What should be the Sunshine and Coffee March book selection?

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What should be the Sunshine and Coffee March book selection?

Books, Books, and more Books...reviews by me and my spawn

I am a reader.   I love to read and get totally engrossed in a book.   My son, not so much.   His school requires kids to read a certain number of Advanced Reader (AR) points per grading period and take tests.   And since he is brilliant like his mother (**cough**) his goal is high.

While at the airport (my second home it seems), I came across the book Chomp by Carl Hiaasen.   It seemed interesting and counted as an "I miss you gift" and a contribution to his education.   Score 1 for mom.  

He really got into the book which is rare.   Only since The Maze Runner series have I witnessed my child be excited about reading a book.  So, I asked him to do a book review.   This consisted of a written Q&A which was as follows:  (his answers...and edits...lol...are in blue)

Name of book:  Chomp

Author:  Carl Hiaasen

Did you enjoy this book and why?  Yes because it was very funny and had a good story.

Describe the book in 4 sentences  2 sentences.  It was funny.  This book was very adventurous.

What was your favorite part of the book?  When Derek Badger gets lost and thinks he is a vampire.

Should other kids read this book?  Yes.   They will like it.  

My son is in the fifth grade and is 10.   So, if you have a child in that age group, try it out.   He has since read other books by Carl Hiaasen and enjoyed them all.  

And now a book review from the mommy.....

I read Love Anthony by Lisa Genova this month.   I fell in love with Still Alice last month and this was a book by the same author so I thought, why not.  

This story follows two women.  Beth is married with two daughters and discovers that her husband is having an affair.  As she struggles to put together the pieces of the aftermath, she begins to find herself again through writing.   Olivia is newly divorced and living in a new place and trying to find her way.  She is also dealing with the death of her autistic son and trying to make sense of his life and hers.  

These two women cross paths in an unusual way and both find peace with their "new" selves.   (I don't want to spoil the story!)  

This book was in the medium range for me.   I have read some phenomenal books lately and that may be one reason this kind of pales in comparison.   There were parts of the book as told from an autistic child's perspective and I found that pretty captivating.  However, the events which connect the two women and some "coincidences" were a stretch for me, almost in a supernatural nature.  

I would definitely recommend the book, but just don't set your sights too high, especially if you have read Still Alice, which was unfairly difficult to follow.  

If you are looking for something more phenomenal, please see my previous post which reviewed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Still Alice.

I am planning to go home tonight and read the last book in the After series which was supposedly delivered today.  It's a snow day here which is highly unusual and I am stuck at work overseeing an important run for a customer.  The email came out 2 hours ago telling all non-essential workers to go home due to road conditions.   Unfortunately for once in my life I'm important.   So....hopefully I'll make it home at some point.   Once I'm done, I will review the entire 4 book series.   So far I'm totally engrossed.  

Hope you are all staying warm if you're in the snow covered parts of the world today!  

xoxo

Book reviews! The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Still Alice

I love to read.  I mean, LOVE TO READ.   When I travel I usually fly through 2-3 books while waiting and flying.  Toward the end of last year, I had a few books that were disappointing and I was in a definite rut.   So, I vowed to make 2015 better and so far I think I have set the bar pretty high!

First off was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.   I cannot say enough good things about this book!  As a science nerd, this totally appealed to me but didn't go so far into detail that I was lost in the minute details of it all.  There was also a human aspect that was undeniably astounding.

The premise is a woman named Henrietta who goes to Johns Hopkins to be treated for cervical cancer.   Henrietta's cells are extracted and grown in the lab in what is honestly one of the biggest breakthroughs in medical history.   Henrietta's cells go on to do amazing things and for years her family has very little knowledge of the huge impact their loved one has on the world of science and medicine.

Part of this story that touched me was the tenacity of her daughter throughout this whole book.   I cannot imagine the strength that this woman must have possessed.  This book stuck with me long after I finished it.   I pondered the moral implications as well as the huge impact of this story long after I closed the book.  I highly recommend this book and I normally am not into non-fiction.  Also, this would be a phenomenal choice for Black History Month!

The second book I dove into was Still Alice.   I didn't realize this was a hot movie of 2015 when I read the book, but I can totally see why.  This is another book that is still bouncing around in my cluttered mind.

The book follows Alice, who I believe is early 50s, from her beginning symptoms well into advanced Alzheimer's disease.  This story is touching and does an amazing job of portraying this disease from the viewpoint of the patient, but without being so depressing that I couldn't finish it.

I have a grandfather who has advanced dementia following strokes almost 15 years ago.  I have to say that I really wish I had read something like this years ago before he was as far gone as he is now.  But it still gave me a different perspective for which I am grateful. This is definitely a book that I think of as a "must read", but even more so if you have a family member or friend with any type of illness such as Alzheimer's.   The perspective you will gain is well worth the time.

My book for February is Love Anthony by the same author as Still Alice.   So far, it's a pretty easy read.  I'm optimistic that my streak of good book choices is continuing.  If you'd like to join me in reading this one and discuss at the end of the month, please let me know!!

Coming soon to the blog will be a book review from my 10 year old son.   I think you will all enjoy it.

xoxo  Happy Monday!