Summer Reading - Had Me A Blast

Although a little late, I thought I'd post about some of the books I read over the summer. I enjoy a little of everything, so maybe something will strike your fancy.

Huge - Although I've never struggled with a weight problem, I seem to have an affinity towards books about those who do (The Cat Ate My Gymsuit and She's Come Undone being just a few of those, over the years). This one features two overweight teen aged girls who go to a fat camp. One has saved her money to be there; back at home is a severely overweight, depressed mother who feeds her junk 24/7. Her roommate at camp is a spoiled rich kid whose parents own a fitness club and are embarrassed by their daughter's size; they force her to go to the camp. Enjoyable, light reading.

Olive Kitteridge - Unusual! A collection of short stories that feature the title character in some form. Sometimes Olive is just a fringe character mentioned briefly. Sometimes the story is from her point-of-view. She's an awkward, unlikeable woman, prim and proper, but with a touch of nastiness. Funny, in a slightly dark way.

I Love You, Beth Cooper - Awful! The premise suckered me into picking it up. A boy reveals, in his valedictorian speech, his love for a popular cheerleader. It's downhill from there, unless you enjoy gross sexual hi jinks and chase scenes involving jocks/bullies who want to beat up geeks. Just plain stupid. I cringe at the thought of the movie.

The Help - Now one of my favorite books of all time. Set in Mississippi during the Civil Rights movement of the '60's. A recent college graduate wants to break into the publishing business and sets forth to write a book in secret about the treatment of black maids in her hometown. Clashes between high society southern women, southern "white trash" and the African-American women who serve them both. Parts of this book are extremely sad, parts are uproariously hilarious. Although lengthy, I was sorry when the book ended.

The Absolute True Diary Of a Part-Time Indian - On my son's summer reading list for school. I'd heard a lot of chatter about it, so I thought I'd give it a try. I found it to be disappointing. I hate stereotypes and this book was full of them. The alcoholic Indian father, the violent Indian teens and the wise medicine woman grandmother. Where was the kind hearted hooker, I ask? Would have been a better book if it had focused on the teen boy leaving the reservation and attending a white school instead of all the other business. I did like the idea behind the drawings mixed throughout the book.

How Starbucks Saved My Life - Nonfiction and predictable. It was like James Frey's A Million Little Pieces in the believability factor. A rich white guy has an affair with a younger woman, gets her pregnant and also happens to lose his high power advertising exec job at the same time. Gets a job cleaning bathrooms and making coffee at Starbucks. I just didn't find it very believable, especially the parts where he goes on and on about how great both Starbucks is and the employees at his store who came from poor backgrounds and were working their way up. Oh, and how his children were angry with him, but once they saw him with his Starbuck's cap on, working his minimum wage job, they came to accept him again. Something just didn't ring true for me. Maybe I'm just a cynic.

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society - Fantastic read! Reminded me a little bit of Pride & Prejudice in its attitude and colorful characters. Set in the Channel Islands, post WWII, after the occupation by Germany. Both a history lesson and a love story. I loved this book.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Spooky! This book is short, but hard to describe. I read it in two days. It's narrated by one character who's telling his story to a nervous American overseas. He had come to America to attend an Ivy League school, graduated at the top of his class and got a high paying job. He felt accepted until 9/11. He slowly became disenchanted by America and went back to his native country. The ending leaves you guessing. Good book!

The Art Of Racing In the Rain - A tear jerker. Story is told from the point-of-view of the family dog. Dog's owner gets married, has a child; then wife gets a brain tumor. If you love dogs (or even if you don't), you will enjoy how this dog sees the world. I don't want to give away the rest of the plot, but the ending is magnificent.

The Reader - Another book, post-WWII. This one is set in Germany and follows a teen aged boy who had a lengthy affair with a woman in her 30's. Turns out the woman was a concentration camp guard and the boy-turned-man follows her trial as a law student. I just didn't care for the book. None of the characters were very likable, maybe because they seemed one dimensional to me. I wouldn't really recommend it. I know there was a movie; not sure I heard much about it.

Those are just a few of the books I enjoyed (or didn't enjoy) over the past few months. I hope someone out there read one or two of them and can join in the discussion. Or maybe I've given you something to add to your list.