Review - "This is Where I Leave You"

I didn't have high hopes for this novel until I saw the preview for the movie.  This is the second novel I've read by Jonathan Tropper.  The first was Plan B, a simple and trite novel that was about nothing in particular.  This is Where I Leave You was MUCH better.  

The story opens with the main character, Judd, receiving a call from his sister announcing the death of their father.  This is days after Judd has discovered his wife in bed with his boss, so needless to say, this isn't a great time for him.  At the funeral, the family finds out that their father's last wish was for his wife and children to sit shiva - mourn for 7 days under the same roof.  Now, this family takes disfunction to a crazy level.  The oldest brother, Paul, is married to Judd's ex-girlfriend, and they are fruitlessly trying to get pregnant.  Judd's older sister is married to a distant, work-obssessed jerk and is in love with her childhood boyfriend.  The youngest brother is a complete mess but also completely sweet. Their mother is a famous psychologist who is extremely in touch with her sexuality.  And...none of them can stand being in the same room with each other.

This book is enjoyable not just because of the story, but because of the extreme honesty with which it was written.  Judd goes through so much throughout the story, and the reader feels every emotion and each conflicting feeling.  The best part about it is that the author captures the feelings behind a sibling relationship.  The way that no matter how much you want to strangle your crazy brothers and sisters, they are the people who know you best and will always have your back.  Stories about sibling relationships always make me incredibly emotional, in the best way.  Tropper captures the best and the worst parts of of these relationships - the obligations, the constant bailouts, the bad decisions you advised them against, but also the inside jokes, the memories, and the laughs you can produce with just a look.  I really enjoyed this book - it is a great reminder to enjoy the moments you have with your family...and to keep those moments limited so that they don't irritate the crap out of you.  

On a side note - I saw the movie the other day, it stays very true to the novel and Jason Bateman is adorable, so I recommend it as well.  

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Review - Dark Places (Gillian Flynn)

Gillian Flynn has gained quite a following over the past few years, myself included.  I am writing this post as the world's biggest fan of Gone Girl.  The book enraptured me more than any other in recent memory.  But, this is not a review about Gone Girl - mostly because everyone else in the world has already ready it.  

Dark Places is Ms. Flynn's second novel.  The premise is around a small town Missouri family whose lives take a turn when the mother and 2 sisters are violently killed in their home.  The story is told from the view of the youngest daughter, Libby, 25 years later.  Libby had survived the massacre as a young girl  and was instrumental in developing the case against her brother as the murderer.  More than two decades later, she comes across a group of "fans" of the case who believe wholeheartedly that her brother was innocent, leading her to second guess her testimony.  The story goes on from there, unraveling the details of the murder.

The whole story is very reminiscent of In Cold Blood, with the imagery of the small town family murders and the apparent lack of motive.  However, there's a whole troubled child/satanic influence part of the book that throws it way into left field.  It's interesting, no doubt, but Dark Places is definitely an appropriate title for the novel.  The story touches on themes of poverty, abuse, and desperate measures.  What I find interesting is that there are really no likable characters in the entire book, save a nerdy side character who doesn't get enough of the storyline.  Despite that, the story holds its own and delves into some intense situations and intriguing suspense.  By the end of the novel I felt reasonably entertained but it definitely left me wanting more depth in character development and story.  

3 out of 5 stars.

Review - "Outlander"

Oh Outlander.  How I wanted to love you.

So, Outlander fans have been coming out of the woodwork over the past several months, mostly due to the television adaptation on Starz that started this summer.  I had heard so much about these books and how they would change my life, so I started the first one a few weeks ago.  Several weeks ago.  What feels like an entire lifetime ago.

The story is great, it really is.  It's hard to define the genre - it's a combination of adventure, romance (sex), science fiction and historical fiction.  The book is incredibly long and could stand to be about 300 pages shorter with a lot less repetitive detail, but I can see how it will translate into a great TV show.

