Happy Thanksgiving!

Book Review -- My Year with Eleanor

My Year with Eleanor: A Memoir by Noelle Hancock

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 3 stars

Source:  Nook ebook

Genre: Memoir; self help

Objectionable material: some minor language

On the eve of her 30th birthday Noelle Hancock loses her job. Life is in crisis mode.

In an attempt to bide her time until she secures another one and recreate her old "exciting" self, she embarks on a year of "fears" in tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt's quote, "Do one thing every day that scares you."

This was a pleasant memoir in the theme of many other self discovery, "do something in a year" books (live biblically, live in Italy, eat vegan -- you name it).

Her anecdotes of swimming with sharks, flying from a trapeze, climbing Mt Kilimanjaro (among others), were whimsical, terrifying, and inspiring.

Her writing was witty and clever.

Interestingly enough, I found myself more interested in the life and writings of Eleanor Roosevelt, though. There is a woman I definitely need to read more about.

A quick and easy memoir if you are looking for something effortless to read.

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Book Review -- Attachments

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

My enjoyment rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 5!

Source:  Personal copy

Genre: General fiction (romantic comedy)

Objectionable material:  A possible cuss word -- maybe.

 

I didn't know anything.

I didn't know it was going to be funny. On the very first page.

I didn't know that there were going to be nerds playing Dungeons & Dragons, and girlfriends emailing each other, and bad breakups, and marital drama, and a boy still living with his mom, and sadness, and uncertainty.

I didn't know you could write a romantic comedy from the guy's point of view. And it work.  Who does that?

I didn't know it was going to be a cross between Bridget Jones meets a Friends episode.

 

I didn't know I would be so happy that I'd read Eleanor and Park first, because I would have assumed that it was going to be Ha Ha Funny, when it clearly was not. Whew.

 

I didn't know that Rainbow Rowell could write two totally and completely different books, but yet nail the relationships in both. Absolutely perfectly.

I didn't know I was going to love everything about this book. Everything.

I didn't know what I was missing.

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Recovering...will be back soon.

I'm recovering from shoulder surgery -- torn labrum, repaired bicep tendon -- typing one handed is slow going.

 

Will be in a sling for a month...with rehab during my recovery.

 

I can still read -- when I'm not sleeping!

 

I've read 3 books that I've not blogged about:

 

The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman -- 4 of 5 stars -- read for October book club -- we all loved it -- great discussion book. (Fiction)

 

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan -- 3 of 5 stars -- an amazing medical mystery and journey -- but would have made a better medical journal article than a full length book. (Non-fiction)

 

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein -- 3 of 5 stars -- a solid historical fiction account of an American pilot imprisoned at Ravensbruck concentration camp during WWII.  Suffered from my high expectations after reading Code Name Verity, one of my favorite books of all time.  (YA Fiction)

 

Back to the pain meds!