Turn The Page ... Tuesday

From the Shelf TBR

 

Sometimes books that have been on your self for a bit ... well, they should have just stayed there. I wanted to like The Amateur Marriage but I just couldn't fall for any of the characters. Or the plot. I finished the book (it wasn't that bad) but it had so much potential in my mind. Maybe I'm getting old. Maybe it's because I'm in a happy marriage so reading about a not so happy and self centered married couple just don't thrill me. I couldn't sympathize with any of the characters. There lies the problem - not the context of the book but I just couldn't  root for anyone in particular.

Enough said. Here's what Amazon's got:

"Anne Tyler's The Amateur Marriage is not so much a novel as a really long argument. Michael is a good boy from a Polish neighborhood in Baltimore; Pauline is a harum-scarum, bright-cheeked girl who blows into Michael's family's grocery store at the outset of World War II. She appears with a bloodied brow, supported by a gaggle of girlfriends. Michael patches her up, and neither of them are ever the same. Well, not the same as they were before, but pretty much the same as everyone else. After the war, they live over the shop with Michael's mother till they've saved enough to move to the suburbs. There they remain with their three children, until the onset of the sixties, when their eldest daughter runs away to San Francisco. Their marriage survives for a while, finally crumbling in the seventies. If this all sounds a tad generic, Tyler's case isn't helped by the characteristics she's given the two spouses. Him: repressed, censorious, quiet. Her: voluble, emotional, romantic. Mars, meet Venus. What marks this couple, though, and what makes them come alive, is their bitter, unproductive, tooth-and-nail fighting. Tyler is exploring the way that ordinary-seeming, prosperous people can survive in emotional poverty for years on end. She gets just right the tricks Michael and Pauline play on themselves in order to stay together: "How many times," Pauline asks herself, "when she was weary of dealing with Michael, had she forced herself to recall the way he'd looked that first day? The slant of his fine cheekbones, the firming of his lips as he pressed the adhesive tape in place on her forehead." Only in antagonism do Michael and Pauline find a way to express themselves. --Claire Dederer --"

On the Kindle TBR

I snagged Bernice Bobs Her Hair shortly after I got my kindle and then let it take up memory for a few years. I really was tickled by this book. I loved how the characters were just that - characters! There's the manipulative pretty party girl, the attractive but dull girl, and the many boys who fawn over them as the book progresses. If you are looking for a fast and light read (and maybe a bit of revenge ... no spoiler here) add this to your list. It is a classic after all.

Book vs Movie

 

 

I was surprised at how much the book followed the movie. It was delightful to see the period clothing while watching the characters from the book come to life. I think this little bit was only 45 minutes long - well worth it!

 

Bonus Book

 

 

I am not sure how I stumbled upon Jack Rabbit Moon but I am sure glad I did. Everyone is so loveable ... or despicable. Right from the start you are rooting for 11 year old Marnie. She is a spit fire and not afraid of adventure. Actually, her adventures are what keep her away from harms way and the people she falls in love with (and vice versa) is definitely worth the read. This has been one of my favorite books this year.

 

Here's what Amazon says:

 

"Everyone longs to be precious. Eleven-year-old Marnie Evans is no different. She wishes on stars for parents who adore her, even though her family is dysfunctional. She also believes that jack rabbits and a boot-wearing Texas angel show her mysterious signs of things to come. To escape her mother's neglect over summer break, Marnie finds a short cut through the woods to Garner State Park. There she discovers yodeling cowboy ranger Rick Carpenter and his wife, Claire, who live on site. From buried boxes to colorful characters such as Bible-thumper, Shelby Love, and peacock feather man, Vaughn Conner, Marnie eventually finds what she's looking for along the banks of the Frio River. Don't miss the boat on this environmentally lush ride that explores the mystery of connection and power of forgiveness."

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After I had read Me Before You by Jo Jo Moyes I had to immediately scoop up a few more of her books (because I don't have enough to read already. right.) The Last Letter From Your Lover is totally different from MBY - which was pleasant - Moyes is an author that can deliver a good story with out feeling like you've already heard/read it before. This is another book that is high on my recommend list and I'm going to let Amazon do the description - I'm afraid I might give something away if I babble on ... just add it to your list - k?

Amazon:

"It is 1960. When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital, she can remember nothing-not the tragic car accident that put her there, not her husband, not even who she is. She feels like a stranger in her own life until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply "B", asking her to leave her husband. Years later, in 2003, a journalist named Ellie discovers the same enigmatic letter in a forgotten file in her newspaper's archives. She becomes obsessed by the story and hopeful that it can resurrect her faltering career. Perhaps if these lovers had a happy ending she will find one to her own complicated love life, too. Ellie's search will rewrite history and help her see the truth about her own modern romance. A spellbinding, intoxicating love story with a knockout ending, The Last Letter from Your Lover will appeal to the readers who have made One Day and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society bestsellers."

So tell me folks - whatcha got that I can add to my never ending list of good reads ...