The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Back Cover
When Henry meets Clare, he is twenty-eight and she is twenty. He is a hip librarian; she is a beautiful art student. Henry has never met Clare before; Clare has known Henry since she was six...
[Yes, the back cover does live up to the tale of Henry and Clare. I could not put this book down!!!]

At 518 pages, I thought it would take me some time to make it through this book. But traveling for 1 week on end and being stuck in airports due to thunderstorm-induced delays in O'Hare and layovers in San Francisco suddenly freed up my schedule to finish this book within less than 1 week. Not only the delays, but falling in love with the story also helped. I was a little put off by each chapter's beginning because I had to learn how to follow Henry's and Clare's ages as I was taken through the tale of Henry's Chrono-Impairment and the life he and Clare lived together and apart.

There are a plethora of colorful characters in "The Time Traveler's Wife" and Niffenegger leaves just enough detail to make me feel like I knew the person; I could even picture each character in my head! I won't give too much away because this book should be read and each reader's mind should explore the world of Henry and Clare; a place where there's enough realism to make it all believable because in some ways, we've all visited and experienced parts of this book's tale.

Key Characters: Henry, Clare, Alba, Gomez and Charisse
Ben: friendly pharmacist,
Dr. Kendrick: the first Dr. to correctly diagnose Henry as having Chrono-Impairment
Clare's Siblings: Mark and Alicia
House: Meadowlark; place where Clare first meets Henry; her home
Ex-girlfriend and her friend: Ingrid and Celia

Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

After finishing "Wicked", I realized I had not had enough. My dear friend Leiah mentioned that there was a sequel to "Wicked" about Elphaba's son, Liir. Without waiting too long, I added this book to the Library! list.

The thing I most appreciate about Maguire's writing is that it's not predictable. I am almost always pleasantly surprised by what happened to his characters! So many times I read a book and can predict what is going to happen... the only thing that keeps me reading those books is that I want to prove myself right. Well, that is not the case with "Son of a Witch".

From how Liir came to be injured/unconscious at the mauntery, to what happened to Nor, Trism, Candle, Shell, Princess Nastoya and the Council of Birds, I had to take the roller coaster ride through each of Liir's encounters and watch the story unfold. I was surprised quite a bit by what Maguire's subtle writing revealed. I was also happy to see the story come full circle at the end, but I wanted more. I gotta hand it to Maguire, he definitely leaves the reader wanting more :-D

The Woman Who Walked Into Doors by Roddy Doyle

Prior to checking out this book, I started to read, "Paula Spencer" the latest from Roddy Doyle. Then to my disappointment, I found out I was reading the sequel to "The Woman Who Walked Into Doors". I realized that reading the sequel wouldn't be prudent unless I found out how it all began; so it was a return trip to the Library and a fresh check out of the book where it all began.

"The Woman Who Walked Into Doors" is a novel based on an Irish woman, Paula Spencer. Prior to becoming Mrs. Spencer, Paula O'Leary seemed to be so full of life! Growing up in a big family and learning to take care of herself at school, Paula seemed to have it all and then she met Charles, a.k.a. Charlo. The bad boy in the neighborhood who Paula ended up marrying and becoming Paula Spencer.

Roddy Doyle did a wonderful job of bringing me inside of Paula's head and sometimes I didn't want to be there, but I read on. Despite knowing what happened to Paula in her latter years, I was so happy for Paula when she ended up marrying Charlo because they seemed so very happy together. Then she said those ill-fated words, "Make your own fucking tea." And then she was on the floor, in shock. I was sickened to read about the broken bones, missing teeth, missing hair, burns and the other injuries that resulted from Paula saying the wrong thing, not saying anything, doing the wrong thing, and not doing anything. And then there were the trips to the hospital where she was internally crying out to the nurses and doctors to "Ask me!" and look at her injuries for what they were instead of assuming she was a drunkard who ran into doors and fell down the stairs all of the time.

What really got me in this book, was on one of the visits to the hospital (Charlo accompanied her each time), Paula overheard another woman describing how she ran into her door and the bruise on that woman's eye was horrendous! Here's the kicker, Paula basically thought to herself, "Man, she must have been going really fast when she ran into that door!" Deep down inside, Paula knew the truth about other women she had seen in the emergency room and yet she felt like she was a hypocrite for lying about her own injuries.

I won't spoil this book, but there was a happy ending when Paula awakened from her shell. This is not a happy happy joy joy book, but life's not always a happy happy joy joy kind of gig.

Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

I remember being a little girl, begging my mom to let me stay up late so I could watch the network showing of "The Wizard of Oz". I didn't care how tired I would be the next day because I wanted to see Dorothy, Toto, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion make their way to the Wizard and fight the evil forces of the Wicked Witch of the West. Why don't networks show "The Wizard of Oz" anymore?

