Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

from goodreads

3 stars

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. It is crazy to think that I have been married for a decade. I feel like I can't be old enough to have come up to that milestone.

Looking back over that time I would probably do the same things all over again. It had been a pretty good 10 years, even if my husband does infuriate me sometimes. The thing is when you are together with someone for that long and you throw kids into the mix you can get caught into a rut and just go through the motions. So, it is important to try to keep things fresh and make time for each other. Easier said than done, but worth it.

Synopsis

It is Nick Dunne and his wife Amy's fifth year wedding anniversary. Things are a bit rocky in their marriage. But when Nick comes home and finds signs of  trouble and Amy gone his life gets turned upside down.

My Thoughts

Going into this book I had no idea what it was really about or anything other than I assumed  a girl would be gone. I know it seems hard not to hear or know anything about the book, but, I seemed to manage it. So I really didn't know what I was getting myself into.

On the whole I liked it. It did keep me reading and I wanted to know where this crazy roller coaster was going next. I was not over the moon with it as others were, I don't know if that was because there was a lot of hype about it or if it just wasn't for me.

I found the characters to be fairly unlikable. I am trying to think of one character I liked and can't think of any. But, I don't think the point was to like them. I think the point was to show that we are all human and have craziness in us or flaws that do not shed us in the best light.

This book was sort of like a cautionary tale of what happens if you do not have open communication with your partner, when you stop putting their happiness on your list of priorities and when one or both of you are just crazy sociopaths. It shows that we all have the ability to be cruel and vindictive and what can happen if we let those feelings of cruelty and vindictiveness rule our head. Sometimes I wish there could be books about normal relationships where people are genuinely concerned about each other and work together as a team and show us what a truly healthy relationship looks like. I know it wouldn't be the most interesting read, but I think if we saw that demonstrated more we wouldn't have as many messed up relationships as we see in this book.

So all in all, it was an interesting read with some interesting plot elements, I just wasn't a huge fan.

Olivia by Ian Falconer

from goodreads

4 stars

Being a busy mom has some perks. Honestly, if you are into comedy be around a 6 year old. Sometimes Miss G's wit is astounding. Miss P is more into physical comedy. She loves looking at you through her legs. What a goof ball.

As a busy mom who likes to read I love reading books that show how parents really see their kids. I love it when authors get the nuances of what kids do. I love when they share the same frustrations you do. It makes you feel you are not alone. My husband recently picked out a book for me at the library and said, "I think you should read this." It was Go the F$#@ to Sleep by Adam Mansbach. The book spoke truer words to me then ever. If you can handle a bit of profanity and you have kids that are constantly coming out of their room at night or are now toddlers and still have trouble sleeping, this is truly a book you will appreciate. (Just don't say what is in the book to your kids, you definitely won't win parenting points then.)

Synopsis

This is a book about Olivia, who is good at lots of things. See a day in the life of one awesome girl.

My Thoughts

We got this book when Miss V was little. She is now 8. Where did the time go? I loved in then as much as I love it now. This is definitely a modern children's classic.

I love the illustrations. They are simple, using only black white and red, yet they express so much. I love the use of other famous works of art in the story. It starts to pique the children's interest into what art can be and how it can be used to make us feel different things.

I love some of the dry humour used, especially when talking about the sandcastle. It's one of my favourite bits.

I love how I can see different bits of my kids in this book. Not all children are the same or identical. I can't say, "oh yes, Miss G is definitely the same as Olivia". Yet, each of my kids share some personality traits that I can see in the character, and that is kind of cool.

If you haven't read it I would put this on your kids to read list. If you have read it, it is worth another read, even if your kids are all grown up.

Homemakers: A Domestic Handbook for the Digital Generation by Brit Morin

from goodreads

3 stars

My home seems to always be in flux. There is no such thing as a time warp here. With kids growing and their tastes evolving and changing there is no room for stagnation. I am currently trying to learn the balancing act of having a home I feel comfortable in and one where my kids can be kids. Sometimes those things don't always mesh well, but I am trying.

