Some Other Town by Elizabeth Collison

Hi guys!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

It's been a bit of a madhouse in my part of the world in life (oye), weather (30 one minute, 75 the next!), work (don't ask...unless you're in need of an assistant editor?), and also...in READING.  I had hit a streak of really AMAZING reads for a while there and boy did I count myself lucky.  I mean, despite carefully considering each request that comes my way and only accepting those that really grab my attention, that doesn't mean first impressions are always accurate.  Hey, it happens!  Remember, one person's less-than-favorite-read is another person's absolutely-positively-can't-put-down-read...and vice versa.  Let's take today's selection...

Originally, this was going to be a stop along a blog tour, but things happen and alas, I'm doing a solo pitch.  No worries.  We TOTALLY got this...though I'm not certain everything is going to come up roses.  *ahem*  Ladies and gents, please allow me to introduce today's book of choice...

Some Other Town

by

Elizabeth Collison

9780062348821

Harper Perennial

About the book...

Margaret Lydia Benning, twenty-eight and adrift, still lives in the same Midwest town where she went to college. By day, she works at the Project, a nonprofit publisher of children's readers housed in a former sanatorium. There she shares the fourth floor with a squadron of eccentric editors and a resident ghost from the screamers' wing. At night, Margaret returns alone to her small house on Mott Street, with only her strange neighbor, Mrs. Eberline, for company.

Emotionally sleepwalking through the days is no way to lead a life. But then Margaret meets Ben Adams, a visiting professor at the university. Through her deepening relationship with Ben she glimpses a future she had never before imagined, and for the first time she has hope . . . until Ben inexplicably vanishes. In the wake of his disappearance, Margaret sets out to find him. Her journey, a revelatory exploration of the separate worlds that exist inside us and around us, will force her to question everything she believes to be true.

Told through intertwined perspectives, by turns incandescent and haunting, Some Other Town is an unforgettable tale, with a heartbreaking twist, of one woman's awakening to her own possibility.

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I admit it.

I almost called it quits while reading this one.

Am I sorry?  No...for both admitting that fact as well as pushing through to the end.  Why?  For several reasons, a few of which I shall now illuminate.

Reason ONE...

I could not for the life of me really get into the book.  I mean the lead characters made their impressions, especially the passages that dealt with Ben or his time spent with Ms. Benning.  I remember the star gazing scenes perhaps the most.  In dribs and drabs I was following things, but that spark, that "glued to the page" magic just never happened.  

*bummer*

Reason TWO...

Ms. Benning's time spent at the Project.

For me, this part of the story was lackluster and free of anything that would connect it to the other bits of storyline running about.  The addition of the ghost story that ran rampant through the staff seemed like an add on that wasn't really needed. The fact that the early reader books they were working on weren't really being worked on was, well in a word, absurd.  I mean really, for a story that for the most part something that could actually happen, that just seemed so far beyond reason that I couldn't swallow it.

Reason THREE...

...the ending.

When all is said and done, the final twist or rather fitting together of the puzzle pieces was definitely a surprise I never saw coming.  Was it something I missed in the details along the way?  Perhaps, but I'd like to think that the author kept it so well hidden, you couldn't see the forest for the trees so to speak.  

In conclusion, though certainly not for every audience (*raises hand*), it doesn't mean that the perfect assembly of readers isn't out there for it.  If you like strange and wandering tales that keep you guessing, with glimpses of past, present, and future running about...this just might be the match you're bookish heart has been looking for.  Just remember....hang on to the facts with both hands, lest you get swept away like Mrs. Eberline in her many personalities.

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Special thanks to Trish (a fantastic book promoter) and the team over at Harper Perennial for the ARC for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title as well as the publisher's full catalog, feel free to click through the links included above.  This title celebrated its book birthday just last month, so be on the lookout for the on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time...happy reading!

An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer

Hi guys!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers…the place that knows JUST what you wanna do right now.  JUST. WHAT. YOU. WANT. TO. DO.  *wink wink*

 Oh…silly.

I meant R-E-A-D!

^_^

Today’s featured title is a blast from my reading past coming at you in the here and now.  How so?  Oh, you’ll see…I guiltily admit to everything as usual (which also helps me square myself with Santa for tonight), but it’s the thought that counts, right?  *looks pleadingly at readers*  Believe me fair readers, my intentions were only with you and yours in mind.  Today’s book of choice is…

An Uncommon Education

By

Elizabeth Percer

9780062110978

Harper Perennial

About the book…

Afraid of losing her parents at a young age, Naomi Feinstein prepares single-mindedly for a prestigious future as a doctor.  But when her only friend and confident abruptly departs from her life, Naomi isn’t sure she will ever recover, even after a long-awaited acceptance letter Wellesley arrives.

