enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

spring book report.

Spingbookreport

I've been reading a lot lately. Mostly because I have been actively not "reading" my iPad before bed. Scrolling endless pages of Pinterest and Instagram or falling down blogland rabbit holes is the opposite of relaxing and I find that when I shut off the electronics I find it much easier to fall asleep.

It's been awesome and while there have been a few clunkers, these are the books worth noting from the past few months…

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt / this is one of those books that everyone is talking about. I felt like the back description was a total scam compared to what the book was about, so that was confusing. I really enjoyed reading it though I can't put my finger on why? Maybe because it was so detail rich? Maybe because it was just so crazy? Maybe because I felt so many emotions for this crazy main character? Tough call.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffery Eugenides / another super detail rich novel. I enjoyed this one too. The same few years were told through three different characters and I loved reading their perspectives on the same situations. Smart and so well done. I was pretty hooked from the beginning and am interested in checking out Middlesex (from the same author) now too.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova / this is a book about early onset Alzheimer's disease. It's told from the perspective of a 50 year old woman who is at the top of her career when she gets diagnosed. I thought so much of this book was thought-provoking…the way her family and colleagues react…her thoughts on cancer vs. dementia…her rapid decline and what she finds important…oh man. I tore through it and I know it's one that will stick with me forever.

I'm currently reading Nora Ephron's I Remember Nothing and Poser and The Interestings are both on my nightstand.

What are you reading?

Dottedline

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94 responses to “spring book report.”

  1. Elle Avatar
    Elle

    I just finished Eleanor and Park. It was lovely!
    http://finefantasies.blogspot.com/

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  2. Valerie Avatar
    Valerie

    Middlesex is so much better than the Marriage Plot! Though I didn’t enjoy it at all, so you may think otherwise. The Goldfinch is on my list, but I really enjoyed the Secret History.

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  3. Aimee Avatar
    Aimee

    I read Still Alice and loved it….alzheimers/dementia runs wild in my family so it was interesting to read it from the perspective of the person going through it. I also read Love Anthony by the same author and it was another one that hit close to home since I have a son on the spectrum. The Interestings was good, but at the end I kind of what like “what was the point of the book?” It was really just a story being told in all different perspectives, but I liked it. The Husband’s Secret was good, but I was getting the characters confused a little. I recently read Maine, but J. Courtney Sullivan and it was good. And also The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

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  4. Sally Mesibov Avatar
    Sally Mesibov

    Just finished “What Alice Forgot.” So good!!!

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  5. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    Thanks for the list. Always looking for reading suggestions. Just finished the goldfinch and the parts I enjoyed most were the descriptions of nyc and Amsterdam (my new #1 of cities I haven’t been to and want to visit). I wansn’t blown away by it but surprisingly didn’t find it too long and drawn out. I’m encouraged by everyone’s positive reviews to start Middlesex again. I stopped halfway through cause i just didn’t find it very interesting. I guess it needs a second chance. Currently reading Juliet, naked. An easy summer read. Flying through it.

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  6. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    Can you summarize why they do in a couple sentences? Thanks 🙂

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  7. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    LOVED THAT BOOK! Read most of it at work trying not to cry…

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  8. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    Looks like we have the same taste in books! I just finished that a couple books ago. Also loved it.

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  9. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    I love the library! My 19 mo and I go at least twice a week.

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  10. Carolyn Williams Avatar
    Carolyn Williams

    Haha! I totally get that, Sara. I read it on a bus in Azerbaijan, where public displays of emotion aren’t very common. It was pretty hard to not fall apart. Thank goodness for sunglasses! 🙂

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  11. elise blaha cripe Avatar
    elise blaha cripe

    yes for sure!

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  12. Carolyn Williams Avatar
    Carolyn Williams

    Why French kids eat everything? Mostly it’s about enjoying food as a community. There is a huge focus on food as pleasure, rather than the battleground it is with so many American families. Mealtimes are about togetherness and tradition and exploration.

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  13. elise blaha cripe Avatar
    elise blaha cripe

    oh fun! I’ll keep this in mind. 🙂

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  14. elise blaha cripe Avatar
    elise blaha cripe

    I am sorry to hear about your Grandma… I think you’ll like Still Alice for sure.
    thanks for the recs!

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  15. elise blaha cripe Avatar
    elise blaha cripe

    I really liked Art of Fielding but I didn’t think it was Quite As Big of Deal as some people thought… 😉

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  16. Carolyn Williams Avatar
    Carolyn Williams

    If you like books with descriptions of NYC, and the history of NYC, you should read “Forever” by Pete Hamill. It’s another one of my favorites. It even has a feeling similar to “Life After Life.” 🙂

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  17. Carolyn Williams Avatar
    Carolyn Williams

    Totally how I felt about The Dinner! Pretty horrible people in there. It’s almost like you have to pick who to root against. But so well written and interesting! I couldn’t put it down, even though I really wanted to at times.

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  18. elise blaha cripe Avatar
    elise blaha cripe

    I am so sorry to hear about your Dad. Alzheimer’s is an awful and terrifying disease.
    Still Alice was beautifully done. I don’t have experience with family members and Alzheimer’s but I worked in a nursing home for a few summers so I was somewhat familiar with the disease.
    I understand your fear though…it might be too close to home for you to read. Though it may also bring closure…hmmmm, I wonder if the amazon reviews will help? There might be people in your shoes who read it and found help?

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  19. Meg Avatar
    Meg

    Ooooh. I loved the Marriage Plot! Read “Attachments” or “Eleanor and Park” by Rainbow Rowell. Those books were soooooo good!

