The 10 Books I Got For Christmas

Books are always the first thing I put on my Christmas List. This year I went through the books that I still want to read (which is ridiculously long, by the way) and made a diverse list of 9 or so books that I wanted to start with. Luckily, I got 6 of those plus 3 different books from my mom and 1 of them from my aunt. YAY!

  

1. Sleepwalk With Me: and Other Painfully True Stories by Mike Birbiglia

Mike is my hero. And yes, we are on a first name basis. Okay not really, but I wish. He is the most hilarious stand up comedian I have ever listened to. I could never really get into Dane Cooke or Sarah Silverman or most anything on Comedy Central because while explicit and profane can be funny, it gets old rather quickly. Mike sprinkles it in occasionally but for the most part his jokes are hilariously awkward stories about his own life.  I listened to his two CDs and have seen him various other places - This American Life, Comedy Central, YouTube, and one of those late night TV shows. If you have never listened to his stuff, stop reading this blog immediately and look him up on YouTube. I've started this book and at 30 pages in, I'm really liking it. I think I may like his stand-up slightly better though because the way he says his jokes makes them 5000 times better. From the reviews that I read on GoodReads, I noticed a lot of people suggesting that future readers listen to his stand-up first because  it will help them read the book as if Mike, himself, is narrating it in their heads. I can vouch for this. I agree completely. Even though I've only read 30 pages, I am already suggesting it. Read it. It will make you laugh. That's what comedy is all about, right?

2. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin

I've been wanting to read this for a while and after it was mentioned multiple times in my English class last semester, I figured it was time to follow up on it. As an aspiring teacher, the fact that he wanted to build a school first drew my attention to the book. Hopefully it will be as interesting and inspiring as I've imagined.

3. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

Last spring I read Russo's Empire Falls for my American literature English class and loved it. Generally when I read a book I like, I plan to sometime in the future read at least one other book that author has written. I don't quite remember why I chose this one out of all of Russo's books. Perhaps because I like the cover (I admit that I do sometimes judge books by their covers when I can't otherwise decide which ones to read) or the fact that it takes place near the ocean. Either way, I have high hopes for this one.

4. Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Raban

This one has a similar story. I read Raban's Hunting Mister Heartbreak: A Discovery of America for my travel literature class this past semester. I was captivated by his descriptions of people, places, and events. Such descriptions are a very important aspect of travel literature and he consistently nails them. They are dense yet you end up wanting to read every minute detail. He has an interesting perspective, as well, since in both Hunting Mister Heartbreak and Passage to Juneau he is an Englishman travelling to and observing places in the United States. I chose Passage to Juneau of all his books because I've actually been to Juneau and I wonder if we had any of the same observations. Somehow I think his might be a bit more profound and more eloquently articulated.

5. An Eagle Named Freedom: My True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Jeff Guidry

Last year I got half a year's subscription to People magazine for Christmas. My favorite part every week was the books section. I'm pretty sure this is where I saw this one. Every one needs a true inspirational story  every once in a while.

6. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

No Christmas list is complete without a young adult and/or chick lit book and this was my first choice from those categories. I've heard only great things about this book. Can't wait to start it!

7. Model Home by Eric Puchner

As I suspected (Google is a wonderful thing), I must have also seen this in the book section of People magazine. Am I the only one who reads People to discover new books? Okay maybe I secretly like the celebrity gossip part, too. But seriously, the books are my favorite part. I suppose I picked this one because it got a great review - 4/4 stars - by People's Richard Eisenberg. And who doesn't love a story about a dysfunctional family going crazy? I certainly do.

The following 3 are books that weren't on my list but that my mom picked out for me. She tends to be pretty good at picking out books that I'll like so hopefully this time won't be any different (and it doesn't appear it will be).

8. A Darcy Christmas: A Holiday Tribute to Jane Austen by Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan, and Carolyn Eberhart

This is a collection of three novellas all having to do with the Darcy family from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (which I thoroughly enjoyed and hope to reread at some point). What a perfect book for Christmas! I will probably save reading it until next Christmas since I think it would be best enjoyed around my favorite holiday but I can't wait to read these stories of the oh-so-lovable Mr. Darcy. If only Colin Firth were on the cover…

9. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown

I can't help but think that my mom picked this up with me in mind because of the title. Cue a slight twinge of guilt. But all that guilt could totally melt away if I could just get my hands on that taunting, delectable ice cream sundae on the cover. The cover is reason alone for owning this book (even if you never read it). I might buy another copy, tear off the cover, and hang it up as wall art in my dorm room. I'm only kidding. I think. I don’t know much else about this book, but from the back cover it sounds interesting.

