Category: Activity challenge

Omg. Once I got into the book it was really amazing. I’m REALLY happy I read it. At first I put the book down so many times I could not get into the story enough to follow it which meant I had to go back and re-read a lot of it. The story jumps back and forth in time, which I love, but in the beginning trying to make sense of what the past has anything to do with what was going on in the present was difficult (more about that later.) The magic came once it started making sense. “Oh my God. Why did she just do that?!” “Is she leaving?” “Are they making it?” “What is wrong with her!?” “Omg she wants to do what?!” Then it becomes an incredible ride. Several times I tried to figure out what was going to happen next but failed miserably. The twists keep going until the very last lines and the end is the biggest surprise of all. Didn’t see that coming in 100 years. Girlfriend knows how to keep a secret. Reading this book made me have to take a look at myself. One thing I learned reading this book is that I tend to fight the process. I want to figure it out quick instead of just flowing with the story and I know that’s something I’ve done a lot in life. I’ve wanted to figure things out and have gone through a lot of heartbreak when it doesn’t happen the way I pictured it. It has kept me from appreciating fully what has eventually happened even when I have been aware there is nothing to complain about. Funny thing is that after years of struggling with it and therapy I thought I had this shit handled, but then in comes a book to remind me that if not kept in check, bad habits sneak back in fearlessly. Gotta keep the control-freak in me in check!

 

The little prince. Simple, right? One short book, a couple of hours and a blog entry. What could be easier? Well, I guess I’ll find out later because my wondering mind just flew away from me like pigeons out their cage and I read anything but what I told myself to. I’m hoping these pigeons will return home soon. In the mean time I hit the books not too hungrily. Well, I read Tricky Tweanty-Two by Janet Evanovich. Had the craving for something light and funny with some mild action. Her characters are like family by now and they crack me up each time I visit them with a book. Then I went to Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn Good story, clearly a YA book, but I do get into them sometimes. Quick read. Could have been better, but it kept me entertained. I love stories where people have special powers. Then I went to The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. Good story! Complex take on the re-incarnation idea where people actually remember their previous lives and while they can make a few alterations to their new lives, they only live the precise amount of years, assuming they don’t get killed or kill themselves, which happens. The book, however, is pretty long, so I gave it a short break while I read Love beyond Time: A Scotish Time Traveling Romance by Bethany Claire. Not the best writing as far as time travel goes. Very basic, but good when trying to cleanse the palate  from a complicated book. I am now starting The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton which is one of the challenge books. No doubt I will interrupt it with something, but I want to at least start it. I am still looking for a book to pull me so heard I might cry when I finish it. Or at least make me want to dream about it. With that said, If anyone has any recommendations I am more that willing to give it a shot. Please!

For now, hasta luego~

Activity challenge – Reading challenge- Inheritance by Thomas Wymark.

Well, not a quick summer read. You must have patience and a LOT of empathy. You must be willing to take leaps of faith with the main female character from time to time and try to follow her line of thinking, I really struggled with it. Put it away a couple of times, picked it up again, got lost, had to go back, maybe my mind was not at its best place to dive into this book right now. I am going to tell you that as soon as I feel sharper I will look at this book again. I feel like I missed something and I really want to get it. There are books I know there are not worth a second look, but this is not one of them. I am just not in a good headspace.

With that said, I am making my next pick something much lighter that I can look at and enjoy. With that goal in mind I am choosing The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery. I have the book in Spanish. I will quickly try to find it in English at the public library but will not purchase it if they don’t have it. My translations of what I read will have to do for our discussion. I hope I get some feedback from you so we can get the most out of that little morsel.

Setting:

Very comfy, chatting at the local cafe spot, enjoying some iced fresh-fruit drinks after you tell your friend: “Oh, isn’t is too warm for April right now to drink hot coffee?!” and then having to give her an apologetic look because you two SWORE to never be the kind of friends that would dress-up judgment with weather talk. You can talk about what you are wearing and what you are drinking, but not why because that just calls for judgment, or so you both said the first year of college (30 years ago?) Besides, you NEVA’ forsake un cafecito even if offered in hell (in that case you just order it ‘frappe to go, gracias.‘) You know she gave you THE look. You raised an eyebrow, muttered something about “30 years should earn me a freaking medal” and you two get a real laugh, a good spot, and a pb&j you saved from lunch.

Here we go…

“And here is the reason I don’t read many thrillers or suspense, and God am I happy it is not a horror novel! I am completely freaking out with this book [half-manicured finger pointed at table] and I just want to know what happens before I keep reading, except that for the very first time in my life I want to be shocked by what is causing all these mysterious things to happen! [by now out of air after this sentence]

Will not spoil if for you, nena, but this woman is the most sane crazy I have known [left index finger pointed up with authority]. I’ve tried reading her with a light and airy voice, but I still was nervous. It was too creepy [fingers moving like shaking off ghosts]. I used a smartass, sarcastic tone to what she was saying and, while I got a really good, very short, [suddenly lower volume for the rest of the sentence] rather inappropriate chuckle at her sudden need to slam her innocent loving children against the wall , there is still this creepy air floating about this otherwise absolutely non-DSM V woman. [I am slowly shaking my head “no” here]. I am using an e-reader and it tells me I am about 57% done. I am DYING [eyes popping]. I am either going to have nightmares or be very disappointed, but the suspense alone right now is worth the reading. [look on my face says nothing can be done].

