The Takedown by Lily Chu

For Dee Kwan, every day is the perfect day. No, really. She has a house she loves, a job she adores, and a ridiculously attractive “nemesis” who never seems to mind when she wins their favorite online game. How can life possibly get better? (It can’t, obviously. It can only get much, much worse.)

Dee is a product of her mother's positivity upbringing.  Always look on the bright side, see the silver lining no matter what happens, positive thoughts manifest and all that.  But what happens when she is surrounded by things happening that aren't positive and her life's circumstances change and everything happens at once that it makes it tough to see the positive?  

I can kinda relate to Dee on some level - trying to find the positive in this world is tough sometimes and sometimes you question yourself whether you are a positive person or not.  I didn't connect with Lily Chu as a writer or Dee the character like I do with Ali Hazelwood but I did enjoy this book enough to finish it relatively quickly.  

I would recommend as a light, summer beach read if it peaks your interest.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project - a literal dream come true - Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

I know I say this with every one of her books, but I think I like this one the best.  This one had me flipping pages and stayin up late to flip those pages.  LOVE the chemistry with Bee & Levi.  Love how Bee's brain works.  And love the working relationship and quirks.  

Of course I recommend this book...it's Ali Hazelwood.

Lightlark by Alex Aster

 

Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. The invitation is a summons—a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood. The Centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. To destroy the curses, one ruler must die.

I must admit that this was a book club read however I most likely would have eventually added this to my list.  The premise intrigued me immediately.  And it was good.  The character development wasn't all ecompassing but was enough to get a feel for the them and want more.  The twists and turns and the development was great.  I would recommend this one.

Check & Mate - Ali Hazelwood

Story from the perspective of Mallory Greenleaf who is a chess prodigy however quit before entering the competitive world as a child and 3 years before her father passed away after she found out he was cheating on her mother with a chess referee. Fast forward to  age 18 Mallory who is left with the responsibility of caring for her two younger teenage sisters and ailing mother. Mallory's best friend ropes her into a "fun" competition one weekend and she's pitted against the worlds number 1 chess player who she also had a crush on when she was younger and she wins.  Suddenly her world completely upends and sends her into the competitive chess world.

I may be alone with this opinion but I am a HUGE fan of Ali Hazelwood.  I find the way she writes the characters connections and slow burn, imperfect human emotions and doubts, appealing and draws me in.  I haven't been this deeply connected to books in a long time and it's just hitting something for me in this moment in time.  I appreciate that the incredibly book smart characters she writes about experience the same mind numbing doubts as a normal human being.  And I absolutely cannot get enough of the emotional connection the characters make with each other - even though the writing is thru the eyes of Mallory, you feel Nolan's thought process and can make out what his thinking.

This book has less graphic romance than others of hers that I have read but I still enjoyed it.  And I leaned things about chess I never knew...

I would recommend this book.   

The Maid - Nita Prose

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life's complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection. But Molly's orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it's too late?

Molly Gray is a character who if I had to describe her according to today's standards I would say is on the spectrum in a LARGE way.  Her social skills at reading peoples sarcasm is non existent and her trust at taking people at face value is well it is criminal that someone would take advantage of it.  Poor Molly gets tied up in a scandal from trusting the wrong people - not for the first time.  The book weaves the story from Molly's perspective and I found it very heartwarming to read about her.  The author was very good at describing how Molly was taken advantage of in a way that you as the reader have no doubt that she was by you can separate Molly and your perspective.  

I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone.

The 2017 Short Story Advent Calendar

A co-worker purchased the 2017 Short Story Advent Calendar and has been bringing me her daily short stories.  I have to admit that I have been enjoying this for a change.  I will update this blog post as I read each day (SPOILERS AHEAD):

Day 1: Laird Hunt, "The Face"

This story confused me - at first I couldn't figure out what the heck happened.  But as I re-read it and discussed it with someone else it made sense.  Story revolves around a 14 yr old boy raking leaves in the country for an elderly couple.  The man of the house comes out and tells the boy a story about when he was a sheriff in Tipton County and a strange case he had. Great twist in the story!

Day 2: C. P. Boyko, "Forty-Third C Platoon"

This one was...graphic.  And unusual.  I'm still not sure if I am in the mindset of reading short stories as opposed to whole novels as yet.  Basically it's a story about the 43rd C Platoon and as it progresses it's told from a different person.  I had to go back and forth in each section to figure out who each person was.  Still this one had a flavor I'm not quite used to and it was a pleasant change.

