December 4

I loved Jeffrey Eugenides first two books so when I saw he had a new 3rd book The Marriage Plot out, I knew I had to read it. It's a shame Eugenides novels are so far and few between when they are just so good. Usually authors have underlying similar themes and you can find connections to writing styles/etc. Not with Eugenides, none of his novels have any similar theme running through them, but it makes it all the better to pick one up and know you are getting something truly original and well thought out. His 3rd novel follows the lives of a woman and two men after they graduate college. The love triangle has unexpected twists and turns and doesn't follow any traditional pathway. Readers get to watch the college graduates fall in and out and go on their way. The characters grow and develop in new non typical coming of age ways. Have yet to be disappointed with a novel from this author, only wish he had more out there to read.

Author Jennifer Weiner's newest book Then Came You tackled a more intense subject matter than any of her other books, but in the same light and airy way that makes her books easy pleasurable reads. This book follows four women. An egg donor, a surrogate mother, the woman who the baby is meant for, and that woman's step daughter. In general I liked the book and it's statements on the new modern non traditional families being formed all the time these days. On the negative side though many parts were just simply not believable even in a fictional reality. The novel provides the reader the opportunity to ponder what it means to be a family especially for women, which I did appreciate. This was not one of my favorite Weiner novels but it did give me a good memory and I will certainly continue to read whatever this author has to provide, as she is always good for a break from reality for a few hundred pages.

When Will There be Good News by Kate Atkinson was a confusing listen at first. I'm not sure if it was the heavy English accent of the reader or the confusing twisting plot, but it really took me a big chunk of the book to become interested. The first chapter draws readers in by flashing back to many years ago when a young girl loses her mother and two siblings and her dog in a traumatic random stabbing by a stranger. This shocking start leaves readers to wonder what happened to the sole survivor of a horrific tragedy. The book then becomes far less interested for many chapters. I'm glad I didn't give up on it though as it did get interesting again and then in such an intense way that I was unable to put the book down until I finished it. I suppose I might try another of Atkinson's books sometime, but I would definitely want it to keep my attention throughout rather than only at the start and end.

The last read of the month was a Christmas present. Woman's Best Friend edited by Megan McMorris is a collection of short stories about women and their dogs. The stories range from typical heartwarming animal stories to sad stories to the unique and interesting ways dogs affect our lives. After reading this book I starting thinking about the two dogs I have been blessed with and what they have meant to me. I tried to come up with what I might write about when it comes to the first dog we had, Daisy, or what I could write about our current dog, Laney. The fact is though that it would be so hard to sum up in just a few pages what my dogs have meant to me. As the book constantly reminds the reader, they are a part of our families, our lives, our hearts.