The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

At times, our memories elude us and it can be quite startling and unforgiving when we truly understand the past, as Tony Webster finds out.  In order to understand an unexpected legacy he dives into his own memories from long ago.  Tony travels back through his recollections of philosophical school lessons to a muddled relationship and a close friends’ suicide.  What Tony realizes is that his actions over forty years ago set in motion a series of events that had an immense consequence for others.  The Sense of an Ending is a quick read with a bleak tone but is full of questions Tony continually asks himself that may leave others to do some of their own introspection.   

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World Book Night, April 23, 2012

I wanted to share this link, www.worldbooknight.org, with you all because I just signed up and I thought others would be interested in the opportunity to be a Book Giver as well.  World Book Night is about reaching those in your community that are non-readers or light readers to share with them the overwhelming joy that is reading.  As a book lover, and sometimes pusher, I always want to bring books to people and spread the love of reading so I didn't hesitate to sign up for World Book Night and to tell you all about it as well.  So please sign up before February 1st!  

Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner

Vaclav the Magnificent and the Lovely Lena have been planning their first performance at Coney Island for years.  The magician and his assistant, ten and nine years old respectively, have been best friends since an arranged play date five years earlier.  Although brought together by their shared Russian backgrounds and love of magic, their upbringings couldn't have been more different.  Every day after school Lena comes over to practice magic and eat dinner under Rasia's motherly eye.  She was also walked home and tucked in every night by Vaclav's mother. Unexpectedly, Lena starts to distance herself from Vaclav, is absent from school one day, and then goes missing altogether.  And all the magic in the world can't bring her back to Vaclav.  This is a touching novel of friendship, one in which you truly start to care for the characters and want the best for them. 

The Informationist by Taylor Stevens

In this fast-paced thriller, information specialist, Vanessa Michael Munroe, has been sought after by a wealthy man to locate his missing daughter.  Emily vanished four years ago after an African safari trip and no other private investigator and no amount of money has been able to locate her.  Munroe has spent a great deal of effort trying to forget her horrific upbringing in Africa and is not exactly jumping at the opportunity to be traveling back to a place she fled years ago.  Munroe must face the life she has left behind that has justly shaped the person she is today while looking for a girl who doesn’t seem to want to be found.  With a cold trail and people attempting to kill her, Munroe is suspicious of everyone.  Stevens has created a tough, intelligent and complicated character reminiscent of Lisbeth Salander (I’ll be disappointed if you don’t know who that is), and the setting in Africa is far different than anything else I’ve read.  I'm excited to get my hands on The Innocent.

Happy New Year!

For my new year's resolution this year, I will be broadening my reading horizons. I am fully aware that my interests lie mostly in YA fiction (which I won't be giving up completely). It's too addicting and great things are happening in this area, but for 2012 I will make more of a conscious effort to read authors and genres outside of my comfort level. If anyone wants to suggest anything for me to try, I'm listening!

The Lost Girls by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner

On the brink of their 30s, three friends go “looking for insight into what to do next” in their lives.  During a ten day vacation in South America they start to fantasize about traveling the world together.  Once back in their fast-paced New York City careers, the round-the-world trip starts to become more and more a potential reality.  After much talk and planning Amanda, Holly, and Jennifer make the rather rebellious decision to ditch their jobs, boyfriends, apartments, and really any responsibilities to take a year-long trip to cross the globe.  From Peru to Cambodia to New Zealand and many countries in between the girls, writing in alternate chapters, reflect on ongoing arguments, brief hook-ups, maniacal cabbies, and the uncertainty of their futures.  I really enjoyed this book for the travel writing, I was constantly following the girls on Google Images, plus I found their 20-something uncertainty relatable.  Who doesn’t want to drop everything and explore the world?!  For those of you in a position to do so the Lost Girls have provided some ­help.