Friday Favorite-Books I've Read

I love to read but don't get a chance to do much fun reading in a normal day. So, when I get a chance to read, I tend to read lots of books at once. I read three books while we were on vacation and thought I'd share a few good books I've read over the past year:

1, 2. Half Broke Horses, and The Glass Castle- both by Jeanette Walls, I  read her second book Half Broke Horses (about her grandmother) last summer and it was remarkable. Engrossing, fascinating, and interesting. I couldn't wait to see what type of woman the author's mother would be and couldn't wait to read The Glass Castle, her (the author's) memoir. Her mother was not cool. At all. I kind of hated her mother throughout the book. I know that is not what the author intended, but I can not abide and do not understand selfish parents. Her parents were worse than selfish and it made me so angry. It is great to see the triumph of the children over circumstance. And, again, it is an extremely well written book. But, I really did not like it.

3. Gone Girl- This was "the" book of the summer for good reason. It is a page turner, and sadly addictive. Very engaging and interesting despite a really morose subject matter. But, I really did not like the ending. I guess I want some pay-off after investing my time in a book. I can see this becoming a good movie too-depending on how they handle the ending (CHANGE it!).

4. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks- An amazing non-fiction account of medical advancement and racism. I am kind of a medical-legal nerd, so this book was right up my alley. I learned a lot.

5. The Paris Wife- Really fun read. I learned a lot about Hemmingway; it made me want to go back to Europe STAT.

6. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter- A fun read and interesting premise. The book is quite good for the first 75-80% of the book. Then, notsomuch. The book ends abruptly and (if you ask me) really stupidly.

7. I Couldn't Love You More- This is NOT a good beach read. Lesson learned. I hated that I brought this to the beach. I found myself yelling at the main character because she was doing really stupid things; kind of like a horror movie. Again, well written, but this was a huge mistake for me to bring to the beach.

8. The Late Lamented Molly Marx- I really enjoyed reading this book even though I did not like the ending. An interesting read. I could see this easily turning into a really good movie.

Good (and not so good ending) books- my Friday Favorites