Stephany Writes

Categories: Books

Book Review: Picture of Lies by C.C. Harrison

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Title: Picture of Lies
Author: C.C. Harrison
Genre: Mystery
Year: 2011
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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From Amazon:

Investigative journalist Keegan Thomas has been living a nightmare of guilt and grief since her little girl, Daisy, was kidnapped practically in front of her eyes. When the police investigation stalled, she turned her grief to anger and buried herself in her work searching for missing children, her own included. The result was an award-winning series of articles on unsolved child abductions. Then came the inevitable burnout.

On what is supposed to be a working vacation, Keegan travels to Monument Valley on the Navajo Indian Reservation seeking the whereabouts of people in an old photograph found in her grandfather s belongings after his death.

But the Indians do not welcome this nosy stranger carrying a picture of their old people, some of them dead. While navigating the mysterious ways of the Navajo, Keegan is told one of the children in the photograph was kidnapped by missionaries and taken to a boarding school.

Keegan’s search for the child leads to a web of deception that stretches back two generations, and the truth Keegan learns about her own family is the most shocking betrayal of all. Nothing can prepare her for the danger she encounters when she becomes the target of a powerful U.S. senator who will do anything to stop her from telling what she knows about the Picture of Lies.

My review:

I devoured this book. I read the entire thing in three days. THREE DAYS! I never finish books in three days anymore. It was the perfect mix of mystery and romance. Of humor and seriousness. I’ve read enough mystery books to usually correctly guess who the bad guy will be, or what the ending will look like. But this book was full of twists and turns and surprises. I had no idea what would be happening next and gasped my way through it as mysteries were revealed.

I have to imagine mystery novels are hard to write, and even harder to come up with original, strong plotlines but this book delivered on all accounts. The plot was solid and I kept wanting to learn more. And when all was revealed, it was a shock and something I wasn’t expecting.

The character development was good, too. I really enjoyed Harrison’s easy dialogue and way of writing. It all felt effortless and as if I really knew these characters. The romance part of the novel was more of a side story, not the main portion. But it felt more honest that way. Keegan’s main focus was on this mystery and also on finding out what happened to her daughter.

The only thing I didn’t enjoy as much was the ending, but I know it was an honest ending. (I’m just a sucker for everything tying up nicely at the end and not having to cry out, “NO! WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?” when I finish.) I don’t want to give away any part of the book but I can tell there will be a sequel to this one by the way it ended.

All in all, if mystery fiction with a little romance thrown in is your thing, this is a solid book to read. I would definitely, definitely recommend it.

Are you a sucker for an “everything-ties-together-nicely” ending, or do you like ones that surprise you? I would say I’m fifty-fifty on this.

I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions are my own.

Categories: Books

Book Review: Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

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Title: Good in Bed
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Genre: Chick-lit
Year: 2001
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
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Summary from Goodreads:

For twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannie Shapiro. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father has long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her friends, her rat terrier, Nifkin, and her job as pop culture reporter for The Philadelphia Examiner. She’s even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body.

But the day she opens up a national women’s magazine and sees the words “Loving a Larger Woman” above her ex-boyfriend’s byline, Cannie is plunged into misery…and the most amazing year of her life. From Philadelphia to Hollywood and back home again, she charts a new course for herself: mourning her losses, facing her past, and figuring out who she is and who she can become.

***

I connected with Cannie from the beginning. She was smart, sassy, vulnerable, and sensitive. I could relate to her from the get-go, especially considering she is dealing with the same father issues I deal with from this very day. This paragraph sealed it for me:

“But oh, when he loved me, when he put his hand on my head, when I leaned my own head against him…there was no feeling in the world that could beat it. I felt important. I felt cherished. And I would do whatever it took, press the bar until my hands bled, to get that feeling again.” (p. 98)

Every emotion I’ve ever experienced with my father leaving me? Right there.

