Review: The Vegetarian

The Vegetarian by Han Kang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This novella was a very pleasant surprise for me. I didn't think I would really like it, and as it turned out I loved it! It kept me intrigue and I felt as if I had to keep reading it just to find out what happens.

My heart went out to Yeong-hye, a young married,completely ordinary wife ( other than she doesn't like to wear a bra.) and home-maker who, one day, suddenly decides to stop eating meat after a dream. She can't explain to her husband what the dream was about it, but because of this dream it haunted her and soon she finds herself distanced from her family and from society, who can't understand why she has chosen to do this. This begins her down-ward spiral.

The story is told in three parts, by three different family members. The first part is told by Yeong - hye's husband, Cheong. The second part is told by her brother-in-law, an artist, and the third part is told by Yeong-hye's sister In-hye, and is the only family member that still stands by her after her decline. However, since this book is about Yeong-hye turning into a vegetarian, the reader never even see her perspective of. There is some dialog of her talking and a some about her feelings, but not much.

One thing I must say about this book, it does not talk a lot of the vegetarian ways of eating, or of the diet itself, this is just a story of one woman who chooses to not eat meat. It basically deals with desire, shame, and empathy reflected by the characters' faltering attempts to understand the people around them. This is a darker book, so if your thinking this is going to be all unicorns and chocolates, you'll be very disappointed. It is a wonderful book, that brings out many different emotions. You might not connect to easily to the main character, since the reader doesn't hear from her much, but you do feel something for her. In a way I can understand how making a decision, and other people around you, especially your family, who are suppose to love and support you in whatever you decide to do, criticize you, don't attempt to hear you out, and past judgement, because they don't believe in you enough. These are some of the things that everybody did Yeong-hye. She was basically fighting a battle within a battle all on her own.





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Review: My Sergei: A Love Story

My Sergei: A Love Story by Ekaterina Gordeeva
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov were two times Olympians who won gold and four times World champions. When the two skated, they moved as one, the moves were breathtaking, excellence. beautiful and romantic, technically, but also emotionally, they were so incredible as a team. They really set the bar high in pairs figure skating, for all who came after them. What made Ekarterina and Sergei most unique was their chemistry with each other as they became one of the most romantic and beloved pairs teams of all time.

Their love story isn't just about them being one of the greatest pair skaters in the world, but also as a team, a man and a woman, husband and wife, father and mother, and then tragically, a skater without a partner, a single mother, a widow, alone.

It was one of the greatest tragedies in the sport of ice skating, when in November 1995, while training in Lake Placid, for the 'Stars on Ice' tour, and with his partner (wife) Ekaterina "Katia", as family, friends, call her, along with people in the skating world calls her, Sergei Grinkov collapsed at the Olympic Center. He died of a heart attack.

Katia, found herself lost after Seregi's death, and writes not only how she felt in those dark, lonely days after he passed, all the questions she had about how she would go on, how will she be able to raise her daughter and answer the questions she will have about her dad, the dad who she'd never know, who wouldn't be there for her first day of school, who wouldn't walk her down the isle when she got married.

She tells their story in this book, not only about herself but also Seregi's from the time he was born, to how he became a skater, to their marriage, becoming a father for the first time. As she tells their story, you can feel the love they had for each other, their happy times when they were off the ice as well as on the ice. She shares into their lives. She talks about the other skaters who were around them, many who were there when Seregi passed, those who helped them both with their english, who became their friends, and later her friends who stood by her, were there for her not only at the rink, hospital or funeral, but after all of it was said and done. They stood by her when she made the choice to return to her home, Russia. She felt she needed to be around family, and Sergei, as that is where they buried him, in his home country.

She talks about life after losing her husband, how she thought how difficult it was and how it might be for the rest of her life, as she says in the book, she just didn't lose her skating partner, she didn't lose just her husband, but she also lost a part of herself, her heart. She writes about how life went on around her, how she, herself, had to make a life for her and her baby girl Daria, how hard it was at times to look at her daughter who reminded her so much of her father, and feel her heartbreaking again, and again, and again. But Daria, was always their for Katia, through the good times and the bad, and she helped her to realize it was up to her to survive, to move on, to continue to live.

