The Choice (Nicholas Sparks)

Wow.  I just thought I would first take a moment to say that YES, I'm still alive.  Since June 2013, I'm sorry to say that unfortunately, reading was not at the top of my priority list. 

I spent last summer working in an office, playing baseball, coaching little kiddy soccer and going for long walks on the Boardwalk.  Since the fall, I have been trying to keep up with the every day planning and marking of a full time contract teaching courses I'd never taught before at a local high school and trying to maintain some kind of a social life. 

During Christmas, I tried to make it through a book (Divergent!), but the busy holiday schedule just wouldn't let me and then came exams, report cards.... *sigh*  Excuses, excuses... 

Long story to say that recently, I was able to take a short break from it all and go to the lovely Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  While I was there, I started a nice beach read - "The Choice" by Nicholas Sparks.  Though I wasn't able to finish it on my trip, this morning I took an hour after I woke up way-too-early-for-a-weekend and finished it off. 

"The Choice" is about the stories of Travis and Gabby, and, as you can probably guess just based on who the author is, about love.  Travis is a veterinarian who is living in a small town, who never seems to be too serious about his girlfriends.  Enter Gabby, a new neighbour, who is in a long-term relationship already, but who is often alone when said-boyfriend is travalling for work.  After a weird first few meetings, Travis and Gabby start to hit it off as friends and start to discover that maybe they would consider wanting more from their friendship-relationship-whatever-it-is. 

As it's stated on his website, the book is truly about "How far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?"

I loved reading about the early stages of Travis and Gabby's friendship and their chance encounters in the small town.  I found it was very true to what people often go through when first meeting someone and want to discreetly spend more time with that person.  By part two of the book, I wasn't so sure that I wanted to continue reading about their story since the book took quite a turn - don't want to give away any spoilers other than that.  By the end of Part Two, I didn't even know if I wanted to read the Epilogue because I was feeling so much hate towards a decision that was made.  However, I really did feel some good closure by the end of the book. 

I would recommend this book to those who love an occasional Nicholas Sparks book and to those who want to read another love story.  This book was perfect for the beach read I was looking for during my trip!

My "Sorry-For-Not-Reading-More-Quickly" Post

My apologies for dropping the ball on my reading this past month.  It's been absolute craziness with working two jobs, starting summer baseball, beginning to teach Zumba® classes, coaching soccer, the busy summer traveling (which has already begun!), and not to mention the fact that I have been slightly under the weather these past few weeks. 

I found this eCard while browsing Pinterest... Thought this would apply to some of those folks who are reading blogs such as this!

It's now officially the start of summer.  Go outside and enjoy some reading time! :)

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend (Matthew Dicks)

"Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend" by Matthew Dicks is a different kind of book - one that really requires you to wrap your head around it.  When I first saw the book, I was intrigued by the cover.  Then, when I found out that it was an autism-themed book, I knew I wanted to read it.  I don't know why I have the sudden fascination with fiction books about autism - possibly because it's a very talked about topic or maybe because it's seen very frequently in schools.  Regardless, it's a very interesting topic and I love how these fiction books help to raise awareness, inform their readers, and put you in the minds of the individuals. 

 

This book is different from the other fiction books with an autism theme.  Whereas books like Mockingbird or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime are told from the perspective of someone with autism, this book is told from the perspective of the imaginary friend of a child with autism.  Strange, right?

 

Budo is Max's imaginary friend.  Max is different from his classmates.  He needs his routines, he doesn't enjoy the company of others, and the whole school situation makes him uncomfortable.  Budo makes it very clear in his memoir that he likes Max's regular classroom teacher, Mrs. Gosk, but doesn't like Mrs. Patterson, one of the support teachers who helps Max throughout the week.  Budo discusses what goes on in Max's day-to-day life, and then they go on a bit of an adventure together. 

 

I liked the book because it gave a new perspective to a child with autism.  Telling the story from the child's perspective, it's hard to see 'everything' - because that's not how they see things.  A child would miss the obvious social cues or wouldn't understand why certain things are happening.  With this book, Budo is able to give honest opinions - you know, being the loving and loyal imaginary friend that he is. 

 

It took a bit of getting used to in the first few chapters, but it was a very neat concept (regardless of whether or not I was completely 'into' the plot in the second half of the book).  Budo, who is so real to his friend Max, is able to share his story while also sharing Max's story.  It's the story of a child and his imaginary friend as they are both growing up.  (Imaginary friends can also be very smart creatures, if you imagine them to be this way...  Budo happens to be very smart and he is very well aware that as soon as his friend Max stops believing in him, he will no longer be alive as an imaginary friend.)

 

I recommend it.  It was interesting.  It was different.  It kept me entertained.  It was a very neat concept. 

And it continues to spread autism awareness. 

Safe Haven (Nicholas Sparks)

I spent the beginning of my long weekend completely consumed in my most recent read, "Safe Haven" by Nicholas Sparks.  I'd seen the movie when it came out in theatres, so I was doing this one backwards (with the book before movie or movie before book debate!)  (I'm also a bit late on this post - my apologies!)

Let's start with the book.  It's the story of Katie, a girl who moves to a small town to get away from her past life.  In her old life, she was in an abusive relationship until she finally gathered the strength to leave.  Her husband, also a police officer, is doing everything he can do to find her now that she has disappeared.  In her new life, she meets attractive and friendly Alex, who is a single father to two kids.  They hit it off but she is still reluctant to start anything new because of her past. 

 

Now remember, I'm a sucker for love stories.  I loved the book - it's such a cute love story and the characters are so easy to get attached to.  Going back and forth between Katie's story and her husband's search for her kept the book suspenseful for the readers.  I motored through it, and, like I said, spent my entire sunny Saturday sitting outside with this book. 

