Book review: Wild

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Add me on Goodreads!

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than “an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise.” But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.

Strayed faces down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

Thoughts on Wild, list style:

ONE. Wild is super honest -- sometimes almost too honest? From her crazy grief over her mother's death, to her brief fling with heroin, to her sexual encounters and failed marriage, Cheryl Strayed doesn't seem to hold much back. But I'm not sure it could be done any other way. Knowing what she was thinking at each point gives understanding into why she's doing what she's doing, and helps you feel connected to her.

TWO. You can read this even if you're not a hiker. As I just mentioned, it talks on a lot of broad themes: grief, believing in yourself, accomplishing something you'd never thought possible, getting over the damage you've caused to yourself and others. There's probably something in here for everyone.

THREE. Buuut she does go into a lot of detail about her daily challenges with hiking. Sometimes it seemed repetitive, but that is the basis of this story -- her hike on the PCT. So know that you are going to read a lot about the actual hike.

FOUR. It's being made into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon! I'm excited about that, but also scared because the audio version is so well done and the voice is so different from Reese Witherspoon that my brain might explode if I watch the movie.

It got a little long -- I think mostly because I got tired of the hiking parts and because there isn't a super strong plot line to keep you going -- and there were some parts that made me pretty uncomfortable (for the love of Jim, just SKIP the WHOLE CHAPTER about putting down her mom's horse!!!!). But all in all, I liked it. 

Have any of you read Wild? What did you think?

Book review: A Stolen Life

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews.

In the summer of 1991 I was a normal kid. I did normal things. I had friends and a mother who loved me. I was just like you. Until the day my life was stolen.
For eighteen years I was a prisoner. I was an object for someone to use and abuse.

For eighteen years I was not allowed to speak my own name. I became a mother and was forced to be a sister. For eighteen years I survived an impossible situation.

On August 26, 2009, I took my name back. My name is Jaycee Lee Dugard. I don’t think of myself as a victim. I survived.

A Stolen Life is my story—in my own words, in my own way, exactly as I remember it.

You have to know what you're getting into before you pick up this book. Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped when she was 11 years old and then was kept in captivity for eighteen years, where she was repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped, where she gave birth, where she had to give up everything from the life she'd known. And she doesn't hold back details. So know that, going in.

That being said, this book was so interesting. I was amazed at how often it was the boredom and loneliness that troubled her -- I mean, obviously the sexual assaults bothered her. But she speaks of the boredom and loneliness probably even more.

Her account also demonstrates the intense psychological effect her kidnapper had on her. When she was older, she and her children often went on "outings" -- to the beach, to stores, thrift shopping. And as a reader you're screaming in your head, "Just tell the cashier who you are!" But still, because she has explained her experience so well, you understand how and why she didn't. It's a look into the experience I didn't expect.

Like many tragic stories, Jaycee's thankfully ends on a hopeful note. And that's the best thing of all, really.

Have any of you read A Stolen Life? I'm not really sure why I did, to be honest. But it was interesting.

Book review: Candy Girl

Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper by Diablo Cody

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews.

Candy Girl is the story of a young writer who dared to bare it all as a stripper. At the age of twenty-four, Diablo Cody decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. She soon managed to find inspiration from a most unlikely source— amateur night at the seedy Skyway Lounge. While she doesn’t take home the prize that night, Diablo discovers to her surprise the act of stripping is an absolute thrill. This is Diablo’s captivating fish-out-of-water story of her yearlong walk on the wild side, from quiet gentlemen’s clubs to multilevel sex palaces and glassed-in peep shows. In witty prose she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at this industry through a writer’s keen eye, chronicling her descent into the skin trade and the effect it had on her self-image and her relationship with her now husband.

Candy Girl is not for the faint of heart. Or the shy or squeamish.

I don't remember where I heard of this book, but it has been on my list for a very long time. Diablo Cody wrote the screenplay for Juno, so I expected it to be funny, and having never stripped, I knew it would be unlike anything I've experienced.

The story in Candy Girl is interesting -- Diablo really didn't seem like someone who'd end up as a stripper. All of it is new to her and that makes her really relatable, despite the job she has taken on. 

But it's also graphic. Really graphic. Bodily fluids and weirdos and stuff. So you want to be prepared for that if you read it.

