The Round House by Louise Erdrich

The Round House: A Novel

The story takes place from the point of view of a 14 year old boy, Joe, and it should maybe be labeled as teen fiction as there are, within the book, some things that other teenage boys will relate to. 

The book starts with a crime having been committed against his mother, yet she is silent and won't talk about it - even to the police. So Joe sets out, with his friends, to solve the crime and restore his mother to her previous motherly position. 

The crime takes place on an Indian Reservation and the book is as much about their way of life as it is about solving the crime. 

Not my favorite book, it was a little slow in places as Joe falsely accuses one person and investigates other possibilities. 

Wild (From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail) by Cheryl Strayed

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

The book is called "Wild," but the author is also somewhat wild. She lost her mom when she was in her twenties, and with her mom's death came the breakup of her family and her own marriage. So, partly for healing and partly to do something "wild" the author walks part of the Pacific Crest Trail. However, she had had no training or practice before she embarked on this momentous journey.

Partly the book was interesting because of what she attempted (and achieved) but mainly because I felt a oneness with the author for attempting something out of her comfort zone, also the book kept me reading and wanting more. The story was that of a journey, but with flashbacks to her earlier life, something I don't generally like, but in this case was extremely well done. The writing was so good that on three separate occasions I cried as I read the story.

This book is way up high with my other favorite books of all time. I would recommend it to anyone.

Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue

Room: A Novel

The book is the story of a 5 year old who has spent all his life in one room. The book is written from his perspective. He is with his mom and watches television and vaguely understands that there is a world beyond the Room, but has never been there. Gradually you realize that the two of them are being held captive, but it takes a while before you understand why.

I can't really say more about the book without giving spoilers. But I would rate it 5 out of 5 stars. It was engrossing and I kept wanting more. I listened to the CD and at first found the boy's voice a little grating, but eventually I got used to it and enjoyed listening to the sound of a 5 year old telling of his adventure.

The book really does see life from a 5 year old's point of view. Some things which puzzle the boy are obvious to the reader (or listener). Later in the book his mom takes the dialog and he voice was easier to listen to.

Just to say that I thought the whole story was unbelievable until a few months after I read the book this story played itself out in the news.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

What an amazing book! What an inspiring story! The story is that of Louis Zamperini. He was an adventurous child getting into many scrapes as a young teen, and then he found a love of running. He became an international celebrity after participating in the 1936 Olympics and was expected to bring home a medal in the 1940 games, but alas there were none. 

Louis Zamperini joined the air force and flew B24 bombers in the Second World War. He flies many missions, but one day his plane goes down and three of them are left to survive in the open sea. After many days they finally landed on an island occupied by the Japanese. He spent the rest of the war only just surviving in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. 

The book is wonderfully well written. I was hooked from the first pages. Laura Hillenbrand has an amazing way of telling a story. The book was riveting with full of detail and flowed perfectly. The true story was astonishing and at times funny. Louis Zamperini is an amazing person to write about, and I'm looking forward to the movie coming out soon. 

As a result of reading this book, I've decided to read Hillenbrand's first book, Seabiscuit. There are many authors, but few who write with this quality. 

The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Girl with a Pearl Earring

The Girl with the Pearl Earring is a famous painting by the artist Vermeer. It is known as the Dutch Mona Lisa because no one knows who the girl is, in the painting.

The book is a fictional tale of the life of the girl, who is portrayed as a servant, and the words paint a picture of life in 17th Century Holland.

The book is a clear representation of life in Vermeer’s household as well as the serving class of the day, and I really enjoyed reading of the colorful characters who worked in the town and also the difference in those days between groups of Catholic and Protestant.

The movie is worth a mention. Many of the scenes from the movie are paintings by Vermeer. If you choose to pause the movie at just the right time, it will mirror a painting. Of course you’ll need to know exactly when to pause the movie.

Just after the book club discussed our readings, Vermeer’s picture was in an exhibition in San Francisco, near where we live and I was awed to go and view it. So check to see if it is still on tour and near where you live. 