Anyway, while in New York and Chicago I saw advertisements of "Wicked" a Broadway play that was receiving rave reviews. Sad to say I was never able to attend these showings, but I jumped with joy when my wonderful friend Leiah mentioned the play was based on a book - hooray! Yes, I must have been living in the deep corners of the earth to not have known that the play was based on a book, but those are minor details. It was go time at the Library and placing this wonderful book on hold.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on "Wicked" and once I had this book in my hands, I couldn't let it go! Gregory Maguire did such a wonderful job taking me through Elphaba's tragic birth, childhood, college years and beyond. Even though I knew Elphaba's fate, I couldn't help but cheer her on and wish for an alternate ending! Compared to the doe-eyed, thick-armed Dorothy (who was introduced later on in the book), Elphaba appeared to be so much deeper and I was able to identify with her more than any character in the book.

I would recommend this book to any and everyone who fondly remembers the Wizard of Oz and would like to get the other side of the story.

The Secret of Letting Go by Guy Finley

"Drop self-defeating behaviors-- release inner strength -- conquer stress -- live life on your own terms -- clear away obstacles -- banish fears and negativity -- 10 steps to freedom" - cover.

I first found out about "The Secret of Letting Go" after reading an advertisement in the Boise Weekly for an event at the Ada County Library. Without knowing too much about the book, I put it on hold at the Library and checked it out. Up until this point in my life, I've always struggled to "let go" and I find it's one of the hardest things to do! Whether it's been holding grudges against my father and mother for not being the parents they should have been or a small run-in with someone at work who rubbed me the wrong way, I have a problem with dealing with why I get upset so that I can in-turn let it go.

No, I don't believe that reading a book will solve all my problems, but reading "The Secret to Letting Go" did help provide insight on understanding the concept and the "how-to" of letting go. Guy Finley does a wonderful job of using simple examples to illustrate his ideas. From the idea that putting a warm sweatshirt over a wet shirt will not warm you up to the woman who went on a tour bus, was defeated when other people took their turn at the wheel to see what they wanted, and then she realized she too could take control, drive the bus and see what she wanted.

I truly enjoyed this book and now feel like I am armed with tools in my quest to let go, not let the little things get to me, and truly enjoy life!

A Cabinet of Wonders by Renee Dodd

Read the Publishers Weekly review as found on Amazon.com:

"Dugan the dwarf runs a profitable freak show (sympathetically dubbed the Cabinet of Wonders) during the tail-end of the traveling carnival's pre-Depression golden era in Dodd's debut. Mistreated in the freak show he belonged to as a child, a grownup Dugan acts at once as a father and employer to his brood of Wonders: Molly and Faye, a pubescent pair of Siamese twins, have a doubly difficult adolescence; Saffron, the Wolf Girl of India, leaves Dugan's love unrequited; and fat lady Baby Beatrice seeks the love her carousing husband, Jimmy, never gave her. As the show tours the country, Dugan struggles to maintain control over his menagerie, who begin to bristle under his authority."

Um kay... now wouldn't this sound like a wonderful and interesting book to read? Growing up, I would sneak peaks at the "Extraordinary People" book that was on my brother's shelf and marvel at the Caterpillar Man, a grainy photo of the Elephant Man and the cute, miniature people. So of course, I was very interested in reading the "Cabinet of Wonders" when it came up as the book of the week in my online fiction book club.

I dutifully reserved this book from the local library and continued reading where the book club left off. Unfortunately, my vacations into the literary land of freaks turned out to be a task each time I saw the book laying there and knowing I had to return the book by the due date. Yes, I re-checked the book out... but it seemed like such a chore to read! Each chapter contained bits and pieces of each freak's life, but I was never given a chance to discover any of the characters in any real depth because it seemed as if the author was trying to touch base on each of the characters. The result of the multitasking fiasco ended up being that none of the characters never seemed to fully develop! It was like Project Management 101... you can never effectively complete a multiple projects if you multitask! Except for rare cases, each task must be completed in sequential order in order to fully develop the project!! In this case, each of the freaks were undeveloped tasks and the overall project was this book.

End Result: I returned "A Cabinet of Wonders" to the Library without reaching the end. For the time being, I'll stick to my "Extraordinary People" book if I want to get a glimpse of unique individuals that nature has produced...

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Who is John Galt?

I began reading "Atlas Shrugged" sometime in the fall of last year and finished this book 2 days ago. Although "Atlas Shrugged" is a long one at 1,084 pages, it took me so long to read it because I didn't want the book to end! I had fallen so deeply in love with the characters and their ideas that I didn't want to say "good-bye" and move on like nothing happened.

The characters in "Atlas Shrugged" said and did so many thing that I had never known how to express and to actually read what I felt left me with so many "aha" moments that I didn't know what to do. To try and explain "Atlas Shrugged" would be a very hard task to undertake, because this book is something people need to experience for themselves. Since the main premise of the book is about thinking for oneself, then that is the task that must be undertaken by anyone who picks up this book. Read, digest, and think about it... don't wait to be spoon-fed the ideas presented!

It is best to read "The Fountainhead" (also by Ayn Rand) prior to reading "Atlas Shrugged" as "The Fountainhead" is only an overture to "Atlas Shrugged".