The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

I had seen this book for quite a while and knew it was popular and had great reviews on Amazon, so I wanted to know what the fuss was all about. I have to say...I am glad I did. It is a memoir, with Jeannette detailing her life growing up, the places they lived, and her family's relationship with each other. I had a hard time putting it down and finished it tonight after only starting it on Sunday, four nights ago. I found it so unbelievable (and I don't mean this in a rude way) that people actually choose to live as she did. That is not to say that she enjoyed how her family lived; although she did for the most part, except for the time they lived in West Virginia, but that was for about six years... Her story starts with her first memory, of being three years old and making hot dogs on a stove wearing a frilly pink dress. She has to make them herself since her mom is too busy painting/being an artist. This unfortunately leads her to catch on fire and stay in the hospital for six weeks getting skin graphs. That is only one story of an unbelievable life. I absolutely recommend this book.  

The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 by Paul Krugman

I love me my Paul Krugman, but I just had the hardest time getting into this book. Maybe it is because his End This Depression Now! is more timely, but I was also blown away by the list of things that politicians should distinctly not do and how many of them are actually doing them. Like how you should not try to cut spending and pay off your debt (austerity) when you are still in recession/depression mode (like how Europe/Germany is expecting that of Greece/Spain/Italy). As I kept reading, I felt like this particular list kept getting longer and longer...all these no-nos that the governments are pursuing contrary to economic theory and what really works. Take Paul Ryan, for instance; his plan to cut spending would wreak havoc on the economy like no other, and to implement these changes at a time when more people need them is just ludicrous. But that is what politicians are doing. Some people expect the Fed to do more, and there is only so much Ben & Friends can do to help without actual policy measures (like the JOBS Act) being implemented. In the end, more stimulous is needed to help America get out of this trip. For international matters, Germany needs to chill out and understand that what they are doing is contrary to what should be done and in the end it will bite them. I think I read that it is already predicted that Germany will be back into a recession by the end of this year because of the austerity measures they are forcing on the rest of Europe.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine #1) by Ransom Riggs

I really enjoyed this story. I actually finished it a couple of weeks ago, but have been tardy in posting my review... Anyway, it is about a boy named Jacob that seems most ordinary, but has a slightly obsessed grandfather who has a stockpile of weapons and believes that some sort of creatures are after him. Jacob knows of his grandfather's tall tales about when he lived in Wales and the people he knew and the adventures he went on. But then one day, his grandfather is drug to the forest behind his home and killed. Jacob witnesses the murder and sees that it is the same sort of creature that his grandfather always talked about, and is struck with horror. Jacob slips into a depression and his parents send him to a psychiatrist who suggests that he go to Wales to see if the rest of his grandfather's stories were true, especially the one about a house on a hill run by a Miss Peregrine. He and his father go to Wales on what is assumed to be a witch hunt, but Jacob soon learns the truth of his grandfather, Miss Peregrine, and the creatures that killed him. Unfortunately, Miss Peregrine and her wards are being saught by the creatures and Jacob is the only one that can help him. Will he choose to stay with Miss Peregrine and her wards or return to America with his father? Lately, I have been itching to go on a trip or adventure, and this book helped to satisfy those desires.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This is a book that has been on my radar for a couple of months and when I moved, I got the lovely opportunity to place it on hold...and be number 300 on the hold list. But lucky, lucky me found it at the library as a "lucky day" copy, so of course I snagged it since I was so darn curious. I don't really read books like this; I think the closest is probably the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. ANYWAY, the book is set up in three parts (I won't divulge the name of the parts and ruin it for anyone), and each chapter alternates by being told from the point of view of Amy's diary or Nick, Amy's husband. The story begins on Nick and Amy's fifth anniversary. Nick is at The Bar, a bar he and his twin sister Margo ("Go") own, when a neighbor who lives across from Nick and Amy calls The Bar to let Nick know that his front door is wide open (a very unusual occurrence). Nick goes home to investigate and finds the living room upturned and Amy nowhere to be found. The police are called and they find the first clue in the treasure hunt that Amy creates for Nick every year for their anniversary. Between the clues and where they lead Nick, the unusual circumstances surrounding Amy's disappearance (such as the bump in her life insurance policy), and Nick's lack of an alibi, everyone believes he is guilty. But as the story goes on, more and more things don't add up. Where is Amy's body, if Nick really did murder her? And if she is alive, as Nick is adamant that she is, where is she? This one definitely had me going, even to the very last page.