Yet Naomi soon learns that college isn’t the bastion of solidarity and security she had imagined.  Amid hundreds of other young women, she is consumed by loneliness – until the day she sees a girl fall into the freezing waters of a lake.

The event marks Naomi’s introduction to Wellesley’s oldest honor society, the mysterious Shakespeare Society, defined by secret rituals and filled with unconventional, passionate students.  As Naomi immerses herself in this exciting and liberating world, her happiness is soon compromised by a scandal that brings devastating consequences.  Naomi has always tried to save the ones she loves, but sometimes saving others is a matter of saving yourself.

TRUTH:  I read this book a good time ago; it was still this year, but several months back.

TRUTH:  The review of said read was delayed by my own ponderings over the story…one thing led to another and it fell into the “need to review” stack with a light but noted thud.

TRUTH:  I DID in fact enjoy getting to know the characters, but the storyline lost me a time or two.

FINAL CONCLUSION:  I would have to say that the general gist of this story, or what I took away from it, is about finding ones own way in the world, ones own sense of self in spite of or perhaps in light of the positive and negative forces that influence our lives over the years.  Naomi’s story intertwines with both that of those in her present, like Teddy, Jun, and her father, but also those from the past, particularly the Kennedy’s daughter, Rosemary.  The “relationship” she forms with this historical-type figure through letters found from yesteryear as well as her days spent visiting those times in their former local homestead, allow her to forge bonds with the men in her life.  The secret society she uncovers at the university makes it possible for her to break the ice with the gals there, letting friendship even in its faintest forms form where none existed before.  Naomi’s dedication to becoming a doctor to not simply save the world but save her parents is heartwarming, though she finds over time, not as realistic as she might have hoped.

By book’s end, we’re all tied up like a package ready to be placed under the tree.  The story, the experiences are not always pretty…a matter of fact, sometimes they are PRETTY ugly, but they are realistic and the threads of mystery running throughout provide readers the chance to chase down an ending they might not have expected.  So whether you’re a fan of Shakespeare, a sap for “coming-of-age” tales, or merely a curious reader looking for your next weekend escape, this book may be right up your ally…in my opinion of course.

Review copy received courtesy of Liz at Harper Perennial.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title as well as their full catalog, be sure to stop by their official site or follow along on Twitter.  To discover more about the woman behind the work, pay a visit to Elizabeth Percer’s site and read all about her.

Until next time...HAPPY HOLIDAYS...and happy reading!

Truth IS stranger than fiction: Literary Rogues by Andrew Shaffer

Hi guys!

Welcome back to another week here at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers....where life throws us lemons and we say, you need better aim!  ^_^

What can I say?  Life has definitely been making me its bi....I mean, whipping girl here lately.  No worries, it'll all work out, but I can't say with more enthusiasm, the sooner the better, PLEASE!  So, what's with my attitude today?  Use to the meek and demure side of my writing as opposed to the sassier me of the moment?  Gotta be the recent reading material, especially today's title.  It's a work of non-fiction starring the writers you know and love (or loathe, after all...not every author or author's work is for everyone despite how much they wish it to be so) at the very roots of their personal selves.  Curious?  Oh, it gets better, just hold off on sharing it with the kiddos until they're older, okay?  Without making you squirm in wait for a lengthier time, here's today's book of choice....

Literary Rogues:

A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors

by

Andrew Shaffer

978-0-06-2077288

Harper Perennial

About the book...

A Wildly Funny and Shockingly True Compendium of the Bad Boys (and Girls) of Western Literature
Rock stars, rappers, and actors haven't always had a monopoly on misbehaving. There was a time when authors fought with both words and fists, a time when poets were the ones living fast and dying young. This witty, insightful, and wildly entertaining narrative profiles the literary greats who wrote generation-defining classics such as The Great Gatsby and On the Road while living and loving like hedonistic rock icons, who were as likely to go on epic benders as they were to hit the bestseller lists. Literary Rogues turns back the clock to consider these historical (and, in some cases, living) legends, including Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, Hunter S. Thompson, and Bret Easton Ellis. Brimming with fasci- nating research, Literary Rogues is part nostalgia, part literary analysis, and a wholly raucous celebration of brilliant writers and their occasionally troubled legacies.

