick it on the shelf!

Warnings: I purposely read this book because it is squeaky clean

Favorite excerpts:

"And so, by circuitous and unpredictable routes, we converge toward midcontinent and meet in Madison, are are at once drawn together, braided and plaited into a friendship. It is a relationship that has no formal shape, there are no rules or obligations or bonds as in marriage or the family, it is held together by neither law nor property nor blood, there is no glue in it but mutual liking."

"No cautionary words had any effect on her. If you wanted something, you planned for it, worked for it and made it happen"

"You can plan all you want to. You can lie in your morning bed and fill whole notebooks with schemes and intentions. But within a single afternoon, within hours or minutes, everything you plan and something you have fought to make yourself can be undone as a slug is undone when salt is poured on him. And right up to the moment when you find yourself dissolving into foam you can still believe you are doing fine"

"Why? Because they are who they are. Why are they so helplessly who they are? Unanswered questions, perhaps unanswerable. In nearly forty years, neither had been able to change the other by as much as a punctuation mark."

"But Charity and Sally are stitched together with a thousand threads of feeling and shared experience. Each is for the other that one unfailingly understanding and sympathetic fellow-creature that everybody wishes for and many never find."

What I'm reading next: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Review: The Book of Tomorrow by Cecilia Ahern

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Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

Published: 2011

It's about: After her father commits suicide because of impeding financial ruin, sixteen-year old Tamara and her mother move to the country to live with her controlling aunt and passive uncle. At first Tamara is bored and resentful, but then she discovers a mysterious book which tells her the events that will occur the next day. Tamara soon discovers many secrets as she tries to fix the future.

I thought: Based on the plot and the fact that the author also wrote P.S. I Love You I thought the book was going to be fluffy and so I did not have high expectations. However, the writing was really sharp and the storyline really captured my attention. I love that it takes place in Ireland, I liked the quirky characters and eerie places. Ahern is good at creating suspense and excitement. The novel has a lovely whimsical tone. Tamara's voice was very authentic and honest-- I appreciated her character development. However, I was disappointed by the ending. I found the "twist" to be melodramatic and a bit like a soap opera. It might be because I was trying to figure out the mystery myself and I liked my version of things better than what the author created. Nevertheless, the ending did not match the quality of the rest of the book.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf or Rubbish Bin? Stick it on the shelf! Although I did not really like the ending, I feel like the rest of the book made up for it.

Reading Recommendations: Don't expect a literary masterpiece, but it was a fun well-written novel.

Warnings: Some f-words and a sex scene but it wasn't graphic.

Favorite excerpts:
"If my parents had flowering buds, then maybe, just maybe they could have avoided all that. But there were no other possibilities, no other ways of doing things for them. They considered themselves practical people, but there was no practical solution for the situation. Only faith and hope and some sort of belief could have seen my father through it. But he didn't have any of that, and so when he did what he did, he effectively pulled us all into the grave with him."

"It was to Barbara that I suggested Mum should visit the doctor. Barabra just paratonizingly sat me down in her kitchen and told me that Mum was doing what is called "grieving." At sixteen years old, you can imagine how delightful it was to learn that word for the first time."

"Nobody who says as little as he does is as simple as you'd think. It takes a lot to not say a lot, because when you're not talking, you're thinking and he thinks a lot. My mum and dad talked all the time. Talkers don't think much; their words drown out any possibility of hearing their subconscious..."

"The ruin?" Rosaleen asked. "The castle," I responded, and immediately felt defensive on its behalf. If we were going to start name calling we may as well start with Mum. She was clearly a broken woman yet we weren't referring to her as a ruin. She was still a woman. The castle was not as it once had been, but it was still a castle. My conviction settled, I knew from then on I was never going to call it a ruin."

"I have never seen a woman clean with such vigor, with such purpose, as if her life depended on it. Rosaleen rolled up her sleeves and sweated as she scrubbed, biceps and triceps astonishingly well formed, wiping away every trace of life that ever existed in the place. So I sat watching her in fascination, and I admit with a hint of patronizing pity too, at the unnecessary act of such intense polishing and cleaning."

What I'm reading next: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Review: What I Did: A Novel by Christopher Wakling

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Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

Published: 2012

It's about: The book is told from six-year old Billy's perspective. One day he is at the park and he runs into the middle of the street after his father repeatedly warns against it. Billy's father spanks Billy to reprimand him. A stranger sees the spanking and it turns into a series of misunderstandings.

I thought: One of the reviews on the cover says the book is "much in the vein of Atonement", which is a book I started by couldn't finish because I was so upset. It's a fairly good comparison because awful things happen in both books due to miscommunication. I stuck with this book though and I am glad that I did. I think Walking wanted readers to be frustrated and he was very effective at that--I felt mentally exhausted after finishing the book.