The whole premise of the modern day homemaker is of great interest to me. While the term homemaker can seem rather outdated, the premise of it is the same. We want to make our homes one where love, learning and feeling safe can abound. If we can make it look nice, well, that's a bonus.

Synopsis

Brit Morin from Brit+co, looks at the role of Homemakers in todays techological world. She gives some tips on cool gadgets and technologies that help us be creative and really make our home.

My Thoughts

This was an okay read. I didn't really find anything completely mind blowing myself, but if I was someone new to the whole creative, make things yourself scene this could have the potential to being a life changing and mind blowing book. So it all depends on where you are coming from in your life.

This book is more geared to those who are just starting out in their life. They may have been solely focused on their education and career and did not have much of a chance to learn simple life skills or creative diy skills.

It did have some cool project ideas that I am definitely going to pin on my pinterest board. I liked how she highlighted different apps that we may find useful in our daily lives. I also like how she saw the future and gave us some insights into technologies that may be coming in the not so distant future. My favourite futuristic techonology was the 3-D printing of clothes and clothing recycling. That seems pretty cool.

The pictures taken were beautiful and colourful. I love that the book was not just another white and beige knock off, but, embraced colour.

I like how she shows you don't have to be a complete computer geek or a complete anti-techonology pioneer woman. You can bridge these two mindsets together for a beautiful and creative collaboration.

This is a book that I would get from the library first before purchasing as there may not be enough content in it for you. But, this may be a great gift for the young 20 something in your life who wants to make their apartment feel like a home and for cheap.

Chicken Butt! by Erica S. Perl Illustrated by Henry Cole

from goodreads

3.5 stars

Like most people I have a few pet peeves. As mentioned before some of them involve how people spell their names. Another of mine is not getting a serious answer when I ask a question. For example, when I ask, what should we eat this week and the answer is food... well... that irks me to no end. It is daunting planning menus week after week and a little help and consideration would be lovely.

Another pet peeve is when I ask "Guess what?" And my husband answers "Chicken Butt". Oh my how my blood starts to boil. I don't consider myself to be a violent person but I just feel like pummeling him!

Do you have any weird pet peeves?

Synopsis

(This synopsis is from the back cover of the book because I really don't know how to describe this book.) When a little boy successfully uses "fowl" play and ridiculous rhymes to get his distracted dad's attention, he gets so excited he keeps going and going. Dad wants to stop the silliness, but he's no match for... chicken butt! This two-voice tale perfectly captures the familiar face-off between a child's exuberance and a parent's exhaustion. A laugh-out-loud, read-it-again delight for the whole family.

My Thoughts

My kids and my husband loved this book. They loved the rhymes, they loved the word butt, and Miss V loved the monkey at the end. I did not quite share their joy over this book, probably because of the aforementioned pet peeve. I totally felt for the parent in this story and I could feel my annoyance level rise.

The pictures are fun, the story is fun (if you can stand it), and the kids will get it and love it. So if you can handle the chicken butt, this might be a story for you and your family.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

from goodreads

4.5 stars

My house is full of junk. I will admit it. I am slowly (more slowly than I would like) starting to pare down and get rid of things. Unfortunately since I live with my husband and daughters I have to take their wishes into account too. But, I am slowly winning them over to my side, the lets get rid of it side, and that feels pretty good.

I'm not sure why I, or my husband feel the need to hang onto some of the things we do. These things are just inanimate objects. So why is it so hard. Whenever I feel that way I think of the ikea lamp commercial. It helps me get my head on straight.

Synopsis

Marie Kondo goes through her method of decluttering and she claims that if you do it her way, you will not have a relapse. Instead of focusing on a room she focuses on categories.


My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book. I really liked her insights and suggestions. It was interesting how she came to develop this system. It was through trial and error and through her own insights and frustrations that she discovered her own method of organizing her things.

