Monday, May 25, 2009

Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a sad portrayal of a young couple married in the 1950s. They married too young and probably never should have married. It is what marriage looks like when you settle because you don't think you can do any better. The characters in the book are April and Frank. April is a housewife and is miserable, looking for a way to improve her life. Frank is a businessman who hates his job and his life. They appear to do everything in their power to continue to be miserable. While living in the suburbs, a chain of events happen that sends their already unhappy life raveling out of control.

The book is well written and it kept my interest. I had great compassion for the characters, but at times, I hated them too. The plot and storyline was heartwrenching. What a sad portrayal of how unhappy a marriage can be. I walked away from the book wondering if that is really how men and women feel about their spouse. Do married people really look at their spouse and pick out every flaw or wonder how they could have found someone better, more sophisticated, prettier, etc.?

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very intriguing book. This was one of our book club selections. This is probably not one of would have selected to read on my own. However, it seems to pop up on a lot of book club selections.

It is about a man who eperiences great tradgedy and decides to run away and ends up on a traveling circus train in the 1920's. It is an amazing story about what this man sees and all of goes on in the circus. The book had some many great characters with great depth. It was had to put it down. Some of the characters in the book were based on real circus characters from the time period which made for an even more interesting read for me. The author of this book did a fantastic job as portraying so many different charcters. It is amazing that a woman could portray an old man so well.

Friday, May 15, 2009

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer


My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

The setting of this book takes place as WWII is ending. It is a montage of letters from an author who is looking to write a book and discovers the intriguing Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on Guernsey island. This book is light and witty. I recommend this book to anyone interested in WWII history. This was my first WWII fiction novel and I LOVED IT!! This time period really intrigues me and the book took you through the aftermath of a war that no one really wanted. It kept me coming back for more and I hated for the book to end! The authors did a great job incorporating a lot of different personalities into the book. At times, I even laughed out loud and couldn't get enough! Such a great book. Read it!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Don't Make Me Count to Three

Don't Make Me Count to Three: a Mom's Look at Heart-Oriented Discipline Don't Make Me Count to Three: a Mom's Look at Heart-Oriented Discipline by Ginger Plowman

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of my good friends recommended this book to me. I read it in about a day and couldn't put it down. It really sparked my interest. The author is a mother who is learning the ropes, just as we all are. She wrote about disciplining your children so that you aren't just correcting the behavior, but we are molding their heart. The great thing about the book is that she gave examples and phrases you could use when discipling your kids. I love the hands on material she provided! Since both of my daughters seem to wear their heart on their sleeve, it made sense to really talk things through with them and practice how I expect them to behave. The book made me look at what I am currently doing with my kids and really look at what I am doing is effective. Who couldn't use a few pointers? I need to communicate and really guide my children. It's my job as a parent. The author is quick to admit that no two children are alike and that what works for one, might not work for another.

Part of the book also talks about spanking vs. no spanking. This one was difficult for me. I was spanked as a child and I'm not sure I want that for my kids. The author talks about it being the will of God to spank our children in order to teach them to be good people. She made a lot of good points. I spank my kids only when they are diliberately disobeying. I can't imagine doing it for every misdemeanor! I walked away with something to think about.

If you have kids, I highly recommend this book.