Mary Roach is surely a writer with no fear. If she investigates a topic, she goes all the way, even experiencing weightlessness during a parabolic jet flight (something which would have certainly made me sick). If she writes about it, then she wants to experience it as best as she can.

Although, experiences are not the only way she shows no fear. She asks questions. Questions that would make the answerer uncomfortable. Questions that certainly cannot be described as tactful. Questions that would never even have crossed the mind of most people. 

It is this quality of fearlessness that makes Mary Roach’s books the wonders that they are. Packing for Mars investigates all sorts of aspects of space travel, everything from donning a space suit to why you may want to avoid going to the bathroom for the duration of your stay in space. I learned things about life in space that I never wanted to know (but found strangely fascinating, nevertheless).

Reading one of Mary Roach’s books is like having a cup of coffee with that girl in school who was never afraid to say what she was thinking. Packing for Mars was informative (perhaps a little too much so) and hilarious. Anyone interested in astronauts or life in space should read this book. Actually, anyone who is interested in laughing out loud at completely random facts should read this book. And isn’t that all of us?

Find it on: Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Better World Books

I had such high hopes for this book. I actually set it aside after the first fifty pages because I didn’t want it to go by too quickly. This was a book I wanted to savor.

At least, I thought so.

The Little Book follows Wheeler Burden as he somehow travels from 1988 California to 1897 Vienna. He has to learn how to orient himself and figure out who it is safe to befriend. How involved can he become without changing the course of history? Of course, that question is not easily answered.

It’s also a question that is extremely common if you’re reading a book about time travel. Edwards does handle it well, giving bits and pieces away that only all make sense at the end. But what really sets this book apart is Vienna. The Little Book is an ode to turn-of-the-century Vienna. Selden Edwards clearly loves this city in the time period. There was certainly a lot of research that went into the writing of this book. And that is what drew me in so completely in the first fifty pages.

What lost my interest as the book continued, however, is that not much happened. There was a lot of talking. A love affair. Lots and lots of flashbacks. An occasional plot twist. But really, nothing happened. It turned out to be kind of a boring book. I’m really sorry to say that, because there were pieces of it that were brilliant. And I did love experiencing Vienna in its golden age. But by the end, I didn’t care that much about the characters and I was tired of waiting for something to happen.

I guess this is just one of those books for which I loved the potential, but not the reality.

Find it on: Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Better World Books

I read (more or less) three books on Saturday's 24-hour readathon. I had every intention of being a good little blogger and writing my reviews right away so I wouldn't get too far behind. Yeah, didn't happen. Reading was much more fun than writing reviews. But I don't want to ignore the books altogether, so I thought I would try some more two sentence reviews.

I usually wait a few days before writing a review of a book. I like to let the dust settle, allow my initial reactions to form themselves into coherent thoughts. But I couldn’t wait that long with this book. It’s been no more than half an hour since I finished reading, but I had to get my feelings out somehow! So the following thoughts may be slightly less than coherent.

Ruin and Rising is the third book of a YA trilogy. I’m not a huge reader of YA novels, mostly because of the angst and drama they usually include. Also because I am sick of the whole dystopian thing. It’s been done. And if you don’t have anything new to add to it, then let’s just leave it alone for awhile. But Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha series isn’t really dystopian. It stands apart from a lot of YA out there, mostly because of its Russian-flavored setting. It’s refreshing and different, and gives you a whole new realm of culture and history to explore.

The plot is full of twists I never saw coming. I love it when I think a book is predictable, and then it makes all of my expectations crumble into dust. There are quite a few characters to keep track of, but they are all unique and full of personality. Bardugo includes just the right amount of comic relief, usually in the dialogue between her characters. And the comic relief seems to come naturally from the characters and their interactions, instead of feeling forced into the story. Since this is the third book in a trilogy, a lot is expected of it. And Bardugo most certainly delivers.
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When I read the last page of Ruin and Rising, my overwhelming feeling was a desire to start back at book one and read the entire series through again. I reread books I like fairly often, but there are very few series I can think of that have produced such a desire in me. Harry Potter, of course. The Chronicles of Narnia. The Anne of Green Gables books. All of the series, in other words, that I would classify as some of my favorite reads of all time. Now I’m not sure I’m quite willing to add the Grisha series to that category. But I can say with certainty that I will be rereading this series in the future. Maybe even more than once.

Find it on:​ Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Better World Books

   -  It swears. A lot. And I know there are those that say, "If I were stuck on Mars, I would swear too!" I get that viewpoint. But the problem is, he's not the only one that swears. There's plenty of swearing from other characters as well. I hate filling my brain with that.
   -  This book is a time-sucker. Make sure you have time to devote to it, because you are not going to want to put it down. Which leads to neglecting things, like your job. . . or your spouse. . .
   -  Parts of it are written as journal entries. Personally, that worked for me, but it's not a style that works for everybody.

   -  There's a movie coming out in a few weeks. Quick, read it before you see the movie!
   -  If you are looking for a character with a unique voice, you can do no better than Mark Watney. His journal entries read like he is talking to you. And astronaut nerd though he may be, he's a pretty funny guy.
   -  You actually kind of learn something about science and Mars. That's always a nice bonus.
   -  The plot. The incessant plot that keeps you turning the pages. This book is so hard to put down!!
   -  It literally keeps you guessing until the very last page.
   -  Mark Watney is a character that you simply have to root for. He's so well-written, you're pretty much given no choice. Who knew you could cheer so hard for potatoes to grow?

In all the reviews I read when I was trying to decide, the swearing was what put me off the most. And the swearing definitely did bother me throughout the book (I still think it would be a better book without it). But at the end of the day, I am glad I decided to read it. I'm glad I met Mark Watney and was so thoroughly drawn into this story.