Basically it's a who's who of the lit world in it's most basic and brash form.  It shares who knew who from era to era, exposing the SERIOUS "drinking of the punch" (if you know what I mean) that was more rampant then than now, while exposing both the brilliance and debauchery that devoured every age.

Seriously, you'll never see some of these histories coming...well, in the beginning; as they progress, you kind of see where SOME are going.  The tendency towards excessive drinking, narcotic use, loose relations and other reckless behaviors was astounding...and yet, you can't help but be in awe of all that WAS accomplished as well as their staying power whether or not they initially achieved any fame.  I learned that Ernest Hemingway wrote The Sun Also Rises after being rather impressed with F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  Fitzgerald was reckless to say the least but profoundly in love with his wife, even as she suffered through the devastating effects of schizophrenia.  Dylan Thomas may have spoke of not going gently into the sweet night, but he did so himself thanks in part to his tendency towards liquid indulgence.  William S Burroughs loved his Mo...rphine.  John Berryman had a flair for the dramatic.  Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley received support for her writing endeavor from her husband and fleshed out the infamous Frankenstein at only nineteen years of age.  Edgar Allan Poe lost almost all his family to tuberculous...and finally, the Marquis de Sade was one twisted soul.

Author Andrew Shaffer

With every turn of the page, you learn something new, something curious, something sometimes rather unnerving but always interesting that keeps you glued to the page.  The writing is clear and concise making a point of befriending each authorly soul covered while exposing their darkest secrets.  Though not for the faint of heart nor those entirely too easily offended (by others actions spoken of in observation, not literal words or first hand experiences), this was a great read indeed.  I found myself intrigued by both the stories of names I knew as well as those I was just discovering, equally and in full measure.  If you liked the sound of what you've read thus far, I think you will be too...and if you need a smidge more convincing, check out this excerpt...it worked for me.

Review copy courtesy of Liz at HarperCollins Publishers.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title as well as their full catalog, be sure to visit them online, or follow along on Twitter.  This book was released earlier this year via Harper Perennial and should be available now on a bookstore shelf near you.

Until next time....happy reading!

50th Anniversary Celebration: To Kill a Mockingbird

You've read the book…now see it come to life on movie screens nationwide!

For one day only on Thursday, November 15^th, select movie theaters nationwide will show the award-winning film version of Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, in an event in honor of its 50^th anniversary. In partnership with Fathom Events, Harper Perennial is offering YOU a chance to win 2 tickets for this event, plus a copy of the book!

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TO PARTICIPATE:

First: Click here for a list of participating theaters to confirm there is a screening of the event near you!

Second: Comment on this post (be sure to include your email address!) and share it with your friends on your own blog, Facebook timeline, or Twitter! 

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**A winner will be selected at random by end of day Sunday, October 28^th...contacted via email by Monday, October 29th and MUST RESPOND WITHIN 24 HOURS or a new winner will be selected. (Tight schedule with the contest in order to get all the tickets and books out to the winners!)

**REMEMBER:  To participate, you MUST first CONFIRM there is a movie theater in your area!

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An exciting event indeed and my thanks to Regina at Harper Perennial for the chance to bring this special event to you!  (THANKS!)  To discover more about Harper Lee's classic work, check out my review or click on over to the publisher's site.  

Until next time...GOOD LUCK...and happy reading!

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to the Friday edition of Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers…the place to be when you’re ready to kick off your weekend with a good book.

Today’s featured title was a hard pick as I have a few “finished” books hanging about that need reviewing but once I caught a glimpse of the cover I said to myself....self, you HAVE to pick that one!  Why was this book so adamant to be chosen? Take a look at the cover and TELL ME that it doesn’t simply invite you in…and secretly want a purple chair of your own.  But as with all books, my fair readers, this story is about MUCH more than time spent in a gorgeous and comfortable chair doing the thing we all LOVE to do.  It’s about life and its many beginnings, those we welcome and those we try to startle away.  It’s about loss and forgiveness, for both actions taken and the times when action was taken from us.  It’s about discovering the gifts we are given unexpectedly and how the decision to utilize them to their fullest can be both enlightening and a welcome reprieve.  Ready to read all about it, especially since I’m pretty much giving you my review in the opener here?  Take a load off your feet, and open your hearts to today’s book of choice…

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair:

My Magical Year of Reading

By

Nina Sankovitch

From the publisher…

Caught up in grief after the death of her sister, Nina Sankovitch decided to stop running and start reading. For once in her life she would put all other obligations on hold and devote herself to reading a book a day: one year of magical reading in which she found joy, healing, and wisdom.