Day 3: Christopher Boucher, "Lady with Invisible Dog"

So far this was my favorite short story.  It’s a little futuristic and a little otherworldly.  A bookstore owner files an “apology” with the bureau and meets a lady with an invisible dog.  I liked the main character and how the author explains his inward feelings.  I really felt connected with him in the small amount of pages.

Day 4: Hasanthika Sirisena, "Kings"

I usually love stories set in foreign lands in and around the 20’s but for some reason this one just didn’t grip me.  D.H. Lawrence in his early 30’s escaping his native England to Kandy Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Apparently, this short story is based on D. H. Lawrence’s poem “Elephant”. The author uses fantastic comparisons and descriptions don’t get me wrong.  I think maybe I’ve been reading books too long that the short story thing is throwing me off and that I’m not enjoying them as much as I should be..

Day 5: Carmen Maria Machado, "Help Me Follow My Sister into the Land of the Dead"

OMG I lied.  THIS is my favorite story!  It was soooooo good.  Told in the prose of someone needing funding for something and the posts for it.  DUDE!!    All around I’m pretty sure this is the best short story I have ever read or will ever read.  Yup.

Day 6: Edie Meidav, "Dogs of Cuba"

I’m not sure about this one.  The story is about a journalist (I think – or a writer at least) and her ex.  She jumps down the rabbit hole so to speak when he comes to America and more specifically to her area.  I like how the author really captures that feeling of relationships and the things that go through our minds and memories we hold on to.  I wasn’t a big fan of the setting.  Fighting – whether in a ring or cage – isn’t my thing.  However it does lend itself to the volatile part of relationships so….

Day 7: Marie-Helene Bertino “Edna in Rain”

Story about a woman walking to the coffee shop while her ex boyfriends are raining down on the sidewalk.  Interesting take and I swear when I finally realized that was what it was about all I heard in my head was It’s Raining Men.  It was a nice little walk down memory lane thinking of my old exs and the feelings that envokes.

Day 8: Jim Gavin, "The Copy Chief"

About a young man and his change in life from a gas station bum to a newspaper man.  I liked the feel of this one and how we delved into his mind and his thought process behind making the decisions he made.  It was well written and a pretty good read.

Day 9: Laura van den Berg, "Aftermath"

A woman, an attic and a boat.  I hated this one.  First off it was scary which is so not my thing but at one point it was scary you can’t put it down reading to wth does this tintanic-esque moment have to do with an attic and her sister.

Day 10: Daniel Orozco, "Announcements"

7 tiny love stories written in the form of wedding announcements.  It was cute, sometimes funny and sometimes you felt like they were not meant to be and their marriage won’t last.  It was a cool little take on a short story.  I kinda liked it.

Day 11: Brent van Staalduinen, "Skinks"

Story of a little boy at a hospital with his mom and stepdad.  This story had the feel of the book Room by Emma Donoghue.  I really love that despite the seriousness of the situation and the emotional parts, it’s told completely from the eyes of a young boy.  And I really feel like the author gets that and makes the reader believe it.  It was very well written.

Day 12: Maggie Shipstead, "Souterrain"

What can I say about this one?  For the first time I feel like I read a complete story in 28 pages.  The story is about 4 people (more or less) and it interweaves and jumps in time frame.  I never felt lost within the story it was that well written.  The anguish, highs, beauty of life are so well presented I felt transported like I was watching thru the window like some kind of time traveler observing.  I think so far this is my favorite.

Day 13: Danielle McLaughlin, "Secondary Memory"

Think Toy Story but for a computer.  A computer that is sentient and has feelings – as much as a com-puter could.  I love this one too.  It was such a great surprising perspective that I immediately loved the idea.  Ironic I had to take my laptop in to be fixed after reading this…

Day 14: Deborah Willis, "Eva"

This one was interesting.  The premise is about basically a bearded lady.  Except it’s more about her start in life as a little girl and how she got there more or less.  I really enjoyed the first part of it, but it is almost inhumane how she was treated.  But you have to read it with a grain of salt as that was how things were at that time.  I kinda liked it however but I didn’t like the jump from half way to the end – it was…well it didn’t seem very cohesive.  It was just a ridiculous jump.  This would have been far better as a novel than a short story.