What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank

I had very, very high hopes for this book, but was unfortunately greatly disappointed. It seemed to be more like a single examination of a state (a state that the author is from, by the way), rather than a set of ideas about states that are conservative, even when it won't benefit that particular set of beliefs (and what I was hoping it would really be like). The biggest thing that I came away with after reading this book is that Republicans forever promise changes in this, that, and the other thing (like outlawing abortion, lowering taxes, and smaller government) when in reality, once they're elected, they seem to do whatever they please. The most important part that Frank mentions is that even though Republicans promise to overturn Roe v. Wade, it is really only the Supreme Court that can do that. I have so many friends who vote Republican on this single issue, and I never understood that, and now I especially understand it even less. Why vote for a political party for one reason when that one thing they campaign on will never happen? I can't imagine what Europe would think of America if abortion was outlawed. Just another backwoods thing those durn Americans are doing...who understands those Americans?

MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search For a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche

I love love loved this book. It really resounded with me, especially because all of my high school friends had moved away from home, and then I did, too, two weeks ago. So I find myself in a new city with like two friends besides my boyfriend, which lends itself to a pretty lonely existence, especially now since I am all graduated with my MLS from UNT and don't have homework to keep me busy. ALSO, my job just moved, and I was one of the last to come into this new coworker group, and everyone seems to have their own friends already and aren't interested in me, or making more, or something. ANYWAY, about the book and not ME, the author chronicles her year-long mission to go on 52 girl-dates, as she calls them. She goes through all the different methods and ways she used to meet people and make friends, and it is really comprehensive, going from friends of friends to rent-a-friend (which is crazy, IMO, and super sketchy). Also interspersed are factoids on the science of meeting and making friends, which was really interesting. I definitely recommend this!

A Little F'd Up: Why Feminism Is Not a Dirty Word by Julie Zeilinger

I must say, I am very impressed that Zeilinger is 19/20 years old and wrote this. I had to get that out of the way. So, basically, this book is a great overview of feminism, including a little more than an overview, but not in-depth, discussion of the history of feminism, like the first, second, and third waves and the big players of each movement. I personally really enjoyed that, even though I am not a big fan of history, but because I am pretty new to this whole feminism thing and didn't know the waves and what each one did, etc etc. I'd recommend this for anyone wanting to dip their toe into feminism or just wanting to know what it's all about. Unfortunately, I do have the same complaint about this book as I did with Jessica Valenti's: what is with all the cursing??? Are you doing it to be tough, or break gender roles, or what? It doesn't matter if it's a male or female or whoever, I just do not appreciate all the cursing in these books.

Hooked: A Thriller About Love and Other Addictions by Matt Richtel

I remember when this book was added to the library in Kelso (way back when in like 2006), but it was my first book to check out at Fort Vancouver! The cover was always alluring...maybe you can see why. So anyway, it is about Nathaniel ("Nat," a journalist) and how a mysterious lady who looks like his dead ex-gf (Annie) from 4 years ago passes by his table at a cafe and leaves a note warning him that it will explode soon and he must leave. He is more intrigued by the woman, since Annie's body was never found after she disappeared on a boat, than by the note, and ended up leaving the cafe anyway after her. The second he stepped out of the cafe, everything went boom, and he and a waitress (Erin) are the only ones to survive. Everything is super mysterious and Nat is desperate to find Annie (if she really is alive and who he thought he saw) since he is still deeply in love with her. Things turn sour quickly when he becomes friends with Erin and she tells him about one of her friends that died and his computer addiction. One thing leads to another, and soon Nat and Erin are the number one suspects of the cafe explosion while also trying to understand what is on Erin's dead friend's computer that made him lose his mind. The entire time I read this, I knew there was something I was missing...that the author was for sure holding something back from me! And of course there was. I won't spoil it for you.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do and How to Change It by Charles Duhigg

I love love loved this book! It was like Imagine on crack (and much more applicable to real life). I feel like I learned so much and it could be applied to any area of life. It begins with the basis of habit and what happens in your brain when you are learning something new vs after you have been doing the same thing for a while and know what to expect (a "reward"). My mind was quite frankly blown learning that brain activity levels spike before a reward is earned when an activity is done out of habit. Duhigg used the examples of monkeys and juice, and rats/mice and cheese. It also explains why I, at least, have a tendancy to "space out" when doing extremely repetitious things (like my job)...it is a habit. Then Duhigg moved into specific people/situations where habit occurs and why addictions (habits!) are hard to break. I definitely recommend...!

Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away by Eric Wilson

This book I had ridiculously high hopes for. I thought it would be a morbid version of Imagine, but alas, it was not. It was essentially a random smattering of stories of morbid things people like/enjoy, such as horror movies. Pretty boring and non-cohesive, do not recommend. The only, only, only upside of this book is on a personal note. For years, my family has owned a freaky children's book with bizarre stories, words cannot describe its weirdness. But as soon as Wilson started talking about Struwwelpeter, I had a feeling it was this book we own. So I Wikied it (see  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struwwelpeter to get a feel for the strange) and lo and behold, there it was. The way I knew, you ask? The boy with the crazy fingers. You don't forget an image like that.