If the cover didn’t get your attention, the title certainly will, especially if you are a reader.  “My Year of Magical Reading”…sounds heavenly, no?  Agreed on the wording, but how she got to this place of bookish nirvana was anything but.  It took a life changing event, a loss felt so deep it shook her to her core to catapult this sometimes reader to a full time reader not merely as a way to simply bring some joy to her day but as a way of finding her way back to herself.  It was a long journey, taken one page at a time and 365 days/books later, she found her footing once again. 

Along the way, she made connections she never imagined with friends, neighbors, family and even perfect strangers….ever notice how books have a way of doing that?  The process of giving and taking suggestions for her next read helped forge friendships not formerly there and support systems that could be counted on when days proved harder than anticipated.  Literary wise, she took a chance on Edward and Bella, said “hello” to Abbot’s Ghost, joined the “Potato Peel Society” and several other groups on their adventures…a complete list of which can be found at book’s end (all 365 titles) and surprisingly enough, there are MANY I have yet to read myself!  (Talk about an instant TBR List enhancer….this is like a super dose of all natural bookish vitamins!) 

Though the journey was started for herself, in order to fully commit and not stray from the path she’d chosen, she decided to put her thoughts on each book read into words….and so the READ ALL DAY site was born.  On it, she chronicled her year in books thus allowing her projects reach to touch even more hearts and minds…and to this day, the purple chair is still warm and fresh reading material always at the ready.  With each entry, she was piecing another part of her own picture back together and in the end, she found the voice that would one day grace the pages of her own story.  The writing voice discovered was friendly and inviting, allowing readers to glimpse not only the pages that passed before her eyes (though I adored the quotes shared at the opening of each chapter) but the feelings and memories that went along with them.  We see a bit about the story she’s indulging in (thus adding to our own desire to read it as well) but we also get a clear view of the love shared between sisters and how deep that connection goes.  I don’t envy her her loss, but I am grateful she found the chance to work through it so eloquently. 

It’s not all heartbreak and revelations though; sometimes it’s simply a good time.  Of the many quotes I shared along the way through my GoodReads updates, there are moments that cover the whole spectrum of emotions; now I would like to add a humorous one to the fold. This one comes to us from her adventure through Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz…page 168 of this work…

To his grandmother, he is a “genius”; to everyone else, he is a mutant:  “You really want to know what being an X-man feels like?  Just be a smart bookish boy of color in a contemporary U.S. ghetto.  Mamma mia!  Like having bat wings of a pair of tentacles growing out of your chest.”

The magic that we glean from the written word serves as an escape from the day to day, allowing us to forget for at least a moment the troubles at our feet.  For Ms. Sankovitch, it was a way to reconnect with the memories of days gone by, a way to fill the hole in her soul left by the passing of her sister.  It was an unwanted yet, in the end, welcomed reminder that life is too short to let the moments pass us by.  Each one is precious and needs to be captured the best way we know how.  So, whether you share a few moments with friends or a loved one, partying like it’s 199…um, 2012…or relaxing in quiet solitude with a good book (the likes of which we will share later with friends, family, blogging buds and anyone who will listen…^_^), the way you choose to capture it matters not; the fact that you acknowledge its passing and celebrate it in your own way, however means the world. 

Review copy received courtesy of Regina at HarperCollins Publishers.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title as well as their complete catalog, be sure to visit them online.  This book was released earlier this year via Harper Perennial and should be available on a bookstore shelf near you.  To discover more about the author’s journey through the pages both past and present, be sure to stop by her official site, like her on Facebook, or follow along on Twitter.

One final note, besides the fact that I SO want a chair like that of my own…gotta say, I’m LOVING the author’s list of HOW TO READ ALL DAY ideas from her website.  Simply had to share it with you….

HOW TO READ ALL DAY

Always have a book with you.

Read while waiting.
Read while eating.
Read while exercising.
Read before bed.
Read before getting out of bed.
Read instead of updating FB.
Read instead of watching TV.
Read instead of vacuuming.
Read while vacuuming.
Read with a book group.
Read with your kid.
Read with your cat.
Read to your dog.
Read on a schedule.
Always have a book with you.

