Pregnancy Reading

As soon as I found out a little baby was on the way I of course started perusing Pinterest for all the different links related to pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and baby's first year. I also wanted to get some good books to read to try to prepare me as much as one possibly can.  

I picked out a couple of books that were recommended to me from friends or from other blogs that I follow and I was gifted a few. 

All of these books were great reads and I would also recommend them to any mother-to-be. 

Gone Girl

Unfortunately the last book I read, I have to admit, I read only because I had to for my Advanced English class. However I am in the process of reading other books, it's just that I'm very slow, so I think I failed my new years resolution to read at least one book a month. But I know I am reading more than I had been before, so that counts for something! 

Back in February we chose to read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn throughout the semester. I hadn't heard anything about it, but it's a mystery/thriller and so I knew it could'n't be so bad. 

"Marriage can be a real killer. 

   On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? 

   As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife?"

Gone Girl is narrated in two parts; from the perspective of the two main characters: Nick Dunne and Allison Elliot Dunne. At the beginning it's a little confusing because the two lines of thinking don't follow each other. You read excerpts from Allion's diary but then you're in the present time reading Nick's story. 

The beginning is very slow and the writing style drove me crazy. There was so much detail and it felt like it went on forever giving too much information which wasn't really important. However, as you continue to read, big curves are thrown your way and you really are surprised. And there is a reason for all the descriptions and over exaggerated details. 

Over half way through the book I had a hard time putting it down and when I finished it I was left with the feeling that I wanted to read more! I didn't want the story to end! 

I would highly recommend this book for a fun, summer, easy beach read. 

And I hear they are also apparently making a movie too! 

Life of Pi

For my highest English class, Advanced 3, I proposed reading a book through out the course instead of bringing in short readings and the students really liked the idea. So back in October the students brought in some suggestions and in the end we couldn't decide between Life of Pi and The Giver.

We ended up flipping a coin to decide which book to read and the lucky winner was Life of Pi by Yann Martel. 

When we chose the book, I wasn't even aware that the movie was coming out, and I also hadn't realized that it was so popular. I had heard of it before and heard it was good so I was ok with reading it in class. 

The book starts with a prologue that leaves you with the idea that the whole story might even be actually based on real life events, however it's highly unlikely.  The beginning is quite slow and I would say a little difficult to get into, but once you start it's hard to put down. 

Even though the majority of the book takes place on a boat and you feel like there are only so many things that can happen when you're stranded in the middle of the ocean, the story moves along and is interesting to read. Many of my students complained that they were tired of reading and reading and reading about the life boat, fishing, catching rain water, staying away from the tiger, that the story got very boring. This is completely understandable especially if you must read slower than usual and over a few months it feels as if the story just drags on. 

I was frustrated with the ending, because I was hoping for something much for climatic. When I finished the book I felt short-handed, like I wanted a sequel to find out what happens to the main character afterwards. So many pages of reading about life on a boat, just to finish the story so abruptly with no solid conclusion was disappointing. 

I would recommend this book for a light, enjoyable read, simply for pleasure. 

Death Comes to Pemberley

I was so excited when I received a Kindle for Christmas! I was eager to buy a good book for the plane ride back home and I decided upon Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James. The description said that it was a cross between a murder mystery and Pride and Prejudice.  I thought that was a loose description, but it was actually quite literal. 

To be honest I have never read Pride and Prejudice, but have also been a fan of the film and am willing to watch it on any sort of whim so my only knowledge of the story comes from Kiera Knightly and Matthew McFadyen. It was fun to read a book and have the Bennet family, Bingley family, and of course the infamous Darcys return. 

It was a light, easy, read and very enjoyable. I would recommend this book, but only if you want to read about a fictitious continuation of life in Pemberley with our lovable characters from Jane Austen. 

Shantaram

While on our honeymoon, I had to bring a good read for the 12 flights we would be taking, and for all the time we'd spend sitting and relaxing on the beach. I had found lying on the coffee table at my parents home the book Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. This 937 pages book pulled me in like no other book I've read recently has, and it has given me a new appreciation for and interest in India. 

Although Shantaram is a novel, it's largely factual and based on the life of the author. 

"I was a revolutionary who lost his ideals in heroin, a philosopher who lost his integrity in crime, and a poet who lost his soul in a maximum security prison. When I escaped from that prison, over the front wall, between two gun towers, I became my country’s most wanted man. Luck ran with me and flew with me to India, where I joined the Bombay mafia. I worked as a gunrunner, a smuggler, and a counterfeiter. I was chained on three continents, beaten, stabbed and starved. I went to war. I ran into the enemy guns. And I survived, while other men around me died. They were better men than I am, most of them; better men whose lives were crunched up in mistakes, and thrown away by the wrong second of someone else’s hate, or love, or indifference. And I buried them, too many of those men, and grieved their stories and their lives into my own."

Even though the length of the book may appear daunting, it's totally worth the time. So go out and get this pick and enjoy the read!