Waiting On Wednesday (1-9-13)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Each week, you highlight an upcoming release that you are eagerly anticipating. This week, I'm looking forward to News from Heaven by Jennifer Haigh (release date: January 29, 2013).

Synopsis (from GoodReads): When her iconic novel Baker Towers was published in 2005, it was hailed as a modern classic--"compassionate and powerful . . . a song of praise for a too-little-praised part of America, for the working families whose toils and constancy have done so much to make the country great" (Chicago Tribune). Its young author, Jennifer Haigh, was "an expert natural storyteller with an acute sense of her characters' humanity" (New York Times).

Now, in this collection of interconnected short stories, Jennifer Haigh returns to the vividly imagined world of Bakerton, Pennsylvania, a coal-mining town rocked by decades of painful transition. From its heyday during two world wars through its slow decline, Bakerton is a town that refuses to give up gracefully, binding--sometimes cruelly--succeeding generations to the place that made them. A young woman glimpses a world both strange and familiar when she becomes a live-in maid for a Jewish family in New York City. A long-absent brother makes a sudden and tragic homecoming. A solitary middle-aged woman tastes unexpected love when a young man returns to town. With a revolving cast of characters--many familiar to fans of Baker Towers--these stories explore how our roots, the families and places in which we are raised, shape the people we eventually become.News from Heaven looks unflinchingly at the conflicting human desires for escape and for connection, and explores the enduring hold of home.

I loved Baker Towers so I cannot wait to get my hands on this one! I love Haigh's writing and look forward to curling up with this one. So, what are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Top Ten Tuesday (1-8-13)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week, 

they post a different topic, and you get to create your own top ten list. So, this week's 

topic is:

Bookish Goals for 2013

1) My reading goal is set at 105 books. (Last year I set it at 100 and read 110, so I went a little higher this year but not crazy, in case life gets in the way of my reading).

2) Update my blog more frequently. (Just in terms of keeping my pages up to date, adding in links on my review page, etc.)

3) Read at least two biographies/autobiographies. (I really enjoy reading about people's lives, so instead of just chancing on finding a good biography, I'm actively searching for some to read)

4) Try to read at least one classic. (I joined the Classics challenge last year in hopes of doing just that and failed miserably. So, if I set my goal at reading just one classic, it's more achievable)

5) Cut back on my TBR pile. (I have stacks of books that are just lounging all around my room. My goal this year is to try and read what I have in order to cut down on the amount of clutter taking up floor space. Not that books are clutter, but it can get annoying at times to have so many piles of books around!)

6) Use audiobooks more. (I currently only listen to audiobooks when I drive, which works out well since I drive at least 30 minutes to and from work everyday, but if I could get to a place in my running where I'm able to listen to audiobooks while working out, that would be great.)

7) Comment on other people's blogs more. (I go through stretches of time where I comment like crazy on other's blogs, then a dry spell where I don't comment at all. Maybe if I try to comment on one person's blog a day, it will help me to stay on track with this goal)

8) Keep up with reviews. (I did a pretty good job of that in 2012, but there were a few times when I had two or three reviews just waiting to be done, so I'd like to avoid that in 2013)

9) Try not to read as much chick lit. (I really get sucked into this genre at times, which is alright, but I'd like to read more fiction in 2013)

Well, I'm one short this week! what are your bookish goals for 2013? Let me know!

Review: One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

One Breath Away
Author: Heather Gudenkauf
Published: June 26, 2012
Genre: thriller
Paperback: 370 pages
Source: borrowed from the library

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis (from GoodReads): In the midst of a sudden spring snowstorm, an unknown man armed with a gun walks into an elementary school classroom. Outside the school, the town of Broken Branch watches and waits.

Officer Meg Barrett holds the responsibility for the town's children in her hands. Will Thwaite, reluctantly entrusted with the care of his two grandchildren by the daughter who left home years earlier, stands by helplessly and wonders if he has failed his child again. Trapped in her classroom, Evelyn Oliver watches for an opportunity to rescue the children in her care. And thirteen-year-old Augie Baker, already struggling with the aftermath of a terrible accident that has brought her to Broken Branch, will risk her own safety to protect her little brother.

As tension mounts with each passing minute, the hidden fears and grudges of the small town are revealed as the people of Broken Branch race to uncover the identity of the stranger who holds their children hostage.

My Thoughts: I've enjoyed Heather Gudenkauf's previous work and was anxious to read her newest one. While I didn't care as much for her second book, These Things Hidden, as I did for her first one, I was optimistic that this book would be a good read. And I was in luck! This book is a fast paced thriller, one that had me turning that pages and saying to myself, "Okay, I will go to bed after I finish this chapter." Then, five minutes later, "Okay, just one more chapter!" She had me on the edge of seat for this novel and it was hard to walk away from it. The story focuses on a gunman who enters an elementary school in a small town in Iowa. There are the children that are in the room with him, the teacher who's class is being held captive and she isn't sure what to do, the grandfather watching his children while his daughter recuperates from a fire, and the police officer who is handling the ordeal. Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view, so you really have a great understanding of what it's like in the room with the gunman, how you feel as a child, how a parent feels, and how a police officer is handling the pressure of such a situation.

The only complaint that I had about this novel was that the character's voices didn't differ that much between chapters. Mrs. Oliver's voice (the teacher in the room with the gunman) and Meg (the police officer) sounded very similar. It wasn't a huge distraction for me, but I do wish that there was a bit of a difference between each character. I love stories that are told my various characters and this one is definitely hard to put down. Gudenkauf is back in form in this novel and it makes me anxious to see what she will write next.

