Here we go again! Wee!
The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn R. Saks – I borrowed this as an e-book from the Norwood Public Library. It was a book club pick. I thought this was brilliant. Elyn is brilliant and this details her journey through mental illness. I had seen her TED talk as part of material in a course I took about treating mental illness. Read the book, but if it isn’t your thing, watch the TED talk. In fact I have it running in the background while I work on this post. Both are brilliant. I’m giving this 4 stars.
Vlad: The Last Confession by C.C. Humphreys – I borrowed this as an e-book from the Boston Public Library. This is historical fiction about Vlad the Impaler, on whom the Dracula myth was based. The story is told in the form of a religious trial. The witnesses are Vlad’s closest friends and confidants. It was an interesting perspective on a man that has gone down in history as being a monster. I liked it. I’m giving it 3 stars.
Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum – I received this as an e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This book should be called “How to Completely Mess Up Your Life in Ten Easy Steps.” The narrator was hard to relate to. She is dissatisfied with her life and keeps doing really destructive things that only make things worse. Anna marries a Swiss man and moves to Switzerland. Nine years later, she decides to finally take a German language course. She rather reluctantly makes a new friend that is her complete opposite. Anna does everything possible to make her life worse and is ultimately punished for it. Mary does everything she can to make her life better. She also causes additional drama for Anna due to her inherent innocence. It was good. The story is good. The narration is entirely nonlinear, which is fine as long as you don’t put the book down. Ever. I’m giving it 3 stars.
The Chessmen by Peter May – I borrowed this as an actual book from the BPL. This is Lewis Trilogy #3. I’m sad that it’s done. I really enjoyed these books. This one starts with an airplane in the bottom of a loch that drained mysteriously during a storm. Fin and an old friend found it after being trapped in a cave during a terrible storm. I’m not going to reveal too much since you should really read all 3 of the books. I thought this was great and I couldn’t put it down. I’m giving it 4 stars.
Yes Please by Amy Poehler – I borrowed this as an audiobook from the BPL. Amy Poehler narrates it herself. It is awesome. There are other guest narrators, most notably Seth Meyers and Kathleen Turner. Amy makes fun of her Boston accent, which cannot have been as funny in the book. This is definitely the way to consume this type of book. Another great example is Bossypants by Tina Fey. I cannot describe this book in detail. You just have to experience it. I love when authors read their own audiobooks. I’m giving this 5 stars.
And that’s it. In the middle of this post, I got a call from one of my aunts. She saw a post on Facebook and wanted to know if I was in New Jersey. No. Apparently, my sister tagged me in a picture of my niece looking super cute on Easter. No one likes to feel left out of the fun. So, for the record, I am not in New Jersey, I just have a super cute niece and my sister wanted to make sure that I saw the picture, and maybe say Happy Easter.
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