The author is good at capturing the way children truly think and speak. He's especially good at conveying the literal way children interpret language and their ability to tell when people are genuine. I've worked with children and so it made me consider how I communicate with them and with adults.  Some of the reviews I read mentioned that some of the details of the book seemed unrealistic. However, I assumed that Billy want not supposed to be an average 6-year old child but one with undiagnosed autism. Some of Billy's characteristics and the way he answers questions are realistic for a child with Asperger's. In a way the point of view also reminded me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf or Rubbish Bin? In-between. It's worth reading but it's not something I'd re-read.

Reading Recommendations: One of the reviews on the cover said it was "hilarious" and I would definitely disagree. There were some amusing parts, but it's not really the book to read if you're looking for something funny. The publisher has a reading guide that has some good questions besides the obvious about spanking and it makes me think I am right about Billy having Asperger's. The photograph of the author with his family comes from an article he published about corporal punishment and is also worth reading.

Warnings: Lots of swear words.

Favorite excerpts:

"I also have to warn you that nobody is bad or good here, or rather everyone is a bit bad and a bit good and the bad and good moluscules [sic] get mixed up against each other and produce terrible chemical reactions."

"It may sound stupid talking to somebody who never says anything back because what's the point of that, but I still say words to Lizzie even though she cannot speak yet because I am doing it on purpose! It's a project. I am going to be the first person Lizzie says a word to. I know I am, because I am the one mostly filling her up with the speaking ingredients."

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Review: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

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Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

Published: 2012

It's about: The rotation of the earth suddenly begins to slow making daylight last longer and longer. The effects impact gravity, the environment, people's health--all aspects of life. Julia, a tween living in California, narrates the novel and focuses on the effects of the slowing on her family, life and world.

I thought: I really liked this book; although, at first, I thought that the narrator did not sound like a middle-school girl but then I realized the book was reflections she was having several years after the events. Nonetheless, due to the plot and a teenage girl protagonist, it reminded me a lot of the young adult novel, Life As We Knew It, which I also really enjoyed.

I am not ordinarily interested in science fiction, but the science fiction elements weren't the focus of the book. It was mainly about how humanity reacts to change, the expectations we have of others, what motivates people to behave the way they do, loss, growing up, realizing your parents are not perfect and generally the purpose of life. I like that the exploration of these issues wasn't heavy handed. The author allows readers to make their own conclusions. The writing is really crisp--it's a quick read and no words are wasted.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf or Rubbish Bin? Stick it on the Shelf!

Reading Recommendations: I am sad I missed going to my book club when they discussed this book because it would be a fun one to talk about. I guess all good books are! Carry on.

Warnings: A few swears.

Favorite excerpts:

"I had grown into a worrier, a girl on constant guard for catastrophes large and small, for the disappointments I now sensed were hidden all around us right in plain sight."

"After the slowing, every action required a little more force than it used to. The physics had changed. Take, for example, the slightly increased drag of a hand on a knife or a finger on a trigger. From then on, we all had a little more time to decide what not to do. And who knows how fast a second-guess can travel? Who has ever measured the exact speed of regret? But the new gravity was not enough to overcome the pull of certain other forces, more powerful, less known--no law of physics can can account for desire".

"How much sweeter life would be if it all happened in reverse, if, after decades of disappointments, you finally arrived at an age when you had conceded nothing, when everything was possible. I like to think about how my parents' lives once shimmered in fron tof them, half-hidden, like buried gold. Back then the future was whatever they imagined--and they never imagined this. "

"I've become a collector of stories about unlikely returns: the sudden reappearance of the long-lost son, the father found, the lovers reunited after forty years. Once in a while, a letter does fall behind a post office desk and lie there for years before it's finally discovered and delivered to the rightful address. The seemingly brain-dead sometimes wake up and start talking. I'm always on the lookout for proof that what is done can sometimes be undone."

What I'm reading next: What I Did by Christopher Walking

Review: A Girl from Yamhill & My Own Two Feet by Beverly Cleary

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A Girl from Yamhill & My Own Two Feet by Beverely Cleary
Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

Published: 1988 (A Girl from Yamhill) & 1995 (My Own Two Feet)

It's about: These two books are autobiographies from Beverely Cleary, the famous writer of the much-beloved Muggie Maggie, Dear Mr. Henshaw, and the Ramona series. A Girl from Yamhill covers some family history, Clearly's girlhood and young adulthood in Oregon until she leaves home for college. My Own Two Feet takes off where A Girl from Yamhill finished and covers Clearly's life up until the publication of her first books.