Let’s see, I already practice TEN of them. ^_^  How many do you already employ?

Until next time….HAPPY READING!

Join me for....The Most Beautiful Walk in the World by John Baxter

Hi there!

So…today’s post. Hmm. Hard time focusing on it with how busy work was today and a certain midnight movie release that I’ll be attending tonight/tomorrow morning. (I wonder if you can guess which one THAT is? ^_^)

…but I did manage to wrangle some time and my thoughts to bring you something new, something refreshing, something from gay olde Pariee…I mean, Paris. It’s a literary walk through the city of lights with a good helping of bookish goodness. Shall I reveal today’s title? Here goes. Today’s book of choice is….

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World

By

John Baxter

This is a case of how one is captured by a book; for me, it was the title and the cover more so than the actual content. Allow me to explain. First, the title….who WOULDN’T want to experience that and when you find out it’s set in Paris, it’s almost a guarantee. They are known as the city of lights for a reason and their beautiful architecture speaks for itself. Second, let’s look at that cover. Every time I look at it I get lost in the waterways of the top image or imagine myself strolling down the lamp lit street below. The subtle use of color in both give them a warm glow, inviting the reader to take that first step on the pathway to greater things. Now about those “greater things”…I’d like to share a quick quote from the book if you please as it’s from the late great Mark Twain….

“Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.”

There’s a certain charm in it’s descriptive truth and certainly a state of being that is worthy of the effort. Beyond the beautiful cover and promise of a remarkable time though, the story within isn’t entirely disappointing…it’s just not quite what my imagination thought it might be. You see I was prepared for a sweeping narrative with bookishness to spare and while there were literary references along with the discovery that others (as in visitors to the city) could appreciate them as well, there was a lot more real life that seeped in between the lines.

In all my reading excitement, I think it slipped my mind that this was in fact a MEMOIR, a travel one nonetheless. I’m not opposed to the genre, as I’ve read and shared my experience with them before, but unfortunately this one didn’t quite meet my expectations. Will it meet yours? Hard to say…but if you do decide that French is the language of reading love for you, grab your beret, a glass of wine and settle down for a journey through life from a residents point of view.

Review copy courtesy of the great folks at Harper Perennial. (THANKS!) For more information on this title as well as their complete catalog, feel free to visit them online at the Olive Blog or follow along on Twitter. This book is already released to the reading world and should be available at a bookstore near you.

Until next time…BREAKING DAWN IS ALMOST HERE - WOO-HOO! …and happy reading!  ^_^

Read All About It: Harper Perennial and the Surprise Summer Sale

Hi there!

Welcome back to the site.

What site?

O_o

If I have to answer that then well....you may want to check the address bar at the top.

Hehe.

Anywho....today isn't about me or my reading exactly, but about potential reading for YOU!  That's right...for you.  You see, I received some news of interest from Erica over at Harper Perennial yesterday (thanks Erica!) about some fantabulous savings coming your way for the ENTIRE month of August.  Interested?  Here's the scoop...

For the month of August, Harper Perennial is offering 20 of their backlist ebooks for just 99 cents each! They’re available at all retailers...such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the ibookstore, the Google bookstore, and from all indies that sell ebooks through Google. 

Exciting right?

There's more...

For Facebook fans, there's a landing page for the promotion...AND they're even running a contest on Facebook giving you a chance to win a $20 gift card to pick up all 20 titles!

For those in the know that follow their blog (The Olive Reader), check out their post that just so happens to link to all the indie's featuring the promotion...you know, so you can show your indie pride too.

Curious to know just what authors are included in this not to be missed sale?  So was I!  That's why I clicked over to their site, as I'm sure you're itching to do right now but here's a sneak peek at a few....

Rachel Shukert

Jessica Anya Blau

Jason Mulgrew

Marcy Dermansky

Justin Taylor

...recognize a few of them?  Don't worry you will....and what better way to get acquainted with a new author than with a BIG SALE?!  I don't know about you, but I've off to read more about it.  Join me?

Until next time...happy reading!

BLOG TOUR: The Raising by Laura Kasischke

Hello there!

Welcome to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today we are playing host to the great folks at TLC Book Tours and Harper Perennial with a look at a recently released title that is getting A LOT of buzz.  Believe me, you’ve probably heard of it, if not in depth definitely in passing.  The cover is evocative bringing to mind a dream sequence or daydream session in the grass on a sunny day; the synopsis throws shades of grey over that sunlit sky and replaces them with an air of mystery.  Ready to plunge into another reading adventure?  Sure hope so, because here we go.  Today’s book of choice and blog tour guest is….

