Before I go to Sleep by S. J. Watson

Ok, so I have been book deprived because I hadn't had anything to read after I finished Will Grayson, Will Grayson....well I had a book to read but I couldn't bring myself to get beyond page four...so I basically had none to read.  And then last Monday a co-worker let me borrow this months book club book, which I have to say I'm also having a hard time reading but since it is a book club book I am putting in more effort into reading it...only time will tell if I make it through.

ANYWAY, all this to say, yesterday, I read this book.  I got about 50 pages in on Saturday and then spent most of my Sunday reading the rest of this book.  I didn't want to put it down.  It is brilliant.  This is Watson's debut novel, and I will be looking forward to reading his next novel (and hoping it is soon!).  I read the inside sleeve and the first two paragraph's as I was leaving our town's library and waiting to cross the street.  That is all it took to make me hooked.

So it's about this woman, Christine, who is forty something and every time she goes to sleep her brain erases everything that happened that day, she cannot retain any memories, and she only remembers certain things from her past up to the time of the accident responsible for this happening.  So every morning she wakes up she doesn't know who she is, where she is, or even how old she is; she thinks she is still in her twenty's, or sometimes even a child.  Her husband has to explain who he is, show her pictures of them, etc...Every.  Day.  It looks like from the author's blog that it will eventually be a movie.  I will want to watch it!  So, it is very well written...and of course there is a twist!  And the ending didn't piss me off!  Hahaha.  I recommend you read this book!  Or at least check it out, here:  Excerpt

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

I finished this book on Monday.  It is for young readers, like teenagers, as is all the books I've read by John Green, so far.  But it again is funny, made me smile a lot, and laugh out loud.  I think the characters in this book are awesome.  It's about this guy named Will Grayson, and the first chapter talks about his life and about his best friend, Tiny Cooper who is very large and very gay.  The second chapter is about this other Will Grayson and he doesn't really have many friends and the chapters go back and forth between the Will Grayson's until *SPOILER ALERT* they meet in the middle of the book.  Completely random, couldn't have been timed better.  Anyway then the stories kind of integrate a bit (too much of a spoiler to say how) and throughout the book Tiny Cooper is working on this musical of his life, and the book ends with the musical, which is a hit, and it's a good book.  :)  I know I'm not the best at writing these summaries but they are for me to try and jog my memory about a book and what I felt about it in case I ever want to recommend it to anyone!

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

I finished this book on Saturday.  I believe it is similar to the other two books he has written.  Very detailed.  I didn't enjoy this book as much as I remember enjoying the first but that could be for a couple reasons.  Number one, I didn't want to read this book.  I was waiting for three books to come into the library and needed something to read while I waited.  And number two, I may just not like this style of book anymore.  Flavia is cute, and I love her interest in chemistry and crime, but I didn't love the book.  It follows another mystery of course and Flavia is right on the trail of figuring out what happened and gets into some trouble, etc.  I'm not sure if I will read the next book or not.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

I started this book Saturday and finished it today.  Ok.  I'd like to say, that I already loved John.  I found him on YouTube when my all time favorite YouTube star and major crush, Julia Nunes mentioned the Vlogbrothers on her YouTube channel.  I hadn't read any of John's books until ...2010 or 2009, I'd been watching his videos faithfully before that.  But now this is the third book I've read by him and I think it might be my favorite.  I'm already waiting for another of his novels to arrive at the library, and plan to read all of his books eventually.  They go by very quickly.  They are great books to read in between my required reading --book club books. 

Ok so this story is about a genius named Colin, although he doesn't think he is a genius, just a child prodigy.  He has dated nineteen Katherines.  It starts out with him being heartbroken because Katherine XIX just broke up with him.  His best friend takes him on a road trip, or rather decides they need to go on a road trip and Colin takes them because it is his car.  They end up in some town, score a job, meet new people, and have an adventure.  Anyway, Colin is very loveable, obsessed with anagrams, and trying to determine a formula for relationships.  The only thing I dislike about the book is the ending snuck up on me.  There was a slew of pages left, and I was ready for more story...but that isn't what they contained.  Anyway, needless to say my love for John grows.  And the best part is, I've listened to all of his vlogs, so when I was reading the book, it was like he was reading it to me.  I could hear him perfectly.  And I love that too.  DFTBA.  <3

The Birth House by Ami McKay

I had trouble really getting into this book.  When I read the summary about what it was about, I thought, this isn't a book I'm really going to like.  It isn't a book I would have picked on my own.  It's this month's book club book.  I finished it this past Saturday.  I didn't find it exciting or wanting to pick it up to see what was going to happen.  I was disappointed with the life the main character chose for herself, and even more disappointed with the end of the book.  Her husband treated her like crap and she didn't experience love with him.  All she ever wanted was a baby of her own and she doesn't even end up having birth to her own.  Just helps out with the babies being born in the village.  So I didn't really like this book at all. 

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

Ok back to promising books by Jodi.  This one didn't disappoint like the last one did.  It is about this teenage girl who gets raped by her ex boyfriend.  Her father has a past that catches up with him after he spent so long reinventing himself as a picture perfect dad and husband.  There is a side storyline of her mom in there too, which brings it altogether.  There are several twists in the book, and the ending doesn't disappoint.  It stops rather abruptly, but all in all I was very happy with this book and the ending. 

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I just finished this book at lunch.  I loved it!  It's about this boy, Jacob.  It goes between his life when he is 23 and his present life when he is 93.  It is set up so you can know what is going on now, he is in a nursing home, and he is funny!  Anyway, then he will drift off and be back at the circus when he is 23.  It tells how he comes across and joins the circus, his daily work, and the inner workings of the circus.  There is a small love story on the side; the book is full of adventure and it's a vivid tale.  I wanted to pick up the book any time I could to see where the story was going.  I highly recommend this book!  It will take no time to read.  And now I can watch the movie and compare the two.  Books are always better.