I thought: These are some of my favorite books. I was delighted to know that some of the stories about Ramona were based off Cleary (such as taking one bite into multiple apples because the first bite tastes the best). There were a lot of humorous parts in the memoirs especially in A Girl from Yamhill. Cleary didn't sugarcoat her life. I was impressed by Cleary's candor especially in regards to the strained relationship between her and her mother. Although written several decades after the events occurred, Cleary was able to appropriately capture her thoughts at various ages and stages in her life. She is a great story-teller and someone who understands children well. It was fascinating to read about life during the Depression, what college was like for women in the 1940's, and her impressions of the pacific northwest and California, which are place that are very dear to me. I am really impressed by Cleary and think she's a great role model for women. She has a website that is worth checking out as well.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf or Rubbish Bin? Stick it on the shelf! I wish she had continued writing more about her life.

Reading Recommendations: For young (12ish) and older! The books easily flow into each other and I think the only reason they aren't just one book is because of the length and because she wrote the second book years later, but I would definitely recommend reading both.

Warnings: Nothing at all offensive

Favorite excerpts: Sometimes it was Uncle Fred, my father's oldest brother, who had a fascinating bald head. After we passed him, Mother said, "You mustn't stare at Uncle Fred's bald head. You might hurt his feelings." How could I hurt his feelings when I so admired his bald head? I once tried to cut off my own hair so I would be bald, too. - A Girl from Yamhill

Claudine and I studied The Century Handbook of Writing, giggling all the way. Examples seemed even funnier. When we came to Rule 68, "Avoid faulty diction," we studied the examples: "Nowhere near. Vulgar for not nearly." "This here. Do not use for this." "Suspicion. A noun. Never to be used as a verb." Our conversation became sprinkled with gleeful vulgarisms we had never used before. When I announced my presence by noisily tap-dancing on the Klums' wooden porch and probably annoying all the neighbors on the block, Claudine said she was nowhere near ready for school. "I suspicioned you weren't." Claudine's reply was something like, "This here shoe-lace broke." - A Girl from Yamhill

I knew they were thinking of me and missing me more than I, on the brink of a new life, was missing them - My Own Two Feet

I was not entirely sure I wanted to stay with relatives again. Even though I loved them all there had been moments of discomfort, of not knowing where I stood, of feeling I was not doing the right thing. Beneath my happiness there had been some strain... - My Own Two Feet

Some of Professor Lehman's words also echoed through my mind: "The minutiae of life", and "the proper subject of the novel is universal human experience." - My Own Two Feet

What I'm reading next: The Age of Miracles  by Karen Thompson Walker

Review: Burning Marguerite by Elizabeth Inness-Brown

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Burning Marguerite by Elizabeth Inness-Brown

Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

Published: 2003

It's about: The book begins with James Jack, a middle-aged man, finding the woman who raised him, "Tante" Marguerite, dead and laying in the middle of the woods. The book unravels the mystery of how she ended up there by telling the story of her life and how it intertwined with his.

I thought: During the majority of the book I enjoyed the backstory more than the mystery at the center of the novel until I realized they were the same thing. Innes-Brown does a good job of slowly unfolding the details of Marguerite Deo's life. She has a really good sense of place and capturing settings in this novel. The island Jame and Marguerite live on feels very real. The writing is lyrical and poetic without being over the top and fits the story quite well. There was a theme of fire and burning which was well-woven into the stories.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf or Rubbish Bin? In-between. I could take it or leave it. It's not a book that will stay with me forever, although I did enjoy reading it. It was beautifully written and I think some people would really love this book. It just wasn't my favorite, but I would read it again without hesitation. How's that for ambivalence? It's weird enough that you might want to check it out from the library before you commit to buying it.

Reading Recommendations: One of my book clubs picked this for our "Halloween" read and I think it was perfect. It definitely has some eerie elements to it and it's a quick read, but it's still literary.

Warnings: Violence, some sexual scenes at around the PG-13 level, some language.

Favorite excerpts:"When we reached the top that afternoon, what we saw confused us. Smoke rising from a red shanty, a truck, nose down in open water and sinking; people clustered and scurrying; the huge arc of water spraying. We didn't see what happened, what calamity had caused all this."

 "She introduced me to what I had missed as a child, extending my education into new areas of literature, art, philosophy, history. I found myself able to think more clearly, able to consider the past in a new light. Even able to see my parents as they really were, and able to forgive them at least for the things over which they had no control."

"The snow had long since stopped, the sky had cleared, and the winter darkness crackled with stars. The wind was calm for a change. The plowed road had that dry, frozen feel. Every sound was small and contained...the cedars along the lake road seemed to be holding themselves back, pulling into their own shadows, hiding from his headlight.

Review & Giveaway: Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin

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Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life by Gretchen Rubin

Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

The publisher, Crown, is sponsoring a giveaway of the book. Enter to win your own copy at the end of this review. There will be three winners (one per household).

Published: 2012

It's about: Gretchen Rubin previously embarked on a "happiness project" to improve her happiness levels in her every day life. This book is a sequel of sorts in which she tries another happiness project with the main focus and theme of home. Each month she focused on different aspects of home such as possessions  interior design, time, and neighborhoods.

