Double-Stacked Bookshelves

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that allows bloggers to highlight releases they are eagerly awaiting. Here's what I'm anticipating: Title:  Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay Author:  Elena Ferrante Publication Date:  September 2, 2014 (translated from the Italian) Page Count:  Not Known Summary via Publishers Weekly Surpassing the rapturous storytelling of the previous titles in the Neapolitan Novels (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name), Ferrante here reunites Elena and Lil, two childhood friends, who dissect subjects as complicated as their own relationship, including feminism and class, men and women, mothers and children, sex and violence, and origin and destiny. As the narrative unfolds in the late 1960s and early ’70s, the fiery Lila stays in Naples, having escaped an abusive marriage, and lives platonically with a man from the neighborhood, along with her young, possibly illegitimate son....

It's Wednesday...evening.  Oops!  Anywho...today's installation of Why I Love concerns book recommendations.  While I seem to be the main book recommender (huh?) in my circle, I have had two books recommended to me by a friend, and I have to say that I fell in love with both.  I was surprised by this because I don't tend to like what everyone else likes or go with the mainstream.  Regardless, these were the books: The Story of Edgar Sawtell e by David Wroblewski:  I absolutely loved, loved, loved this book...times a million.  I remember seeing a synopsis of this book (before it became part of Oprah's Book Club) and thinking to myself..."Self, that sounds really good."  Alas, I forgot about it.  Of course.  Then a year or so later, my friend says "Hey, I have this book you should read.  I think you'll like it."  And that's how Edgar and his amazing self came into my life.  The book is about Edgar Sawtelle (ironic, right?)...

I always swore that I would never, Never, NEVER read Cecilia Ahern's novel PS, I Love You .  Why so adamant, you might ask.  Well, let me tell you in two simple words:  Hilary Swank.  I haven't picked this book up because of the movie (which I've yet to see) because I can't stand Hilary Swank for some odd reason.  It's strange.  I don't mind her in Freedom Writers or even in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the original), but for some inexplicable reason there is something about her that grates on my nerves.  It's the same way my friend Margaret feels about Julia Roberts, whom I like a lot.  And another aspect of the film that grates...she's NOT American!!!  Ugh.  Screw you, Hollywood! Anyway...while wandering through a bookstore in Portland, I came across a copy of PS that was not a movie promotion copy (I prefer the non-movie cover ones) and it was only two dollars.  And, being me, I caved and bought the damn thing.  I've loved...

I'm halfway through with the dreaded week of finals; I still have a stack of final essays to grade and one department grading session to complete this week before I can sign off for a much needed week long break, but it's finally starting to wind down.  Added to the chaos that is final's week, the Euro Cup started a few days ago and I have watched every game (even if I had to DVR it and watch it later).  Naturally this takes time away from grading essays (whoops) and posting reviews.  However, this is a necessary evil because I LOVE the Euro Cup and football/soccer in general, as I stated in a previous post .  But that's beside the point.  It's Tuesday and that means one thing: teaser time!  I've picked up a quick read because I'm behind on my GoodReads 2012 Challenge quota and I'm trying desperately to get caught back up.  So today's teaser comes from Nora Roberts' The Last Boyfriend .  It's the second in the Inn BoonsBoro series and just ...

Initially I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy Jennifer Weiner's Best Friends Forever because I'm not much of a Chick Lit reader, but I was pleasantly surprised.  It was entertaining, engaging, and I always wanted to see what would happen next.  Perhaps this was more a reflection of Weiner's writing style rather than the genre; I guess I'll have to explore it a little more. Friends follows the tumultuous relationship between Addie and Valerie.  They first meet when they are nine years old and become immediate friends.  As the two grow older, they experience the harsh realities of middle school and, more devastating, high school.  It is during a specific episode in high school where their friendship is changed forever.  Fast forward twenty years later and it is time for their high school reunion.  Valerie has become a pseudo local celebrity while Addie has never moved away and continued to work from her childhood home.  Addie refuses to go to the reunion ...

It's Tuesday and that means it's Teaser time!  Today's excerpt comes from Jennifer Weiner's Best Friends Forever .  "In my dreams, he reached for my hands, he tugged me into the secret vestibule outside the gym teacher's office to steal a kiss before class.  None of this would ever happen, but my dreams, carefully embroidered and unfolded each night, were as sweet as candy" (231). I've never read anything by Jennifer Weiner despite the fact that several of my friends really like her writing.  But I am enjoying this so far.  Yay!

"You is kind.  You is smart.  You is important." After putting off Kathryn Stockett's The Help for months, I was finally forced to read it for one of my many (and ever-growing) book clubs.  Thank you Misty (and whoever from the group suggested it be our next book)!  I think I put off reading it for so long because of how much it's been touted since it's publication.  There has been so much hype and so many people saying how fantastic it is that I was terrified it wouldn't live up to it.  That it would fail at impressing me and leave me even more jaded with public opinion (cue Justin Bieber).  However, now that I've read it, I can honestly say that this novel DOES live up to everything that's been said about it.  It's absolutely wonderful!  It is sharp.  It is witty.  It is sad.  It is infuriating. It is so much. The novel takes place in the early 1960s and centers around three women:  Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter....

“We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.” It's that time of the week again for my contribution to "Why I Love."  I thought long and hard about this edition because there are so many series that I love, but, in the end, the choice was obvious.  So, my choice for favorite book series goes to...drum roll please... Harry Potter .  I mean, come on!  How can you go with anything else?! I remember not wanting to jump on the Harry Potter bandwagon when it first arrived on the scene.  And I didn't.  It wasn't until a fateful camping trip during the summer before college, well after the third book had come out, that I managed to finish both of the books I had brought with me before the weekend was over.  Because of this I had to scrounge around the camper for something stashed away by my mom.  Low and behold, I found Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter ...