Heft by Liz Moore

Last month, I saw this book being recommended on Twitter by a number of authors I follow. I am finding my library request list full of books I read about in someone's tweet. Some are spiritual, some are novels but they have all be read by someone I follow on Twitter. Sometimes I enjoy the book, sometimes I cannot finish it. But I like that it stretches my reading into areas I may not find myself on my own.

That is true of this book. I doubt I would have picked up Heft by Liz Moore on my own. The cover is not one that would have drawn my eye necessarily and the description on the inside flap might have even caused me to move on to another book.

"Arthur Opp weighs 550 pounds and hasn't left his rambling Brooklyn home in a decade. Twenty miles away, in Yonkers, seventeen-year-old Kel Keller navigates life as the poor kid in a rich school and pins his hopes on what seems like a promising baseball career--if he can untangle himself form is difficult family life."

But I didn't have that information when I ordered the book and once it had arrived I felt a need to at least give it a try. While it didn't keep me up reading late into the night, I am still glad I read it. It was a slower book, one you could put down but then had to pick up again. I really liked the people I met in this book. I love a book that can put you into a character so completely that you begin to truly understand them and the choices they make, even if they are so far from the choices you would make yourself. The characters in this book became so real to me that I was actually annoyed at the author for ending the story before I felt ready to say goodbye to them.

My other frustration with this book is that it actually deals with an issue I am writing about in my own book though the character deals with it in a completely different way. It was interesting to see how her characters responded to what happened. I couldn't see it that way until I read Heft. Which is the reason I love to read. Books allow me to get outside myself and my world view, to see things in a new way.

Favorite Authors - Laura Dave

Now that I have a blog about books I read, I can inundate it with my favorite books and authors and stop annoying my friends. Though I actually rarely talk books with my friends which is sad and probably part of the reason I miss college. It was fun to sit around talking about what we were reading for hours at a time since we really had no other responsibilities apart from studying and going to class.

Since I am still in the middle of my current read, I thought I would go write a couple of blog posts over the next few days about my favorite authors. Today I want to introduce you to Laura Dave in case you haven't met her.

Her can read all about her at her website - http://www.lauradave.com/. How cool is it that she has her own name as a web address? It's the dream I think of most of us working on our first novels. Someday...

She has written three books, all of which I loved.

I read London is the Best City in America first. It may be my favorite of her books. The characters are likable even in their unlikeable moments. I especially loved the main character, Emmy. She is returning home for her brothers wedding after leaving life behind and living in a small fishing village for the last three years. Laura Dave writes you into the book, allowing me to escape my routine for the hours I was reading.



I then had to find her other book, The Divorce Party: A Novel. I don't usually read books about divorce, and this was when my parents were actually separated and moving toward their own divorce, but I read this one because I knew Laura Dave would create sympathetic characters not caricatures and she did. She doesn't take sides. She tells the stories behind the story in such a way that each character is understood, not always liked but understood.



I had to wait for her next book, The First Husband, to be published. It was worth the wait. This is the story of Annie who is happy with Nick until he leaves her. She falls in love with Griffin and marries him quickly. But life is not a fairy tale and happily ever after is complicated, especially when Nick returns. Annie is forced to deal with the life she had imagined and the life she is living. This book examines marriage and commitment. Dreams and reality. Happiness and peace.


You can't go wrong with any of them. Her characters become real and also make the people around you who are facing these situations feel more real.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I read The Fault in Our Stars this weekend by John Green.

Let's start with the caveats. First, it is young adult fiction. Second, condoms are used so know your young adult if you are giving it to a young teen.

I am an adult, a closer to forty than thirty year old woman, and I really enjoyed this book. I loved that it was honest about the struggles the characters were facing with their cancer. I loved that the characters, and not just the primary ones, were fully developed and engaging. Each character draws you into their part of the story and illustrates the complexity of relationships. I loved that the family ties were never superseded or displaced by the teenage bonds that develop.

This book is smart. The kids are smart. The parents are facing heartbreaking realities. The friends are faced with holding onto the pieces they are given.

I started following the author @realjohngreen on Twitter and enjoyed his tweets so thought I would give his book a try. I am glad I did.

Chasing Francis by Ian Morgan Cron

I decided to start a book blog where I can review just some of the books I read. I got the idea when I reviewed Ian Morgan Cron's book, Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale, for my blog Finding Fruit.


Here is an excerpt from what I wrote over there.

Here's the thing about "Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale," it is a spiritual pilgrimage for the reader dressed up in the fictional story of Chase Falson, a pastor amidst a crisis of faith, and I liked that. I enjoyed having a story to enter into while learning so much about Francis of Assisi; his life, his teachings, and his impact on the Christianity. I kept wishing I had a highlighter or pencil with me so I could take notes in the margins but I was too caught up in the story of Chase Falson and the merry band of priests and players he meets on his journey to stop and go get one.