Tuesdays with Morrie

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom



I read this book in half a day.It is almost 200 pages, but it was a snow day. What can I say? It had really good parts to it. Lots of ideas on how life should be. My favorite part was on pages 124-125 which read,
"We've got a form of brainwashing goig on in our country," Morrie sighed. "Do you know how they brainwash people? They repeat something over and over. And that's what we do in this country. Owning things is good. More money is good. More property is good. More commercialism is good. More is good. More is good. We repeat it-and have it repeated to us-over and over until nobody bothers to even think otherwise. The average person is so fogged up by all this, he has no perspective on what's really important anymore.
"Wherever I went in my life, I met people wanting to gobble up something new. Gobble up a new car. Gobble up a new piece of property. Gobble up the latest toy. And then they wanted to tell you about it. 'Guess what I got? Guess what I got?'
"You know how I always interpreted that? These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. They were embracing material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship.
"Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you, as I'm sitting here dying, when you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you're looking for, no matter how much of them you have."

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Good Harbor

Good Harbor by Anita Diamant


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book started out slow and I was really unsure if I'd be able to finish it. I knew I loved "The Red Tent" by the same author, so I made myself keep going. The story revolves around two friends that meet at the beach and help each other go through trials in their lives. It was actually a great book. I would have loved to be AT the beach when reading it, but it really makes me look forward to Florida that much more. The main characters captivated my attention as they make choices, albeit not the wisest of choices, and reap the reprecussions. I thoroughly enjoyed the friendship factor in this book and it made me reminisce about the friends I have met in my life. If you were going through your hardest trial, who would be there for you? Just a warning... there is some sexual scenes in this book as well as a few swears. Overall- great book....just not as great as "The Red Tent."

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The Bean Trees

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I absolutely love Barbara Kingsolver. I was first introduced to her through a book suggestion to read, "The Poisonwood Bible," which I LOVED!! After finding "The Bean Trees" existed, I immediately bought it. I just had a feeling that I would like this one as much as the first. Honestly, this story is very different than other works by Kingsolver. The tie that binds all of her works is the way she develops her characters. She gives me the ability to delve into each character's mind. I couldn't imagine a better writer than Kingsolver when it comes to developing characters. The story was believable. I could imagine the movie in my head. Just waiting for someone to discover this diamond in the rough. It definitely is on my list of TOP TEN BOOKS.

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If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I really liked this book because it was a quick read. I miss those. It seems that I have been attracted to books lately that take weeks to read, so it is a nice break to read a book in a day. With only 199 pages, fast dialogue, and likeable characters, I would recommend this book to adults that don't mind a few swear words. Really happy with the characters decision in the end. Everytime I read about her boyfriend, Adam... I could only picture Adam Lambert from American Idol last season. Kinda disturbing in that way, but it fit the description(except the sexual preference obviously!!)

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The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was recommended to me by my sister. I can totally see why she likes it. It is a good book, just a bit depressing for me. It is really haunting since the author killed herself and wrote this book loosely based on her life. She was disturbed. I don't even get how she could think of some of the things she did to herself. It was a bit crazy.

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Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley


My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I really did not like this book. It is hard for me to read British literature anyway, but I found myself at page 106 and thinking..."I really wouldn't be too upset if I never finished this book." So then I perused the rest of the book so I could get a gist of what happened. It is not a series that I will embark upon reading.

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Shutter Island

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a GREAT book. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because of the language. Lots of f-bombs. It's a thriller book with a lot of suspense. It is also going to be turned into a movie starring Leo DiCaprio which is believable as the character, Teddy. I love the premise and the ending is superb!!

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