The whole time you can feel the same emotions she was feeling, she did a wonderful job of showing you her world, her love for Seregi, and how she herself had to move on. She needed to tell not only her story, but his as well. Her love for him, and someday for her daughter to be able to read this book, and get to know who her father was, and to truly love him the way Katia, loves him. After all, he was her Seregi.



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Review: Cat Playing Cupid

Cat Playing Cupid by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Joe Grey is back at it again, helping the Molena Point PD solve a murder. Only this time it's a little different, there wasn't much of a mystery here, yes two dead bodies are found, both of them about ten years old, a cold case. Lindsay Wolf, was engaged to the victim that was found in Oregon, and the other was found in Molena Point.

When Willow one of the talking feral talking cats, brings a wounded Sage to Charlie, one of the only humans that Willow trusts, she takes him to the local vet. It turns out that the old vet, has always known about the talking cats, and informs Charlie she needs to bring him some "special" cats, meaning Joe Grey, Dulcie, and Kit. Here is where we learn about how these cats are so special. However, Clyde, Joe's human is finally getting married to Ryan Flannery, his long time girlfriend, and Joe is please, he likes Ryan but isn't crazy about her dog coming along and invading his house, but he does like Ryan, who has figured out on her own about the cats.

If you haven't read any of the previous books I would suggest you do first, this book might be a little confusing for someone to just jump in and not know the who's who in the book. In all the books, the story is well written, all at a pretty face pace, the character's are well developed, but that also stems from the other books that have helped them along the way to grow and build relationships.

The Joe Grey series isn't as far fetched as some of the other series out there about talking cats, but is a fun series to read, to escape what's going on in your life, or the news around the world, this series is such a fun, entertaining, relaxing read. You'll find yourself smiling, laughing, especially at some of the things Joe does and then him and Clyde getting into their little arguments, or even if you just want to escape along the San Francisco area, with all the beautiful descriptions along the way of the scenery.


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Review: Cress

Cress by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After reading the two books before this one, I have to say, this one was my favorite so far. I will say right now, that if you haven't read Cinder and Scarlet, you might want to read them first, as this book does have some continuation in it from the other two books.

Cinder, Scarlet, Wolf, Thorne, Kai, and Queen Levana are all back to help keep this book in the sequel. Cress is so much more of a faster pace, action filled, adventurous book, kept me glued till the end. I love that Marissa Meyer is able to do such a wonderful job in developing characters throughout the series.

All of the character's are in this book, but I did like the way the relationship of Cress and Thorne was developing. I know several people have stated in their reviews, they felt this was a boning part of the book, but when you think about it, the author had to do something for them to get to know each other, and for us to learn more about Cress, other than she was in a satellite station by herself for the past seven years, there really wasn't any way to get to know her and what she is actually capable of doing or thinking for that matter. She sat in the station by herself with literally no human contact, friends, her social skills aren't the best, but she still has a very sweet nature personality, yes sometimes her child like ways got on my nerves, but if you understood how she had to live you can overlook it.

Each of the other character's have grown also in this book, and Cress can learn a lot from them, and it warmed my heart as to how she finally had friends, people she could hang out with, asks questions, and she had some good ideas to help with the plans the others had as far as trying to stop the marriage of Levana and Kai.

By far I think Cress has been my favorite character. She funny, witty, child like, caring, and she warmed my heart and made me laugh. I realize I didn't say to much about this book, because it was like the other two books I reviewed, so there wasn't really anything new to report. There is one more book in this series, so we'll see how this is all wrapped up.




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Review: Arsenic and Old Books

Arsenic and Old Books by Miranda James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the 6th book in this series. The character have become much more developed with each book. It's a light -hearted book. It's easy to figure out who the killer is, but it's more about getting to know the characters, and what's going on in their lives. It's like catching up with old friends.