I thought: As a single after graduating college sometimes nowhere really feels like "home" so this was a good read for me. I learned that having a sense of home is very important to happiness. Rubin's life and circumstances are very different from mine, but I was still able to glean truths from it. I  especially liked the interesting facts about various factors that contribute to a home environment that Rubin weaved into her personal experiences (for example, Rubin's parents never allowed teasing growing up and Rubin discovered in her research that people who tease believe they are conveying a spirit of playfulness whereas the person being teased finds it more mean-spirited). I appreciated the fact that the book was to the point--in her first book, Rubin already figured out how to have a happiness project so in this book she was able to jump in with the project immediately. I appreciated being able to see the things Rubin described through the various images and pictures in the book and I was glad there weren't reader comments like there were in the previous book.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf or Rubbish Bin? In-between. I really enjoyed the book myself, but I am generally an introspective person who likes pondering happiness.  For most people I would suggest either her first book or this one, but I don't necessarily see the need for both---unless you're a happiness fanatic.

Reading Recommendations: The intended audience is people who are already happy who need a happiness boost. It is not for people who are unhappy. As well, it is not a how-to guide. The book is more of a memoir with suggestions and tips.

Warnings: Nothing

Favorite excerpts: "An unhappy truth about happiness is that one of the best predictors of whether a person will be happy in the future is whether they have been happy in the past."

"To 'Be Gretchen' was the way to happiness, but there was also a sadness to this resolution--the sadness that comes from admitting my limitations, my indifferences, all the things that I wish I were that I will never be".


*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

To enter the giveaway for a free copy of this book, like "The Blue Bookcase" facebook page and/or become a follower then leave a comment on this post including your email address. We will leave the giveaway open until 12:00 am on Wednesday, November 14th.

Review: Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

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Reviewed by Christine-Chioma (previously reviewed by Julie)

Published: 1996

It's about: During World War II, Athos Roussos, a Greek archaeologist, rescues a young Polish jew, Jakob Beer, after the massacre of Jakob's family. The novel explores the life, losses, and loves of both men. A young Canadian, Ben, whose parents survived the Holocaust, is drawn to Jakob and his life.

I thought: I had a hard time getting into the book, which is surprising because it had elements of things I really enjoy in literature: loss, historical fiction about World War II, memory, loneliness, and well-written prose. I think it's because I never really connected with Jakob's character. I was fascinated by the people surrounding him: Athos, Alex, Michaela, Nikos, Ben and Naomi. But I just could not muster up enough interest in Jakob--but maybe that was his role as the main narrator? At times I found the book to be too dense-- there were a few passages that went over my head by being too poetic. I found the last third of the book to be more fascinating that the first half. I did appreciate the deeper themes and questions that were addresses. The story stayed with me after I read it and helped me ponder more about the human condition.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf or Rubbish Bin? In-Between. It's definitely worth reading, but I wouldn't personally want to re-read it or own it because I did not love it. But I didn't hate it. It's just in-between.

Reading Recommendations: I'd suggest you try to read it all at once. I read it really slowly and maybe that's why some of the poeticism went over my head and felt too disconnected.

Warnings: It's pretty heavy but nothing too graphic

Favorite excerpts: "But Athos, whether one believes or not has nothing to do with being a Jew. Let me put it this way: the truth doesn't care what we think of it."

It's Hebrew tradition that the forefathers are referred to as "we," not "they." "When we were delivered from Egypt..." This encourages empathy and responsibility to the past, but more important, it collapses time. The Jew is forever leaving Egypt. A good way to teach ethics. If moral choices are eternal, individual actions take on immense significance no matter how small: not for this life only.

There were the few, like Athos who choose to do good at great personal risk; those who never confused objects and humans, who knew the difference between naming and the named. Because the rescuers couldn't lose sight, literally, of the human, again and again they give us the same explanation for their heroism: "What choice did I have?"

What I'm reading next: Something from my classics list. 

Review: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

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The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin

Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

Published: 2009

It's about: Gretchen Rubin realizes she is not as happy as she could be despite good life circumstances. She sets out to increase her happiness in her every day life through researching happiness and concentrating on monthly happiness themes and goals.

I thought: I've actually read and enjoyed Rubin's blog for quite sometime, but only now got around to picking up the book from the library. I really enjoyed how Rubin interlaced statistics and facts with her own personal experiences with happiness. I found myself telling others how happier people do better in school and that people who donate to charities actually end up being richer. The book is definitely more personal than the blog and I really liked that. She also talked about why it's important to be happy and addressed the stigma of happiness being unsophisticated. I found myself implementing small tips such as smiling more, de-cluttering, and getting more sleep. However, it didn't motivate me to actually try a happiness project of my own (it seems like too much work). She had comments from her blog posts from readers which I didn't really care for.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf or Rubbish Bin? Stick it on the shelf!

