Book Club Reviews: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Hey y'all! Ready for another book club book review? Jenny and I knew we wanted to do something different when we reviewed book club books on the blog, so we're going to break our reviews down into three parts: (1) Jenny's Thoughts, (2) Lesley Anne's Thoughts, and (3) Overall Book Club's Thoughts. You'll see at the bottom that we have a fun way to show what the overall book club thought every month. ;) So first things first, we'll give you the summary of The Maze Runner by James Dashner so you have an idea of what the October book was about:

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

Jenny's Thoughts: 

This book was interesting. I gave it a 3 on Goodreads because while I didn't hate it, I didn't love it, either. Since it is the first book in the trilogy it asks a lot of questions but does not provide a lot of answers. And by "not a lot" I mean none. It is actually really frustrating. There are too many characters for them to be developed to the point where you really care what happens with them. It is a really engaging world and premise, but there is not enough of the carrot to entice me to read the rest of the series.

Lesley Anne's Thoughts:
I completely agree with Jenny on this one. The Maze Runner had a bit of a slow start, but once THINGS started happening, the pacing really picked up, and pretty much every chapter ended on a cliffhanger moment, which made for a quick read (I know some people LOVE that, but it's not my favorite). The writing also really turned me off from this book -- it was very juvenile, cheesy, and somewhat repetitive. I know that twenty-something women probably weren't the target audience for this book, so I shouldn't be too hard on it on that front, but it was still hard for me to look past the cheesiness. Add in too many unanswered questions, bad situations conveniently wrapped up, and an ensemble cast of characters that were barely distinguishable from each other, and this one also only got 3 stars from me. I know I make it sound like I hated this book, but I really didn't. I enjoyed it, and I was intrigued by the many parallels I noticed to Lord of the Flies! But it's one of those books I won't read again, and I probably won't continue reading the rest of the series.      

Overall Book Club's Thoughts:

Opinions were all across the board! There were those that read the book in one sitting because it was too hard to put down, to those who tried to listen to the audiobook and were turned off by Dashner's invented slang. We even had a few that went on to read the entire series before we met to discuss the first book, so we were able to ask them which questions were answered by the end of the trilogy and decide whether or not we wanted to keep reading ourselves. This is why I love our book club so much - the diverse opinions really help me to see and think about things in ways I wouldn't have if I had read this book as a solitary experience. 

So what did we read in November? Jenny mentioned it in yesterday's post, but we read our first non-fiction book and chose Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey. We met to discuss it this past Monday night, so our thoughts will be coming soon. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!

Top Ten Books Jenny is Thankful for This Year

The Top Ten topic today is actually top ten books on your winter TBR list, but since it is Thanksgiving I thought it would be nice to deviate from that topic. I attended a retirement party for one of the professors in my department this past week and he said something that has stuck with me. This man is a brilliant scholar as well as a caring professor so he has said lots that has made me think. This is just the latest in a long list of things. He said that those of us who are in literature, rather that be professionally or unofficially, are drawn there because one life is not enough. He went on to explain exactly what he meant, but I want you, dear reader, to think on it for yourself. It is a beautiful sentiment and deceptively shallow on the surface. I would, as always, love to hear your thoughts, whether they be here or in person.

So, Thanksgiving + that wonderful thought has lead to this list of books I am thankful for this year. It has been extremely difficult to narrow it down to ten!

    
1. The Psalms. I am thankful for the Bible as a whole, but different books seem to be more dear during different seasons of life. This is a Psalms season for me. The honesty and rawness of the Psalms is something that has been resonating with me.

2. Possession by A.S. Byatt. The beauty of the prose made me love this book more than I probably would have otherwise. The philosophical questions couched in poetry were especially beautiful. After reading this book I felt full and sated.

3. Medieval Exegesis by Henri de Lubac. This study on the history of biblical exegesis was the turning point for my thesis. Without this book my thesis would be mostly speculation. Plus, this man is a wonderful, thorough scholar.

4. The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen. Lesley Anne recommended this book and I am so thankful she did. The little, everyday magics in her books highlight the beauty of an ordinary life. Plus, her descriptions of the settings make one want to plan a trip ASAP.

5. Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey. This is the book we read for book club this month and I highly recommend it! I do not want to take up a lot of space here, but suffice to say it is thought-provoking, encouraging, and peaceful. I know that last one is a hard one, but if you read it you will understand :)

6. The Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews. This is a fantasy series set in an Atlanta that experiences fluctuations in magic. This series is all about the characters for me, and not just the main characters, but the cast of secondary characters is great. It starts out a bit slow but is worth sticking with.

7. Is That a Fish in Your Ear? by David Bellos. This is a book I had to read for a class on translation last semester. While I don't agree with everything he says, it is so interesting and makes you think about how we communicate.

8. American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This modern take on deities and culture is funny and astute. There is something about Shadow that is extremely engaging. He might be in my top ten for favorite characters.

9. The Just Church by Jim Martin. This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in social justice. It is from a Christian perspective and speaks mainly to those involved through their local church. The focus on the personal and the community is my favorite part and something that has been overlooked, I think.

10. The Princess Bride by William Goldman. This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. If you like the movie, you will love the book!

Jenny Reviews: Mortal Heart + The Blood of Olympus

I don't know about y'all, but I am always apprehensive about the last book in a series. The last book has the potential to make or break a series for me, even if I've loved the previous books. One of the best things about a series is the journey you get to take with the characters. If the last book does not complete the story to my satisfaction (which I realize is completely subjective), then I feel as if the journey has been a waste (Do not ask me my feelings on the Hunger Games Trilogy). I decided to review two books that came out recently because they are the last book in their respective series. Think of it as Two-For-One Day here at Pathological Readers :)

Book 1:

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers
Release Date: 4 November 2014
Page Count: 464
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Target Audience: YA
Series: His Fair Assassin #3
Source and Format: Purchased; Kindle eBook

Summary (From Goodreads)
Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has… 

 


Notes on Mortal Heart
This was a very satisfying conclusion for me! This trilogy features a different protagonist in each book, but each one shows up in the others' books. The leading ladies are all assassin nuns, of a sort. Their father is the Breton god of Death and they are raised to be his instruments here on earth. The book is set in 15th century Brittany, which is in France. The conflict revolves around France wanting to subsume Brittany into its own land. This third book is about Annith, who has been raised in the convent, unlike the other girls who make their way there. She is being kept in the convent rather than sent out on missions and she wants to know why. I really liked this book, even more than I thought I would. LaFevers resolves both the conflict between France and Brittany and the conflict between Annith and the convent nicely. I will say that the solution for the France/Brittany conflict was a bit far-fetched (and is what kept me from giving it 5 stars) BUT it was also plausible within the world that LaFevers created so it was not completely unbelievable. It was just a bit too convenient for me. The love interest in this book is also... different. I enjoyed it but I could see where some readers would have a hard time with it. Overall, this book was a wonderful way to the end the trilogy. Well done, Robin LaFevers!

Book 2:

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
Release Date: 7 October 2014
Page Count: 516
Genre: Fantasy
Target Audience: YA, Middle Grades
Series: The Heroes of Olympus #5
Source and Format: Purchased; Kindle eBook

Summary (From Goodreads)
Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

Notes on The Blood of Olympus
This book. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads because it was just mediocre to me. For those of you who have not read the series, each book is narrated by 3 of more of the characters. This is cool because you get to really know the characters since Riordan gives you a glimpse into their heads. This woks really well when it is only three characters; not so much when you have 4+ narrators. There were too many characters in this book. There were two story lines that were going on simultaneously. There were two different battles with multiple characters. It was just A LOT. The book felt... busy. Chaotic. It did do a nice job of wrapping up most of the questions everyone had. It also provided a happy ending for most everyone. I think Riordan bit off a bit more than he could chew and it was more messy than his normal style. This series started out really great but the more characters that were added, the harder it was to enjoy the story because everyone's separate stories kept getting in the way. This series did not end on a high note, but it was not also the worst.


Hope you enjoyed Two-For-One Day!

A Bookish Place: Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN

This past weekend I (Jenny) had the privilege of going to Nashville to attend IJM's Northstar Conference. For those of you who do not know about IJM, click here to be introduced to one of the most brilliant non-profits on the planet. (I will be blogging more about them later, as I am reading a book written by the founder and president. They really deserve their own blog post!). This post, however, is about a really wonderful bookstore I had the opportunity to visit while I was there.