The story takes place in Athena, Mississippi, librarian Charlie Harris is a widow, his two children are grown up and have moved on to careers of their own. His companion is a Maine Coon cat named Diesel, who loves chicken, fried, baked, stewed...any way chicken is made he loves it.

Mayor Lucinda Beckwith Long donates four volumes of her husband's ancestor diaries to the archive at Athena College. Before Charlie can get them catalog, the diaries are stole, and a history professor at the college, who is interested in the diaries in hopes that she will make tenure, is killed by a hit and run. When Charlie returns to work a mysterious fifth volume of the diaries suddenly appears on his desk.

The other fourth volumes find there way back to Charlie, but find there are ten pages ripped out of the diaries. Who is hiding a family secret, why is one diary not like the others as to how the ancestor is being portrayed in the other volumes, is this one diary a forgery? And who would kill the professor, was it an accident or a way to silences her? The answers are all in the book, that is entertaining.




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Review: Britt-Marie Was Here

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book I've read by this author, and like the first book I read, it didn't disappoint in the least!

Britt-Marie can seem a little, hostile, nosy, sometimes what comes out of her mouth is taken the wrong way then what it's intended to be. The humor she portrays will have you literally laughing out loud, at times your heart goes out to her, other times you sit there and have the same look on your faces at the character's in the book are giving her. But underneath all this, there is a person who is just wants to be needed, to be wanted, to be noticed, to be loved.

Britt-Marie is early in her sixty's when she's finally had enough of her husband, basically treating her like a child, he hides the truth about the economy too her, he always puts gas in her car, doesn't want her to work, criticizes her by saying things like "Britt-Marie can't play with you, she has no imagination." and he cheats on her.

Finally Britt-Marie has had enough of his cheating ways, she seeks out employment and is offered a job in Borg, a broken down town who hasn't recovered from the industrial plant closing, houses are on the market, a pizzeria, pub, post office and a rec center, where Britt-Marie gains employment as the caretaker.

When she pulls into the town, her car breaks down and the local police officer, Sevn soon takes an interest in Britt-Marie. He finds her a place to stay at Banks' house. Bank is a woman who is blind, has a dog, and is also the auto mechanic. Britt-Marie is also introduced to some of the children who like to play soccer, but they aren't on any teams, until one day Britt-Marie is asked to be their coach so they could play in the Cup. Britt-Marie doesn't know anything about soccer let alone coaching children. She gets some help from Sami, the older brother of Vega and Omar, two of the children on the team, and from Bank's herself, who in her glory days was a well know soccer player herself.

Britt-Marie, for the first time in her life is finally feeling wanted, needed, noticed and most of all, loved. You see the changes from a broken down town, and a broken down Britt-Marie, to a town that starts to change, and so does Britt-Marie, she starts to stand on her own two feet, well with the help of the children and the other towns folk who accept her and actually like and care for her. No one knows for certain if it was Britt-Marie who helped the town or was is the town helped Britt-Marie.

This was a very heartwarming story, and at times mad me cry. The characters were very well developed and the story moved along at a nice pace. I laughed, I cried, I shook my head at some of the things Britt-Marie said or did, I cheered her on, and watched her change. Some of her quirkiness stayed with her, which is what made her Britt-Marie. This book also showed that no matter how old you are, you can still follow your dreams.

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Review: Remembering Diana: A Life in Photographs

Remembering Diana: A Life in Photographs by National Geographic Society
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a wonderful book to commemorate 20 years since Diana has passed away. The pictures were beautiful, some of them I had never seen published before. It showed pictures of her in her younger days, leading up to the Royal wedding, her life as Princess Di, being a mother, traveling for her charities, as well as her royal duties, and the pictures of her funeral.

There are descriptions of the photos along with a short facts about her. This would be a good book to have around for younger generations that weren't able to see or hear about the Princess while she was alive or to know about her untimely death. Diana wasn't just a Princess in the Royal family, she wanted to be a Princess of peoples hearts, and that's what she became a Princess to the heart of people. She not only did good in this world, but she made the Royal family popular.

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