Review: Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon

Wife 22
Author: Melanie Gideon
Published: May 29, 2012
Genre: chick lit
Hardcover: 400 pages
Source: borrowed from the library

My Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis (from GoodReads): Maybe it was those extra five pounds I’d gained. Maybe it was because I was about to turn the same age my mother was when I lost her. Maybe it was because after almost twenty years of marriage my husband and I seemed to be running out of things to say to each other. But when the anonymous online study called “Marriage in the 21st Century” showed up in my inbox, I had no idea how profoundly it would change my life. It wasn’t long before I was assigned both a pseudonym (Wife 22) and a caseworker (Researcher 101). And, just like that, I found myself answering questions.
 
7. Sometimes I tell him he’s snoring when he’s not snoring so he’ll sleep in the guest room and I can have the bed all to myself.
61. Chet Baker on the tape player. He was cutting peppers for the salad. I looked at those hands and thought, I am going to have this man’s children.
67. To not want what you don’t have. What you can’t have. What youshouldn’t have.
32. That if we weren’t careful, it was possible to forget one another.
 
Before the study, my life was an endless blur of school lunches and doctor’s appointments, family dinners, budgets, and trying to discern the fastest-moving line at the grocery store. I was Alice Buckle: spouse of William and mother to Zoe and Peter, drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions. But these days, I’m also Wife 22. And somehow, my anonymous correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpectedly personal turn. Soon, I’ll have to make a decision—one that will affect my family, my marriage, my whole life. But at the moment, I’m too busy answering questions. As it turns out, confession can be a very powerful aphrodisiac.

My Thoughts: I was intrigued by the premise of this novel and, although I hadn't heard of it or the author before, I just had to pick it up and read it. The premise of this book is a simple one: a woman submits herself to be part of a marriage study, which asks her a variety of questions in regards to herself and her life. I really liked this idea, because when you think about studies like this, so many people are forthcoming with absolute strangers, but they wouldn't tell a single person that they actually know these things. So, I decided that I would just have to read this one to see how it would turn out. As I read, it became predictable and little annoying at times, but there was a lot of laughs and you could see some growth in the main character, Alice. 

The best and worst part of this book for me was Alice. There were times when I loved her and was on her side, and other times when I couldn't stand her and wanted to scream at her to stop being so stupid. She was showing growth in how she viewed her life (some chapters of the book are written as if they are scenes from a play, which is great, because Alice is a playwright) and her place in the world. Then there were times when I wanted to yell at her because she was being so stupid and annoying (convincing herself that her tween son is gay ... even if he is, she shouldn't be as stressed about it as she was). 

There were parts of this book that were great and others that definitely needed some work. The chapters were all varied, some in the form of Facebook messages, some in scene-form, and others just written as a chapter of a novel. It was great and really helped to get me more involved in the reading. I don't know if I would want to read another book by Melanie Gideon, but I will be interested to see if her next subject is as interesting as this one.

Book Blog Hop and Follow Friday (1-4-13)

Happy Friday everyone! How is 2013 treating you so far? Mine has been okay, except for the absent-mindedness I have in terms of keeping up with the blog! It seems like I keep on forgetting to post things and do reviews ... I'm hoping this is the last bit of my reading slump from December carrying over and that I can get back on track this week. Now, onto the Friday fun ...

Parajunkee asks:

WHAT NEW YEARS BLOGGING OR WRITING RESOLUTION HAVE YOU PLACED ON YOURSElf?

Besides getting back on track with everything?!? Haha ... my blogging goal this year is to just keep up with my page and make sure that everything is up to date and well-organized. In terms of reading, my goal is to read 105 books this year, which I think is doable.

So, what's your blogging/reading/writing resolution this year? Let me know and have a great weekend!

Monthly Wrap-up: December 2012

Well, just as I predicted, December is my slowest reading month of the year. It's just so hard to fit in time to read while trying to accomplish all those holiday things that need to get done. For example, I have been reading The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Frye for well over a week now. And I love the book! It's just that I don't have time to sit and read more than 15-20 pages at a time. But, here's what I was able to finish this month:

Number of Books Read: 5

Books Read This Month:

The Making of Us by Lisa Jewell

One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper

Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

The Search by Nora Roberts (audiobook)

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

Favorite Book I Read This Month: One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper

Least Favorite Book I Read This Month: The Making of Us by Lisa Jewell

It was hard to pick a favorite and least favorite because I enjoyed all the novels I read this month. Looking at January, I am already excited to get back into the swing of things and read some more books. How was your December? 

Top Ten Tuesday (1-1-13)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week, 

they post a different topic, and you get to create your own top ten list. So, this week's 

topic is:

Books I Resolve to Read in 2013

1) The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown - I have had this book in my TBR pile for years. I have to read it this year ... I am deermined to do so!

2) A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer - I picked this up at a Half-Price Books a year or so ago and have been wanting to read it, but something else always gets in the way.

3) The Last Letter From Your Lover by JoJo Moyes - I love a good WWII novel and this one has been waiting for me for awhile now!

4) My Korean Deli by Ben Ryder Howe - I have read so many great reviews of this memoir and I still haven't managed to read it! This is the year, though!

5) The Submission by Amy Waldman - I received this book for Christmas last year but never got around to it ... definitely making time for it this year!

6) Home Front by Kristin Hannah - I love Hannah's work and hope to get to this one sometime in 2013.

7) The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling - I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to read this one before the end of the year, but I'm confident that I will read it in 2013.

8) Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - I read the first chapter in this book on the way back from London but never read the rest of it! I really liked what I read, so it's just a matter of getting back into it.

9) Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn - I've heard a lot of great things about this book and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

10) The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton - I wanted to read any of Morton's books in 2012 but just didn't have the time, so 2013, I really hope to get around to one.

There are so many books that I want to read in 2013 ... I hope that I can get to all these! So, what books are you resolving to read in 2013? Let me know!