The Raising

by

Laura Kasischke

One night a young girl with a promising future’s life came to an abrupt and horrible ending.  A car crash took the life of Nicole Werner delivering her to her spiritual home.  The event destroyed many a life in the process as death tends to and the repercussions are still being felt a year later.  For her friends and family, the wound has yet to heal.  For her former boyfriend Craig, it is doubtful it ever will.  He sees her in his dreams, hears her voice on the phone, all while trying to keep a tight grip on the life he has salvaged from the wreckage.  But what if all these “encounters” are truly something more?  After all, Craig doesn’t really remember the events that transpired that night, only the ending.  What if things didn’t quite go the way it was reported?  What if the truth is hiding just beyond reach…and what if it was more terrible than the fictions the world is being fed?

At first I wasn’t sure what to make of this one; I mean multiple point of view novels are in a class of their own.  Within the first few pages or chapters you have to uncover just who everyone is, why their point of few differs, and create a character “image” in your minds eye before you can continue reading…or at least that’s what my brain requires. 

In this story, we are dealing with FOUR distinct viewpoints that all connect in one way or another.  Shall we explore a bit?  We start with…

Craig, the accused killer of his “oh-so-perfect” girlfriend (Nicole Werner) after a supposed night of the three D’s…drinking, drugs, and driving.  While bad choices in and of themselves (and especially together), they don’t quite add up to the ending we’re shown, especially when we take into consideration….

Perry, Craig’s supposed “best friend”, academic achiever and forever Boy Scout, he’s prepared for anything and everything, or so he thought.  After all, who would suspect a goody two shoes of this nature to have any secrets…let alone one that reveals he’s seeing the ghost of Nicole around campus.  To investigate this phenomenon, he enlists the help of…

Mila, a professor at the prestigious Godwin Honors Hall campus, and source of knowledge on the death rituals of so many civilizations throughout the world, you could have nightmares for a week easily.  In fact, there is one tribe that believes the dead walk amongst us unless they dig up their bones one month from their burial date, paint and display them in memory.  Interesting concept and perhaps one they should have considered in Nicole’s case, especially since…

Shelly, another faculty member, but perhaps more importantly in this case, the only witness of the accident that occurred that faithful night, saw everything…and a “pool of blood” surrounding her “lifeless body” was DEFINITELY not one of them.  She’s more than ready to share what happened and correct the misinformation spreading rampantly, the problem?  No one wants to hear it.  NO ONE.  Just what they all have left when viewed individually or at least it will be if someone has their way….

Okay so there is quite a bit of use of the word “supposed” up there and a lot of quotation marks, but really this book is all about figuring out the puzzling clues presented so there is a lot that you take on faith and much to be presumed until things finally fall into place.  Sounds good, right?  Umm…

I wouldn’t say that I didn’t enjoy it at all, it just wasn’t quite what I thought it might be once it got down to the meat and bones of it and the journey to get to that moment of “Aha!” was so very long.  It didn’t happen until page 363 for me…seriously!  It was so momentous that I wrote it down.  (No lie.  If you looked in my little notebook, you’d see the notation…)  The issue?  The book is a whopping 461 pages without the reading guide, interview and extras at the end.  I’m not one that shies away from a lengthy book, but when I’m struggling to stay in the story THAT long, it’s not a pretty picture. 

While the characters were well written allowing you to glimpse them at their best and worst, I couldn’t truly connect to them.  Craig was so far into his despair hidden vaguely below his fake smile that you almost got drug down with him.  Perry was so straight laced and yet so ready to believe what his eyes were seeing while ignoring logic; seemed a contradiction.  Mila for all her intellect can’t see her way out of the brewing conflict at home.  Shelly goes against her better judgment creating a particularly sticky situation she saw coming (and she still does it) and is unable to see the forces at work around her ever since the accident.  For me it was like a game of CLUE but with the clueless; although I have to say Mr. Dietz, the mortician back in Bad Axe (yep, that’s the town’s name….can you imagine?), was an interesting albeit short lived character (well, his appearance is short, not his actual life), and he may just have something there regarding “future armies” even if it is WAY creepy.