I first ran across this bookstore on some list of the independent-bookstores-you-have-to-visit-before-you-die variety. I do not remember exactly where I saw it, but the name was stuck in my subconscious, apparently, because when we happened to eat lunch at the Chipotle in the same shopping center as Parnassus, something in my brain went, "You must go there".

Thank goodness for such a wonderful, unique name -  Parnassus Books. It is very unassuming on the outside; I mean, it is in a shopping center for cryin' out loud. How much more uncool and corporate can you get? That name, however, was a beacon shining from a mundane exterior, hinting at the brilliance within (I am writing a thesis on allegory, can you tell?). Does the name ring any bells? Unless you are a Classics major/minor/professor/devotee, it probably wouldn't. I had to look it up to make sure I remembered correctly from that one Classics class I took as an undergrad. Parnassus was where the Oracle of Delphi was located. The area was sacred to Apollo, Dionysus, and the Muses- everyone who was responsible for the creative arts in ancient Greece. Pretty cool, huh?

So, while the exterior left something to be desired, the inside most definitely did not. The walls are lined floor to ceiling with books. The minute I walked in the smell of books enveloped me, making me hesitate inside the entrance just to take in the visual and olfactory magnificence of the space. It is a relatively small space but is used in such a way as to cram the max amount of books possible into it. 

My two favorite parts of the bookstore were definitely the ladders and the kids' section. Yes, you read that right- ladders. They had Beauty and the Beast ladders along the shelves to reach the top shelves. 

I took a picture of this specific one because, as you can see, they have a whole section dedicated to book club books. What a wonderful idea! And the best part was that they were not just books that had/were being made into movies. A lot of thought had gone into the selections. They have their own book club (which I would kill to be a part of) so you know a good bit of experience has gone into picking these books. 

Next favorite part- the kids' section. Look at this most adorable entrance:

It looks like the entrance to a Greek temple! I did not do a good job of scaling the picture for y'all but think of the door at the Chick-fil-A Dwarf House. And yes, of course I walked through this way. Most of the other, cooler customers were laughing at me but I did not care. It was just so wonderful, you know? 

So. If you are ever in Nashville, you must visit. I bought two books I cannot read until I am done with my thesis because I couldn't not buy something from there. 

There is also a blog you can visit which has cool posts on everything from book club picks to stars in Nashville who stop by the store. The amount of events the store puts on is really amazing. It truly is a community-oriented bookstore, working to spread the love of reading in Nashville. I listened in on the staff suggestions when someone would ask them questions and they were so helpful and so friendly. I was very impressed. It was obvious they love their job and love to introduce people to new books. If I were you, I would plan a trip to Nashville just so I could stop by here. You won't regret it.

September 2014 Rewind

Now that I'm all caught up on my monthly recaps, I thought now would be a great time to try something new and add a little personality to these posts! Some of my favorite monthly recaps to read do this exact thing (like Jamie's and Hannah's--their monthly recaps are so fun and creative!). So what's going to be new? If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, I'm sure you've noticed I'm a picture person. I love photography and how it forces me to slow down and really observe what's around me, and the fact that it gives me a creative outlet outside my 9-5 office job (when I'm not reading, of course). So, naturally, I want to start including pictures I've taken throughout the month in my monthly recap posts, and these pictures will probably be a mixture of both iPhone and DSLR photos (because let's face it--a lot of life happens when you aren't carrying around a huge clunky camera!). Along with pictures, I'll also be including three other new things: My favorite book read that month, a link to the most popular post on the blog for the month, and what I'm excited about for next month. So here we go!    

September in Pictures

1. Kayaking the Hiwassee River - This is one of my favorite things we did in September! My husband (Kyle) and I love doing outdoorsy things, and it has been WAY too long since we've been kayaking together. Nothing beats the peace you feel being in the middle of a river with nothing but your thoughts and nature to keep you company. 

2. We sold my Jeep and bought a new car! - This was so bittersweet. It was definitely time to move on from the Jeep (I got it on my 16th birthday and drove it for the past 10 years), and we couldn't have picked a more perfect family to buy it from us. Now, after researching nearly every vehicle on the planet, we're the proud owners of a beautiful Toyota Highlander. And y'all, I'm pretty much OBSESSED with it.

3. Kaiser Permanente 5K and FBCL Autumn 5K - I honestly can't believe I ran survived two 5Ks this month! The first one I ran/walked with my sweet friend Keri, and the second I ran with the husband, my brother-in-law, and my little brother (and our pup, Doc!). I'm still not in good enough shape to actually run an entire 5K from start to finish, but I'm hoping to get there before we head down to Disney for the Wine & Dine 5K in November!

4. Garth Brooks concert - This was definitely a Bucket List concert for Kyle and me! We are pretty much shameless in our love for country music (see what I did there?), and Garth is without a doubt a country music legend. I can't even begin to describe how excited we were when we actually got tickets, and on opening night, too! We were both raised on Garth and Trisha's music, so it was pretty much a dream come true for us to see them live in Atlanta! Not gonna lie, I had a legit fangirl moment when Trisha started belting out "She's In Love With the Boy." SO nostalgic. And Kelly Clarkson even made a surprise appearance! 

5. Book Club - As you know from this post, we had our first book club discussion meeting at Jenny's house in September, and it was a big success! We've got The Maze Runner lined up to discuss in October, and in November you better believe we're taking a group trip to see Mockingjay: Part 1 (cue ALLLL the feels y'all)! I am SO excited about where book club is headed.    

6. Hanging with family after the UGA/Tennessee game - We have season tickets for UGA football this year, which means we'll be spending a lot of time in Athens over the weekends this Fall. A couple of weekends ago, not only did the Dawgs pull out a (nailbiter!) win against Tennessee, but we were able to catch up with my sweet cousin Ali and her boyfriend Ernesto afterwards. Ali is in PT School in Miami, and Ernesto works for Target Corporate in Minneapolis, so it's a rare but wonderful thing when we get to see these two!

Favorite Book Read in September

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

Most Popular Post in September

Top Ten Books on Lesley Anne's Fall Reading List

On My Shelves 

Bought on Sale at 2nd & Charles 
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce | Princess Academy by Shannon Hale | The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Bargain Buys for Nook

A God-Sized Love Story by Gretchen Saffles | A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live by Emily P. Freeman | The Measure of Katie Calloway by Serena Miller | The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons

3 Things I'm Excited About in October

1. Two trips to the North Carolina mountains - the first with my family, and the second with the Greavus for our 5th annual camping trip!
2. A fall wedding in the city = romantic date night with my man! :)
3. Starting something completely new and scary (and exciting!) and trusting that the Lord will guide me each step of the way. Hopefully I can share more about this in next month's recap!

Stacking the Shelves {June, July, and August 2014}

Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive // Las Vegas, NV

Hey y'all! I'm back today to finish catching up on my Stacking the Shelves posts (you can view all my previous Stacking the Shelves posts here!). In case you missed it, I posted last Monday about the books I added to my shelves in April and May, and today I'll be finishing out the summer with the books I bought/borrowed/received in June, July, and August. As you'll see, there are quite a few more books listed in June, since that was my birthday month (woot woot!), and July and August ended up being pretty quiet in the book buying department. Which is definitely not a bad thing! 

June 2014 Books

Bought with Birthday Gift Cards

The Nesting Place: It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful by Myquillin Smith | Ruin and Rising (Exclusive Collector's Edition) by Leigh Bardugo

Gifted From Hannah (Thanks girl!)
Madame Tussaud's Apprentice by Kathleen Benner Duble | The Winter Guest by Pam Jenoff | Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell | Your Perfect Life by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

Added for Free to Nook
Rekindled by Tamera Alexander | Appalachian Serenade by Sarah Loudin Thomas

Bought on Sale for Nook
Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland | North and South by John Jakes

July 2014 Books

Borrowed from Jenny

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Bought for Shelves

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

August 2014 Books

Bought for Shelves

Persuasion (Vintage Classics Edition) by Jane Austen | Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 

Book Club Reviews: Longbourn by Jo Baker

Happy Thursday, friends! Jenny and I thought we'd do something fun on the blog today--so welcome to our first book club review post!

First of all, I have to say that book club has gotten off to a GREAT start! We had 13 girls at our first discussion meeting, and since we were discussing Longbourn by Jo Baker, we decided to have a tea party food theme. Jenny made for the perfect hostess for this theme, because she definitely doesn't mess around when it comes to tea. Just check out this post she wrote earlier this year if you don't believe me.

