Leaf Peeping!

One of my favorite parts of fall is seeing the leaves change colors - bright yellows, deep reds, vivid oranges.  Each year my husband indulges me as we drive around our area and I take too many pictures of trees.  Today I wanted to share with you the beauty of autumn in our area of New Jersey.  I hope you enjoy some of my favorite leaf peeping snaps of this year!

 

I just love this perfect heart-shaped leaf that showed up on our front doorstep!

When Everyone Else is Reading the Latest "It" Book... and I'm Not

A couple years ago, I remember watching The Today Show one morning and the anchors were discussing the latest "it" book - the one it seemed everyone was talking about and reading.  The book was causing a huge stir, particularly among the 'soccer mom' crowd.  The book?  Fifty Shades of Grey.  I thought to myself that maybe I should check it out, too.  But I didn't run out and get it, and actually didn't read it until last year, 4 years after it came out.

This is the dilemma I run into every time there is a crazy amount of hype surrounding a book.  Part of me thinks that I should be reading it, too, if everyone else is.  But another part of me wants to resist, that just because everyone else is reading the same book doesn't mean I have to as well.

There are good reasons to read the "it" books.  Generally (although not always) the hype is there for a reason - maybe it's a really famous author releasing their newest work or the book is exceptionally well-written or timely.  And if everyone else is reading it, too, you'll have plenty of people to discuss it with.  Plus, the sooner you read it, the less chance there is of the book being spoiled for you, either through some twist being revealed or through bad reviews that may crop up.

But I can be stubborn.  Sometimes I just don't like to be told which books I "must read."  Just because everyone else is reading a certain book doesn't mean it's actually any good (see Fifty Shades of Grey).  I like to seek out my own books, regardless of whether the book or author is well-known.  Some of my favorite books have the fewest reviews on Goodreads.  I love to find those hidden gems.  And if that "it" book is in a genre I don't normally read, I feel even less of a pull to check it out.

But often, FOMO wins and I will eventually read those "it" books.  Sometimes I don't get what all the hype was about (sorry, Fifty Shades) and sometimes I could kick myself for waiting so long to read it (like the Harry Potter series, which I refused to read for so long but once I picked it up, I fell in love).  Sometimes I'm right in there with everyone else, like with The Hunger Games or The Girl on the Train, but more often than not, I'm literally years behind.

So, what about you?  Do you like to read books everyone is talking about?  Maybe in a few years I'll read Go Set a Watchman!

Review: We Are Unprepared

We Are Unprepared
Meg Little Reilly
Published August 30, 2016

Ash and Pia's move from Brooklyn to the bucolic hills of Vermont was supposed to be a fresh start—a picturesque farmhouse, mindful lifestyle, maybe even children. But just three months in, news breaks of a devastating superstorm expected in the coming months. Fear of the impending disaster divides their tight-knit rural town and exposes the chasms in Ash and Pia's marriage. Ash seeks common ground with those who believe in working together for the common good. Pia teams up with "preppers" who want to go off the grid and war with the rest of the locals over whom to trust and how to protect themselves. Where Isole had once been a town of old farm families, yuppie transplants and beloved rednecks, they divide into paranoid preppers, religious fanatics and government tools. - from Goodreads

I'm kind of obsessed with disaster movies - natural disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes, or tsunamis.  I'm not sure what this says about me as a person - I guess there's an element of "OMG this could really happen to me."  When I first heard about We Are Unprepared a few months ago, I was immediately hooked - living in New Jersey, I witnessed firsthand the destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, and the premise of this book sounded so true to life.  And while I enjoyed reading about preparations for the storm, I really didn't connect at all with the main character.

Ash, the narrator, and his wife Pia are city hipsters who decide they want a change of pace, so they move to rural Vermont.  Soon after, a storm of devastating proportions is predicted to hit the East Coast - it's a bit unclear when it will happen, but Pia is immediately swept up in doomsday preparations and joins a group of like-minded citizens.  Ash, however, joins a local government committee that focuses on getting the town as a whole through the storm.

There are cracks in Ash and Pia's marriage basically from the first page of the book.  While Pia can be impulsive and unpredictable, Ash is pretentious, condescending and critical.  Ash is a seriously unlikeable character - he calls his wife mentally unstable and scoffs at her storm preparations.  And as much as Ash likes to believe that he's just so darn smart, he is really clueless when it comes to basic house maintenance and survival skills.  There is also a whole subplot about the two of them having children (they never seem to be on the same page about it) and a young boy who lives next door, whom Ash becomes very close with.

I liked reading about the changes that were taking place in the environment and weather leading up to the storm.  The author did a great job in creating this world where climate change is happening at an alarming rate.  Warm weather throughout the winter, birds migrating at the wrong time of year, plants growing where they normally wouldn't.  I could have used more of the storm, though.  Almost two-thirds of the book is spent leading up to it, and then the storm itself seemed to pass by so quickly.  We also get a bit of what life is like after the storm, but this too I wanted more of.  I wanted less of Ash (who I hated by the end) and more of the devastation and recovery. 

3 stars: 4 stars for the premise, a detailed look at how different people react and prepare for an impending disaster, but 2 stars for the annoying main character.

"Waiting on" Wednesday: Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins

"Waiting on" Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins: My A-Z Index
Kathy Griffin
Expected publication date: November 22, 2016

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Griffin, an A-Z compendium of the celebrities she’s met over the years and the jaw-dropping, charming, and sometimes bizarre anecdotes only she can tell about them.

