Third Quarter Books

Considering that it's almost the end of October already, I guess it's about time to write about the books I've read over the past few months. Because these were the summer months, my reading choices were definitely on the "lighter" side. Now that colder weather is here, I need to start reading some more meaty stuff I think.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
Even though I read in July, my reading it was really in preparation for the movie, which is coming out in November. (Only one more month - eek!)

The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I am the mockingjay. The one that survived despite the Capitol's plans. The symbol of the rebellion.

The Wolves of Andover, by Kathleen Kent
I picked this book up because I had read another book by this author and had enjoyed it. I enjoyed this one too. It's set in Puritan New England, and is the story of a young woman who seems destined to only work as a servant in other people's home, but never to have a marriage or home of her own. As it happens, she meets and eventually falls in love with a mysterious man who has a past of his own. The woman turns out to be Martha Carrier, who was one of the first women to be executed for supposedly being a witch during the Salem witch trials. The author is able to trace her ancestry back to Martha Carrier, so the book is sort of an auto-biographical historical fiction. It was good, although whenever I read books set in colonial times, I can't help but think that it must have been always cold, wet, and dark in their homes back then. Not the most pleasant living environment!

I love this quote from the book, spoken to Martha by the man she eventually falls in love with and marries. (It sounds more morbid than it really was when it's taken out of context):

You are the deer shot through with arrows whose heart grows cold for want of being taken.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
I couldn't very well read only the first two books in this trilogy and not finish it out, could I? The first time I read Mockingjay I wasn't that crazy about it. For some reason, I liked it better the second time around. Maybe because the first time I was expecting it to be as amazing I-can't-put-it-down as the first two books are, so when this one had a slower pace I found myself disappointed. This time around I knew better what to expect, and therefore did not have the disappointment factor, and was able to enjoy the story more.

...that what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our loses. That is can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that.

Trouble, by Gary Schmidt
This book was recommended to me by my Mom, as she had read it for her book club. Honestly I think I was a little skeptical at first, mostly because the description on the back didn't sound that great, and picture on the front was strange. I did truly judge this book by its cover, and, true to the adage, I should not have done so. The story was great. It's about a young man growing up in a privileged family in New England, and the struggles he and his family go through when tragedy strikes. Woven throughout the story is a theme of redemption and healing. I may have cried a little at the end, which is always the sign of a good book to me.

A heart that has lost knows every other heart that has lost. Late and soon, loss is all the same.

Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian
This book had been on my "to read" list for while, mostly because I had read a review of it that made it sound good. This was a good vacation read, and I read it while camping with the family in Indiana over the summer. The story is set in the early 1980's in Vermont, and it's about a lay-midwife who, when delivering a baby at home, has to perform an emergency C-section which ends up taking the life of the mother, while saving the life of the child. The story, which is told from the perspective of her teenage daughter, centers on the world of midwifery and the trial that ensued following the incident. The story was really good, but literally the best part of the book was the last page. After reading the last lines, my only thought was "No. Way." The ending blew me away. I would totally recommend this book.

No one said living isn't a pretty chancy business, Sybil. No one gets out of here alive.

The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle
I felt like I needed to throw in one classic into my summer-time reads. Reading a Sherlock Holmes novel has also been on my "to read" list for a while, so I picked this one up from the library this summer. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as it is always fun to enjoy a mystery and to try and figure out "who-done-it".

The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.