Reading Recommendations: This book is definitely not for people who are actually clinically depressed and Rubin makes that quite clear. You don't have to be unhappy to read it. I generally think I am happy but I still enjoyed it. I was not interested in starting a happiness project of my own, but if you are there is a Happiness Project one sentence journal that could help with one of the tips she mentions. There is also a reading guide for book clubs. Another suggestion would be to take off the jacket cover, because I had to field a lot of unwanted questions and teasing about why I was reading a book about being happier.

Warnings: Nothing inappropriate.

Favorite excerpts: "Studies show that recalling happy times helps boost happiness in the present. When people reminisce, they focus on positive memories, with the result that recalling the past amplifies the positive and minizes the negative. However, because people remember events better when tehy fit with their present mood, happy people remember happy events better, and depressed people remember sad events better. Depressed people have as many nice experiences as other people--they just don't recall them well."

What I'm reading next: I hate saying what I'm going to read next because it really depends on my mood and the phase of the moon and what pants I'm wearing.

Review & Giveaway: The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. by Nichole Bernier

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Reviewed by Christine-Chioma and Connie


The publisher, Crown, is sponsoring a giveaway of this book. Enter to win your own copy at the end of this review.

Published: 2012

It's about: This book juxtaposes the lives of two seemingly simple mothers and reveals their complicated inner struggles, fears, and secrets. One of these women is Elizabeth, an apparently perfect suburban mother content to stay at home with her kids. The other is Kate, a former pastry chef turned stay-at-home mom who is left with Elizabeth's journals after Elizabeth dies in a plane crash around the same time as 9/11. In a spontaneous addendum to her will, Elizabeth leaves the journals to Kate, asking that she start from the beginning and use her sensitivity to determine what to do with them. The book explores several themes, including post-traumatic stress disorder, the struggle between motherhood and career ambition, death, and when we are protecting our loved ones and when we are deceiving them.

Christine-Chioma thought: I devoured this book! I started reading it at seven in the evening and finished it just after midnight. I really enjoyed the way Bernier weaved Elizabeth's old journal entries with Kate's past and present. I felt emotionally invested in all of the narratives and Bernier's characterization was brilliant. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. It was deeper than I expected--without being too heavy. The characters contemplated many of the things we don't talk about: how we're perceived by others, how much we can really know another person, how much we can rely on others. I also enjoyed the overarching theme of the things we share with others and the things we don't. The plot was compelling (and a bit mysterious) while remaining realistic. I liked the book so much I was worried about the ending, but it was satisfying.


Connie thought: When Crown emailed us about this book, they advertised it as "the perfect summer read," and I would agree. After reading so many heavy books this year (Moby Dick, Anna Karenina) and then boring pregnancy books (I'm expecting!), this book was a great way to mix it up. For a beach read, this book's prose is surprisingly good, and the themes are also surprisingly vast and deep -- if not deep for a serious piece of literature, deep for a summer read. While the story is not anything revolutionary, I appreciated that the author strove to depict the complexities of stay-at-home mothers, who are often reduced in people's minds to women who are happy to clean up other people's poop and spit-up all day. Bernier shows the difficulties of choosing one's children over one's career, the insecurities of not living up to other people's expectations, and the nagging, unfulfilled longing in these two SAHMs.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf

Reading Recommendations: Connie says, if you're looking for something lighter without wanting to stray so far from literature as to try, say, Tyra Banks' Modelland, this is an excellent, lighter alternative. Christine-Chioma says, it would be a good book club pick--great discussions!

Warnings: Very clean. Some cutaway sex scenes (meaning no details but you knew when characters had sex) and some mature themes, including death, alcoholism, infidelity, and abortion.

Favorite excerpts:
"A sister was a companion and a competitor, the person who best understood the crucible in which you were formed. One of the few capable of completing you, and if lost, of cleaving you cleanly in half."

"But that's the funny thing about people who don't fit into a box. They grow to infiltrate everything, and when they suddenly go missing, they are missing everywhere."

"I will be okay. But the price I'll pay for not having to do this alone will be never having the certainty that I can count on him."

"There was something reflexive in the forgiveness, but of course, once you knew what made a person into a collection of oddities and defenses. The work to reach that knowing was exhausting, not the forgiving. That seemed to happen on its own."

* We received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

To enter the giveaway for a free copy of this book, leave a comment on this post including your email address. We will leave the giveaway open until 12:00 am on Wednesday, August 8th.

C-C's Top Ten Book Quotes

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I can't believe I almost forgot to post this. I was so excited to do this Top Ten because I love underlining and staring passages from books! For this week's Top Ten Tuesday, here are my ten favorite quotes from books (Can I really only do 10? I totally cheated).