Starting with Woody Allen, and making pit-stops with Demi Lovato, Leonardo DiCaprio and Donald Trump, Kathy Griffin finally lifts the veil on the never before told run-ins with the famous and the infamous. - from Goodreads

Try It, You Might Like It #3: Horror

"Try it, you might like it" - it's what someone says when they present you with some food you've never had before or your mom wants you to try on some clothes she picked out for you.  I'm using it here on the blog as inspiration to choose books in genres I don't normally read; to branch out from my reading comfort zones; and to maybe find some new favorites!

Inspired by Halloween, I've chosen a horror novel for this installment.  I read a lot of Stephen King novels as a teenager, but horror is not a genre I usually gravitate towards these days, probably because I'm a huge scaredy cat (I cover my eyes when I watch scary movies and peek out between my fingers).  I chose The Ruins (Scott Smith, 2006) because although it's classified as a horror novel, it's something different from the typical zombies, vampires, or ghosts.

Trapped in the Mexican jungle, a group of friends stumble upon a creeping horror unlike anything they could ever imagine. Two young couples are on a lazy Mexican vacation–sun-drenched days, drunken nights, making friends with fellow tourists. When the brother of one of those friends disappears, they decide to venture into the jungle to look for him. What started out as a fun day-trip slowly spirals into a nightmare when they find an ancient ruins site . . . and the terrifying presence that lurks there. - from Goodreads

I actually really enjoyed this book!  Two American couples are vacationing in Mexico when they befriend a German tourist.  When the brother of the German tourist follows a woman into the jungle, he and the Americans (plus a Greek tourist they also met) decide to go find the brother, thinking they will only be gone a few hours.

Things start going wrong almost from the start.  Reliable transportation is iffy in this part of Mexico, and at first they have trouble finding the archaeological dig that the German tourist and woman were supposed to have gone to.  The group comes across a Mayan village, but not speaking the language, they have no way of communicating.  They find the dig site, on a hill, but no one is there.  They also realize the Mayans have followed them, armed with guns and bows, and aren't letting them leave.  And there's this plant, a vine really, covering the hill, and it totally isn't what it seems.

This book showcased horror and fear on a few different levels.  The first is being lost in another country.  The second is being trapped on this hill by the Mayans, with little in the way of food or water.  Although it seemed a bit extreme, one character thinks almost immediately that they could be stuck here for days or weeks and tries to come up with a survival strategy.  The third is the monster, which is this pervasive and deadly vine.  As the story goes on, the characters learn that this vine can burn with its sap; mimic sounds; create smells; and attack its victims.  Not your typical horror monster, but creepy nonetheless!

There's lots of gore, there's suspense, there's desperation, there's a bit of mystery - where did the vine come from, how did it get these supernatural powers, why don't the Mayans let anyone off the hill?  Is it some sort of sacrifice, an understanding with the vine?  Will anyone come looking for the tourists?  So many unanswered questions!  To prevent myself from having too many nightmares, I probably won't read much horror in the future, but it was definitely fun to read something like this at Halloween!

Review: The House of Silence

The House of Silence
Blanca Busquets
Published October 4, 2016 (first published February 2013 in Spanish)

In the tradition of Elena Ferrante — a breathtaking European novel of love, loss, and the mysterious connection between four people, a valuable violin, and their passion for music.

Moving between Barcelona and Berlin in the 1980s, this is a profoundly moving story of loneliness and connection, music and desire, from an award-winning Spanish novelist, translated into English for the first time.

A three-hundred-year-old Stainer violin lost and found connects a charismatic conductor who emigrated to Barcelona from behind the Iron Curtain, his two star violinists, and his Spanish maid. Love triangles, the pursuit of the precious violin, and the need for beautiful music shoot through The House of Silence.

The love of music the characters share is tempered by ambition, envy, and greed, which crescendo on the evening of a memorial concert in Berlin, when the presence of an elderly lady in the audience makes some members of the orchestra very nervous. Who is the rightful owner of this exquisite violin? And, as secrets come to light, how far will people go to seek revenge? - from Goodreads

I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

The House of Silence is one of the most character-driven novels I've read in a long time.  It tells the story how a group of people are all connected by a violin and a conductor.

The book is told from the points of view of four of the characters.  They have gathered in the present-day of the novel for a memorial concert for Karl, the conductor, but they frequently, and without warning, flash back to the events of the last couple decades and how they all arrived at this point.  Mark, the conductor's son, is leading the show; Anna and Teresa, two of Karl's star violinists, are headlining; and Maria, Karl's longtime housemaid, is in the audience.

Anna was the stand-out character for me, although she wasn't the most likable.  After a troubled childhood, Anna became a selfish and immature woman.  Anna at least wasn't bland; Mark was almost a non-entity for me.  Maria was also an interesting character; she was very observant and knew more than the other characters gave her credit for.

This story was very quiet for me. Yes, secrets and feelings were revealed through the flashbacks, but I didn't get a sense of mystery or thrill.  The writing is lyrical, almost poetic at times.  Although, I did feel that maybe a bit was lost in translation; sometimes the words or phrases used didn't really fit in the context of the story or seemed out of place.

3 stars: This wasn't necessarily my kind of book, but I think readers who appreciate character-driven novels will enjoy it.

"Waiting on" Wednesday: Faithful

"Waiting on" Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

Faithful
Alice Hoffman
Expected publication date: November 1, 2016

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage of Opposites and The Dovekeepers comes a soul-searching story about a young woman struggling to redefine herself and the power of love, family, and fate.

Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt.

What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor, filled with emotion—from dark suffering to true happiness—a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls—including an angel who’s been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night.

Here is a character you will fall in love with, so believable and real and endearing, that she captures both the ache of loneliness and the joy of finding yourself at last. For anyone who’s ever been a hurt teenager, for every mother of a daughter who has lost her way, Faithful is a roadmap. - from Goodreads