Confessions

Well, here it is... I've never read The Catcher in the Rye. In fact, I have no idea what it's about - only that it was required reading for most high school English classes in America, yet somehow, I missed out. My freshman year I decided to ease into honors classes, so I started with just honors history. About 3 days into English, I knew I'd made a mistake. My class was taught by a coach and his teaching techniques consisted of showing us sports-related movies for two days, then discussing the theme on the third day. After a discussion of Hoosiers that left much to be desired, I dropped the coach's class and added honors English.

I walked in to find that Ms. Polk ran a tight ship. I had to learn a whole page of Latin roots, define the unknown terms from a sheet of words that were all completely foreign to me, and read The Scarlet Letter for a test on Monday. Did I mention this was only 3 days in? As I sat at my house that weekend reading The Red Badge of Courage for history, I knew I was in way over my head. So, Monday morning, I tossed my unread copy of The Scarlet Letter to the side, returned to the coach's class and took my place in front of a TV showing Field of Dreams (hangs head in shame).

So, while I wait for Little Bee to arrive in the mail, I'll also be reading The Catcher in the Rye. Better late than never!   

Night Road by Kristin Hannah - Review

Who's Pouring: Love and Wings
What's on Tap: 337 Cabernet and Cupcake Chardonnay

Well -  the verdict is in, and Night Road by Kristin Hannah is AMAZING! It is LITERALLY the greatest book ever written. Sorry - had to channel a little Rob Lowe there. Ok, so this book was good... Will I remember it in a year? Probably not, but it was certainly emotional. At times, our readers threw the book across the room, sobbed hysterically on top of it, or even set it aside to write a heartfelt letter to a family member!

I'm not sure it's possible to comment on the book without completely divulging everything that happened, but it's pretty much everything you would expect from a Lifetime movie. The author has divided the book into two parts, which she cleverly calls "Part 1" and "Part 2". Personally, I think "Grief" and "Anger" fit better as dividing concepts... The first half of Part 1 is an angst-filled, coming of age teen drama, which Lady Jenevieve compared to Twilight. The second half of Part 1 is where everything goes to hell in a handbasket, and to avoid having to use the phrase "Spoiler Alert", I won't state what all that entails. Part 2 trudges through depression and sorrow as the events of Part 1 continue to affect the characters' lives, and then in just a few pages, everyone has their own epiphany, forgives each other and lives happily ever after. It was all wrapped up too neatly and WAY too fast.

Technically speaking, it wasn't the greatest writing. There were quite a few typos, painfully obvious foreshadowing (I can hear my writing prof now - "Show! Don't tell!"), and what appears to be an unintentional shift between Protagonists. Nevertheless, reading it took me on an emotional journey and resulted in a lively discussion, and for our first book, that's enough for me. 

Join us next month as we jump into Little Bee by Chris Cleave!

Welcome to Book Club!

Once a month, the young, fun ladies of Reading Between the Wines - DFW will gather to discuss their chosen work of fiction while sipping delicious wines. This month's book, Night Road by Kristin Hannah, was every bit the tearjerker I was expecting, but I'll save my review and commentary for after our first meeting.

To the women of Book Club -  Thank you for joining me in my new hobby and sharing in my goals to read more, drink more, make new friends, and restore my love of literature and writing. Can't wait!

To the blog-stalkers -  I welcome your commentary and book suggestions!

Happy Reading!