One Hundred Names - Cecelia Ahern

one sentence summary:
Kitty is a disgraced reporter and her mentor has just died leaving her the task of finishing one last story.

review:
This is a beautiful story, it is uplifting and enthusiastic about people. It strives to show that every person has good within them and everyone has a story worth listening to too! I found myself smiling with every turn of the page. The characters are all fantastic. I recommend everyone read this, it is good for your soul.

9/10

Anybody Out There - Marian Keyes

one sentence summary:
A woman was in a terrible accident and has returned home to Dublin from New York with her very supportive family to sort her life back out.

review:
This was a hilarious read with a really sad twist (that I didn't see coming) and a happy(ish) ending. I really enjoyed the quirky writing style and the oddball characters of Keyes universe. There was something really relatable about every character, even the ones you don't want to relate to you still do. It is a quick read and I recommend it for anyone who like heavier than average chick lit.
8/10

The Time In Between - David Bergen

one sentence summary:
a Vietnam War Veteran returns to Vietnam, his children follow to find him after he stops contacting them.

review:
this was in my to read pile for a very long time, so long that I had no recollection of why I bought it in the first place. I dutifully took it with me to the cabin and read it uninterrupted. It is a remarkably well written book, the language and syntax are better than most of what I have read, I understand why it won the Giller Prize. That said the story feels a bit disjointed and unbalanced to me. I wish that more time had been spent on the earlier years of the veteran's children's lives as I found that to be the most interesting aspect of the novel. It is written to make you think and above all feel. If you enjoy reading well written stories no matter the subject matter I recommend this to you.

8/10

Emma - Jane Austen

one sentence summary:
A young woman feels that she knows best about not only her love life but her friends as well, she does not.

review:
The funniest read of the Summer of Jane Austen, Emma was remarkably similar to me, trying to make everything perfect for everyone without even knowing what would make me happy. The wit in the writing is brilliantly entertaining, and, as always the characters and plot development are top shelve. I recommend this to any awkward teenage girl who has no friends and is wondering why.

6/10

Persuasion - Jane Austen

one sentence summary:
Sometimes the only way to fix your life is to be completely honest with everyone in it.

review:
Ok, I love to hate Jane Austen, I think that all her heroines are terrible, weak and generally irritating as hell. However, at the same time I am hating on her and her characters I am loving everything about them. The writing is beautiful and all of the characters are wonderfully flawed. I went through a summer (probably 2004) when I read a whole lot of Jane Austen all at once. This story was one of the easier to see the message in and to take that very prim and proper message and give it a real world spin. The moral of the story is that sometimes the best thing to do is eat that humble pie, enjoy it (or at least pretend to) and smile. Also the writing is really good, amazing in fact, using language that we would think of as antiquated but I really enjoyed.

6/10

The Crystal Cave - Mary Stewart

one sentence summary:
the story of Merlin before he was the great Wizard we all know him as.

review:
A wonderful take on the Merlin myth. We are introduced to a young Merlin and follow him as he enters adulthood. Filled with family drama and suspense, mystery and intrigue this is a well written, entertaining read. Stewart did a fantastic job of flushing out not only fantastic characters and relationships but also a fascinating country complete with politics and details that are often overlooked in "Arthur" stories. A great mix of verifiable fact and familiar myth. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys long, detailed historical novels and/or the Arthur legend.

6/10

Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

One sentence Summary:
The age old tale, spoiled plantation daughter falls in love, but oops there is a war :(

review:
This is a classic for a reason, it is well written with one of the most evolving protagonists I have ever read. At the beginning you hate Scarlet, she is a horrid girl but she evolves into a slightly less horrid girl who is head over heals in love, and from that into a strong (most of the time) woman. It is a long read, I recommend breaking it up with something trashy so that you don't get sick and tired of Scarlet's antics and shelve the book without finishing it.

