Author: alyssa

The Memory Box

Title: The Memory Box
Author: Eva Lesko Natiello
# Pages: 288
Published: 2014
Rating: 4 stars

The Memory Box is Natiello’s first novel. She studied psychology at The State University of New York at Albany, and her insights into the human mind and character allowed her to write an incredible psychological thriller. I couldn’t put it down, and by the end I think I might have had more questions than answers! This is a great book for a book club since it will allow for lively and thrilling discussions. 

The novel begins with a group of soccer moms who, in typical mean girls’ style, spend their spare time Googling each other trying to find out the biggest dirt. Caroline, one of the moms, decides to Google herself to make sure there isn’t anything the other moms can use on her. What she finds is completely unexpected–her twin sister, who she’s sure she just spoke with, died several years prior. How does one forget the death of a twin? The more she digs, the more unbelievable information she finds, and the reader follows her in her journey to discover reality in a world that has been turned completely upside down. 

Caroline’s journey is centered around the loss of her sister and what that loss means. As a twin, I could not comprehend how someone could forget that their womb-mate has died! How much does her husband know? Where are her parents? Why does she think she has regular conversations with someone who is no longer living? How can her entire life be a lie? Read this book to (maybe) discover the answers to these questions and many more!

Favorite Quotes:

“It’s impossible to un-know a secret. Once you know it, you own it. It can’t be returned like a borrowed book. Or burned like a love letter. The click of a mouse won’t delete it from the conscious mind. It’ll stick to the walls of your memory like dried oatmeal to a dish. The secrets you wish you never knew become a burden to lug.”

“[T]he emotional scars of children can take a lifetime to heal. If they do at all.”

Calypso

Calypso

Title: Calypso
Author: David Sedaris
Pages: 261
Published: May 2018
Rating: 4.5 stars

I was first introduced to David Sedaris by one of my dearest friends. We were working away furiously doing payroll, and she turned on one of Sedaris’ books for us to listen to as we worked.  I’ll be forever grateful that she chose to play that book that day, because I’ve loved Sedaris and his books ever since!

As much as I love reading Sedaris’ books, the best experience you can get is to listen to his audiobooks.  Sedaris reads his own books for the audiobook versions, and having his voice and intonations just adds a whole extra level to the words.  Calypso is one of his more personal books (which seems silly to say, since the books are all personal essays), and it delves into some really personal experiences.  Sedaris writes a lot about the beach house he purchased for his family.  He also writes about his sister, Tiffany, and his experience losing her to suicide.  

Typically, my favorite thing about Sedaris’ writing is his honesty and his self-deprecating humor.  In , my favorite part of the book was a very simple statement he makes about his family.  He talks about his family as an exclusive club, and he can’t understand how anyone (speaking specifically about his sister) wouldn’t want to be part of that club.  

Favorite Quote:

“Why do you think she did it?” I asked as we stepped back into the sunlight. For that’s all any of us were thinking, had been thinking, since we got the news. Mustn’t Tiffany have hoped that whatever pills she’d taken wouldn’t be strong enough and that her failed attempt would lead her back into our fold? How could anyone purposefully leave us—us, of all people? This is how I thought of it, for though I’ve often lost faith in myself, I’ve never lost faith in my family, in my certainty that we are fundamentally better than everyone else. It’s an archaic belief, one I haven’t seriously reconsidered since my late teens, but still I hold it. Ours is the only club I’d ever wanted to be a member of, so I couldn’t imagine quitting. Backing off for a year or two was understandable, but to want out so badly that you’d take your own life?” 

The Way of Kings

The Way of Kings

Title: The Way of Kings, Book 1 of The Stormlight Archives
Author: Brandon Sanderson
# Pages: 1007
Published: 2010
Rating: 5 stars

In  The Way of Kings, Sanderson introduces the reader to Roshar, a land only recently brought under the rule of a single king. An assassin who can walk on walls and ceilings kills the king who brought about the kingdom’s unification, so the king’s son and the king’s brother lead the kingdom in war against those responsible for the king’s death.

