Language of Flowers, by Venessa Diffenbaugh

This book has received a significant amount of publicity as a New York Times best seller, and more recently, a popular book club book.  Regardless of the high praise, it was the cover that caught my attention and compelled me to read it.  Correction -- I listened to it as a book on CD.  After the first chapter, I would have returned the book.  As I said on my earlier post, things are difficult right now, and I don't need to experience more pain and suffering through a book.  But, my drive compelled me to listen to more of the book, and it had its merits.  Then, as the action ebbed and flowed, I was tempted to add it to my "couldn't complete" status, but I had already committed too much to it.  This was a mistake and I eventually just skipped section in my self imposed censorship.  

Did I enjoy the book? No.  Did I find it compelling? No.  I think of other works that deal with difficult topics but this novel just seemed to lack all depth.  In the end, things were resolved and wrapped up, more or less.  I just felt so wanting in the end.  

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so on to another book and hopes for a better read tomorrow.

Here is the summary from the NY Times:
The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system with nowhere to go, Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But an unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger has her questioning what’s been missing in her life. And when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness

Shop Girl by Steve Martin

I'm going through a very challenging time in my life right now -- my Dad had a near fatal fall, so although I have a couple of books I'm itching to read, I'm listening to Shopgirl by Steve Martin, instead.  I just like listening to his voice...  It has been helpful as I drove back and forth between the hospital this weekend.

One thing about the book catches me -- Martin uses the word "confound" a lot.  I don't know why I make a mental note of that word every time he uses it, but I do, and he's used it at least three times.  It's a good word, but...  Maybe I'm just not in the best frame of mind. He does have a lovely voice... and yes, I'm enjoying the story, as well.

Here is the summary:

Mirabelle is the "shopgirl" of the title, a young woman, beautiful in a wallflowerish kind of way, who works behind the glove counter at Neiman Marcus "selling things that nobody buys anymore..."  Mirabelle captures the attention of Ray Porter, a wealthy businessman almost twice her age. As they tentatively embark on a relationship, they struggle to decipher the language of love--with consequences that are both comic and heartbreaking. Filled with the kind of witty, discerning observations that have brought Steve Martin critical success, Shopgirl is a work of disarming tenderness

The Sea Captain's Wife, by Beth Powning

I read this books over the course of a few days -- while on the plane to Vienna and during the first couple of nights when I couldn't sleep.  I can't say that I love the book -- it was entertaining -- but it seemed to me as if the author had a check list of sea faring challenges and she selected them all. 

At least I purchased the electronic copy so it's not taking up book shelf space. Alas, I can't give it away either. Another enjoyable for forgettable book.

Here is the summary:
Growing up on the Bay of Fundy, Azuba Galloway dreams of going to sea. She watches magnificent ships slowly making their way into Whelan's Cove, the sense of exoticism bursting from their holds along with foreign goods.   As a young woman, Azuba marries a seasoned merchant sea captain, Nathaniel Bradstock. Unwilling to have him away at sea for most of their married life, and anxious to see far shores, she extracts a promise that he will take her with him. But Azuba becomes pregnant soon after they marry and Nathaniel knows too well the perils of life on a ship. He reneges on his promise and refuses to allow Azuba to join him.   When Nathaniel leaves on his journey, Azuba desperately misses her husband. Days turn into weeks and months -- voyages can take two, three years before the ship and crew return home. Despite her loneliness, Azuba becomes a strong, independent woman, caring for her child and her home. With her parents and beloved grandmother nearby, she settles into a life of quietude and predictability, all the while yearning to be by her husband's side aboard his ship.   Her loneliness eventually propels her into a friendship with the local vicar, Reverend Simon Walton. He is a quiet, kind and contemplative man, and Azuba takes comfort and enjoyment in their increasingly intimate friendship. One afternoon, despite her misgivings, Azuba goes on a picnic with the vicar and becomes trapped by the tide. When they return home the next morning, Azuba and Reverend Walton have become a topic of gossip.   When Nathaniel returns home he is enraged by her impropriety. Reluctantly he decides to take Azuba and their young daughter, Carrie, with him on his next voyage. Mother and child are loaded from a rowboat and hauled onto the weather deck along with barrels of coal and crates of chickens. Nathaniel has drawn a line across the deck. "You'll never again cross that line," he instructs Azuba. It is October 1862. It will be three years before Azuba sees the shores of Whelan's Cove again. Aboard Traveller , the small family visits places Azuba dreamed she would one day see: London, San Francisco and exotic countries in Europe.   But she also experiences the terror that can come during a life at sea: a harrowing passage around Cape Horn, half-starvation while listlessly floating in the doldrums, and a stop at the Chincha Islands to pick up a load of guano, where she witnesses a mass suicide by slaves. She begins to question her decision to join her husband, particularly when she realizes there is "no way to erase horror from a child's memory." Misery follows misfortune and Azuba feels alone in a male world, surrounded by the splendour and the terror of the open sea. The voyage tests not only her already precarious marriage, but everything Azuba believes in.  