This was the first book of Jennifer Weiner’s that I’ve read and I’m not sure why I stayed away so long. She is a fantastic writer and made me completely fall into the plot and the life of Cannie Shapiro. From reading the introduction, I knew this wasn’t going to be a story of a girl who loses weight, gets the guy, and takes down her ex-boyfriend. Jennifer Weiner set out to make this story something more relatable and real. And I could relate to Cannie in her insecurities about her body, the way she couldn’t seem to fully walk away from an ex-boyfriend who was no good for her, and in her family struggles.

The plot moved along quickly and there were so many twists and turns and surprises that I didn’t expect from a “chick lit” book. Characters were introduced that added so much to the plot and I couldn’t imagine Cannie’s life without them. It wasn’t a clean, sweet story of triumph. Not at all. It was messy and gritty and raw. It was real. It made me take a step back and examine my own life. I laughed with Cannie, I cried with Cannie, I felt proud of her when she stood up to her ex-boyfriend, and utterly sad during the most heart-wrenching part of the book.

When you can make me feel a character’s emotions in my own life, then you’ve done your job as an author. I wholly recommend this book and it was such a great example of women’s fiction for an aspiring writer. I’ll leave you with some of my favorite quotes:

“When you’re on a battleground, you don’t have the luxury of time to dwell on the various historical factors and sociopolitical influences that caused the war. You just keep your head down and try to survive it, to shove the pages back in the book, close to the covers and pretend that nothing’s broken, nothing’s wrong.” (p. 106)

“Things happen, you know? That’s my one big lesson from therapy. Things happen, and you can’t make them unhappen. You don’t get do-overs, you can’t roll back the clock, and the only thing you can change, and the only thing it does any good to worry about, is how you let them affect you.” (p. 372)

Categories: Books

On Being a Bookworm

I received some comments on my last post about how many books I’ve read this year. As of today, I’m at 55 books. (5 away from my goal.) Yes, that is a lot of books.

I should admit that I have a secret love for cheesy, trashy, not-very-well-written-but-still-fun-to-read Harlequin romance novels. That accounts for 7 of the books I’ve read this year. They have titles like the “Million Dollars Amnesia Scandal” and I’m too afraid to rate them on Goodreads in fear of everyone defriending me. (I’m also well aware many of you may stop reading my blog now. That’s a chance I have to take.)

I used to be embarrassed about my love for reading. It never stopped me from reading, but it wasn’t something I broadcasted to my friends. When we had silent reading periods, I rarely took out the book I was currently reading. I would usually pick from the books in the classroom. I was way more focused on trying to fit in and be more like the popular girls than I was on befriending my people. The ones who loved reading and losing themselves in the pages of a book. The ones I could chat for hours about plots and characters and settings. I’ve missed out on a lot of great friendships because of this. But that’s the past and I’m no longer embarrassed about my love for reading.

When I look at book lists of what other people have read, I feel intimidated. They are reading these amazing nonfiction bestsellers or great literary fiction, while I’m still into romance novels and YA lit where everything turns out OK in the end. My book lists are sprinkled with books that have a deeper meaning and make you think, but I also really enjoy getting lost in a fairytale, even if the circumstances seem too unrealistic to believe.

We all have different tastes and mine tend to fall for romance novels with happy endings. I can’t apologize for that because it’s what I enjoy, even if the book titles and plots may be a little embarrassing.

For me, reading is second nature. It’s just what I do. I couldn’t imagine my life without it, although my reading has slowed down tremendously since I started my job. (I’m now averaging about a book a week, whereas before I was able to finish about 6 books a month.) But it remains something steadfast that I simply cannot live without. When other people tell me they just don’t have time to read, I know that isn’t exactly true. They do but choose to let other things take the forefront. And that is perfectly okay! I’m not saying we all need to read a book a week or that putting other things first is bad, I’m just saying that we all have different hobbies we hold dearer than others. For me, reading is the hobby I love the most and take the most time cultivating. (Plus, as an aspiring writer, reading is imperative to the journey.)

