Book Review

Reading is my favorite. True story. My goal this year is not to read a certain number of books but to diversify the type of books I read. I have been doing ok with this. I have gotten out of my teen fiction slump, that's for sure, but I really need to push a little harder to branch out even more. Any suggestions?Gone Girl: Everyone was obsessed with this book and for good reason. It is addicting. I read this in days (and its kind of long). But I devoured it and was so obsessed we bought the movie on iTunes to watch in our beach hut in Thailand. I needed more. It is a dark thriller and has so many twists and turns and mind games. It is told from multiple perspective and moves rapidly. The movie was good, but not as in-depth as the book and is really very graphic (but so is the book). I had many rousing discussions with other people about this book, it really gets people crazy with excitement.This book is for you if you like intense psychological thrillers.Enders Game: I did a more in-depth review here about how I was not really liking this book and stand by that review. But, then I finished the book and it completely redeemed itself. The ending was beautiful and completely unexpected. It was so good it actually made me want to read the rest of the series, but I didn't let myself because of how much I struggled with the majority of the book.This book is for you if you like teen (emphasis on the teen drama) sci-fi with lots of action and futuristic societies.We Were Liars: I listened to this on audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator (I have very high standards for narrators voices). I listened to the whole book in two sittings. It was a super easy read/listen. It is about a wealthy family who spends their summers on a private island. The four main characters are cousins + a friend, who call themselves 'the liars' and follows their journey from childhood to teen years. Then the narrator has 'an accident' and cant remember what happened, but knows it was something tragic. The meat of the book is her trying to remember. It was sad and sweet and did not have much annoying teenage angst. I was very intrigued to find out what happened. I guessed about half way through, then thought I was wrong, guessed again and eventually really couldn't figure it out. I was right on the first guess, but I had to finish it.This book is for you if you want a light but page turning read about teens, family secrets, a life of privilege and coming of age stories. The Girl on the Train: This was another addictive book. I had so many recommendations for this one. I listened to it on audio also and the narrators are English and have wonderful voices that fit their characters SO perfectly. This story is told from three women's perspectives and is told in flash backs and present day moments. The three women's lives slowly intertwine and is rich in story depth. The premise is that someone dies, who it is, how she dies and how they are all connected is truly a deep, dark and twisted web.This book is for you if you like mystery and books that make you think and pay very close attention. The Longest Ride: I always give in to Nicholas Sparks. I just always know what I will get with him: quick love, tragedy and tears. Who can say no? Well, I was completely blown away at this book. This book tells three stories (kind of two) separately and weaves them together. (see a pattern here) One story of deep, true normal love of a 60 year-long marriage and one of a new and exciting dating relationship, which obviously has some issues they need to work out. The ending though, the way everything is brought together, is so brilliant and beautiful. Never have I sobbed so uncontrollably on an airplane. My husband was thoroughly embarrassed of me. I cannot wait to see the movie, it looks like it is going to do a really great job of telling the story well!This book is for you if you like romance, suspenseful secrets and unexpected surprises. Still Alice: Another really popular one that was worth all the hype. It was really fascinating and helpful (to me as a counselor) to be able to see more inside the mind of someone with a memory loss disease. The way Alice explains it 'that she can see the word hanging there but can't grab it' makes this disease more relatable and hit closer to home. Also though, I (and my mother) have really bad memories already, so we both were frantically panicked that we were going to have early onset...so don't read this if you are easily swayed to think you have a disease, etc. This is a fast read, but not a great read for in public as I cried unexpectedly all throughout the book. The movie didn't quite catch the depth of the book and looked like it was low-budget, but still told the story well enough.This book is for you if you are interested in memory loss diseases, want an emotional challenge and want to face the decision of what would you do if this was you or a loved one. The Happiness of Pursuit: Another audio book, the narrator was meh. This one took me a bit longer to finish, not because it wasn't fascinating (it was) but because it is more of a collection of shorter stories of people who have taken on big quests or goals, and doesn't really have a plot line so I wasn't anxious to 'figure it out'. But it truly is fascinating. I want to cook a meal from every different country of the world! And of course I was so excited to hear about Elise's quest! There are so many super cool and inspiring stories in here and I loved hearing about how they came together, the truth of them and where the people are now.This book is for you if like learning about ordinary people who get off the couch and do big things.  I am Number 4: Another teen fiction (audio) book that I listened to really quickly (the narrator's voice is a dialect I couldn't put my finger on and it was really intriguing). Plot: Alien teen who is on the run from other bad aliens falls in love with human girl, throws temper tantrums because he just wants to be a 'normal teenager', gets his whole town smashed by bad aliens. It was actually a good book, but I am not going to read the whole series. The imagery was really great, but a little far out there due to the alien nature of everything. But a quick, light read and the movie was actually pretty good.This book is for you if you like teen fiction, sci-fi, action and adventure. Currently Reading: Chasing the Dragon: This is a true story about a missionary in Hong Kong (a very long time ago). I love reading real (and interesting) accounts of people's lives in a place that feels very foreign to me. This 'white lady' goes into the ultimate of Chinese slums and works with the gangs and youth of the area to share the gospel with them but is hit with a hard realization that there are so many obstacles to overcome before even getting close to sharing the gospel. But her commitment is unwavering and she is willing to try even the most untraditional routes to get there. I love hearing their stories and I am so interested right now in 'gifts of the spirits', so reading her account of how she learned about them and encountered them is really enlightening for me.Listening to: In the Woods: The narrator is english and has such a regal voice. This book instantly grabbed my attention and I cant wait to figure out what happened. The premise is that 2 children went missing, one child was found. That child is now a murder detective and has a case that may be the same killer, so he will have to find the current missing child and figure out what happened to himself. The story is told from inside his head and has a bit of crassness to it, read: inside a man's head. But the first chapter, where he is describing how detectives feel about and seek the truth, is pure literary music to my ears.PS I read/listen to 95% of my books on ScribD. What are you reading?! For other book reviews click here.