Please share your thoughts and comments, whether you've read The Martian or not!

(Warning: This review is going to be rather rave-like.)

Everything about this book is amazing. Seriously, everything. I don’t say that often, so you know it’s true.

I do have to temper that, however, by saying that this book may appeal to only a small audience of bibliophile word nerds, like me. So if that description applies to you, then by all means, read this book.

Ella Minnow Pea (say her name out loud, and you’ll get a hint of the wordy wonders to be found in this book) lives on the island of Nollop, off the East Coast. The island was founded by Nevin Nollop, the creator of “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” He’s so looked up to on the island, in fact, that they have created a monument to him and his amazing sentence. And then one day, the Z falls off. The Nollopian High Council declares that the letter Z is henceforth banned from use in speaking or writing. Since the novel is an epistolary novel, you can imagine how that affects the story. And then when you discover that Z is just the first of the letters to fall, you can look forward in delight to the language hijinks that will ensue. And let’s give Mark Dunn all the credit he’s due – this must have been a progressively difficult book to write.

Let me repeat that this book is amazing. Hopefully I’ve convinced you of that. The word geek in me was jumping up and down at each page, and surely I can’t be the only one who was affected by this book in this way.

Word lovers unite, and join Ella Minnow Pea!

Find it on: Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Better World Books

The Big House can be encapsulated in one word: summer. Catching fireflies. Swimming in the ocean. Racing sailboats. Reading on rainy days. Walking everywhere barefoot. Fishing in the early morning. Family. Long days that run together. The sort of summer you remember living as a kid and have had a hard time recapturing as an adult.

George Howe Colt perfectly captures that feeling in The Big House. His family has owned a house (a big one!) on Cape Cod for several generations. Every summer, his extended family would spend a month there, living that idyllic summer life. Reliving those memories is a part of this book.

But mixed in with those memories is the bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye. Colt’s family can’t afford the Big House any longer, and they are being forced to sell it. Colt has come out for one last summer with his wife and children, looking for closure. But how can you say goodbye to such a huge part of your life, the only place you really consider home?

Colt’s The Big House is a book that spans the lifetime of this beloved house. He describes the building of the house, the hurricanes that have hit it, and the good, the bad, and the ugly of the family that has inhabited it for nearly a hundred years.

Anyone can find something to connect with in this book, whether it’s the summer life or the family arguments or the difficulty of saying goodbye. For a little while, you become part of the family and part of the life of the Big House.

Find it on: Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Better World Books

I've read a lot of books lately, but haven't written many reviews. In order to catch up a little, I thought I would challenge myself to put my thoughts succinctly. One sentence of summary, one sentence of review. We'll see how well this works. (I tend to be a wordy person. . .)

Completely unplanned, I happened to read two books set in the 1990s practically back-to-back. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 90s doesn't seem to be a very common setting. I really enjoy reading books set in the 90s because it reminds me just how far we've come in the past 20 years. Even though I lived through these changes, it's hard to see it in perspective unless we're reminded what life was like back then.

My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff is a nonfiction memoir, although it really reads like a novel. Fresh out of grad school, Rakoff lands a job at a literary agency in New York City. But not just any agency - they have the reclusive J.D. Salinger as one of their clients! Through Rakoff's experiences, we get a look not only at how literary agencies worked at the time, but also what life was like in NYC. We run the gamut from one of the fanciest hotels to her little apartment that didn't come with a sink - or heat. Rakoff does a fabulous job of recreating the atmosphere of NYC in the 90s, as well as telling a story full of books and authors.

Find it on: Goodreads  |  Amazon

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell is really set on the cusp of the new millennium. Lincoln works for the IT department of a newspaper. It's his job to monitor employees' computer and email usage, which means reading other people's emails. This leads to a slight addiction to reading the emails sent between Beth and Jennifer. Which leads to more than a slight crush on Beth. What exactly are the ethics in a situation like this? (It's also Lincoln's job to prepare for Y2K - remember that panic that was all for absolutely nothing?) In a book that's told half through emails, it's amazing how Rowell can make her characters leap off the page. Just like the YA novels I've read by her, I swear that Beth and Jennifer and Lincoln have to be living their lives somewhere in this world right now.
Rowell leaves you guessing to the very end, but you never stop cheering for these characters who have become your friends.

Find it on: Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Better World Books

I have no problem admitting that I am an Anglophile. I've been to England four times. I would probably move there if I could. And yes, I loved the fairy-tale wedding of Will and Kate. And I will look at pictures of their adorable children any day.

So when The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan crossed my radar, it immediately went on my TBR list. I'm really not much of a sappy romantic, but didn't every little girl dream about getting swept away by a prince at some point?

The Royal We pleasantly surprised me, though, in being so much more than fairy-tale romance. It's understandably being linked to Will & Kate a lot, but it is much more than thinly veiled fan fiction. Here's why:

1. There are characters that make mistakes. I know it's part of being the royal family and all, but don't they always seem so perfect? Like they can never do anything wrong, although we all know better. Nick and Bex are clearly fallible humans just like us, complete with plenty of bad choices.

2. We see the good and the bad. The romantic moments and the fights. The confessions of love and the break-ups. This is not just a story about two people falling in love. This is the story of a relationship and what it takes to make that work.

3. We get a taste of what goes into making someone the picture-perfect princess. And what a sacrifice that must be for everyone who lives in the spotlight like that.

This book is much more than Cinderella meets the prince. It's even a lot more than Kate Middleton meets the prince. If you're looking for a book about a relationship, not just a love story, then this is the one.