I’m making a “25 Before 25” list and I need a reading goal. I know I wanted something other than a book amount goal but didn’t know what challenge I wanted to give myself. A specific list? Read all books from an author? Read books on a specific time period? I just wanted it to force me outside my reading comfort zone.

I’ve decided over the next 12 months (starting in December), I’m going to read one non-fiction book a month. In 2011, I only read one non-fiction book on my own terms. (The other two I’ve read have been reviews I’ve been asked to do.) And it was Tina Fey’s Bossypants so I’m not sure if that even qualifies. (Celebrity memoir, maybe?) I’ve made a list of the books I’ll be reading and during what months:

December – Stuff Christians Like by Jon Acuff

January – Life After College: The Complete Guide to Getting What You Want by Jenny Blake

February – 20-Something, 20-Everything: A Quarter-Life Women’s Guide to Balance and Direction by Christine Hassler

March – The Joy of Less by Francine Jay

April – Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-It Note At a Time by Caitlin Boyle

May – The Christian Atheist: Believing in God But Living As if He Doesn’t Exist by Craig Groeschel

June – What Women Fear: Walking in a Faith That Transforms by Angie Smith

July – Confessions of a Prayer Slacker by Diane Moody

August – Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

September – Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture by Adam S. McHugh

October – Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli

November –  Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser

These books are not set in stone and I imagine the list may change in the coming year as newer books are released. It’s a VERY flexible list. Are there any non-fiction books you think I should add?

What is your favorite genre of books to read?

Categories: Books

Book Review: Willpower by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney

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Title: Willpower
Author: Roy F. Baumeister & John Tierney
Genre: Self-help
Year: 2011
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

***

I was intrigued by the premise of this book. Willpower. I’ve told myself for years that I have very weak willpower. Its limited presence shows itself in the way I struggle to lose weight, save money, and mark off items on my to-do list. So I wanted to know about willpower. What it is, what it does for me, and how to strengthen mine.

A good chunk of this book was devoted to case studies and celebrity examples of what willpower looks like (and what it doesn’t). I wasn’t very impressed with it all, wondering how to apply the hundreds of case studies presented to my own life. Now, I love to read case studies. I find the human psyche incredibly complex and interesting. But it got a little too much for me, especially when life application was lacking.

The last part of the book (starting with Chapter 9) was when things started getting interesting for me. This was when I started seeing more life application. This is when I began to understand it all.

In the spirit of a self-help book, I’m taking a different approach to this book review. Instead, here is what I learned from this book:

1. We all possess a finite amount of willpower that gets depleted throughout the day. (p. 35)

2. For every task completed throughout the day, from forcing ourselves out of bed in the morning to not eating that second piece of chocolate after lunch, draws from the same stock of willpower. (p. 35)

3. “Whether you’re judging yourself or judging others, never equate being overweight with having weak willpower.” (p. 215)

4. The Oprah Paradox. Think about Oprah. She is hugely successful and she couldn’t have gotten to where she is without having exceedingly high self-control and willpower. Yet she struggles with losing weight (and keeping it off). Even people with high self-control can struggle with their weight. (p. 217)

5. It’s more important to heed the body’s internal cues than the external cues. When we diet, we start imposing more external rules on our bodies: when to eat, how much, etc. But it’s more important to listen to our bodies. Learn to recognize our hunger signals, and learn to recognize when we are full. (p. 223) This is something that Weight Watchers, in particular, heavily emphasize. There was a pretty interesting study done on this very issue and it hit home the point of internal versus external cues.

6. When we start craving sweets, it’s more than just a matter of weak willpower. Our cravings have a “sound physiological basis”. Self-control depletes glucose and the fastest way to get that back? Eating sweets. It’s at this point that we need to reach for something richer in protein and nutrients, even though reaching for chocolate is the more satisfying option. (p. 226 – 227)

7. “…people with high self-control consistently report less stress in their lives. They use their self-control not to get through crises but to avoid them. They give themselves enough time to finish a project; they take their car into the shop before it breaks down; they stay away from all-you-can-eat buffets. They play offense instead of defense.” (p. 239)

8. In the game of willpower, it’s the exertion of trying to make a decision that matters. Even if you end up giving in, it doesn’t automatically replenish your willpower stock, although it will help you from expending more willpower with this decision. (p. 244)

I found the book to be quite an interesting read, although it was really the last three chapters that spoke to me the most. The book is heavy on case studies and makes up about 90% of the book’s content. I enjoy reading studies so it wasn’t a big deal for me, but it did get a little too much at times. If you enjoy self-help, it’s a good read. And if the psyche into self-control and willpower interests you, I would definitely recommend this book.