8/10

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon - David Grann

one sentence summary:
1925: an obsessive man, Percy Fawcett, ventures into the Amazon and never comes out.
review:
A fascinating mix of fact and speculation this adventure takes us back in time to the unexplored jungles of the Amazon. One of the most intriguing and well written piece of accessible non-fiction I have ever read. The writing is very good, keeping the plot moving along. Part historical, part travelogue and all adventure. I recommend this to anyone who likes reading true stories that are really interesting, or adventure stories in general.


8/10

Krewe of Hunters Series - Heather Graham

one sentence summary:
The government has allowed the leading expert in paranormal investigations to pull together his own rag tag crew of agents, all of whom see the world a little differently.

review:
Heather Graham will never win a Pulitzer but she will make a ton of money if she keeps writing like this. All easy reads full of adventure, intrigue and romance. Great beach reading. You could read one as a stand alone or the series in order, the back story from each previous book isn't necessary but it is neat to see characters reappear occasionally. I enjoyed this series.

6/10
8/10

 

Girl with a Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier

one sentence summary:
A sixteen year old servant is painted by her master.

review:
A very successful delve into the historical era of the Dutch Painters. Full of detail and personality I really enjoyed this novel, it is well written and highly entertaining. A really good glimpse into seventeenth century, the story doesn't really have an arch to it, but it is a good read none the less. It is a solid story. A lot of research went into the writing of it, and the prose flow beautifully. I recommend it to anyone who thinks they might enjoy a bit of historical reading.

8/10

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

one sentence summary:
a very interesting look at American culture, told through a road trip.

review:
It seems that the most insightful novels about Americana rely on the road trip setting to get their stories across to the reader, this is no exception. Gaiman looks at American culture through a distorted kaleidoscope and the results are amazing. Well worth reading this is a witty read, moving from discerning broad concepts of reality to moments of hilarity with out missing a beat. It is a fast paced, edge of your seat story that will keep you turning pages and then leave you empty when you turn the last page. I highly recommend it to anyone who isn't easily offended by atheist views.
8/10

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

one sentence summary;
there was a lot of death during WWII

review:
This is a beautifully written, terribly depressing story. This is geared to young adults, but I would say adults might get more out of it. A fascinating look at WWII told by an ingenious narrator showing us a side of the war we don't often see. I highly recommend this book to everyone, keeping in mind that it is not a quick read.

8/10

A Redbird Christmas - Fannie Flagg

One Sentence Summary:
Oswald is told by his doctor that if he stays in Chicago he will die so he moves south to the small town of Lost River where he is adopted by the small close knit community.

Review:
I am not ashamed to say I love Fannie Flagg, her stories are all have characters I want to have tea with and communities I would hate to live in because everyone knows everyone else. Her writing is simple, old fashion, character driven, small town exposing story telling. I recommend this to anyone looking for an easy read with a happy ending full of off the wall characters.

6/10

If you enjoyed this I recommend you read these authors next:
Garrison Keillor
Alan Bradley
more Fannie Flagg
Rebecca Wells
Garth Stein

Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts

I enjoyed this story but didn't love the writing style. It felt very whiny to me, "oh, woe is me, my life sucks." Well with the shit you pulled you deserve your life to suck. I think if I had gone into it not knowing that it was the authors real life story I would have enjoyed it much more and been less frustrated with the tone of the protagonist.   But that said, the story it self was great, the descriptions and details were plentiful and Roberts was successful in creating a vibrant India that is sure to go onto the travel wish list of anyone who reads his work. My biggest peeve with the book was the writing style, it read like a well edited teenagers story, so full of similes and glaring metaphors that I wanted to reach into the and smack the author.  The reason this "style" of writing bothered me so much in this case was because of how much focus had been put on the brilliance of the author, I am sorry if you are a brilliant author I expect your writing to be better than those who write for Harlequin (and as we all know I do like me some trash).

6.5/10 (Adventure / Travelogue)

If you enjoyed this (I will assume it was because India is awesome) you may also enjoy:

A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mystry
Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
Untouchable - Mulk Raj Anand (this is more historical and made me very upset when I read it but is brilliant)