10. This first one comes from Bel Canto by Ann Patchett:

Mr. Hosokawa gave him a small, avuncular smile and pretended that there was nothing else to say. That was part of it, too. The private life. Mr. Hosokawa had a private life now. He had always thought of himself as a private man, but now he saw there was nothing in his life before that had been private. It didn't mean that he had no secrets then and now he did. It was that now there was something that was strictly between himself and one other person, that it was so completely their own that it would have been pointless to even try to speak of it to someone else. He wondered now if everyone had a private life...it was possible that all those years he had been alone, never knowing that a complete world existed and no one spoke of it.

9. What angsty pre-teen girl doesn't relate to The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath?

I didn't know why I was going to cry, but I knew that if anybody spoke to me or looked at me too closely the tears would fly out of my eyes and the sobs would fly out of the throat and I'd cry for a week.

and of course there is this one too:

When they asked me what I wanted to be I said I didn’t know."Oh, sure you know," the photographer said."She wants," said Jay Cee wittily, "to be everything.”   

8. From The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

I know where I am, and who, and what day it is. There are the tests, and I am sane. Sanity is a valuable possession; I hoard it the way people once hoarded money. I save it, so I will have enough, when the time comes.

7. This one comes from The Diary of Anne Frank. I love it because I'm an optimist: 

It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams, and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart. 

It's utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too will end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.

6. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

There's such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I'm such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn't be half so interesting.

okay sorry gotta do two:

“Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?But am I talking too much? People are always telling me I do. Would you rather I didn't talk? If you say so I'll stop. I can STOP when I make up my mind to it, although it's difficult.”   

5. Of course there is always this classic from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë:

"No, Jane," he returned: "what necessity is there to dwell on the Past, when the Present is so much surer--the Future so much brighter?"

4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

"I like to see people reunited, maybe that's a silly thing, but what can I say, I like to see people tun to each other, I like the kissing and the crying, I like the impatience, the stories that the mouth can't tell fast enough, the ears that aren't big enough, the eyes that can't take in all of the change, I like the hugging, the bringing together, the end of mission someone..." 

3. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

"The fact that you got a little happier today doesn't change the fact that you also became a little sadder. Every day you become a little more of both, which means that right now, at this exact moment, you're the happiest and the saddest you've ever been in your whole life...Think about it it. Have you ever been happier than right now, lying here in the grass? And have you ever been sadder? It isn't like that for everyone. Some people just get happier and happier every day. And some people just get sadder and sadder. And some people, like you, get both."

2. Practically every line in my copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is underlined. But ultimately this is my favorite one: 

"People always think that happiness is a faraway thing," thought Francie, "something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things can make it up; a place of shelter when it rains-- a cup of strong hot coffee when you're blue; for a man, a cigarette for contentment; a book to read when you're alone--just to be with someone you love. Those things make happiness."

a close second would be

"And that’s where the whole trouble is,” thought Francie. “We’re too much alike to understand each other because we don’t even understand our own selves...”

1.  Even though Middlemarch by George Elliot has a bad rep on this blog, I absolutely love it. My favorite quote from it comes from the last lines of the book:

"But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and the things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs."

What are your favorite quotes from books? I found myself wanting to quote a lot of children's books. What I learned about myself from this? That I relate best to female authors...

Review: The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

Maxine Hong Kingston (via)

The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston

Reviewed by Christine-Chioma & Ingrid

Published: 1976

It's about: This memoir is organized in a series of stories and legends. Some stories are from Kingston's own experiences, others are her mother's stories, and others without origin. All of the stories are about women in Kingston's family, and the stories weave together as if from a single source.

C-C thought: I loved the first narrative, "No Name Woman". In it Kingston's unnamed aunt becomes pregnant while her husband is at war. Kingston fictionalizes the details, emotions and motives behind the pregnancy and the ensuing persecution. The memoir's themes of woman's roles, family, and ancestry are well-woven into the haunting narrative and appropriately connect to Kingston's life. I also really enjoyed "The Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe" which greatly focused on growing up as an immigrant's child. However, most of the other stories fell short. They were either too supernatural ("White Tiger") or disturbing ("Shaman") for me to appreciate. I found myself concentrating on understanding meaning that I assumed I was missing instead of enjoying the narrative.

Ingrid thought: The narrative of this book was a little confusing to me at first, because I wasn't sure who was narrating or whose story was whose. By the time I finished, though, I realized that Kingston did this on purpose. By appropriating the stories of her mother, her mother's sister, and her aunt on her father's side, Kingston is showing that their experiences have come to be a part of her individual identity. Ancestors and family are central to Chinese culture, so I thought it was especially beautiful that Kingston set up her memoir this way.

I'm glad I read this book, but it wasn't the most exciting book I've ever read. I appreciated how it was constructed, I liked how Kingston showed how stories and the telling of stories have helped her construct her own identity. But I just wasn't dying over this book. I think we'll put this one in between.