Of course, a million possible plots come to mind. Some are very obvious and some have me wondering about following a line of work as a P.I. [wink]. In any case mi’ja, I need to get through this book because it is driving me insane. HA! ‘Insane.’ That’s funny.”

photography:https://www.flickr.com/photos/adriennekat/with/5616787669/

I decided to start the challenge with the book The Rum Diaries by Hunter S. Thompson. I did not see the movie (a plus, I think, when reading the book), but did hear the location was Puerto Rico, so I broke out a cold container of coconut water, put on my rose-colored sunshades, and dove in. Now, it takes me a bit longer to get through a book in English than it does in Spanish. First, even though I have been reading in English for over 25 years, I still feel hesitant to read too quickly and miss something. Also, I really like to take in each word and see how it fits in the sentence and if it triggers anything in my mind. With that said, and reminding you that I am NOT a professional literary critic, just a regular reader, I will say I REALLY struggled with it. If I would have played the “shot game” for every time the main character said “those Puerto Ricans” like he was smelling gutted fish, I would have been drunk by the third page. The description of the heat and the drinking is so raw that I found myself wanting to take showers to prevent a hangover. If the writer was going for a gag-reflex, he got it. To me it read slow, drunk, depressed, unfulfilled, and hopeless. I had to read a few reviews because I could have sworn I was missing something. Why was this book published? North American men go to P.R. to work in a newspaper, drink all the time; seem to feel Puerto Ricans were beneath them; get in trouble with the law (but of course it was mainly because the Ricans lied); and at the end (almost very end) two of them seem to get away with murder. Not much energy seems to go into it. The whole thing is a drunken haze, and ah! The one female character gets drugged and raped by the natives but gets blamed for it by her male “friends” who quickly give her the ol’ brush-off. I keep reading reviews of “fast paced” and “action”, and to tell you the truth, I did not see that at all. The narrator seems more of a loner than anything else, and no close relationships seem to build. No lasting memories made, not even for the rape victim due to having been drugged. When towards the end the narrator starts looking back on the “good old days” I had to go back in the book to try to find those days. Never found them. I had the impression that these newsmen were more like parasites praying on the rum and burger resources of the island before being forced to look someplace else for survival. I am so glad that book is over I could throw a dry party.

My next book in the challenge will be Inheritance: It was hers from the beginning. By Thomas Wymark. This book will fulfill the requirement for Horror reading. The book is described as a “psychological mystery and suspense thriller” which in my head means horror maybe because to have a mystery connected to psychology, we must be talking about some twisted characters. The words “suspense” does not paint a pretty picture to me (I like to know the end of a movie before I watch it) so this is the closest I can get to it so far. I am hoping for no explicit scenes. I read Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn and truth be told I had to take a break from reading for a bit. There was too much in terms of imagery in my head by the time I was done and could not shake it off. Then I thought The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey would be a lighter read, but I still feel some apprehension when walking near a group of kids. Kidding (maybe.)

So, why this book next? Well, I just looked at the first page to see if it grabbed me. It did. How can anyone resist the alluring call of the sirens when the first short paragraph starts with: “I had never been a violent woman.” And ends with: “But things can change.” (Thomas Wymark, Inheratance, Chapter 1.)

Diving in, not knowing what to expect. Don’t know of anyone who has read it and will wait until I am done before looking up some reviews, possibly from Goodreads.com (not a paid announcement, I just really like the resource.)

See you on the other side of the book. Hopefully soon and hopefully very happy.

(Picture credit: Martino Sabia: Lonely reading woman – Woman reading a notebook in Alfama, Lisbon – Portugal. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ezu/42764498/in/photolist-4MboW-VnfpV-e92zvw-dpxAqr-p9sYQs-oT52Qi-83D5Wc-cQkUMy-bW9kQY-pGNG3J-nLF13Z-7jPE4e-ndqdEY-jEv4AU-fuFqK9-aYYfSZ-9vrfYu-foWRWM-997LWw-3NLbqi-foWS2X-5wGVSw-S7ose-aGuZUv-bNMo8p-iz6bDK-5FRRpp-p4fryt-dTQkzA-6G35Ye-8frakk-qD5hY8-fzeEsM-jZLDGH-oBqaJq-9PFvS2-f5CTgQ-8Qh5fa-S7oaZ-oMww45-g2k9c3-dQRc2x-hjUnTq-fJ9J7R-7DgP25-q4rfVF-dux698-PoU2A-pBhSa7-7euof) Some Rights Reserved.