Girl with a Pearl Earring DVD

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games (Book 1)

The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy. The second books are Catching Fire and Mockingjay. The first Hunger Games book was the required reading for our book club, but as soon as I read that, I read the other two straight away. The themes and characters of the book stayed with me for a long time. They say the definition of a good book is that when you have finished you feel you have lost a friend, I certainly did in this case.

The Hunger Games is aimed at a teenage market, and although it’s not the sort of book we usually read in book club, all but one person enjoyed it.

It is set in the future where in order to subdue the people, they are subjected to hunger games where two people from each of the twelve districts are selected to fight to the death every year. The heroine, Katniss, volunteers to take the place of her little sister who is selected.

My only criticism is that the book is written in the first person, so we know that Katniss will survive and win. The book would have been better, in my opinion, if it were written in the third person, thus giving doubt if the heroine wins or not.

There is currently a movie of the first book, which was very true to the story and not as gory as it potentially could have been. Movies of the other two books are expected out shortly. 

The Hunger Games 2-Disc DVD

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife

The premis of the story is that Henry travels in time, and takes nothing with him. So when he arrives somewhere, he arrives wearing nothing. He has no control over where in time or location he arrives. Nevertheless, he frequently arrives in the childhood of Claire whom he persuades to love him and eventually marry him. 

Life with a time traveling husband is not simple and the adventures are many and varied. 

Personally, I was riveted with the story. I listened to it on CD and really enjoyed the experiences of the unusual couple. Reading the reviews on Amazon, many were critical of the style of writing, but gosh, I have only admiration for someone who can produce a bestselling book. I know I couldn't. 

We watched the movie, which was just an enjoyable as the book, here's the link:

The Time Traveler's Wife

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

State of Wonder: A Novel

I was the only person in book club who didn't like this book. I didn't like it because I disliked the main character, I thought her cowardly and fearful and somewhat pathetic  Nevertheless, she did travel deep into the Amazon jungle, which is something I personally wouldn't do.

The book brings up a few moral topics that can cause a good discussion in a book club. The major one is the age at which women give birth. Another topic was the subject of research and the funding of research, as in who chooses the topics when people do research, the people who do the research or the people who fund it?

One person mentioned the fact that "State of Wonder" is a quote from Shakespeare's The Tempest and that the book is filled with Shakespeare quotes, but not knowing The Tempest, I didn't notice them.

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

Tortilla Flat

John Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors, and I was pleasantly surprised to find Tortilla Flat and realize there's a Steinbeck I hadn't read. So I suggested it for my book club. The book is very short, so we read this one and Travels with Charley in the same month. 

Tortilla Flat is classic Steinbeck, with unusual characters doing some very unconventional things. My favorite part was where someone was given the gift of a vacuum cleaner before she had electricity in her house. Because the vacuum cleaner was a status symbol, she could be seeing running it up and down the rugs in her house every day. You can't make up stories like that, it had to be real and that's why I love Steinbeck so much. 

I enjoyed The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden better than this book, but I still loved the colorful characters living at Tortilla Flat. 

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel

The book was narrated from the dog's point of view, and that in itself made it unusual. The story is that of a race car driver, his wife and child. He draws parallels from life and compares it with the racing circuit. Even if you have no interest in dogs or the racing circuit, then it's a great book to read, as the dog comments on life and feeling to which anyone can relate. 

My son loved the book because it's set in Seattle and he loves Seattle. This just shows that we all have our different reasons for liking or disliking something. Me, I'd have liked the book wherever it was set. 

How to be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway

How to Be an American Housewife

This is the story of a Japanese woman who married an American soldier after the end of the Second World War. She then came to the US with him and raised two children. She follows a book called How to Be an American Housewife that was written to help Japanese brides with the culture of a different country. So, punctuated through the book are the excerpts from the guidebook. 

The book was in two halves and each part narrated by a different person - mother and daughter. In the second half of the book, the daughter goes to Japan to visit her relatives. While the book was a cute story, that was it, just someone's life story of moving to America from Japan. The book was meant to be fiction, but it was so close to the real story of the author, that it was more an autobiography.