The premise is about a woman, Claire Randall, who lives in post WWII England and is currently vacationing in Inverness, Scotland with her husband, Frank.  She mysteriously transports through time through a stone structure back to the mid 1730s, where she meets one of her husband's ancestors as well as a group of Scots in the clan MacKenzie who take her as prisoner.  Claire was a nurse during the war and impresses the group with her healing skills, earning their respect and a place in the MacKenzie castle, albeit against her wishes.  To protect her against the impending Redcoats, she is persuaded to marry Jamie Fraser...and now we get to the main reason why anyone with a drop of estrogen chooses to read this book.

Jamie is the perfect man.  There is no other way to describe him.  He is handsome, muscular, sexy, sweet, thoughtful, a virgin.  I don't know that the last part is necessary to make up the perfect man, but it is enticing.  The romance/sex in this novel is over the top, but it serves its purpose and does keep the reader interested throughout.

Halfway through this novel, I thought I had a pretty good grasp on how this blog post would go.  It is thought provoking to think of how one would cope with transporting through time and how much loyalty you would have to a husband who had not been born yet (I'm assuming very little if I were faced with Jamie Fraser).  However, it just kept going and going to the point where I was just flipping through the final chapters so that I could say that I finished it.

All that to say, I give the book 2.5 stars for beating a dead horse, but I highly recommend starting the TV show.  Hopefully the show will engage its audience more than the book does.

~SP

Review - Fish! by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, & John Christensen

So I'm going to start this post off with a disclaimer - I really don't read much nonfiction.  I generally read to escape real life, so reading about real life just does not tickle my fancy.  You'll only catch me reading nonfiction if it's a book about leadership, and even then only because it's required by my boss.  However, I was walking around an airport bookstore (again with the airport, I know) and picked up a book on the bestseller shelf.  I read the first few pages and was automatically hooked (no pun intended - seriously).

Fish! is a book about leadership and employee engagement.  I will say that after thinking about this for a minute, this book probably does not count as nonfiction because it's a "parable", but it's based on true events (kind of).  What enraptured me about this book is that it starts off the tale by describing a workplace environment that is completely toxic. Everyone hates their jobs, hates everyone they work with, and lives for 5 pm when they can leave.  Sound familiar to anyone?  Even though that's not the environment I work in now, I've definitely seen/experienced it before and want to do anything to prevent it from happening again to my team and my department.

The main character in the book, Mary Jane, is the manager of this toxic department.  She finds solace at the Pike Place Fish Market which is renowned for its energetic atmosphere and fantastic customer service (that's the part that's nonfiction).  She befriends one of the employees there who helps her figure things out.  He shows her how work can be enjoyable and fulfilling no matter what the task as long as you are having an impact and serving a greater good.  The main reason I find value in this book is that it lays out a way to engage your employees in building a high performing atmosphere.  I don't know how many of you who are reading this blog have employees, but if you do, this is a great book to read and share with them.  

Main points of a high performing atmosphere:

• Choose your attitude - You can't choose the work but you can choose the way you approach it.
• Play - Don't forget to enjoy yourself - your work is one of the biggest parts of your life and you should find joy and fulfillment in it.
• Make Their Day - Your customers can and will benefit from the high energy atmosphere.  Make sure your impact to their lives is what you want it to be.
• Be Present - In this day and age where we can be on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and email all at the same time, take time out for your customers to just focus on them.  They can definitely tell the difference and it will be a world of difference for them if you take the time to concentrate on their needs and what you can do to help.

All that to say, I highly recommend this book!  It's a little cheesy, what with being a parable and all, but it drives the point home.  I definitely plan on sharing these insights with my employees and know that it will have an impact.  4.5 out of 5 stars based on the value you can get out of this short and easy read.

~SP

Review - "Me Before You"

Have you ever had a book that had an incredible impact on your life and the way you think and you just completely did not expect it?  I've had a ton of these sleepers over the years; most recently, "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes.  This is a book that from the outside looks like typical chick lit, complete with the bright colors, swirly font and vague description on the cover.  I had never read anything by this author and was looking for something to read that was light and would give me a break from my thoughts.  Go figure.

