I've always wanted to use this blog as a medium to tell all of you about the books I read, mainly because I want to discuss them! There are many times where I'll read something crazy in a book, gasp, and then look around and see Josh staring at me. So I need someone to relate to when it comes to books, and maybe get recommendations. Agreed?
I just read Faith by Jennifer Haigh, and I can not describe how stirred I was by this book. It deals with a very controversial and prevalent issue today: child molestation accusations of Catholic priests.
Now, mind you, this isn't really a statement on the Catholic church. It's a story of what happens when accusations get thrown around. Father Arthur Breen has been accused of molesting a child, and this book tells of how his working class Boston family deals with the news. His mother is refusing to hear anything that doubts his innocence, his brother, with two small children of his own, has completely cut off Arthur, and Sheila, his sister (and from the point of view that this story is told) believes he's innocent, but is on a search for the truth. The family also has many secrets of their own, and the secrets they hold influence their reactions to the news.
Arthur has been kicked out of the parish, the only world he's ever known, and is living in a small apartment that the Boston archdiose is paying for. He feels lost.
The church, instead of conducting an investigation, just shuffles Arthur around and throws money at the issue. It's a problem whether the priests are guilty or not, because if innocent, no defense is provided, and they are deemed monsters. If they are guilty, no investigation is conducted to convict them.
In a nutshell, it shows how a simple accusation can destroy a person's life. You see the effects of this right up until the heartbreaking ending. I actually caught myself sobbing in a parking lot in the car whilst waiting for Josh. I'm a bonehead.
Read it. It's good.
I just finished this book, and it's by Audrey Niffenegger.
It's so hard to describe, because it's technically a ghost story, but it's not scary. It starts with the death of Elspeth, a woman in Britain, who we later find out has a twin in America, with her own set of twins. Elspeth and Edie are estranged from each other, and we don't know why. Elspeth left her estate to the twins, Julia and Valentina, her nieces, whom she had never met. The only stipulation is that they had to live in her flat for a year.
I didn't finish this as fast as I do most books, because it does have a slow, steady start. However, whenever this book reaches a climax, it does so in a frenzy. I couldn't put this book down, because I was afraid I was going to miss something. It never occurred to me that this was a book and not TV, and I could just put it down.
This book doesn't have a genre. It deals with ghosts, but it's not a horror. It deals with relationships between sisters, but it's definitely not a chick flick. It has romance, but this is not a romance book. It just.....is. And I like books like that!
I'm not going to give away anything, but the end was not what I would expect at all! It was strange, but fitting.
Seriously, read it, and let me know what you think! Let's start an online book club!
I got the idea to read this book when the author, Bridget Asher, wrote a good review for the book Commencement, by J. Courtney Sullivan, which is fantastic! Every female should read this book, seriously. So, I was happy to read this book.
Now, this book wasn't as easy to breeze through, because I just couldn't relate to the characters. Here's the deal: Lucy just found out that her husband has been cheating on her with a few women, and on top of that, he's dying of a terminal illness. As a sort of payback, Lucy takes Artie's black book and calls up all of his exes so that they could come and make amends one last time.
This book ultimately deals with these women coming to stay with Lucy, to watch Artie, and they bond over their love of Artie, and what he has taught them about themselves. Barf.
I had a real problem with this guy, who had continually cheated on his wife, not even really act remorseful for being with all of these women. Especially when he was on his deathbed. The whole time it was kind of like, "Oh, Artie! That's just the way he is!" No way, Jose. I just felt so bad for Lucy and the predicament she was in, especially while dealing with these other women who knew Artie just as intimately.
But hey, whatever floats your boat, as Levar Burton always said, "don't take my word for it." Read it yourself! I'm all about a lively discussion on books!
Let's review. I'm Jennifer, and I watch a ton of TV. Moving on...
Hell's Kitchen
I love Hell's Kitchen. It's like Top Chef (which I love, too) on meth. People are cooking, Gordon Ramsay is screaming and flinging food, and I am delighted. Last night was the biggest night yet. That's what they say before every single episode. Anywho, last night was a big night because the remaining people got the black jacket. And they become one team. Elizabeth and Elise were the last two. I despise Elise. I really do. And I really wanted her to go home. But, she didn't. In all honesty, I see where Ramsay is coming from, because Elizabeth was so spastic and frazzled the whole time. It was like watching a car crash, while that car crash was trying to sear scallops.
Kate Plus 8
I have not been keeping up with this show at all. I watched Jon and Kate Plus 8 all the time, then I stopped once they moved to their big house, and then all hell broke loose with their marriage and I boycotted it. Now that Kate Plus 8 is going to end, and Kate Gosselin has lost all ties with the media, I decided to tune in for the last episodes.
I'm so glad she is not my mother. They are all on an RV trip, along with 2 friends and their 3 kids or something. I'm not quite sure of the relation. So it's a full load! Kate really just whines the whole time, before they've even left the house! My mom has fussed at me many times in my childhood, but she never acted miserable to be around me. The highlight of the episode, to me, was when Kate was correcting her children at Mt Rushmore, saying that it's FDR on the mountain, not Teddy. Because FDR was the one with the moustache. Wow. Poor kids have no chance.
I was also planning on using this time to talk about a book I just finished, called Distance from the Heart of Things by Ashley Warlick. But, this book is boring, and I don't think anything happened. A girl graduates from App State in Boone, then moves back home to Edisto, SC to work on the books for her grandfather's vineyard. I kept thinking that this took place in the thirties, but it was in modern time. I had to keep reminding myself of that. And then she has this weird infatuation with her uncle, who is only 6 years older than her. It was weird and boring. At least it was a way to pass the time...