Verdict: In between. 

Reading Recommendations: It's a book that would be great to read for a class and to analyze, but not really to enjoy.

Warnings: Some language

Favorite excerpts: "The work of preservation demands that the feelings playing about in one's guts not be turned into action. Just watch their passing like cherry blossoms. But perhaps my aunt, my forerunner, caught in a slow life, let dreams grow and fade and after some months or years went toward what persisted."

"Long ago in China, knot-makers tied strings into buttons and frogs, and rope into bell pulls. There was one so complicated that it blinded the knot-maker. Finally an emperor outlawed this cruel knot, and the nobles could not order it anymore. If I had lived in China, I would have been an outlaw knot-maker."

"To make my waking life American-normal, I turn on the lights before anything untoward makes an appearance. I push the deformed into my dreams, which are in Chinese, the language of impossible stories. Before we can leave our parents, they stuff our heads like the suitcases which they jam-packed with homemade underwear."

Review: Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson

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Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

Published: 2012


It's about: Stephanie Nielson (NieNie) is a famous Mommy-blogger whose life changed dramatically when she and her husband were in a serious near-fatal plane crash which left 80% of her body burned. The memoir chronicles her life before the crash and her struggles to deal with the aftermath of it

I thought: I actually started reading NieNie's blog back in the days when she went by the alias of "Gracie J. Brunswick". I was captivated by her ability to make every day life seem magical, romantic and beautiful.  The same talent comes across in her book. NieNie's describes her mostly idyllic childhood with gratitude and awe. As she describes her child's first birth, I could feel her love for her children and her role as a mother. Although she is positive, she is not unrealistic about the more difficult parts of her life. It's never sappy, corny, or predictable. It is a story of hope and courage, but included in her memoir are also her fear and despair. She describes her depression and guilt for getting on the plane and other difficult emotions and adjustments. I typically do not like books that are described as inspiring, but I really enjoyed this one. I really appreciated her honesty, because sometimes memoirs paint a picture of un-relatable saint, but NieNie comes across as very real and human.

With much criticism of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the media today, it was refreshing to hear NieNie's point of view and to see how she applied her beliefs and principles. Although I am a member myself, I tried to take a step back and think of the accessibility of the book to someone who isn't familiar with the church at all. NieNie does a great job of explaining Mormon terminology and culture. She is very firm in her faith and testimony, but nothing in her writing comes across as preachy or written for the intent to convert. It is clear that her faith is a natural part of herself. Her relationship with God is her rock. While people may not be able to relate to her beliefs, the humanity, struggles and triumphs are relatable and they are at the forefront of this book. One thing that's pointed out in the book is that most of her blog readers have dramatically different lives and views than hers, but still appreciate the glimpses into her life. It kept me captivated--I read it in literally one day.

Each section of the book has pictures of NieNie and her family and I think it really helps to see her physical transformation from before the crash to after. You can watch a clip of her on Oprah and a video the Mormon church did of her story.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf! 

Reading Recommendations: Share copies with friends?

Warnings: None. She alludes to sex but never anything even bordering on inappropriate.

Favorite excerpts:

"One nurse was planning a wedding, and so we talked about her wedding dress and the plans she was making. Another was expecting a baby, and I asked about her doctor's appointments. I genuinely liked to hear about their lives outside the hospital...However, when it was time for their shift to end, I had to adjust to the miserable realization that they actually were going to lead the lives we'd talked about."

"Our accident had been my mother's worse fear. She had warned us of the danger of flying and even begged me not to get in a small airplane. I knew I had broken her heart on that day in August. When she came to visit, I dried my tears and took a deep breath so I could smile when she walked in the room. It was worth the effort to see her shoulders relax and the crease in her forehead disappear."

"My brothers and sisters loved me like they always had, and despite all the upheavals in my physical and emotional life, they reminded me of the one thing that had always mattered most in my life: what it means to belong to a family."

"Those precious, beautiful children didn't deserve a disfigured, incapable mother. They needed someone strong, who could take care of them no matter what. Seeing them, and the way they looked at me, destroyed any hope I'd harbored that I could take care of them again. I was inadequate in every way, and they didn't even want to look at me."

What I'm reading next: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Review : An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender

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Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

Published: 2001

It's about: Emotionally unsettled Mona Gray falls into a job teaching math at an elementary school. Her experiences with the precocious students and an unconventional science teacher, cause her to recall the genesis of her neuroses. When Mona was ten her father became very ill. Her reaction to his illness was to pick up a habit of knocking on wood (hoping it would make him better), eating soap, and to quit everything she loved--except math and numbers.