Louisa Clark is 26 years old and has the most boring life imaginable - and is completely fine with it.  She lives with her parents and has had the same job and same boyfriend for several years and nothing about her life challenges her, nor does she want a challenge.  She's forced to go outside of her comfort zone when she loses her job, and after looking for quite a while, finds a job as a caretaker for a young man who has become a quadriplegic in a freak accident.  The man (Will) is jaded, bitter and tries to make everyone else's life as miserable as his own.  After working with him and breaking through his shell a bit, the two become friends.  And the story goes on from there.

So it seems typical, right?  Girl leads ordinary life, girl's world gets turned upside down, girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love.  But that's not the crux of the story.  Will had been, for most of his life, a man who lived every single day to the fullest.  He worked hard, he played hard, he fought hard, and he loved hard.  All of a sudden he found himself unable to bathe or care for himself, much less jump out of a plane or ride a motorcycle.  He hated his life and hated who he had become - to the point where suicide was his only answer.  Or I should say attempted suicide, because it's hard to kill yourself when you can't move your arms or legs.  So he makes a deal with his family - he'll play nice for 6 months if at the end of the time period they agree to take him to Dignitas - the assisted suicide facility in Switzerland.  

Louisa discovers this by accident after she and Will have become friends and began to lead a comfortable companionship.  After the shock wears off, she is determined to make Will's life worth living.  She does everything possible, and they grow to have a deep love for each other.  But it still isn't enough for him.

So I'm going to end the summary there because the mental and emotional struggles that come with all of this need to be read firsthand.  My first thought after finishing this book was just wow.  At what point does life become not worth living anymore?  So often we hear that suicide is an easy way out and selfish on the part of the person who commits it, but isn't it just as selfish of the loved ones who are trying to keep someone alive who just does not want to live anymore?  Before reading this book I probably would have said no...but I don't know.  I spent some time after finishing the novel researching Dignitas and some of the actual stories of people who went there, and there's just no way I can say what they've done is right or wrong.  It's an impossible situation to imagine when I think of myself and my own loved ones, and I hope to never experience anything like this myself, but it really did change my outlook on a lot of things.  Different people value different things in life, and the truth of the matter is that if you take away those things that add value to your life, it has to be difficult to justify going through all the pain of living with none of the joy.

All that to say, I definitely recommend this book!  I give it 4 out of 5 stars, just because there is some fluff in there that doesn't match some of the deeper parts of the book, but that balance is sometimes needed anyway. 

Let me know your thoughts if you've read it or want to read it!

~SP

Pilot

Hello!   Welcome to “That’s What She Said.”  In case you’re wondering about the title, this is not a blog full of crude jokes but instead a play on my name.  So what is this blog about? 

I had this brilliant idea while sitting at a gate in the San Jose Airport in Costa Rica.  I recently graduated from business school and now have the gift of time…so much time.  After filling those hours in the first couple weeks trying all the new restaurants I had missed out on, shopping online for things I have no need for, and taking a trip to an exotic location just because I could, I decided I needed a hobby that wouldn’t cost me anything.  So I sat at the airport with my luggage by my side and my Kindle in my lap wondering what I was going to do with the rest of my life, and there it was in front of me. 

I spent my vacation relaxing the way I knew best – by reading.  I read 3 books on my week long trip and was longing for someone talk to about them.  So I decided to do a blog of book reviews!

I love books.  I swallow them whole.  I get lost in novels and stories to the point where I often forget where I am or what I’m supposed to be doing instead of reading.  I read in order to unwind, I read to treat myself, and I read to maintain my sanity (or lack thereof).  I’m already a member of a fantastic book club, which I’m sure I’ll reference quite often in this blog, but I want to go beyond that.  I know there have to be people like me who spend hours on Amazon reading reviews and figuring out which book is going to change my life next.  So this blog is an experiment to reach out to those who read, like to talk about reading, or who care about what I think. 

Get excited!!!