I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions are my own.

Categories: Books

4,101 pages later…

I think I always knew I would fall completely in love with the Harry Potter series once I started reading the books. I read the first two when I was in middle school and remember really enjoying them, even if they were a style of book I wouldn’t normally read. I don’t know why I never finished the series, but I know part of the reason was because of the dark magic displayed in the subsequent books that had all Christian parents in a tizzy. I was never banned from reading the books, but also didn’t care to keep reading. So I stopped and even when the movies came out and more and more people extolled these books, I never had an interest in them.

I wasn’t tempted when the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened in Orlando, a mere 90 minutes from me. I even visited Universal Studios a few months after it opened and was just happy the lines for all the other rides were shorter since everyone was hanging out in Harry Potter land. It wasn’t that I thought I was “better” than those who were obsessed with Harry Potter, but I was just indifferent to the whole series. Yeah, yeah, I’m sure it’s a fantastic series, I always thought. Just not for me.

And then Erin came up with a fantastic idea. (Fantastic for those who love Harry Potter, of course.) She formed an 11-week reading plan from the end of June to the beginning of September where a bunch of us would read through the series. Seven books. Over 4,000 pages. In eleven weeks. The Summer of Harry, she called it.

I thought she was crazy. I had seen the books. They were not your average young-adult literature novels. They were heavy and thick. And she wanted us to read them ALL in eleven weeks?

But since there was a good group of bloggers jumping on board with the idea and I knew Erin and others really wanted me to read the series and discover the magic (for lack of a better term) hidden beneath the covers, I joined in.

I had no idea what I had signed myself up for.

I had no idea the impact this series would have on my life.

I had no idea that I would become like Them. Dreaming of visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Linking everyday processes to what I have been reading about. Falling in love with the characters and this wizarding land J.K. Rowling had imagined. Watching the movies. Drooling over Rupert Grint. (Just me?)

And 4,101 pages later, I am a believer.

I don’t even know how to describe this series or the impact it has had on me. As a writer, I was utterly astounded and impressed by Rowling’s writing ability and imagination. Every book was packed with character development, incredible plot lines, and details upon details upon details. Rowling doesn’t write by accident and every nugget of information she drops has impact and meaning. (Which is why I’m really excited to reread this series to see all the clues I missed the first time around!)

I still haven’t been able to wrap my mind around everything that happened in these seven books. Tragedy. Triumph. Love. Hate. Angst. Humor. So many amazing characters and there is no way I can choose my favorite. Every character had a place in the book, a reason for being there. They all had their moments of victory and defeat. (Although to be completely honest, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Ron.)

One of the best parts of reading this series was the Thursday night Twitter chats with a bunch of people reading right along with me. While I was the only one going through the series for the first time, I think it added a special something to it all, to have someone experiencing Harry Potter for the first time. Everyone else knew how everything plays out and how the series ends, but everything was brand-new for me. Being able to discuss and dissect the book with these people was so special for me. This isn’t the type of book series you can read lightly and move on from. Discussing it helped me to process all my emotions and everything that I felt while reading the books. Those Thursday night chats tied the entire #SummerofHarry experience together.

What happens now? Well, first, there is one last #SummerofHarry chat tonight. (10:00PM EST for anyone interested!) And then, I need to watch the movies. I’ve seen the first two (which were excellent, by the way) and I need to find some time to watch the remaining movies. Who’s up for a Harry Potter movie marathon?!