With a sure hand, Beth Powning captures life aboard a sailing ship -- ferocious storms, the impossibly isolated ports of call, the gruelling daily routine -- and shows how love evolves even in the most extreme circumstances.   The Sea Captain's Wife is an awe-inspiring tour that captures the vigour of life in the last days of the Age of Sail and gives us an unforgettable young heroine who shows compassion, courage and love while under incredible duress

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

This book was recommended to me by an adult with glowing accolades including, "This is the best book I've ever read!!" 

High praise indeed, and although I enjoyed it, and it made a strong impression upon me, it took me awhile to commit to it. I did like the main character Liesel and her close friend, Rudy.  I loved the story telling aspect, and the descriptions of the sky on particular days.  It was a horrible time, and yet, it gave me pleasure to experience the characters small pleasures and joys. The Book Thief celebrates the human spirit and the power of the written word.

Here is a very brief summary:

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles

I selected this title for it's cover -- so lovely -- and like the cover, the book was enjoyable but not particularly memorable.  Reading it gave me flashbacks to my survey course of American Literature: Benjamin Franklin, Thoreau, Jefferson, Fitzgerald, and of course, Hemingway.  I think Mark Twain and Emily Dickinson were thrown in for good measure. Of course, if you love New York, you may enjoy this book even more! 

Beatrice & Virgil, by Yann Martel

Rarely has a book annoyed me as much as this novel, by Yann Martel.  I thoroughly enjoyed Life of Pi so I guess I had pretty high expectations.  It wasn't that the book was poorly written, it just seemed very contrived.  The description of a pear, a dialogue between Beatrice and Virgil, went on for pages. It appeared to me that it was a writing exercise -- something that was put into the story since it was already written.

The description of the taxidermist with the list of different animals found inside the store was of Biblical proportions and maybe that was the intent.  I found it merely annoying.

Yes, I recognize that Martel is a skilled writer.  I caught many of the different literary allusions, and I'm sure I missed many more.  I now know more about flip books than I ever imagined I needed, and without a doubt, the publishing industry is not for the faint of heart. I get that but the fact remains that after all those pages I just didn't care that much about Henry or his plight.

So, I closed the book and feel no loss at not finishing it.  Sad, as I wanted to enjoy it, and I'm in need of a good novel right now.

Insurgent, by Veronica Roth

The hype surrounding the release of this second book in the Divergent series was palpable.  Teens were vibrating with excitement with the next instalment of a dystopian world featuring Tris and Tobias.

The story itself was a fast paced ride of a story filled with violence, twists, romance and comments on society and human nature.  It did not have a lot of character development, so although I enjoyed the story, it seemed emotionally flat -- the characters starting to appear stock.

Here is the publisher's blurb:
One choice can transform you or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves, and herself, while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows.  And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable, and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must filly embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.