I didn't hate this book, and I didn't love it, but it was interesting and intriguing, so I figured I'd let you know it existed! :)

Have any of you read Candy Girl? What did you think?

Book review: The Happiness Project

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Description from Amazon (below) can be found here along with other reviews.

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. "The days are long, but the years are short," she realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.

In this lively and compelling account, Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.

I didn't love The Happiness Project at first. Throughout the book, Rubin discusses her fears that a book about her own search for happiness won't be transcendent-- that her experience is unique to her and that there's not much others can get out of it. And at first, I agreed.

Rubin structured her challenge by creating a a focus for each month of the year: one month she wanted to boost energy, the next she wanted to work on her marriage, then focus on her career. And at first, I didn't find much in it that related to me. So she was a nagging wife. I am not a nagging wife.

But as she got deeper into her challenge, I found more and more that applied to me. I ended up folding down a corner to go back to that page. and then another. and then six more.

I wouldn't say this book was life-changing for me, but it definitely was thought provoking.

One of Rubin's main goals? Be Gretchen. To be herself. Totally something I can get behind.

Another idea Rubin discusses that really stuck with me is when she talks about how it's easy to complain and be negative. It's much more difficult to be consistently cheerful, to build others up, to be a positive person.

I've thought about it several times since then, when I found a negative comment at the tip of my tongue. And I've done my best to hold it back.

So maybe it was a little life changing.

Have any of you read The Happiness Project? What did you think?

Book review: Naked

Naked by David Sedaris

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

Welcome to the hilarious, strange, elegiac, outrageous world of David Sedaris. In Naked, Sedaris turns the mania for memoir on its ear, mining the exceedingly rich terrain of his life, his family, and his unique worldview-a sensibility at once take-no-prisoners sharp and deeply charitable. A tart-tongued mother does dead-on imitations of her young son's nervous tics, to the great amusement of his teachers; a stint of Kerouackian wandering is undertaken (of course!) with a quadriplegic companion; a family gathers for a wedding in the face of imminent death. Through it all is Sedaris's unmistakable voice, without doubt one of the freshest in American writing.

I've had several friends who were HUGE David Sedaris fans. I'd never really given him too much of a shot, but when I started listening to This American Life, I started hearing more and more from him -- he's a regular contributor. So I got his boxed set of audio books from the library -- I think there's four? -- and this is the first one I listened to.

Naked is a collection of true short stories or mini-memoirs, I guess -- stories about his life. 

Some of them I really loved -- one in particular about his father's constant warnings of men who lost a limb skateboarding or chopped off their thumbs chopping up vegetables reminded me of conversations with my own parents. 

Some of them were a little obscene or graphic and I was glad I was listening alone. Nothing too gory -- David as a child found a book about an incestuous family, for example. That plot line had a few interesting quotes...

Overall I enjoyed Naked. I laughed more than I cringed, for sure, and soldiered on to his next book, which is obviously a good sign. I gave it three stars on Goodreads.

Are any of you familiar with David Sedaris? One of his books, which unfortunately isn't in the boxed set, is about when he was a Christmas Elf in a department store -- can't wait to read that one!

Book review: Tuesdays with Morrie

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.
For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?
Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live.
"Tuesdays with Morrie" is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world.

Before reading this book, I knew that it was a book everyone loved, and that's about it. I'd heard it described in ways that led me to believe it was life changing, one I'd want to read over and over again.

My feeling after reading?

Meh.

It wasn't bad. I didn't ever want to quit reading it. But it wasn't life changing, either.

Morrie is wise. I agree with pretty much everything he says. We (everyone) should be more focused on family and people, less ambitious about money and power. What really matters is the way you treat people, the interactions you have with them, the effect you have on them.

But really, of all the lessons Mitch learns from Morrie, that's the only one that stuck with me. I couldn't tell you any of his other wisdom because I don't remember it. (and I read it very recently.)

Maybe I'm seeing it too much through my own creative writing experience.

If you've done any classroom creative writing, I'm sure you've heard the phrase "show, don't tell." And I wonder if maybe that's why none of it stuck with me -- it's great to hear an old man tell me all the things he's learned about life, but I think they would stick with me more if I'd actually known Morrie, if I could see him living his life that way and see what it actually looks like.