In summary, a story that asks readers to look into the face of death and consider the possibility of “what if”.  What if this life isn’t all that there is?  What if death is not the final step?  What if the spirit goes on in more ways than one?  What if the truth is so much harder to come to grips with than we would ever imagine?  What if indeed…

Recommended read for older teens and adults.  Though it wasn’t quite my cup of tea, the rabid following it has developed in such a short amount of time certainly speaks to its ability to impress given the right audience.  A quick WARNING on the content for any younger readers considering this for their reading list, there is considerable language at times and multiple instances of drug use and sexual content; in a nutshell, it doesn’t shy away from the hardness of life and it’s certainly not modest. 

Review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours and Harper Perennial.  (THANKS!)  For more information on book tours scheduled this week, news on upcoming events, or even to sign up to potentially be a host yourself, check out the TLC Book Tour site, Facebook page, or follow along on Twitter!  To see what’s next from the publisher, be sure to check out their blog, The Olive Reader, visit their site, or well you know…but in case you don’t….follow along on Twitter.  This book released officially to the reading world March 15th, 2011, so be on the lookout for it in a bookstore near you.


Until next time…happy reading!

Moonface: A True Romance by Angela Balcita

Hi guys!

It’s me again…the insatiable reader…bringing you another great read to set your bookish hearts in motion.  Today’s post is for all those readers that enjoy a true story from time to time with an injection of unexpected humor…that’s right, humor.  It’s a serious story about a serious prognosis but the way it’s presented makes it merely a supporting actor in a vividly lived play (a fact which I thoroughly enjoyed).  Ready…set…here we go!  Today’s book of choice is…

Moonface

By

Angela Balcita

Angela is a girl who knows what she wants in life; her dreams and aspirations echoing so many others round the world.  Gain an education, find love, and make lasting friendships.  There is one however that sets her a bit apart from the crowd.  One wish that she would rather not have on her list of wants and desires; one hope that if given the chance, she’d gladly erase from her “things I want in life” tally with a smile upon her face.  That deep seeded wish…for her recently transplanted kidney to remain healthy and strong.  Unfortunately, the things we want most don’t always come true…and yet even in those darker times all hope is not lost.  In fact, sometimes the best things in life are discovered at the most inopportune moments and in the discoverer’s eyes their value increases ten fold for it.

The touching story of one woman’s life, love, and search to find herself….with a transplant or two along the way.  The unique part about this particular memoir is that while the topical issue being dealt with is kidney failure, in all its not-so-glorious and heart-wrenching moments, the heart of the book lies in the sharing of how life came to be where it is now and where it seems to be headed.  It’s about more than a disease; it’s about a life lived to its fullest with a disease tagging along.  It didn’t define her even if it did try to control her every waking moment, at times successfully.  She rolled with the punches come what may and found not only who she wanted to be but a life long partner along the way.

The story of how the couple met is steeped in puppy love…and when I say steeped, I’m referring to the steaming little presents that actual puppies tend to leave their ever loving owners.  The stars didn’t part and gift them their guiding light.  The moon didn’t hang lower in order to illuminate the beauty of a new beginning.  It was more the “shine” of another type of moon that took the edge off a chance meeting at a college party and the rest…well, it wasn’t exactly history yet, but it eventually came to that foreseeable end.  The trials and tribulations they met were similar to most couples, at least until her health took a turn for the worst.  It is bad enough to see a loved one sick with a cold or in bed with the flu but factor in a life changing possibly life ending illness and things get serious fast, grant it not in a “marry-me-now” sort of way as that would come later in life, but definitely in the “for-better-or-worse” way.

Ms. Balcita had a hard journey with multiple medical interventions along the way to stave off the end her health was bringing her to.  At times crushing in its intensity, her delivery still remains light with a comedic touch much like the “routines” her and her husband put on from time to time when delivering their story to a crowd.  Why the theatrics?  Well, laughter IS the best medicine after all.  Why not leave people with a smile?  You would think that would be hard to do with all she endures, but it’s pulled off with great success making this a story to remember.

It is said to take a strong soul to stay with someone once they are no longer exactly the person you first met, whether they be changed in appearance, personality, or health status.  As I see it, that’s just a surface glance and perhaps a shallow one at that.  I believe that it’s not merely the strength of the person, but the strength of the love they share that sees them through those tough unexpected times.  It can be newly discovered or in the greyer shades of aging, but that connection they share will empower them to catch each other if ever they fall, laugh when they should be crying, and see the hard times through to another day.  It is special and hard to find, but once found, it never lets go. 

