Gina's Book #3: The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

Please see Holly's post on this book for a quick synopsis. 

Jamie offered to buy me a book the other day.  I chose this one because I recently have been watching the TV series Downton Abbey, and this book takes place in roughly the same time period.  The author Daisy Goodwin studied history at Trinity College, Cambridge. In a short piece at the end of the book she talks about the research she did before writing the novel, and explains how several of the activities the American upper class participated in or talk about during the book, are actual happenings that went on during the time when rich families like the Vanderbilts were the closest thing to royalty in America.  For example, in the book Cora talks about $100 bills being used to roll cigarettes for party guests, diamonds being sewn into corsets, and gold laced on wedding gowns.

I enjoyed this book, but if you are not a fan of Jane Austen novels or shows like Downton Abbey, this probably isn't the read for you.  Because I liked the book, I appreciated the fact that Daisy Goodwin also includes a lists of books by authors that others might consider reading if they liked The American Heiress. 

Holly book #3: The American Heiress

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin.

I read this book over the weekend as well since Gina recommended it to me. This story follows the life of Cora Cash a 19th Century wealthy American Heiress and her quest to find love and a royal title in England.

I think the thing I liked most about this story is that the main character Cora was very unexpected. She ends up being very real and likeable when I had expected her to be vapid and shallow.  Her decision at the end of the story surprised me as well and I wasn't sure if I was happy or let down.

This is a more adult read then the last 2 books I have read, but still easy to get through, if not slightly slow the first few chapters. 

Sidenote: I'm winning and have read the most books so far :)

Holly Book # 2 : Pandemonium

This is the sequel to delirium and also an enjoyable read. I don't want to say too much about the plot line because it would take away from the first book.  One interesting thing about this story though is the entire book is written in NOW and THEN sections.

Again, this is a really easy read and the ending definitely gets you, but unfortunately the third book doesn't come out until next year :/

Holly Book # 1 : Delirium

This book is part of a trilogy written by Lauren Oliver. The story takes place in the United States years into the future, where love is now considered a disease and the root of all bad things in the world. At the age of 18 everyone receives 'the cure" which prevents them from falling in love.

Lena that main character has anxiously waited for the day she would be 'cured'.  As she approaches her 18th birthday though she ends up falling in love and questioning the beliefs of her government, friends and families.

The concept of this book was really interesting to me because it is easy to see how something as pure as love can cause so much pain and suffering. Would the world be better off without it?

This is an easy read and I got through the entire book in a day. Definitely thought provoking and interesting.

Jamie’s Book #2: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Ender’s Game is kind of like The Hunger Games with aliens. The book is set in the future and earth is on the brink of its third and final battle against aliens called “buggers.” After coming dangerously close to defeat during the second battle, humans have joined together and formed an international government that is charged with training the next army to fight against the buggers. The most brilliant children are taken from their families at young ages and sent to a camp where their whole lives revolve around preparing for the final battle. They spend every waking moment either studying or playing “games” which are actually simulated battles against each other. The smartest of the children is Ender Wiggen, the main character of the story. He is sent to battle school at the age of six, and the government believes he is the key to winning the war. 

I don’t want to give any more away, so I will leave my synopsis at that. This book was a mixture of several books I’ve read before, but with its own twist. I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it!

Olivia's Book #1: Report From Engine Co. 82

       I had gotten this book as a gift for my boyfriend, but ended up reading it before giving it to him. The book is written by a New York fire fighter who works out of the busiest fire station in the city, and likely the world. He details the life of a fire fighter, as well as the poverty stricken residents he is constantly putting his life on the line for.
     
      Personally, this isn't the kind of book I would have chosen for myself but since I just had it lying around I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. It is a quick and easy read, which I finished in about a day. I was a bit surprised at how well it kept my interest. It's isn't really a particularly fast paced book, yet I couldn't seem to put it down. I think the most fascinating part was the relationship amongst the men and the residents. There seemed to be a lot of resentment on both sides and the relationship was not at all what I would expect.      
      