I also know that creative non-fiction isn't always completely true. That sounds like stating the obvious, but many may take this book as absolutely true. Morrie was interviewed for national television and you can still find those videos, and Mitch Albom constantly talks about the tape recorder he used. But even if we were both there in the room, my perspective of events might not be the same as Mitch's. So I guess I'm also wary of that (as I would be in any memoir or piece of non-fiction).

So, like I said above, I didn't hate it. But I didn't love it.

Have any of you read Tuesdays with Morrie? Was it what you were expecting?

Book review: Seriously... I'm Kidding

Seriously... I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

"Sometimes the greatest things are the most embarrassing." Ellen Degeneres' winning, upbeat candor has made her show one of the most popular, resilient and honored daytime shows on the air. (To date, it has won no fewer than 31 Emmys.) Seriously... I'm Kidding, Degeneres' first book in eight years, brings us up to date about the life of a kindhearted woman who bowed out of American Idol because she didn't want to be mean. Lively; hilarious; often sweetly poignant.

Like many of the books I review, I listened to this one on audio. While I think audiobooks often add to the reading experience, this one both added to it, and I think some things were lost in translation. So where I usually don't think it changes how I feel about the book, I might have had a completely different experience had I read the book instead of listening to it.

But I did listen to it. And here's what I thought.

1. Ellen herself reads it. Which is awesome. I love Ellen. So much. It was like hanging out with her for my whole commute. Like I said, awesome.

2. There are a couple chapters she says just don't work for audio. One was about text talk. I don't remember what the other was. But audio listeners miss out on those. Booooo. But! She does have a chapter in there where she just makes funny noises. So I think this one evens out. :)

I laughed. A lot.

But I don't think it's Ellen at her funniest. This, however, may be.

Skip to the end, about 7:16, for my favorite part!

Have any of you read Ellen's books? I'll probably end up checking out her others, just because I love her so. much. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Book review: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

I read a lot. Here's a review of a book I read recently, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. You can read other reviews and see the official description here. (and while you're there, add me as a friend! aestrusz)

I’m not really sure why I picked up this book. I saw on twitter that Mindy Kaling (Kelly Kapoor/writer of The Office) was promoting a book. I immediately put it on hold at the library.

I think one of the reasons was the title. I mean, who hasn’t though that before? (Confession: previously I hadn’t realized anyone else did wonder if everyone else was hanging out without them.) I had just read Tina Fey’s Bossypants over the summer and enjoyed that a lot. I knew Mindy from The Office. (Although you definitely do not have to be an Office fan to enjoy the book.)

So I went into the book with pretty much no expectations and absolutely loved it. I can’t recommend it enough. The structure of the book is a modge-podge: Some chapters are written as full-fledged stories from Mindy’s past, some are lists, and some are just her thoughts on different topics, like celebrity roasts.

Mindy is humble without being fake. She doesn’t glaze over potentially embarrassing moments, like the awkwardness of her guest-writing stint on SNL or her terrible interviews.

I mean, just look at the back cover:

That is not someone afraid to tell of their modest beginnings.

The stories Mindy tells range from hilarious to heartfelt. She discusses serious issues but maintains the tricky balance between too-serious and too-funny. I laughed out loud a lot, and related to Mindy more than I expected to. She talks about job searching, a process I was in for months and hated. She talks about body image. She talks about what has made her cry. She’s a real human person and isn’t afraid to show it.

Some of my favorite moments:

• Mindy trying to understand one-night stands and defending those of us who are just not interested.
• Mindy’s description of the women in romantic comedies that just don’t exist in real life, including The Klutz, The Ethereal Weirdo, The Woman Who Is Obsessed With Her Career And Is No Fun At All, etc.
• Pretty much every chapter title and caption: I Love New York and It Likes Me Okay, My older brother Vijay, and me, interrupted as I was plotting to eat him (caption), Non-Traumatic Things That Have Made Me Cry

Most of all, I loved that there were so many parts of the book that spoke to me personally, and I’m guessing to a lot of her readers. Like the chapter Best Friend Rights and Responsibilities, where almost every rule made me think of one of my friends. When she talks about being a chubby kid and chubby adult. Her chapter about marriage is everything I want my relationship to be.

I loved this book. I guess that’s all I really have to say.

Are any of you reading anything fun?