Book #39 - Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch

My friend Jamie and I often spend our lunch hours sitting in silence reading. It's a good way to get away from the craziness at the office and have a little down time. She recommended that I read Time of My Life because she "looooooved it." So I decided to take her advice and pick it up.

This novel follows the standard formula of the main character not liking her current life, and wonders what it would've been like if she married her college boyfriend instead. Jillian is then magically transported back seven years, to the time when she's still living in New York City with her then-boyfriend, Jackson. As Jillian tries to avoid meeting her real husband, Henry, she realizes that her life then maybe wasn't as amazingly perfect as she remembered.

I liked that it was not only about second-guessing your choice about who to marry. But it gives us a glimpse into what it would be like to do things differently with your friends or interacting with your parents in a way that's more beneficial to your personal growth. Jillian finally understands what I think we all know deep down: there is no "perfect" life -- no perfect husband, perfect house, perfect family, perfect job. And only when we stop frantically trying to find or create that scenario, can we truly be happy.

Book #38 - The Last Summer (of You & Me) by Ann Brashares

I have long been a fan of Ann Brashares. I absolutely adored The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants novels and I'd been wanting to read some of her other works for a while. I read a blurb about The Last Summer (of You & Me) in one of the many magazines I receive each month, and I decided to place a hold through CPL.

I am always captivated by a good coming-of-age story, and that's exactly what this book is. It follows two sisters, Alice and Riley, and their very different friendships with their summer neighbor, Paul. The three have been spending the summer together on a fictional island near Manhattan for as long as they can remember. Paul and Riley have always been best friends; Paul and Alice have always wanted to be something more.

At times, I almost felt as if I was reading a Nicholas Spark book (and lord knows I love those, too). There was the perfect mix of love, longing and sadness in The Last Summer (of You & Me) to create a great novel. We watch as Alice and Paul transition into their new relationship, and can sympathize with Riley as she gets left behind. I don't have a sister, but this novel made me truly feel the bond between Riley and Alice, and it made me sad that I could never experience such a special relationship with one.

Book #25 - The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

This is the second Sparks appearance on the blog, and I have to be honest - I had no desire to read this book. Due to my obsession with celebrity gossip, I remembered all of the hullabaloo when Nicholas Sparks said he was writing a novel with Miley Cyrus in mind for the female lead, and The Last Song was it. But, my mom happened to read it and said it was really good, so on our recent trip to northern Virginia, I hijacked her Kindle and devoured it in less than two days.

The Last Song follows Ronnie, a 17-year-old girl, and the summer she begrudgingly spends with her father in North Carolina. She hasn't spoken to him in three years and does not want to go, but is forced by her mother. Ronnie is also a piano prodigy, who was taught by her former Julliard professor father, Steve, and has refused to play since he and her mother divorced.

Ronnie goes into the summer with a bad attitude and many preconceived notions about why her father left her family. She ultimately falls in with the wrong crowd, and due to some previous indiscretions back home, lands in big trouble with the law. Between being furious with her dad and her teenage rebellion, she manages to meet Will, a handsome volleyball player from the town's richest family. They fall for each other and he helps her to realize that she needs to cut her father a little slack, especially when they receive the crushing news that Steve is terminally ill.

Ultimately, Ronnie re-establishes a relationship with her father and experiences her first love with Will. This book is another lesson in that it's never too late to make amends. It makes you think about any grudges you're holding, and how you'd feel if something happened to that person and all you've been doing is wasting precious time. Even though I wanted to boycott reading The Last Song, I'm glad I didn't. It helped to remind me how powerful young love can be and that you need to live each day as if it could be your (or someone you love's) last.

Book #21 - For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Like most of America, I've been reading Mitch Albom's books since he wrote Tuesdays with Morrie. This story of his was recommended to me by my friend Jamie, and as I'm a little behind on my 100 books, she said it was a good, quick read. Which is exactly what I need right now.

This book follows the story of a man who's looking to commit suicide after his life has essentially fallen apart, thanks mostly to his alcoholism and failed professional baseball career. He decides to travel back to his childhood home to kill himself, and on his way, gets into a terrible car accident.

The main character, Chick, then sees his mother, who's since passed away. He spends one more day with her, learning from her and discovering how to turn his life around. Once he recovers from the accident, he begins to slowly repair his life and mend his relationships with his family.

This is a good story in teaching us that it's never too late to make amends. Chick is able to have one more day with his mother - to find peace with her passing and to forgive himself for not being there when she died. Albom is good at showcasing through others' experiences that we always have one more opportunity to make things right, and we should never let it pass.

Book #15 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

This was another book that was suggested by my cousins Ashleigh and Allison over the holidays. I had never heard of it and I had no idea what to expect, with the exception of the lamentation of my cousins pronouncing "This one is soooo good."

When I looked at the back cover of this novel, one of the reviewers' quotes classified this novel as "A modern day Catcher in the Rye." And I thought, awesome (you all remember how well that one went for me).

However, I was pleasantly surprised by The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. The main character of this novel is Christopher, a British teenage boy with some sort of mental disability. He finds a neighbor's dog murdered in the yard, and he takes on the charge to solve the mystery of the dog's death.