Recommended read for older teens through adult readers.  This story, while not a fairytale come true, is in fact about seeing the wonder of life unfold despite the circumstances thrown your way.  While dealing with a serious subject, the author reminds us that life is more than simply the sum of what ails us, it’s about “sucking the marrow out of life” (which I totally borrowed from the Dead Poets Society movie…great movie by the way...and Thoreau) and truly enjoying every moment.  A lesson hard learned even from the author’s inside perspective, but words to live by once discovered. 

Review copy received courtesy of Harper Perennial.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title as well as their full catalog, you can find them online via their website, blog, or Twitter feed.  For more information on the author, visit her online via her site.  On her page, there is also a link to find out more about the National Kidney Foundation Living Donor Council on her web page for those seeking to to learn more about how they can help.  This book was released earlier this month so be on the look out in a bookstore near you to check it out first hand. 

Until next time…happy reading!

It Could Be Worse, You Could Be Me by Ariel Leve

Hello, hello!

Nice to see you!  Welcome to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers!  If today is your first first, welcome...I hope you enjoy!  If you are a regular here, you are definitely appreciated and held in high regards.  So, what do we have to talk about today?  Well, besides the two fun contests currently running (check the right hand sidebar for details) and the upcoming Got Books? Event (yep, right sidebar once again), we've got a humorous taste of the pie we call life delivered to you first class and steaming hot.  (okay, so that was a bit awkward, but you catch my drift....I hope ...*gulp*)  Let's jump right into it then....today's book of choice is...

It Could Be Worse, You Could Be Me

by

Ariel Leve

A snarky look at everyday situations in life where the author questions.....what if? What if the worst happened that you imagined....what if it didn't all work out for the best.... Perhaps it would be better to expect it not to and then be happily surprised when it did...or not. While there are many fun stories that will have you chuckling, guffawing, or at the very least smirking through your day, there were two in particular I'd like to draw attention to.  Why?  Well, because I can!  Just kidding...no really, I'm kidding!  Reason is they struck me at the time I was reading them....not physically upside the head or anything, but enough so that it felt like a watered down version of it.

First up....a recollection entitled 'Giving In' (pg 170 for those of you that have the book or would like to look it up later....best to be prepared....hehe).  In this short tale, Ms. Leve talks about our (well technically her friends but I bet most of you will feel a connection to this...) attachment to our mobile devices.  Blackberry's, iPhones, cell phones, the works...we all desire and almost require them at our disposal just to make it through the day.  This time her friend Sophie...LOSES her Blackberry!  (No fainting, there's a happy end to this story....well, sorta.) She becomes depressed and oh-woe-is-me about the fact that she may have to be without her phone for FIVE DAYS until her new phone would arrive.  Luckily for her nerves and her friends sanity, two days is all it took to get that replacement but the agony this situation created just goes to show how 'Johnny Mnemonic' we are when it comes to technology at our finger tips (in other words, if we could have them implanted to make sure they never strayed from out side, we probably would).

Story number two....it's actually more of the punch line to this next one that spoke to me since it's actually a phrase I use (sparingly...okay, not really...).  The section is called 'Not a Fan'...the story, 'Local Travel'.  Now, this little ditty is merely about her travel exploits and the discovery that her passport is full while her visits to those in neighboring areas remains slim to none.  It is all summed up nice and tidy with "I told him I am not a fan of road trips.".  This may not seem like the most earth shattering revelation, but think about it...this is a phrase that can go many miles.  You're not actually saying you strongly dislike something or someone even, you're simply saying you're not a madly-in-love-with-it-must-talk-about-it-at-all-costs kind of person on the topic.  Much more appealing and certainly less negative, don't you agree? 

So, would I recommend this book for you?  If you like looking at life through someone else's eyes and discovering there IS in fact a laugh to be had sometimes even if it's not staring you in the face...YES, yes I do.  If you'd prefer to stay in the corner and be left alone while pondering your most recent trip to the grocery store....YES, I still you have a shot at connecting to these stories (no, seriously!).  If you just think I sound like a raving fool for the last three paragraphs and can't wait til I stop the questioning here....okay, so don't actually tell me that, just smile nod and be all the wiser about this fun look at the world we see everyday.

Special thanks to Erica at Harper Perennial for the review copy. (THANKS!)  For more information on this title and many more, be sure to visit their website, blog, or follow along on Twitter!  For more information on the comings and goings of the author, check out her site (love the opening page...gotta see it for the effect alone).

Until next time....happy reading!