The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings (2007)
Summary: Matthew King was once considered one of the most fortunate men in Hawaii. His missionary ancestors were financially and culturally progressive–one even married a Hawaiian princess, making Matt a royal descendant and one of the state’s largest landowners. Now his luck has changed. His two daughters are out of control: Ten-year-old Scottie is a smart-ass with a desperate need for attention, and seventeen-year-old Alex, a former model, is a recovering drug addict. Matt’s charismatic, thrill-seeking, high-maintenance wife, Joanie, lies in a coma after a boat-racing accident and will soon be taken off life support. The Kings can hardly picture life without her, but as they come to terms with this tragedy, their sadness is mixed with a sense of freedom that shames them–and spurs them into surprising actions. Before honoring Joanie’s living will, Matt must gather her friends and family to say their final goodbyes, a difficult situation made worse by the sudden discovery that there is one person who hasn’t been told: the man with whom Joanie had been having an affair, quite possibly the one man she ever truly loved. Forced to examine what he owes not only to the living but to the dead, Matt takes to the road with his daughters to find his wife’s lover, a memorable journey that leads to both painful revelations and unforeseen humor and growth. (from Goodreads)

THE DESCENDANTS was the best book I have read in a long, long time. Hemmings’ characterization is spot-on and each character is real, flaws and all. The dynamic between Matt and his daughters, the relationship between the two sisters, the complicated emotions the whole family has towards Joanie, the mother – Hemmings’ nailed it all down to a T. I got completely absorbed in the story, and was able to relate to each character on some level despite the vast differences between my own experiences and the arc of the story. It’s just a great book, and I definitely recommend it to everyone. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I hopefully will be watching it soon.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (2011)
Summary: Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill-prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for. (from Goodreads)

I knew absolutely nothing about Hemingway’s first marriage, so THE PARIS WIFE was definitely an eye-opening read. McLain captures Hadley’s spirit beautifully, and the dynamic between her and Hemingway is depicted realistically (it can’t have been easy to be married to him!). I love how McLain describes 1920 Paris, and the literary circles that Hemingway and Hadley are part of. She also writes about the demise of the marriage beautifully; it sneaks into the story without suspect until it becomes the story, so to speak. A worthwhile read. It’s also made me want to read more Hemingway, as I’ve only ever read THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA. Perhaps to start with THE SUN ALSO RISES, which was one of the novels Hemingway was working on in THE PARIS WIFE?

Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg (2011)
Summary: Zombies in North London, death cults in the West Country, the engineering deck of the Enterprise: Simon Pegg has been ploughing some bizarre furrows in recent times. Having blasted onto the small screens with his now legendary sitcom Spaced, his rise to the UK’s favourite son status has been mercurial, meteoric, megatronnic, but mostly just plain great. From his childhood (and subsequently adult) obsession with Star Wars, his often passionate friendship with Nick Frost, and his forays into stand-up which began with his regular Monday morning slot in front of his 12-year-old classmates, this is a joyous tale of a homegrown superstar and a loval boy made good. (from Goodreads)

I absolutely adore Simon Pegg, so it is an unfortunate fact that I did not adore this book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent enough read. Pegg writes in an easy to read manner with an authentic voice, and there are a few memorable anecdotes scattered throughout the memoir. But in the end, it is ultimately forgettable. There is an uneven balance of half-stories relating his first sexual encounters and deep, in-depth movie analysis of Star Wars (he studied film at school, it shows when he dissects his favorite movies!). NERD DO WELL is as though Pegg isn’t sure what to include in his memoir, so he includes a little bit of everything without including everything (sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t). His self-deprecating humor shines throughout, though.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (2010)
Summary: Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss’s family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding. It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains–except Katniss. The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay–no matter what the personal cost. (from Goodreads)

From the few reviews that I’ve read of THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, there seems to be a general consensus that the best book of the trilogy is the first novel, with quality (for lack of better term) gradually declining throughout the series. I can’t say I disagree. I did enjoy MOCKINGJAY, but there was something about the pacing of the storyline that was terribly off. Collins devoted a lot of time – perhaps too much – describing the planning and such in the first two thirds of the novel, only for things to happen crazily fast in the last third. I did like how characters such as Finnick, Joanna and Peeta were further developed, but there were times when it felt as though Katniss was in a rut and, therefore, so was the book. Having said all that, MOCKINGJAY is definitely worth a read and I was happy with how the series ended.

