Monday, March 25, 2013

The Day My Brain Exploded, by Ashok Rajamani


The Day My Brain Exploded, by Ashok Rajamani.  Pass up on this one.  Don’t even bother.  A 1 out of 10.  Non-fiction.  Yes, Ashok does have an aneurysm burst in his head, followed by side-effects' years of therapy.  His brain needs to form new neurological paths for him to learn to walk, and function.  Although it is written as if he supposedly remembers all the recovery day by day,  it is fictionalized somewhat as he personally couldn’t have remembered all the details and the distraught family certainly wasn't taking notes.  But the dorkiest part is his being sure we know this aneurysm burst happened as he was masturbating, a topic to which he returns later.  It seems to be included as shock value.  The story jumps around from the actual hospital treatment to his life years later when he seeks more help in a group therapy situation. Family relationships poorly formed, hit and miss; mostly missed.  Forget it.  Spend your time reading something else.


Saturday, March 23, 2013

Summerland by Erin Hilderbrand

Summerland, by Erin Hilderbrand

Nantucket is a grand place to enjoy a summer.  Wealthy visitors; fancy places on the beach.  But, this story focuses on those who live there all year, with lives that intertwine for generations. It is high school graduation time, to be followed by a last summer before four teenagers become seniors and scatter.  Twins Penny and Hobby, Penny’s boyfriend Jake, and the fourth wild card in the hand, a girl named Demeter.  Penny has a beautiful voice that need coddling and care.  Hobby is the star athlete.  Jake and Penny have been in love since childhood.  Demeter is always on the edge of acceptance, not so popular, over weight, withdrawn.  After the graduation parties Penny becomes hysterical but no one claims to know why.  She never drinks, so does the driving.  Faster and faster, until the accident that claims her life and seriously injures her twin brother.  Now all three families have to regroup.  All have their secrets, tenuous relationships, anger, and hurt.  And all have to keep earning a living and moving on.  Easy read.  Mystery.  What sent Penny over the edge of sanity?  Edgy couple relationships as well as the young folks coping with the accident.  Edgy adult relationships with the teenagers.  8 out of 10.  Good story.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Return to Sender by Fern Michaels

Return to Sender by Fern Michaels. Innocent girl, Lin, from an abusive home gets in the family way. Thrown out on her own, loses chance of college education, has a son all alone, is a waitress, works hard, does well and all through the years tries to connect with the baby’s father. Her letters come back, “Return to Sender.” In the mean time the father is extremely wealthy, tied to a  woman who tricked him into marriage, behaves deplorably at work, at home and out on the town, and has a terminal illness. Will, the son, attends college in N.Y.C. where his father gives the welcome speech to the new students.  Neither know about the other, but it throws Lin into action. She is determined to ruin the father's life as he has refused to acknowledge his child. Then the story gets rolling. 7 out of 10. Fast reading romance novel, light and easy. I can not understand why the author and editor decided to totally repeat pages as Lin tells her “story” to other people. Word for word, page for page, right at the end.  I thought she was going to change the story in the retelling, but no, it was the same line by line. I’ve been reading tougher stuff and this a nice departure, but not a great read.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey, by The Countess of Carnarvon.  Those of us who have claimed “Downton Abbey” as our most important hour of TV, EVER, will love this non-fiction history of Highclere Castle.  Centered on the 1895-1925 era of wealth, fame, travel, extravagance beyond imagination and living in the highest of high styles, this story will keep visions of the TV story flashing in your mind as the real lives are interwoven in your mind with the fictional lives.  There are names in the real story that are also in the TV story, Bates and Crawley!  Characters with entirely different positions, but it was fun to come across the real names as they related to the real story.  There may have been more that I missed, but those two jumped out at me.  The real story tells even more about the many many people employed to sustain the lavish life styles of the Castle. With their own saw mill, huge gardens to feed hundreds, huge house staff, gardeners, horse raising, hunting grounds, and more, comprising an entire village of support, it is hard to imagine so many people being employed just to keep the small main family going.  The real characters also spent many winters in Egypt at archeolgical digs for which the 5th Earl of Carnarvon won world wide acclaim.  The book starts with the 5th Earl of Carnarvon marrying Almina, a wealthy heiress.  He needs her wealth, she wants his social position.  It works very well. As in the TV rendition, the Castle really was a hospital during W.W. I. Thus the story goes on with details about their entertaining, travels, family, and spending...based on actual events and recorded into documents from that time.  It points out the question:  Do they own the castle, or does the castle own them?  Loved this book. Have always loved Castles. Notice the capital letter there.  Oh, be still my beating heart.  9/10.  Keep in mind it is NOT fiction.