 

Now, flash over to the movie.  I saw the movie first in this case and loved it.  Another great Nicholas Sparks book turned movie.  After reading the book, though, I wonder to myself why they had to change some of the things from the book while making the movie.  I know that movies often have to seem more "Hollywood", so they add and change things to make the story more "big screen" friendly and suspenseful.  I did feel like the story in the book would have been equally as good on the big screen.  (But what do I know about film-making, right?!)  All in all, the themes are basically the same and I would have to say that although they are slightly different, I liked both separately and tried not to compare them to each other too much. 

 

If you're the love story type like me, or if you're a fan of Nicholas Sparks, this one won't disappoint.  It's a good summer read and I'm quite happy that my relaxing weekend was spent with this one. 

The Fault in Our Stars (John Green)

The Fault in Our Stars is the story of Hazel, a 16-year-old girl who has cancer and is always hooked up to an oxygen tank.  She thought she was lying on her death bed when she was 14-years-old, but by some miracle, the tumours in her lungs have shrunk.  Her life is anything but ordinary - she doesn't have many friends, she can't do many things alone, and she isn't the happiest of children. While she is still alive, she is by  no means healthy.

Hazel then meets Augustus at a group therapy session - a boy who is of similar age, who is attractive, smart, in remission, and who is interested in her.  Their friendship grows throughout the novel and Hazel starts to experience life and the ups and downs of true friendships.

I thought it was a very well written young adult novel.  I know that it has been a very successful novel, and I will say that it definitely tugged at my heartstrings a bit.  You start to get attached to the characters and you feel like you're on their journey with them.  You root for the relationships between people, and you desperately hope that their lives with turn around and finally have more good news than bad. 

The two teens featured in the book (Hazel and Augustus), are not normal teenagers.  They seem much more mature than what they are and they speak in a much better dialect than you would expect from a teenager.  Maybe a bit unrealistic, but I'll let it slide because it was a cute love story and because I think there were a few good lessons for the young adults and teens who will read this book.

I may have shed a few tears (so be prepared if you take on this one), but it was a fast read and I think it's a good book for teens.  You learn about empathy and about how sometimes, it's ok to not be strong.  There are many quotable quotes throughout the novel, and I really hope that readers will read this and start to appreciate the experiences and situations that they are given in their lives. 

Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)

I need to be careful what I say about Gone Girl, because I don't want to give anything away!

Nick and Amy are about to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary when Amy suddenly disappears.  We don't know what happened to her - is she missing, was she murdered - but we do know that Nick is the prime suspect in the police investigation.  This book alternates between Amy's past diary entries and Nick's current experiences to lead the reader to the outcome of this scenario. 

This book had me in a reading spell and I loved reading the ups and downs of the investigation and of Nick and Amy's relationship.  There were no lack of twists and turns in this book, and it was another example of an author truly allowing the readers to get into the heads of the characters in the book. 

The only thing that I wasn't too fond of was the ending (*sigh*).  I'm going to pretend that I'm reading it all over again - and this time, I'm going to forget that the last three chapters ever happened and turn the book into a "create-your-own-ending" book. 

So, while this blog post about "Gone Girl" is quite short, I highly recommend this one.  (I kept it short because I assume everyone will want to go out and read it - no spoiler alerts!)  It was a good read, it kept me guessing, and it captured me in the world of some truly twisted characters. 

127 Hours - Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Aron Ralston)

We've all heard about the movie "127 Hours", right?  This guy, Aron, is out alone adventuring when he gets his arm stuck between a boulder and a wall.  He's stuck there, by himself, for 127 hours.

 

This true story, written by Aron Ralston, describes everything that happened before, during, and after this incident.  (Spoiler alert: He survives - after all, he was able to write the book!)

 

I started reading the book, and then, a few chapters in, decided that I wanted to watch the movie.  I thought the movie was very well done, but I also felt like I wanted to know more.  I felt like I was missing information about the whole story.  (And I was really hoping that the book would answer those questions.)

 

This book exceeded my expectations and answered all of the questions that I felt were unanswered after watching the movie.  As far as the book itself is concerned, it included so many details during those 127 hours - how he decided to drink his water to maximize his resources, his thought processes for how he was going to try to get out of his situation, what he recorded on his video camera and photographed for his loved ones back home (when he was thinking that he was going to die), and everything that he saw and felt while he was stuck.  As well, he includes so many details in what his friends and family members were doing back home in their search for Aron and details about his rescue and recovery (both of which were not included in the movie).

 

Throughout the beginning of the book, he also goes back and forth from his present situation (him being stuck) to past adventures he has had with his friends or family.  Now, let this be stated - I think Aron is extremely brave for having done what he did and survived this situation (and for not letting this accident affect his active lifestyle).  However, I just need to point out that many of the past situations described by Aron in the book could have ended similarly, with him stuck in a (different) bad situation.  (He even talks, at one point in the book, about a friend who is no longer on speaking terms with him because Aron was the encourager that got them into a dangerous and life-threatening situation involving an avalanche.)  He's a risk-taker (something which I don't know very much about!), and while this was definitely a chance situation in 127 hours, I hope that he has learned to tone down some of the risks that he takes on while out adventuring. 

 

It was a bit tough to get into during the first couple chapters, but it was worth it.  This is not my typical type of read, but I was impressed with his writing, his memory of details, and his story. 

 

For those who liked the movie, for those who enjoy outside adventure, and for those who enjoy reading true stories, I would highly recommend this one.