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson (2011)
Summary: The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history. A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the “New Germany,” she has one affair after another, including with the surprisingly honorable first chief of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. But as evidence of Jewish persecution mounts, confirmed by chilling first-person testimony, her father telegraphs his concerns to a largely indifferent State Department back home. Dodd watches with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate. As that first year unfolds and the shadows deepen, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance—and ultimately, horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder reveals Hitler’s true character and ruthless ambition. Suffused with the tense atmosphere of the period, and with unforgettable portraits of the bizarre Göring and the expectedly charming–yet wholly sinister–Goebbels, In the Garden of Beasts lends a stunning, eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity. The result is a dazzling, addictively readable work that speaks volumes about why the world did not recognize the grave threat posed by Hitler until Berlin, and Europe, were awash in blood and terror. (from Goodreads)

IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS was fascinating. I’ve always been drawn to the history of the years leading up to and including World War Ii, and this novel was a great insight to pre-World War II Berlin. Larson does a great job of allowing documents and accounts of the era tell the story, and it truly is like being there alongside the Dodds are horror after horror occurs. Both Ambassador Dodd and Martha frustrated me at times (Martha in particular, especially with her affair with Boris, the Soviet diplomat) but what frustrated me the most was how no one would act upon the early evils committed by the Hitler regime. I’ve studied the era a little and know about appeasement and all that, but reading actual accounts of the time period just reinforced this frustration for me.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005)
Summary: As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one years old–lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory. And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now. (from Goodreads)

This novel is deceptively simple at first. There is no hard-and-fast plot; Kathy narrates the story in a nonlinear fashion as her memory recalls different events of her childhood and youth. While I didn’t clue into the fact as to what made Kathy, Ruth and Tommy’s lives at Hailsham so unique and what set them apart from the rest of society until about halfway into the book, it really jolted my comprehension of the story and made me rethink everything I had assumed about these three and those like them in NEVER LET ME GO. The novel ends when Ruth is done recalling her memories, and while there is no grand statement or sweeping generalization made in regards to the overarching themes of the story, Ishiguro writes in such a disquieting manner that Kathy’s story sticks with you long after you’ve finished reading the book. NEVER LET ME GO is definitely a worthwhile read.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain (2001)
Summary: When Chef Anthony Bourdain wrote “Don’t Eat Before You Read This” in The New Yorker, he spared no one’s appetite, revealing what goes on behind the kitchen door. In Kitchen Confidential, he expanded that appetizer into a deliciously funny, delectable shocking banquet that lays out his 25 years of sex, drugs, and haute cuisine. From his first oyster in the Gironde to the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center, from the restaurants of Tokyo to the drug dealers of the East Village, from the mobsters to the rats, Bourdain’s brilliantly written, wild-but-true tales make the belly ache with laughter. (from Amazon)

Prior to reading this, the only thing I knew about Anthony Bourdain was that he hosts the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations” and that he has a passionate hatred for Paula Deen. After reading this, I have a much deeper appreciation for Bourdain and the passion that he has for food. Bourdain tells it like it is with a no-holds-barred approach. Wickedly funny at times, I greatly enjoyed the chapters where Bourdain advised his readers on what to avoid in restaurants (discount sushi and well-done meat, among other things) as well as what kitchen items to purchase if one wants to cook like a chef (for starters, a great non-stick pan). My favorite chapter was the one that was a “life in the day” type of narration of Bourdain’s experience as an executive chef at Les Halles in New York City.

Kosher Chinese: Living, Teaching, and Eating with China’s Other Billion by Michael Levy (2011)
Summary: In September of 2005, the Peace Corps sent Michael Levy to teach English in the heart of China’s heartland. His hosts in the city of Guiyang found additional uses for him: resident expert on Judaism, romantic adviser, and provincial basketball star, to name a few. His account of overcoming vast cultural differences to befriend his students and fellow teachers is by turns poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. While reveling in the peculiarities of life in China’s interior, the author also discovered that the “other billion” (people living far from the coastal cities covered by the American media) have a complex relationship with both their own traditions and the rapid changes of modernization. Lagging behind in China’s economic boom, they experience the darker side of “capitalism with Chinese characteristics,” daily facing the schizophrenia of conflicting ideologies. Kosher Chinese is an illuminating account of the lives of the residents of Guiyang, particularly the young people who will soon control the fate of the world. (from Goodreads)

Much of the narrative arc of this memoir is typical Westerner-meets-China stuff: attempting to speaking Chinese results in miscommunication due to inability to use tones correctly; experiencing shock and horror at eating foods like chicken feet or dog meat; making acute observations about globalization when noticing the abundance of KFCs and McDonalds; etc. “Kosher Chinese” has all of these and more; however, Levy recounts his experiences in a refreshingly honest manner. He never lectures about right or wrong answers to globalization or “capitalism with Chinese characteristics.” Instead, he asks a lot of hard-hitting questions, but either has no answers or chooses not to disclose them. He also does a remarkable job of explaining dominant themes such as guanxi, which the average non-Chinese reader would not understand. While this book should not be used as an example for a Peace Corps Volunteer experience (Levy barely touches upon that), it did make my heart ache for all that I miss in China, which counts for something.

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins (2009)
Summary: Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol – a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create. Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying. In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before… and surprising readers at every turn. (from Goodreads)

I greatly enjoyed “Catching Fire,” even though I think the first book in the trilogy was better. It provided needed backstory to a lot of characters, and it also set up a lot of things for the third and final book of the trilogy. I was a little surprised in the direction that the book took two-thirds of the way through as I thought it ran the risk of being repetitive, but it actually worked quite well. Also, the cliffhanger at the end of this book is a killer, but luckily I already had a copy of “Mockingjay” so I got to continue reading right away!