       Overall, I would say I enjoyed this book. I imagine people who have an interest in this field would appreciate it more than others, but still recommend it none the less.

Jamie’s Book #1: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

I recently saw Amy Chua speak at a conference and have been wanting to read her book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” ever since. She is charming speaker and as it turns out, a pretty good writer, too.

This book was particularly interesting to me because Amy’s beliefs are so opposite of mine.  The book chronicles her struggles trying to raise her children the “Chinese way” in Western society.  Chinese mothers see childhood as a time of intense training for the future.  Her children were required to be two years ahead of their classmates in math, practiced their musical instruments every day for three hours, even when on vacation or sick, and were not allowed to watch TV or hang out with friends outside of school. Any grade less than an A, including an A-, was cause for great disappointment and ridicule. True to the Chinese way of parenting, Amy pushed her children toward perfection through steady criticism and guilt trips. I found her parenting style stifling, overbearing, even cruel at times, but her results were impressive. Both her daughters achieved immense success academically and musically at very early ages.  As Amy writes in her book, “What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you’re good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences.”

 Amy does her best to push her daughters to their greatest potentials. The Chinese way of parenting certainly seems to result in children that are driven, hardworking, and talented… traits Western children sometimes lack, but is there a cost? Are those children missing out on a time of their lives they will never get back?  Are they missing out on friendships and the carefreeness of youth? Amy’s youngest daughter Lulu once told her mother “You’re a terrible mother. You’re selfish. Everything you say you do for me is actually for yourself.” What cost is the Chinese mother willing to pay to stay true to her methods of success?

Overall, this book was worth my time. It’s about much more than parenting. It’s about family, cultural identity, and compromise. If nothing else, it was interesting to get an inside look into a way of thinking so different from my own. It was a quick read and only took me two nights to finish. I hope the girls choose it as one of their books so we can get more than one opinion on it!

Gina's Book #2: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

I decided to read this book after someone posted on Facebook that Hunger Games was a similar plot line.  After finishing the book I have to agree, although Battle Royale is much more graphic and violent.  I don't want to go too much into the story line because I am hoping Holly, Jamie, and Olivia will choose to read it as one of their books. I will say that I liked how the author lets you get into everyone's head, rather than just one character, such as Katniss with Hunger Games.

Definitely a good read and a page turner, although very disturbing.

Gina's Book #1: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

This book was recommended to me by a coworker and was not a typical pick for me.  Although it was a little bit out of my comfort zone I did like it and finished it in two evenings.  It is an easy read, but the subject matter is a little dark.  The story follows the life of Esther Greenwood: a young and brilliant college student who shows great promise.  As the story enfolds you watch as Esther is slowly driven insane by what seems to me like her fear of the future; what she will amount to, if she will live a conventional life, and if she will be happy. I was interested to read in a short biography at the end of the book, that much of what Sylvia had written, she had taken from her own life.

The novel was of particular interest to me, I think, because I have recently graduated and find myself in the time of my life that Esther was so afraid of.

The more I read about Sylvia Plath, the more fascinating I find her.  I'll finish with two quotes of hers that really stood out to me:

“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited.”

"What horrifies me most is the idea of being useless: well-educated, brilliantly promising, and fading out into an indifferent middle age."

The 30 Books of Summer Challenge

Hi. My name is Gina and I am getting this blog up and running.  My older sister Holly approached me a few weeks ago about starting up a book challenge and writing about it online. I loved the idea and so did our two other sisters.  We really don't know exactly how we want this to look just yet, so I think we'll play it by ear and see how it goes.  As of right now the only rule I know of is that we each need to have read 30 books by the end of September. Whether we want to all read the same 30 books, I am not sure.  I do think that once we've read a book, we should write a few words about our feelings toward it on here.
 
There are four of us girls who will be participating: Holly, Gina, Jamie and Olivia.