Along the way, Christopher discovers more than he bargains for, and more than he can mentally handle. He lives with his father and his mother is dead and he has an entire list of things he does and doesn't like. For example, he hates anything brown and yellow; he loves anything red. Christopher is also a math genius and the smartest kid in his school and uses his ability with math and numbers to calm him when necessary.

When Christopher discovers that his father isn't the person he thinks he is, he sets off on a journey and achieves things he never thought possible. During this journey, we understand how difficult it is for a mentally disabled individual to do things that seem so simple, like riding a train or reading a map. But throughout the novel, we also realize how gifted Christopher is and how he can visualize and accomplish things that I could only dream of.

Above all else, this novel is a story of survival. Christopher has to survive every day and rise above the challenges his disability presents. And he also survives a realization that most human beings would let cripple them with hatred and distrust, but he teaches us all to rise above.

Book #12 - Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

I was first exposed to the novel Bel Canto while in college, as my advisor was reading it at one point in time, and he suggested I picked it up. Well, nearly four years later, I finally read Bel Canto as a recommendation for this project from one of my supervisors.

The novel is based on the Lima Crisis, and focuses on a group of terrorists who hold high executives and people of high political standing hostage. Set in an unnamed South American country, the story begins at a birthday party thrown at the country's vice presidential home. The party is thrown for Katsumi Hosokawa, the visiting chairman of a large Japanese electronics company called Nansei. Performing is a famous American soprano, Roxane Coss.

Bel Canto explores how the terrorists and hostages cope with living in a house together for several months. Many of the characters form unbreakable bonds of friendship, while some fall in love. What's interesting about this novel, is that the relationships that form are not just between the hostages, but between captor and captive, as well.

The daily activities of the hostages and how they are forced to live for months in a strange place with child terrorists standing guard are described with such detail and care. It almost seems as if nothing really happens in the plot for pages and pages, and within the last few, all of the action takes place.

The novel meticulously reveals the human condition of survival, and allows the reader to get a glimpse of how we could all hope to act if we've found ourselves in a similarly unfortunate situation. It also demonstrates the emotions that can develop if given the chance; in a world where race, language and age aren't the first things we see. Instead, the characters are able to fall in love and appreciate their fellow housemates for who they are and what the believe in, and not based on the color of their skin or the language they speak.

Book #10 - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

This book was recommended to me by my Mom, but I had heard about it before she lent it to me to read. The title alone was a somewhat intriguing and it had been popping up on a number of the "Must Read" lists I found online. I'm glad to say that overall, the book did not disappoint either.

At first, it was a little difficult for me to get into the story. This book is set in Sweden, and I often have a hard time relating to stories that take place in a foreign country. Perhaps it's because it takes a little longer for me to create my frame of reference. Just understanding how much items cost is a challenge - how am I supposed to know what the dollar equivalent of a kroner is?

The book tells the story of a journalist, Michael Blomkvist who is commissioned to uncover a mystery within the legendary Vanger family - Sweden's fictitious dynasty family who has fallen from grace as the captain of industry they once were. Blomkvist is asked by the family patriarch to uncover what happened to his niece Harriet. The catch is that the mystery is nearly 40 years old.

As he starts to uncover more pieces to the puzzle, Blomkvist realizes he needs the help of a professional researcher to actually make headway in the case - enter "the girl with the dragon tattoo," Lisbeth Salander. What they discover is a grizzly family secret that changes the family's history forever. I know, I know, you're probably wondering if they find out what's happened to Harriet; to find that out, you're going to have to read the book.

The synopsis I provided is what I think is the best part of the novel. However, in my opinion, the plot was muddied with a number of superfluous story lines - like Blomkvist's recent conviction of libel in an attempt to expose of crooked businessman; or Lisbeth's back story of being raped and a prisoner of the Swedish mental health system. They were somewhat interesting, but I think the heart and the mystery of the story - what happened to Harriet within the twisted web of the Vanger family - is more than capable of standing on its own.

Book #1 - The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

I just finished the first book of the project, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, which falls into my recommended reading category. It was suggested to me by fiance, and I think it's the only book he's ever read recreationally in his adult life, so I decided if he enjoyed it, so could I.

This book was much better than the movie. Entirely different, but still so much better. In the novel, an assassin, Jason Bourne, loses his memory and is trying to figure out who he is. He's struggling with reconciling his own instincts about his past with what he's learned about himself from fragmented memories and outside sources. While I was reading, I decided that this could be one of the worst things that could happen to a person: losing your past and struggling through the present, all while being unsure if you can even have a future.

In the end of the novel, Jason uncovers the truth about himself (which took him until the third movie to do) and he's able to begin rebuilding his life. It made me realize that life is best experienced one moment and one day at a time. Even though Jason Bourne was unable to live his life any differently, it allowed him to rediscover who he was.

Although I'm not an amnesiac, or an assassin, I am similar to Jason Bourne. At twenty-four years old, and albeit safely within the confines of my own little world, I too am figuring out who I am with each day and each moment that passes.