Mannequin Girl by Ellen Litman

I finished reading Mannequin Girl by Ellen Litman late last night. I have to say I was glad I finished it. I really enjoyed this book at first but it seemed to sort of slog on and on after awhile. 

Mannequin Girl: A Novel

When the book begins Kat is a Jewish girl who lives in Russia in the 1980s. She is young, just 6, I think and is diagnosed with scoliosis so is sent to a special school for extra care and to get the medical attention she needs. 

The book was interesting and then it sort of got to be repetitive or something. I did enjoy it, but I lost interest as Kat aged, I think. But try it. You might just love Mannequin Girl.

Book Read:  Mannequin Girl
Author:  Ellen Litman

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Late last night I finished reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and today I noticed that this book is classified as science fiction. Well, I normally don't like or even read science fiction, but I had read a good recommendation for this book so I'm glad I read it before realizing it was science fiction. (grin)

I mean I knew it was science fiction because of the premise:  a horrible flu strain wipes out most of the people on Earth. Not that that couldn't happen or anything, but it was in some ways futuristic in its doomsday message, but I loved this novel. Loved it.

Station Eleven: A novel

It took a bit to get the gist of this story since it floated between then (pre-flu) and now (post-flu) where time was measured in years after the flu (Year Two, Year Twenty). The story of survival and living in this new reality was interestingly told through some characters I won't soon forget.

I've actually read a couple of other such books with almost end of the world themes:  The Dog Stars by Peter Heller and The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. They were also excellent reads so I guess I like my sci-fi in an end of the world sort of way.

The Dog Stars

The Age of Miracles: A Novel

Have you read any of these novels? They are excellent!

Book Read:  Station Eleven

Author:  Emily St. John Mandel

Small Blessings by Martha Woodroof

If you love reading books with a good story that's well written, that's fresh and unpredictable, pick up Martha Woodroof's debut novel Small Blessings.

While reading this book, I felt like this woman-of-a-certain-age (she's in her sixties and this is her first published novel! I love that!) had saved up some wisdom gained from living and shared it with us, her readers.

The random people and events might seem unbelievable in another writer's hands but this author lends enough "truth is stranger than fiction" to the circumstances that they fall happily into place.

Book Read:  Small Blessings
Author:  Martha Woodroof

Andrea Martin's Lady Parts

I finished reading the memoir Andrea Martin's Lady Parts and it was a hoot! 

I had heard of Andrea Martin but didn't realize she is the actor who played some of the roles she did. Like Aunt Voula in My Big Fat Greek Wedding (What do you mean you don't eat no meat? That's okay. I fix you lamb.) Yeah, her!

Lady Parts

This book was really a book of essays about different parts of her life, such as her time on SCTV, why she flies to Atlanta to get her hair cut, and her astrologer. All of it was interesting and some even sort of serious but much was fun and funny and a great glimpse into the life of a celebrity who is so funny.

Book Read:  Andrea Martin's Lady Parts
Author:  Andrea Martin

Lucky Us by Amy Bloom

Amy Bloom is a wonderful writer and she shines with her novel Lucky Us.

This story is a bit different, told mostly from Eva's point of view. When the story begins, Eva is a child and it runs through her crazy, unstable life into her twenties. Even though she is the younger sister to step-sister Iris, Eva holds things together in their desperate little family.

To give you a taste of Amy Bloom's fabulous writing, here's one sentence that made me stop and read it again and again:

My father's illness became a long, bumpy, terrible road

to a place we didn't want to go, 

except that the road itself was so awful, 

we couldn't wait to get there.

Lucky Us: A Novel

Who hasn't felt this with a sick loved one? Wow. I want to write like that!

For a great story full of wonderful twists and turns (some painful, a few joyful) and beautiful writing, Lucky Us is a sure thing.

Book Read:  Lucky Us
Author:  Amy Bloom

I Must Say, My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend by Martin Short

Well, I am a die hard Martin Short fan and my kids know this. My son gave me I Must Say, My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend by Martin Short (with some other dude, which makes me wonder how that went down. Did Marty actually write any of this book? I don't really care because I can hear him loud and clear. What I bet happened is he carried a tape recorder around with him and just talked and the other dude wrote it out. That's what I think, but I have not a clue!). Okay, I just looked on Amazon, and there is no other dude. I must have dreamed that part. Duh.

Any hoo, the book my son gave me is signed, don't ya know! I think that's most excellent!

But back to the book! 

It's a memoir of the finest order. Lots of dirty little details about Short's life that you just love to read about. Tons of names are dropped. Quite a bit of jokes and gags. Plenty of cussing. Embarrassing factoids emerge. I loved it!

I Must Say: My Life As a Humble Comedy Legend

I laughed (reading about my favorite Martin Short character Mr. Ed Grimley), I cried (reading about his losses of his brother, his parents, and his wife), and I loved this book so much that I think I'll read it again. And maybe even again. It's that good.

The one thing from reading some of the rave reviews on Amazon was that one person said the audio book was hilarious. I bet it is! 

Book Read:  I Must Say, My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend

Author:  Martin Short

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian

Well, I have to say, I don't think Chris Bohjalian can write a bad book. I finished reading Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands last night and like the rest of his novels, I was sad for this story to end. Unlike the rest of his stories, or maybe not depending on the book, this one started off sad. 

Emily Shepard's parents are killed when the nuclear plant where they both worked blows up. She's left an orphan and chooses to runaway from her town and her life.

The story is told by Emily (who calls herself Abby to protect her identity) so the writing was certainly different. Totally different. How did this man write like a teenage girl so well? Who knows, but he did.

I was surprised to learn where the title came from (you have to read to nearly the end), but the words close your eyes and hold hands is fitting in this sort of doomsday novel.

Book Read:  Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands
Author:  Chris Bohjalian