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  20. amy t schubert Avatar
    amy t schubert

    Oh, yea. I’d agree that it was super-hyped (a Vanity Fair article will do that)….
    Just don’t expect Middlesex to be all that much like The Marriage Plot.
    Still FANTASTIC. Have you read The Virgin Diaries?
    Man, I wish that author wrote faster 🙂

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  21. amy t schubert Avatar
    amy t schubert

    LOVED Extremely Loud … his other book Everything is Illuminated is also incredible

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  22. Vicki Avatar
    Vicki

    It’s one of my all-time favorites, too!

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  23. Emily Dismukes Avatar
    Emily Dismukes

    I read all of We Were Liars in a day. It was so good!

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  24. Becky Avatar
    Becky

    Great reads, I’ll have to pick them up… How great is the library!
    xx Becky
    http://www.miseenplaceblog.com
    becandteej.blogspot.com

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  25. Emily Dismukes Avatar
    Emily Dismukes

    My Kindle is sitting next to me right now, I was checking Twitter in between chapters of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. It’s a YA book, it’s very good. I finished The Bling Ring and We Were Liars recently, as well.
    I’m glad so many people have suggested Rainbow Rowell’s books – she’s one of my favorite authors. Fangirl was great. I can’t wait to read more of her stuff.

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  26. Joanna K Avatar
    Joanna K

    I just got back from vacation and I read three of the Louise Penny series (!) as well as The People In The Trees by Hanya Yanagihara and The Lowlands by Jhumpa Lahiri. (It was a good vacation). I don’t know what to say about The People In The Trees – it is horrific and fascinating at the same time – not light reading but very well-written. The Lowlands was just great – a bit sad but so heartfelt.

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  27. Denise Avatar
    Denise

    I loved Elenanor & Park so much!!!

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  28. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    Thanks for the suggestions! I will check those our for sure.

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  29. Amanda Avatar
    Amanda

    I just finished Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell and I tore through it! I thought it would be too young for me, because it’s about a teenage romance, but I LOVED it! It was so much more than just a love story.
    I also just finished The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri and really liked it too!

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  30. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    The Goldfinch is on my to read list. Right now I am reading A Clash of Kings, the second in the Game of Thrones series.

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  31. Amy Avatar
    Amy

    Oh yay! Such a good Book Club book!

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  32. Amy Avatar
    Amy

    I thought as much – they’re so rooted in British political history so I can understand why they wouldn’t be (although I think Sue Townsend is a genius so I want everyone to read her stuff). Definitely felt that way when I read them the first time as well – although a re-read as an adult makes them appear a lot less sexy…

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  33. Lauren Avatar
    Lauren

    I loved “The Invention Of Wings.” It’s about slavery in the South pre-civil war told by two different people. Very good read. I didn’t even realize until the end that it was a historical fiction. It’s by Sue Monk Kidd, and I love anything she writes. Such a good list of books here. I wrote a bunch down for my summer reading list.
    Also, for a funny read “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” by Mindy Kaling was seriously laugh out loud funny.

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  34. Monica Avatar
    Monica

    Just finishing The Orenda. It is a book that will stay with me forever. Definitely one of my all time favourites. Also will never forget The Dovekeepers, The Purchase and Cutting for Stone.

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  35. Kelcey Avatar
    Kelcey

    Oh I liked The Marriage Plot all the way up until the end. I was so frustrated with the characters! I LOVED Middlesex though, it won a lot of praise (and awards) for a reason.

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  36. Casie Avatar
    Casie

    Great reviews!
    I am currently reading “The Checklist Manifesto” by Atul Gawande.
    I think Paul would enjoy it because of it’s relation to medicine but I think you would enjoy it to because it talks about how overly complicated life has become and how a simple checklist can make sure tasks aren’t missed.
    I am a list maker and a nurse (I think the 2 go hand in hand!) … so I am enjoying it!

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  37. Mickie Avatar
    Mickie

    I am (finally) reading Pride and Prejudice for the very first time!

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  38. Amanda Villagomez Avatar
    Amanda Villagomez

    I loved Still Alice but enjoyed her Left Neglected even more because it more closely related to my life right now as a young mom feeling too busy at times. You might consider reading it.

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  39. gailavon Avatar
    gailavon

    I was at the bookstore just the other day and purchased Inferno by Dan Brown mostly because I enjoyed reading the da vinci code. I was hoping to find a new book from Laura Griffin Tracer Series, I have read them all and really hoped she did not just end them. James Patterson is my favorite nook author right now on my nook ,just waiting for the new Alex Cross book to come out.
    I love suspense crime novels:)

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  40. Jen Tapler Avatar
    Jen Tapler

    Thanks for the reply! And great tip. I’ll check out the Amazon reviews. A first person account does intrigue me…

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  41. Chrystina Avatar
    Chrystina

    I’m currently reading Happier at Home – the second book after The Happiness Project and am loving it so far. It’s definitely been inspiring for me to think about how little things can make my day to day life so much better.

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  42. Roar Sweetly Avatar
    Roar Sweetly

    Just finished The Room by Emma Donoghue. It’s one of those books you stay up till 1:00am reading because you simply cannot put it down.

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  43. Janna Avatar
    Janna

    So my library has 2 Life after Life books – one by Jill McCorkle and one by Kate Atkinson….would love to read the one you are talking about.

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  44. Janna Avatar
    Janna

    So my library has 2 Life after Life books – one by Jill McCorkle and one by Kate Atkinson….would love to read the one you are talking about.

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