Day 15: Ken Liu, "The Journal"

I related to this one.  One day while cleaning the house a wife finds her husbands journal and reads it however in doing so mentally she becomes unable to read anything else.  This story is about the communication between people no matter the relationship.  Our own inability to see things and relate to others or misinterpret actions or words from others.

Day 16: Salvatore Scibona, "Tremendous Machine"

The one was interesting…Story of a Polish/Russian woman and her obsessions.  She buys a piano and hires a teacher and it comes full circle when the piano tuner and teacher are at odds.  It was a longer short story that at moments rambled .  Wasn’t my favorite but wasn’t bad.

Day 17: Carleigh Baker, "Last Woman"

This story is about a woman who escapes it all to write in a cabin in the woods and plays a video game about the last woman on earth surviving an apocalypse of some kind.  It’s an interesting take on how sometimes our lives mirror a book we are reading, a game we are playing or some event that happens.

Day 18: Martin MacInnes, "Chemistry"

I was not a fan of this story.  A couple find themselves in a relationship that isn’t quite working out so they go and have themselves chemically altered to make their relationship more chemistry compatible.  Fundamentally speaking I don’t agree with this so had a hard time reading it.  This story for me was far too controversial.

Day 19: Lindsay Hatton, "The Friend"

A story about a veteran who works for a company that builds bridges and this mans one story about a bridge in San Francisco.  It was an odd little story that was more than a little strange.  The writing style is very good but it does jump a little bit.

Day 20: Kelly Link, "The Game of Smash and Recovery"

I really like this one.  A story about a big “brother” and a little “sister” on a different world told through the eyes of the “sister”.  It’s not what you think how ever.  This story reminded me so much of Anne McCaffrey’s The Ship Who Sang (which I love).

Day 21: Rebecca Rosenblum, "The First Day of Winter"

This one was an interesting take on a single father’s day before xmas and shopping with his daughter.  They decide to go to a restaurant and grab a bite to eat before catching the bus home and a waiter his on the father but the daughter just doesn’t seem to notice.  Oh and he a vegetarian.  And gay.  I didn’t mind this one at all.  Not my favorite in terms of writing style but not the most terrible.

Day 22: Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Christmas Banquet"

This one was a tough read for me.  The story is about a xmas banquet but with a twist.  When a rich gentleman died he stipulated in his will that every xmas a dinner would be held but the only guests should be the most pitiful people in life.  Not pitiful money wise but people that had experienced tragic things that had altered their outlook on life.  The most odd thing about this is that at the head of the table would sit a shrouded skeleton holding a wreath.  I found this to be a description heavy short story that had intricately rich characters.  Not the kind of read you should do before falling asleep.  I like the richness to it but it was more like eating a heavy rich meal then going on a big hike.

Day 23: Rebecca Schiff, "How to Be a Slut"

Literally the title – short paragraphs on a woman from first person perspective telling the reading how to be a slut.  Didn’t care of this one from the way it was written and the feel of it.

Day 24: Rachel Lyon, "Tripping Sunny Chaudhry"

This one was good.  During one xmas going back home a woman and her husband stay with her mom.  The woman goes for a drive to her old haunts as a teenager and runs into old classmates including an ex.  Real feeling of nostalgia her and I loved the feeling of being able to be transported back into your own history and remembering high school days.

Beyond the Blossoming Fields - Jun'ichi Watanabe

This book is based on the real-life story of Ginko Ogino - Japan’s first female doctor.  After contracting gonorrhea from her husband, experiencing divorce and humiliation of being examined by male doctors, Gin sets out in male dominated 19th century Japan to become the first female doctor so other women don't have to experience the same humiliations she did.

What can I say about this novel?  I finished it.  It was a tad painful.  I'm not sure if it's because it's a male writer portraying a female persona, maybe something was lost in translation from Japanese or that the writer can't decided to tell the story in first person narrative in the characters present or telling the story ABOUT Ginko historically but this was a terrible read.  It had such great potential and it was so disappointing.  In the middle of Ginko talking about how she applied to a school the next paragraph will talk about how that particular school many years last would go on to become a blah blah blah which would have absolutely nothing to do with Ginko, female doctors or the story.  It was a random historical fact.  And how he writes about Ginko herself there is a disconnect with the character.  For all that she went through and the strength she had to fight to become a doctor, as the reader you are not in any way connected with her.  There's no emotion.  You don't even feel sorry for her.  It's like you're just reading facts about a condition not a person.

All in all with poor writing I would not recommend this book.  Save yourself the trouble and read the wiki article about Ginko Ogino.