I thought: This is one of my favorite books! It's one of the few I've read more than five times (but it's a really quick read). I've actually been afraid to read other works by Bender because I love it so much. I love everything about it. I love how you get absorbed into Mona's world and her idiosyncrasies. I love all the fables in the story (the number doctor, the woman who wrote out all the numbers from one to a million, the math teacher that flys off to Paraguay to become a revolutionary). I love the surreal mood to the novel. I even love the lack of quotation marks (even though I usually hate that in books).  It is superbly written. It is poetic and quirky. It's easy for writing like this to feel strained (example: No One Belongs Here More Than You) but I found it delightful and always on par. It even makes math seem magical! I never felt too heavy while reading it although it deals with serious issues such as sickness, death, intimacy, and strained family relationships.

I was surprised they made a movie adaptation because it's not a book that makes you think "wow they should make a movie out of this." But I saw the film entitled An Invisible Sign and was happy about how well done it was. It's very different from the novel but worth checking out--if only for the actress who plays young Mona.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf! 

Reading Recommendations: If your style is nitty gritty realistic novels this one is not for you. Most of it isn't very realistic, but I don't think it's trying to be.

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Warnings: Some swear words, but it's mostly PG or PG-13.

Favorite excerpts:
"There was an unspoken curiosity in the town about dying--it was sort of like going on a trip to an exotic place no one had ever been before, and just having to stay there for good."

"She was the kind who noted birthdays down in her little book with the vigor of someone who has often been forgotten."

"After the third time, when we were just starting to get the hang of it, I came home one morning to my new empty apartment; I checked my messages to see if anyone had died while I was out in the world having sex but no one had or at least it wasn't reported so I sat on the couch and kept a knock going on the side table when I thought of how his eyelashes made a simple black rim when he looked down."

"I stood, trembling inside the four small walls, because Lisa was so proud with the truth, she was a billboard and a megaphone, she'd make jewelry of saline and plastic, and I was thickly, fiercely, jealous."

"I wanted to stay home all week. I wanted to stay in bed for the rest of my life, until the mattress fell apart and threw me to the floor."

What I'm reading next:  Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson

Review: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

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Reviewed by Christine-Chioma


Published: 2001


It's about: The novel starts in 1945 with Daniel visiting the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and rescuing the last remaining copy of The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. A mysterious person, calling himself the devil, is going around destroying all of the works of Carax. As Daniel tries to investigate the mystery his own life and those he cares about are put in danger.


I thought: Zafón is a superb writer. I loved the way he weaved the story and the observations made through Daniel's voice. There was a clever theme of shadows throughout the novel that I only really noticed at the end. I really appreciated the many layers and mysteries of the novel--there are multiple stories within this story (the long italicized portions are the best parts of the book). The story is very plot-driven but still fleshes out the psychology of the main characters (although I wish we had gotten more insight into Daniel's father). There are a few magical realism elements which made the story all the more intriguing.  It's a pretty serious novel but there are definitely some lighter moments like the time a father says the books in his house are wasted because the only person reading them is a girl and as you can tell from my favorite excerpts, the book is kind of a love letter to readers. It really had me contemplating the human condition, which I think is a very important aspect of literature.


By the way, the book has the most awesome covers. Apparently a sequel is coming out soon. Not sure if I'll read it, because I thought the ending was pretty complete.

Verdict: I definitely want to re-read it and look for more clues and allusions, but I'd skip some paragraphs for sure. Sometimes it was a bit much for me (see the Warnings section) hence it's In-between. 


Reading Recommendations: Definitely have a friend read it too. I really wanted to discuss it and hear other opinions. I did find a reading guide that also had a brief interview with the author. If you read Spanish I would recommend reading it in the orignal since translations are never as good. Also it's not really for the faint of heart. 


Warnings: A few sex scenes, one was pretty graphic. Lots of swear words. Some disturbing violence. What I really found gratuitous were Fermin's sexual innuendos and vulgar comments anytime a female was around or mentioned. It made me feel gross like I was in a boy's locker room. It almost made me stop reading it. I kind of wish there could be an edited version.


Favorite excerpts: 
"Once, in my father's bookshop, I heard a regular customer say that few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart. Those first images, the echo of words we think we have left behind, accompany us throughout our lives and scultp a palace in our memory to which, sooner or latter--no matter how many books we read, how many worlds we discover, or how much we learn or forget--we will return."

“Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.” 


"This is a world of shadows, Daniel, and magic is a rare asset. That book taught me that by reading, I could love more intensely. It could give me back the sight I had lost. For that reason alone, a book that didn't matter to anyone change my life."


"I told her how until that moment I had not understood that this was a story about lonely people, about absence and loss, and that was why I had take refuge in it until it became confused with my own life, like someone who has escaped in the pages of a novel because those whom he needs to love seem nothing more than ghosts inhabiting the mind of a stranger"

“Bea says that the art of reading is slowly dying, that it's an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind, and great readers are becoming more scarce by the day.” 

What I'm reading next: An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender