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Category family drama

2008: #99 – Like Glass (Matthew Cory)

4 comments By Jaime Filed in family drama, featured reviews, general fiction; ; November 18th, 2008

glass Book #99 was Like Glass by Matthew Cory.  The back of the book reads:

What would you do if the one person you hated most
Died?
If the person who stole
The love of your life
Would never see another day?
How would you feel?
Would you laugh?
Would you cry?

This is the issue that Rob Jackson faces.
This is the dilemma that Like Glass begins with.
A phone call from his brother’s widow begins his turmoil.
A phone call from a voice he tried to forget launches the avalanche.

How would you feel?

Like Glass is Matthew Cory’s debut novel, and I think he did quite a good job.  This is a love story, but it doesn’t follow the path you would expect.  When Rob get the call that the brother he hasn’t seen or spoken to in 8 years is dead, his life completely changes.  Rob himself is an imperfect character… He allows 4 short days in his life to completely change the course of it.  Personally, I thought his reaction was a little bit overblown.  I could understand it being the last straw with his brother — after all, he’d been mistreating him for a long time — but Rob’s reaction to losing a girl he’d only known for 4 days was a little much.  But as the novel continues, it starts to feel to me like it’s supposed to be overblown, perhaps a sign of an underlying mental illness?  Regardless, Rob takes quite a journey through this novel, one filled with a little love and a lot of loss, and at the end I think he has become a much better man. Though it’s a strong effort for a debut, I can see that the author has some room to grow, and I look forward to his second novel.

You can find sale information on the novel, as well as Matthew Cory’s blog and other shorter works he’s completed at http://chocolatefordogs.com/.  He also has podcasts at http://chocolatefordogs.com/category/podcasts/ In the podcats, he’s doing a “Mailbag” segment where he answers questions that people send in.  He’s offering a free digital copy of Like Glass to the person who sends in a question he considers the “Question of the Week”, so check it out!

Page count: 210 | Approximate word count: 82,200

2007: Night Embrace (Sherrilyn Kenyon)
2006: The English Assassin (Daniel Silva)

2008: #93 – Third Degree (Greg Iles)

1 comment By Jaime Filed in family drama, suspense; Tagged with ; October 29th, 2008

5187C3RPEGL._SL160_ Book #93 was Third Degree by Greg Iles.  The back of the book reads:

Sometimes the gravest dangers — and the darkest souls — live right beside us….

In the span of twenty-four hours, every-thing Laurel Shields believes about her life and her marriage to a prominent doctor will be shattered — if she survives a terrifying ordeal. The day begins with the jarring discovery that, soon after ending an affair, Laurel is pregnant. But when she returns home to find her husband ashen, unkempt, and on the brink of violence, a nightmare quickly unfolds. In the heart of an idyllic Mississippi town, behind the walls of her perfect house, Laurel finds herself locked in a volatile standoff with a husband she barely recognizes. Confronted with evidence of her betrayal, she must tread a deadly path between truth and deception while a ring of armed police prepares a dangerous rescue. But Laurel’s greatest fear — and her only hope — lies with her former lover, a brave man whom fate has granted the power to save both Laurel and her children — if she can protect his identity long enough….

I’ve seen a wide range of reviews for this book, and I think I understand why. I had no respect for any of the main characters.  Laurel and Danny are cheating on their respective spouses, and Warren is not only holding his family hostage, he’s been cheating the government through his business. There were frustrations, like why didn’t Laurel fight harder?  Why did they insist on keeping the affair a secret, even after discovery?  That’s probably the point I found most ridiculous… that as Warren found out secret after secret, Laurel still admitted nothing — much to her detriment, and the detriment of her children.

But despite all this, I found myself actually leaning forward in my seat as I listened, completely caught up in the suspense.  Turns out, I don’t have to like the characters to like the story!  I was engaged and anxious throughout the whole thing, because you know there will be no happy ending for everyone… and perhaps for no one.  So, if you don’t care about the morals of your protagonists, I recommend this as a good read.  Otherwise… you should probably skip it.

Page count: 385 | Approximate word count: 108,800

2007: The Woods (Harlan Coben)
2006: Why Girls Are Weird (Pamela Ribon)

2008: #39 – Envy (Kathryn Harrison)

0 comments By Jaime Filed in family drama, general fiction; Tagged with ; May 7th, 2008

17057668 Book #39 was Envy by Kathryn Harrison.  The back of the book reads:

Will has a good sex life–with the woman he married. So why then is he increasingly plagued by violent erotic fantasies that, were they to break out of his imagination and into the real world, have the power to destroy not only his family but his career? He’s about to lose his grip when he attends a college reunion and there discovers evidence of a past sexual betrayal, one serious enough that it threatens to overpower the present, even as it offers a key to Will’s dangerous obsessions.

Hypnotic, beautifully written, this mesmerizing novel by “an extremely gifted writer” (San Francisco Chronicle) explores the corrosive effect of evil–and how painful psychological truths long buried within a family can corrupt the present and, through courage and understanding, lead to healing and renewal. “Like Scheherezade in the grip of a fever dream, Kathryn Harrison . . . has written one of those rare books, in language of unparalleled beauty, that affirm the holiness of life,” said Shirley Ann Grau, about Poison. And the same can be said about Envy.

The back of the book strongly pushes the sex aspect of the story, but I think really the story is about grief. It explores different types, degrees, and methods of grieving, along with different losses — children, siblings, intimacy, innocence and purity. Will is self-analytical to an annoying degree, and there were several times when I just wanted him to shut up already. If you don’t mind that, this is a pretty good story. I do wish you got to spend some more time with Carole. She and Will don’t really come alive until the end of the story.

Page count: 301 | Approximate word count: 75,250

2007: Wish You Well (David Baldacci)
2006: The Lost German Slave Girl (John Bailey)
2005: On the Street Where You Live (Mary Higgins Clark)

2008: #35 – A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)

0 comments By Jaime Filed in audio, family drama, general fiction; Tagged with ; April 22nd, 2008

14264760 Book #35 was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.  The back of the book reads:

After 103 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and with four million copies of The Kite Runner shipped, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the most important literary writers today.

Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love.

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman’s love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.

A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love.

As good as The Kite Runner was, this was even better. I’m not sure the book description really serves it justice, because I almost didn’t listen to it. I’m really glad I did. Not only does Hosseini give the reader a wonderful story about the lives of two women who should be worlds apart, but he gives you a portrait of life for a woman in Afghanistan in recent history. Under the various ruling systems, every woman is ultimately the same. The story is really a downer for most of the book, but I think the message of hope at the end is a fitting metaphor for the country’s new direction.

Page count: 384 | Approximate word count: 134,400

2007: Iceberg (Clive Cussler)
2006: Seeing a Large Cat (Elizabeth Peters)
2005: A Secret Splendor (Sandra Brown)

2006: #53 – Biting the Moon (Martha Grimes); #54 – Twelve Sharp (Janet Evanovich); #55 – Proof (Dick Francis); #56 – Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald); #57 – The Weatherman (Steve Thayer)

By Jaime Filed in bounty hunters, comedy, family drama, general fiction, historical - WWI era, journalism, suspense; Tagged with , , , , ; July 11th, 2006

moon.gifBook #53 was Biting the Moon, by Martha Grimes. The back of the book reads:

She does not know who she is, where she’s from, how she got here. She wakes one morning in a bed-and-breakfast alone. She is told by the owner she came in “dead asleep” with her father. But she knows the man is not her father. She takes her backpack, bedroll, and the wad of money she finds in his jacket and heads for the mountains, seeing in their bleak and towering landscape some kind of safety. Months later, she walks down from the mountains and into the life of fourteen-year-old Mary Dark Hope. Bound by their lack of family, their murky pasts, their affinity for animals, they set out to find the man who abducted her. Whitewater rafting, canned hunts, molestation, and murder – all move toward an inevitable and harrowing confrontation.

I recently joined a book group online, and this was June’s book of the month. I was decidedly underwhelmed. Much of the events just didn’t make any sense, and when a main character leaves the story, the things that happen afterwards don’t seem to fit in the story. This is the first Martha Grimes book I’ve read, and I’m not inclined to pick up another.

Book count: 53
Pages in book: 301
Page count: 21,190
Words in book: 100,400
Word count: 6,143,458

twelve.gifBook #54 was Twelve Sharp, the 12th book in Janet Evanovitch’s Stephanie Plum series. The back of the book reads:

America’s favorite bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, is back in her twelfth bestseller and sure to win more fans than ever before. Trenton, New Jersey’s premier troublemaker is once again struggling with her tangled love life, her chaotic family, and her gift for destroying every car she drives. Not to mention her attempts to bring in the sometimes scary bail jumpers of Trenton, and the sudden appearance of a mysterious female stalker—who turns out to have a close connection to Ranger. Twelve Sharp has twists that will drive readers wild and prove that once again, for sheer reading entertainment, no one tops Janet Evanovich.

