Friday Book Review

Since my last review I have finished 3 books and am currently reading 2 more:

The Necklace: Thirteen Women and The Experiment That Transformed Their Lives

I read this book for the book club I will be attending in Puerto Rico with my mom and one of her friends, so it is not necessarily a book I would have chosen to read on my own.  But it was a quick read and I enjoyed it.  It is a non-fiction story of 13 women in California who chipped in to buy this crazy expensive diamond necklace together.  The woman were loosely acquainted at the beginning, and the story talks about how sharing the necklace affected each of their lives.  Mostly it discussed how important it is to have girlfriends, especially as you get older and have families and a million things that take up your time.  And that is something I believe to be true at any age.

One Day

One of Entertainment Weekly's picks for the best books of 2010.  It was an interesting set-up in the it followed two people's lives and relationships with one another through writing about their days on one particular date, the date they met in the mid 80's, over the course of 15 or so years.  It was easy to track the ups and downs they'd encountered over all the previous days in the year and to see how their relationship changed.  I thought it was a good, quick read and alternated between sad and humorous, but I did foresee the ending.

 

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke

I have always been kind of really into saving money and preparing for the future.  I started discussing my nest egg when I was 13 or so.  But it's something I needed to learn more about as I start planning for my future with my husband.  I knew the goals I wanted to reach and the things I wanted to do, but I wasn't sure where to start.  So I'm really enjoying this book, which I didn't think I was going to.  It's specifically written for my age group and offers clear advice on how to tackle money issues from getting out of credit card debt, to paying off student loans, to saving for a house and starting to think about a retirement fund.  I know that doesn't sound crazy fun, but it's been a really useful tool so far and is helping me put a plan in place.  Just today I increased my contributions to my 401(k) and opened an IRA account!  Woo, responsibility!

January Book Review

I  have been getting a lot more reading in already this year as I have been taking the T more due to the snow and that allows me a good 2 hours with my book a day.  I have set up a second page on the blog so you can see what I've recently read as well as what I am currently working on.  And I'd love to hear if you have read anything great lately - I can even have a guest blogger book review!

These are the two books I finished in January:

Assassination Vacation

Assassination Vacation, Sarah Vowell - This book is enthralling, I cannot put it down, which is odd for me and non-fiction books.  The book discusses the author's research of the first three presidential assassinations - Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley - and goes on a pilgrimage of sorts to see the artifacts of these assassinations.  It is kind of a bizarre topic, but gosh, she knows her history and I have learned so much.  She draws connections between the politics of those days of yore to modern times and now I really want to go around to see all of the historical places she talks about.  The author has a very quirky sense of humor and is very engaging.  This is not at all a dry history retelling, but is sprinkled with anecdotes and observations and I just could not put it down.

Peony in Love: A Novel

Peony in Love, Lisa See - I have read a number of books by Lisa See including Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and, more recently, Shanghai Girls.  I loved both of these books and really enjoyed reading about such a different culture.  These books talk about different times in Chinese history and give a lot of insight into the lives of women during those times.  Peony in Love was not my favorite.  The main character dies about a quarter of the way through the book, which then goes on to discuss her life as a spirit and the interactions she has with the human world.  I don't mind fantastical elements in my literature, but I never felt like this book decided what it wanted to be and it did not resonate with me.  But if you're a fan of Lisa See's work, it's a quick read and certain aspects were very interesting.