I love her use of categories. I have started doing that too and have found a difference. If you clean by location then you end up moving things from room to room without really dealing with things and then you get exhausted. With the categories you can really focus on one thing, or you find duplicates that can be eliminated. It is fantastic.

She gives you step by step instructions on how to break down each category and she even tells you how to fold your clothes, which I actually found rather interesting.

I did find the book repetitive. We get it, you loved organizing and tidying ever since you were a child and read all the magazines about it. Got it. But despite that it is still a good read with some really interesting lessons.

My biggest take away from this book was "It's served its purpose". Sometimes I get caught in the justifying dilemma where you have a shirt, you don't really wear it but it still has plenty of wear in it. Well using the KonMari method you just figure out if it has served it's purpose. It brought you joy when you bought it and the few times you wore it. That was its purpose for you and it has filled that purpose so it is okay to pass it on. That has helped me so much. If in doubt I can just ask myself "has it served its purpose?" and nine times out of ten it has.

After reading this book I have gotten rid of 3 garbage bags of clothes to goodwill and have a closet full of things for a yard sale in June. I can't wait to see how much more stuff I can get rid of.

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

from goodreads

4.25 stars


The past few days has been wave of sickness days. I thought we were going to be done with all this coughing and sneezing and throwing up now that spring has actually sprung. But, alas, it seems that is not what the cosmic forces have in store for me. This has been the most sickly winter we have had in a long time. Possibly ever. It all started after we ate at Harvey's so the only conclusion I can come to is that we should eat at Harvey's again and that will bookend the sickness and we will be all done with that. Seems like a win-win to me!

Synopsis

This follows the tale of Mia, a twentysomething from Chicago. She is kidnapped. The tale is told from three different perspectives Mia's mother, the detective in charge of finding her, and her kidnapper. It is quite the psychological masterpiece.

My Thoughts

This was a really good read. I found I kept on wanting to read, which made for a few very late nights.

The characters are very diverse but believable. I love that the story is told from different vantage points. It is neat to get the different perspectives and views of what is really going on. I felt sort of invested in the characters and would love to see what their lives are like now that this part of their story is over. I also liked how the book is a mishmash of before and after. At first it was a bit confusing but, you get used to it and it makes for a brilliant telling of this story.

Books like this make me so happy to be living a relatively normal, simple, happy life where mind games don't abound and we don't feel like we have to fit in or perform to a certain level.

If you are looking for a great psychologically thrilling book I would highly recommend this book. It was great!

While You Were Napping by Jenny Offill Illustrated by Barry Blitt

from goodreads

2.5 stars

When I was little I had a very vivid imagination. (Sometimes I still do.) I always thought that when my mom sent me to the basement to get the ice cream everyone would turn into wolves, like the talking kind in fairy tales, and then they would turn back into humans as soon as I got back up. I'm not sure where the whole transmorph think came from but it was there. I'm not sure if I am sad that I "missed" them as wolves or relieved but it always made the trip down to the basement kind of exciting.

Now, I don't think people change when I'm not around, but, there are still things that I don't want to miss. I don't want to miss an episode of my favourite show, or I feel an urgency to get through some books so I can move onto some more. I imagine how much better life will be if I only could attain this much more knowledge. Usually everything remains almost the same.

Did you ever have a time in your life when you thought you were missing out on something?

Synopsis

A little boy did not want to go nap. Afterwards his sisters tries to calm his fears about things he might have missed.

My Thoughts

I went into this book thinking this was going to be a great story. But it didn't live up to the expectation. In fact I got a bit perturbed with it.

The sister goes through this big grand story about rocket ships and pirates and dirt throwing parties, not in a fun kind of way but almost in a rubbing it in sort of way. She said "nobody else had to take a nap that day". Way to make your brother feel even more of a baby because he had to. Geez. If I was the kid who had the nap I would have been so mad.

I also felt that the story was a bit disjointed. Things didn't lead well into each other. It just seemed one random thing happening then another.

So don't read this book, especially to a child who still naps. They may never want to nap again.