October Books

October was a busy month — and I somehow managed to fit in 5 books! Ok, so I might have really only read 3 full books – and finished and started 2 ours, but bottom line – I’m now done reading 5 books. In about a month. You get the jist. Or is it gist?

First I read the book for my real life book club  – What Alice Forgot.

Synopsis:

Alice Love is twenty-nine years old, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. So imagine her surprise when, after a fall, she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! she HATES the gym!) and discovers that she’s actually thirty-nine, has three children, and is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce.

A knock on the head has misplaced ten years of her life, and Alice isn’t sure she likes who she’s become. It turns out, though, that forgetting might be the most memorable thing that has ever happened to Alice.

This book was somewhat eyeopening for me. I guess you could say it touched a nerve! At the book club meetup we talked a lot about how easy it is to try to do it all (which is really what Alice tries to do), how impossible that is, and also how much your life CAN change in 10 years. If you are looking for an interesting book that might make you pause and reflect on your life – then this one is for you!

Next up was The Death Cure – which I already touched on a little here.

Synopsis:

Thomas knows that Wicked can’t be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they’ve collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It’s up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.
What Wicked doesn’t know is that something’s happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can’t believe a word of what Wicked says.
The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine.
Will anyone survive the Death Cure?

It’s the 3rd book in the Maze Runner trilogy. The first two books were STELLAR and edge of your seats kinds of books. This book wasn’t as intense as the others and there were parts of it that I thought weren’t necessary – but it did end the series appropriately. I think the series is worth reading for the first two books – even if the third is kinda a dud.

After that I read the book I picked for bookclub on here — A Secret Kept. Did anyone read it?

Synopsis:

Antoine Rey thought he had the perfect surprise for his sister Mélanie’s birthday: a weekend by the sea at Noirmoutier Island , where the pair spent many happy childhood summers playing on the beach.  It had been too long, Antoine thought, since they’d returned to the island—over thirty years, since their mother died and the family holidays ceased.  But the island’s haunting beauty triggers more than happy memories; it reminds Mélanie of something unexpected and deeply disturbing about their last island summer.  When, on the drive home to Paris, she finally summons the courage to reveal what she knows to Antoine, her emotions overcome her and she loses control of the car.

Trapped in the wake of a family secret shrouded by taboo, Antoine must confront his past and also his troubled relationships with his own children.  How well does he really know his mother, his children, even himself?  Suddenly fragile on all fronts – as a son, a husband, a brother and a father – Antoine Rey will soon learn the shocking truth about his family and himself.

By turns thrilling and seductive, with a lingering effect that is bittersweet and redeeming, A Secret Kept is the story of a modern family and the invisible ties that hold it together.

Flat out – I will tell you that I hated how this book ended. I feel like it didn’t have a purpose. The secret was NOT surprising (I kinda guessed it early on in the book), and there were certain scenes added that were incredibly sad and well written – but not really necessary for the story. On the plus side, it did keep me intrigued and I sped through it. Plus, I was intrigued by their location (Paris and other parts of France). Do I recommend it? Only if you are really looking for something to read. What did you guys think?

After that, I moved on to Before I Go to Sleep.

Synopsis:

S. J. Watson makes his powerful debut with this compelling, fast-paced psychological thriller, reminiscent of Shutter Island and Memento, in which an amnesiac who, following a mysterious accident, cannot remember her past or form new memories, desperately tries to uncover the truth about who she is—and who she can trust.

I could not put this book down! I’m pretty sure I read it in 2 days. Apparently, I have a thing for amnesia books. This one was definitely more of a thriller than the first. I guessed the ending about halfway through the book, but it didn’t ruin the story for me – so that says a lot! I definitely recommend this one if you love any kind of mystery/detective kind of stuff.

And finally…I ended the month (ok, I finished this one November – but I STARTED it in October) with a book that charmed the pants off of me – Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns).

Synopsis:

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”

Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!

In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

Mindy Kaling is adorable and funny. And REAL. And I could gush on and on about her like she’s my new BFF. She’s smart, she’ witty, and she really wants to know why it takes men so long to put their shoes on (seriously though – what’s the deal guys?). Read it!

Whew, that was a lot of reading!

What did you read this month?? Does anyone have any book recommendations for me for November?