Monday, February 28, 2011

Mexico Beach Reading Round Up

Thought I'd report back on my beach reading last week in Mexico.  Here's what kept me busy during those long, hot days on the beach:


The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson:  The third book in the Lisbeth Salander trilogy.  Like the other two, I really enjoyed this one and was entirely engrossed at the end.  Also like the other two, however, it took me about 200 pages to get into the book and I thought the cast of characters was too big to keep track of.  I know it sounds like a lukewarm review, but I really did enjoy it and was curious to see how all of the various story lines would come together.  

A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White: The story of two sisters who are torn apart when their parents die suddenly in a plane crash.  I really enjoyed this one but thought the ending was a little abrupt.  Since finishing the book, I've thought a lot about the relationship between the personalities of the two sisters and their living arrangements, and how those two factors affected the course of their lives.  I don't usually analyze books so carefully, so I think that's a testament to how provactive this one was.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick: The tale of a lonely man who places an ad for a reliable wife.  The women he gets is not what he expected, but neither is he what she expected.  I thought it was a good beach read but nothing more.

Look Again by Lisa Scottoline: What would you do if you realized the child you thought you legally adopted actually belongs to someone else?  Another really thought-provoking book.  I thought the ending was clever, though perhaps a bit too neat. 

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese: I'm not quite finished with this one, but I got far enough to call it a beach read.  It's the story of twin brothers born to a nun and a surgeon in Ethiopia and their coming of age.  I can't tell you how many good things I've heard about this book (and how many people stopped me on the beach to tell me how much they loved it), but I confess that I'm not loving it myself.  I think the story is interesting, but I find the pace somewhat slow.  Now that I'm back, we'll see if I actually finish it.  I'm so disappointed, because I want to enjoy it as much as everyone else, but to each her own, I guess!

1 comment:

  1. Wow, you sure got a lot of reading done on your trip. I know what you mean about reading a book that everyone else has raved about and not liking it. That has happened to me before! I guess now you will be back to knitting and won't have as much time for reading. Have a great week. Love & blessings from NC!

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