Anyway, Jenny and I knew we wanted to do something different when we reviewed book club books on the blog, so we're going to break our reviews down into three parts: (1) Jenny's Thoughts, (2) Lesley Anne's Thoughts, and (3) Overall Book Club's Thoughts. You'll see at the bottom that we have a fun way to show what the overall book club thought every month. ;) So first things first, we'll give you the summary of Longbourn so you have an idea of what the novel is about.

If Elizabeth Bennet had the washing of her own petticoats, Sarah often thought, she’d most likely be a sight more careful with them.

In this irresistibly imagined belowstairs answer to Pride and Prejudice, the servants take center stage. Sarah, the orphaned housemaid, spends her days scrubbing the laundry, polishing the floors, and emptying the chamber pots for the Bennet household. But there is just as much romance, heartbreak, and intrigue downstairs at Longbourn as there is upstairs. When a mysterious new footman arrives, the orderly realm of the servants’ hall threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, upended.

Jo Baker dares to take us beyond the drawing rooms of Jane Austen’s classic—into the often overlooked domain of the stern housekeeper and the starry-eyed kitchen maid, into the gritty daily particulars faced by the lower classes in Regency England during the Napoleonic Wars—and, in doing so, creates a vivid, fascinating, fully realized world that is wholly her own.


Jenny's Thoughts: Hmmm. I honestly loathed this book. I tried really hard to temper my comments at book club and when people would ask my opinion, but there it is. Jane Austen is not my favorite and Pride and Prejudice gets on my nerves, to be honest. The beginning of this book, though, seemed like it would be really good. The immediate contrast between the Bennetts' life of privilege and the reality of their servants was really well done. That was, however, the only thing that was well done (in my opinion). Not one of the characters was fully developed. The pacing was.... odd. There was so much potential for her to fall so short. Pride and Prejudice was a brilliant story to use (it has a built-in audience) to really talk about the realities of 18th/19th century England. Jane Austen provided social commentary for a very select group of her society; this book could have been used as a foil to flesh out the rest of the Austenian (I made that word up--how do you make 'Austen' an adjective?) world. Her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennett was my favorite. It was gusty of Baker to take on such an iconic character of British literature. That being said, Baker set up a brilliant novel and then peopled it with flat characters who you have a hard time caring about. I would never recommend this book to anyone.

Lesley Anne's Thoughts: I think what helped me like this book more than others was listening to the audiobook in addition to reading a physical copy. Hearing Emma Fielding's (the narrator's) English accent as she read the description-heavy passages distracted me from being annoyed by the nitty gritty details of the book. And y'all, this book did not shy away from the nitty gritty. Jo Baker made sure she didn't gloss over what life was like as a servant in Regency era England. Somebody had to empty out the Bennett's chamber pots, slave over a meal all day, and clean up after the Gardiner children's nappies, and those people were the main characters in this novel. I have to say that this aspect of the novel was very eye-opening and educational for me, though it was an education I wasn't expecting to receive. Longbourn also made me step back and think more deeply about the beloved characters in Pride & Prejudice, and shed a new light on the unsympathetic ones, such as Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Collins, and Mary. I think the glimpse at the motivations and interactions of these three characters was my favorite part about this novel. Overall, my feelings for Longbourn are blasé at best. I liked it, but it's definitely not a new favorite.

Overall Book Club's Thoughts: Ok, so here's where the experimentation comes in. Y'all will have to let us know how you like it! Each month, Jenny and I are going to ask everyone in book club to summarize their feelings/thoughts/reaction to the book in one word, and then we'll share everyone's words in a cute graphic when we review the book on the blog. We'll also take a group photo where everyone will give either a thumbs up, thumbs down, or thumbs "middle" (yes, we've made that a thing, lol) depending on their reaction to the book. This picture is so much fun to me since you can see the range of everyone's reactions all at the same time - and in a book club this size, they are all across the board! So as you can see, for the most part, book club was NOT a fan of Longbourn. But if you are still curious about this story, please don't let us discourage you from trying it! Popular opinion might not  always match your opinion, and that's ok.

So what are we reading in October?! The Maze Runner by James Dashner!