The war takes place on the chasms, a desert-type terrain that has large ravines that require bridges to cross. The armies aren’t able to make their way across the desert, because enormous storms tear through the land every few days, so they stay in camps and race to fight against the other side as often as possible. 

In Roshar, the men do not learn to read, and their highest form of honor comes from being warriors.  Women are their scribes, as well as the scientists and engineers that create new technology. A person’s worth is measured by the lightness or darkness of his or her eyes. Plants pull away when they’re approached by humans. Carriages are pulled by things that sound a bit like crabs. 

This book tells the stories of the king’s brother, Brightlord Dalinar, and his son, Adolin; the king’s daughter, Jasnah; a young warrior, Kaladin; and a young women trying to save her family, Shallan. 

Favorite Quotes:

“Sometimes the prize is not worth the costs. The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself.”

“To lack feeling is to be dead, but to act on every feeling is to be a child.”

Batwoman Rebirth

Batwoman Vol. 1: The Many Arms of Death (Rebirth)

Title: Batwoman, Volume 1: The Many Arms of Death
Authors/Creators/Illustrators: Marguerite Bennett, James Tynion IV, Steve Epting, Stephanie Hans, Renato Arlem, Jeremy Cox
Published: 2017 by DC Comics
Rating: 4 stars

I’ve been really into the Marvel and DC Comic shows on Netflix lately, so  my wife decided to gift me with the new Batwoman Rebirth comic books.  The comic book world is new to me–I think this is probably the first comic book I’ve ever read–and I love it!  I don’t know what I’ve been doing my whole life, or why I haven’t experienced the wonderful world of comics, but I’m definitely a fan!

The writing in Batwoman Reborn is excellent, the art is superb, and they fit together so well I would have thought they were done by the same person. Maybe comics are always so beautifully written and illustrated and that’s just another piece of the comic puzzle that I’ve been missing, but I’m very impressed with the work done in this comic.

This volume is a compilation of issues 1-6, and it primarily dwells on Kate Kane’s past and what has led her to become Batwoman. I don’t want to ruin anything for prospective readers, so I’ll let you learn on your own how Batwoman comes to be!  This volume doesn’t delve as far into the villain vs superhero narrative as I expected it would, but it does set things up for that in the coming volumes.  I’m excited to continue reading Kate Kane’s story and based on my experience with this comic book, I may just look into some more!

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre

Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
# Pages: 507
Published: 1847
Rating: 4 stars

Jane Eyre was the first novel published by Charlotte Bronte, and it was originally published under Bronte’s pen name, Currer Bell. Charlotte Bronte was a member of a very creative and literary family–she and her sisters published a book of poems in 1846, and by the end of 1847 both of Charlotte’s sisters also had novels published. 

The story is of Jane, is a poor orphan being raised in the home of her late uncle.  Since her uncle has died, she is the responsibility of her aunt who clearly has no love for her niece.  Her cousins are mean to her while they grow up, and they ridicule and look down on her due to her position as a poor orphan. Jane is eventually sent away to boarding school, where the conditions are deplorable but, as happens in so many good stories, she meets a wonderful friend and a wonderful mentor.  Bronte patterned the boarding school after one that her two older sisters attended, both of whom passes away as children because of illnesses contracted at the school.

After boarding school, Jane decides to move on with her life and finds a position as a governess. She finds happiness there and enjoys teaching, spending time with her student, and speaking with her master, Mr. Rochester.  There are a lot of twists and turns in the plot, though it ends up pretty much the way you would expect it to.

One of the defining features of Jane Eyre is the Gothic theme that runs throughout the story. From ghosts to secret rooms, Bronte gives the reader everything a Gothic fan could hope for. It’s also fraught with symbolism, which makes it fun for people who like to dissect their literature. 

Favorite Quotes:

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” 

“I do not think, sir, you have any right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience.” 

“Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.”

“I would always rather be happy than dignified”