10. Testimony by Anita Shreve

This book had me at "a New England boarding school," the first words of the description on the back of the book. Any elite boarding school somewhere up North is bound to have loads of drama to keep me fully satisfied. Add in the sex scandal that is the central plot of the novel and drama is more than guaranteed. Good choice, Mom!

And now you may be wondering (if you've made it this far) which 2 books on my list didn't quite make their way under my tree.

Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific by Paul Theroux

I read a Paul Theroux article in the travel lit class I talked about earlier and I was drawn to his writing. I've always wanted to go to Australia and New Zealand. If I can't go there, may as well read about someone else going.

AND

Sweet Love by Sarah Strohmeyer

If the title is any indication, this is in some way a love story. If the cover is any indication, the book in some way involves delicious cupcakes (my favorite!). Already a winner. My observational skills must be fantastic because the book is actually about two people with a past falling in love yet again while doing none other than baking wonderful desserts. Mmm… my mouth is watering.

Hopefully there will be reviews of some of these up sometime in the future!

First Review: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Along for the Ride

Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen on Along for the Ride

Rating:  5/5 stars

Let me just start by saying that I love Sarah Dessen. She is one of my favorite authors of all time (along with J.K. Rowling, Nicholas Sparks, Roald Dahl, etc.) and she is by far my favorite young adult and chick lit author.  Her books are chick lit at its finest and Along for the Ride is no exception. This is the sixth book by Sarah Dessen that I've read and it seems that she keeps progressing further and writing better books as she continues into her career. And this is as it should be. I really liked Someone Like You and Keeping the Moon but I LOVED her last four books: The Truth About Forever, Just Listen, Lock and Key, and now Along for the Ride. I gave each of these latter four books five stars and they all made it onto my list of favorite books. All of them.  And I cannot wait for What Happened to Goodbye.

Along for the Ride is narrated by an overly studious, ambitious, and intelligent 18 year old, Auden West (whose literary name reflects both the personalities and career paths of her divorced parents). She decides to go to a beach town called Colby to live with her father for the summer before she goes off to college at the prestigious Defriese University. The laid-back nature of the town and people she meets and befriends there teach her to loosen up and have some fun. Through many late-night adventures, she meets and falls in love with Eli and together they overcome their pasts.

One of the reasons I loved this book so much was because of the narrator, Auden, and how well I related to her. I, too, focus a bit too much on academics at times and even my parents often try to persuade me to have a little bit more fun. Also, like Auden, I am a night person and literally have only gone to bed before 4am once in the past two weeks since I'm on Christmas vacation and home from school. She also has one of the same major flaws as I do - not knowing how to accept failure and ask for a second chance. This is one of the most important pieces of wisdom in Along for the Ride. But there are so many more. I found myself taking note of page numbers quite often  so that I could go back and read a paragraph or two that resonated in my mind.

I also particularly liked the imagery of the bikes that ran throughout the entire book. It was well done with relevant and significant metaphors and symbolic meaning but I never felt that it was ever TOO present or overused. The imagery, of course, begins with the cover and the title of the book. Many of the main characters work at a bike shop in Colby and ride competitively. One of the pivotal points in the novel is when Auden finally learns how to ride her bike. And Adam, one of the bike shop workers and a friend of Auden's, repeatedly tells her that "the bottom line is, what defines you isn't about how many times you crash, but the number of times you get back on the bike" (325).

I also enjoyed the parent/child dynamic between Auden and her parents and her stepmother Heidi. Her parents each had their own problems and it was interesting to see their characters develop throughout the novel, especially her mother. I found Heidi to be a surprisingly likable and admirable character. I loved the interactions between the four of them.

Other themes in this novel included judgements and first appearance, not fitting into stereotypes, one's childhood and past, the nighttime and darkness as a liberating escape, living up to expectations, a person's ability to change, and second chances. Both Heidi and Maggie, Auden's friend and coworker, greatly surprise Auden with their intelligence . She immediately judges them as stupid girly girls because they like pink, fashion, gossip and boys. Throughout the summer she is able to let go of her judgmental attitude (much like her mother's) and give people a chance to show her who they are. This also helps her realize that she can relax and have some fun every now and then, especially over the summer when she isn't in school. She learns how to interact with people and, most importantly, she learns that people can change if they are offered a second chance.

"Life is full of screwups….You're supposed to fail sometimes. 

It's a required part of the human existence" (260) -- Eli

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys young adult literature, love stories, chick lit, or Sarah Dessen and to anyone looking for a great introduction into this genre or a new author to read.

Along for the Ride on Goodreads

More reviews to come!