I was anxious to read this. After realizing that it was going to be several weeks before I could get even the audio version from the library, I broke down and made a special trip to Kroger to buy it (40% off!) before we left for Nashville. It did not disappoint. The tension between Stephanie, Joe, and Ranger is better than ever. Now I can’t wait till the next one!

Book count: 54
Pages in book: 320
Page count: 21,510
Words in book: 77,490
Word count: 6,220,948

proof.gifBook #55 was Proof, by Dick Francis. The back of the book reads:

Wine merchant Tony Beach has expertly catered his latest society soiree, but the fun’s over when a team of hit men crash the party…literally. The event leaves Tony with a bitter aftertaste of suspicion—and sets off a mystery that’s an intoxicating blend of deception, intrigue, and murder.

Another paperback I inherited from my dad. I’d never read Dick Francis before — this was pretty good. I’d read more. It’s part of the “Horseracing Mystery Series”, but it really didn’t have much to do with horseracing.

Book count: 55
Pages in book: 368
Page count: 21,878
Words in book: 101,054
Word count: 6,322,002

knees.gifBook #56 was Fall on Your Knees, by Ann-Marie MacDonald. The back of the book reads:

Following the curves of history in the first half of the twentieth century, Fall on Your Knees takes us from haunted Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, through the battlefields of World War I, to the emerging jazz scene in New York City, and into the lives of four unforgettable sisters. The mythically charged family—James, a father of intelligence and immense ambition; Materia, his Lebanese child-bride; and their daughters: Kathleen, the eldest, a beautiful talent preparing for a career as an opera diva; Frances, incorrigible liar and hell-bent bad girl; Mercedes, obsessive Catholic and protector of the flock; and Lily, the adored invalid who takes us on a quest for truth and redemption—is supported by a richly textured cast of characters. Fall on Your Knees is a story of inescapable family bonds, of terrible secrets, of miracles, racial strife, attempted murder, birth and death, and forbidden love.

This was a very interesting story about a very odd family. It was a little disjointed sometimes, mostly because it would jump around in the timeline from time to time, but you could usually pick up what was happening pretty quickly. The description of the characters in the “back of the book” doesn’t really do them justice. I found myself rereading parts because something important would happen very quickly, and you wouldn’t realize the importance until later.

Book count: 56
Pages in book: 508
Page count: 22,386
Words in book: 167,184
Word count: 6,489,186

weatherman.gifBook #57 was The Weatherman, by Steve Thayer. The back of the book reads:

A serial killer is on the loose in Minnesota, snapping young women’s necks with each change of the seasons. Within twenty four hours of the first murder, TV weatherman Dixon Bell, a hulking eccentric, warns his viewers that a tornado is about to strike. The National Weather Service hasn’t called it, but Dixon Bell does because he sees it coming in his mind. Among all the complex and original characters in this astonishing novel, the shifting weather and landscape of Minnesota stand out – demonic, majestic, bizarre, magical. Dixon Bell is not the only eccentric on Channel 7′s Sky High News. His alter ego is an investigative news producer named Rick Beanblossom, a Vietnam vet and Pulitzer Prize winner, who hides his napalmed face, and his feelings, behind a mask. Guided along the way by an unnamed police source. Rick is on the track of the serial killer. Then he is assigned an unlikely partner, Andrea Labore, a lovely and ambitious ex-cop turned TV reporter. The newsman and the weatherman start out as bitter rivals for this gifted woman. But an ambivalent friendship grows between them when Dixon Bell becomes a suspect in the weather-related killings and Rick Beanblossom sets out to prove him innocent.

I borrowed this from my dad since I blew through the last of the 4 books I took to Nashville on the day before we left. It was pretty good! You know me, I’m a sucker for a serial killer story. I’ll have to keep my eyes out for more Thayer books in the future.

Book count: 57
Pages in book: 464
Page count: 22,850
Words in book: 108,856
Word count: 6,598,042

1,000,000 words surpassed — 2/2/06
2,000,000 words surpassed — 2/14/06
10,000 pages surpassed — 3/10/06
3,000,000 words surpassed — 3/16/06
4,000,000 words surpassed — 4/3/06
5,000,000 words surpassed — 5/30/06
50 books surpassed – 6/12/06
20,000 pages surpassed — 6/29/06
6,000,000 words surpassed — 6/29/06

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