The Book Chubi

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara It is a Thursday evening in March. My husband and I have arrived early to  Skylight Books  in Los Angeles. The multitude of bookshelves are being rearranged for tonight's event. We pick up our copy of the book, pre-ordered weeks ago to save our spot in the signing line. Like many others there, we wanted to secure our opportunity to hear Patton Oswalt and get his autograph. There is another reason too. The book is intriguing with a backstory that is rarely heard.  I'll Be Gone in the Dark   is being published posthumously, which adds a grime yet alluring tag for a true crime book. We take our seats and I open up the hardcover to catch a glimpse of what is to come. The foreword, written by Gillian Flynn, sets us up to understand that while we will be reading about an investigation into a rapist and murderer what we are really reading is a memoir of...

Mislaid by Nell Zink Ah, the American vision of a Nuclear Family -- Father, Mother, Son, and Daughter living together in a beautiful home hosting interesting house guests as they live their perfect lives. Might make for a pleasant life, but likely a very boring story. Luckily, Nell Zink takes these seemingly dull character outlines and shoves a little unexpected reality into her tale of the Flemings. First, a look at the characters. Lee Fleming, the Father, is a not-quite-closeted gay poet from a rich family who isn't seeing a dime himself and is hiding his lack of funds by teaching at a women's college. Peggy, the Mother, is a budding lesbian also from a well-to-do family who is just boyish enough to attract Lee's attention. Then you have Brydie, the preppy Son who is going places and Mirielle, the dim but lovable Daughter who wants everyone to just get along. Getting along certainly is not this family's strong suit. With parents like Lee and Peggy ...

The Power by Naomi Alderman If you haven't yet picked up a copy of Naomi Alderman's The Power , what are you waiting for? This electrifying novel sets up a world where women wield the power (literally) and become the dominate sex in society. The quote on the front of the book is praise from Margaret Atwood telling you the book will make you "think twice, about everything." And that, at least for me, is what makes this story so worthwhile.  In the world of The Power young women are discovering an electrical force developing inside their bodies. It is treated at first like the latest drug fade. The teenage females are getting it and using it in secret; it is disgraceful if it is found in your home; young women found using the power are kicked out of their homes. Then the younger women start to awaken the power in their moms, aunts, grandmothers, etc. Turns out every women has this power inside them and the world order reverses drastically. There ar...

Happy International Women's Day! To celebrate I've been glancing through some of my favorite books written by women. There are so many that it would be impossible to make an exhaustive list. Especially since there are so many that will be favorites (I'm positive) once I get a chance to read them! But there are quite a few I can share to give you a jumping off point if you need some more female power in your life. To start, check out my recent reviews of Chloe Benjamin , Margaret Atwood , Rachel Lyon , and Jesmyn Ward . These women all have strong plot driven novels that will keep you enthralled to the last page. If you love a little romance mixed with a splash of sci-fi you will be in luck with Audrey Niffenegger's bestseller novel The Time Traveler's Wife . This novel is so popular with my husband and I that we featured it in our wedding with a quote on our bookmark favors. "R ight now we are here, and nothing can mar our perfection, or ...

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward Talk about a book with enormous amounts of praise . This book has sky-rocketed in popularity ever since it was published back in September 2017. It is a New York Times bestseller , won the National Book Award, was named one of the NYT best books of 2017, and was nominated for numerous other accolades. And it became the first choice for the Now Read This  feature sponsored by PBS NewsHour and the New York Times, which is what pushed me to request the e-book from my local library. Does it live up to the hype? Sing, Unburied, Sing is powerful and has an important message that needs to be heard in our society. There are scenes throughout the novel which so clearly highlight the challenges faced by poor, rural African Americans. The everyday racism integrated into daily life in many parts of the country are exposed in this novel through episodes faced by the family. You see the discrimination of these characters in connection w...

Self-Portrait with Boy by Rachel Lyon Picking out books, especially by authors you've never heard of, can be a daunting task. It is the ability to step outside our comfort zone and explore new authors that opens us to fantastic reads we would otherwise miss. Self-Portrait with Boy  was one of those take-a-chance novels for me. Author readings and signings are one of those treats that I love to indulge in whenever possible. Luckily, living in the Los Angeles Metro Area where I have access to a great many independent book stores which host wonderful events. If you haven't already, do an online search to find your local indie bookstores and sign up for their newsletter because your new favorite authors may very well find their way to your town. That is how I discovered Rachel Lyon, on the second stop of her book tour for Self-Portrait with Boy . Book Soup was hosting the event on Monday evening, squeezing chairs in a narrow aisle to create a makeshift event space....

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood If you have never read Margaret Atwood before you need to do so immediately. She is one of those contemporary authors that will be immortalized for her novels. I can imagine a century from now students studying her work to define the literary atmosphere of the 21st century. The Handmaid's Tale is at this point her most famous piece of work. And, yes, I would recommend that title as your Atwood introduction. That work is very quintessential in defining her style and focus. I do not think it would be outside the line to call her a feminist author. Alias Grace  is another novel with a feminist leaning threaded throughout the narrative. The plot behind this novel is based on a real case out of Toronto from the mid 19th century. It follows the imprisonment of Grace Marks who has been accused of murder. The case was real and some of the journalism from that time plays highly into the story Atwood weaves to fill in the gaps. This falls under ...

The Immortalists Chloe Benjamin What would you do if you knew when you would die? This question is confronted in the pages of The Immortalists where Chloe Benjamin shares how four siblings would handle the news. The opening of the novel presents us with the Gold siblings as they visit a gypsy who promises to share the dates of their deaths. Each child discovers their date one by one and the knowledge will affect the rest of their lives. Chloe Benjamin is on book tour currently for The Immortalists and it was such a treat to get to see her in person discussing her novel. Although not her first published work, I do believe this is her first major bestseller and it is making waves. The Skimm , which I read regularly for my daily news digest, has recommended it to all their readers, although I am proud to say I had already picked up the book before they jumped on the bandwagon. Saturday, January 13th in the afternoon at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena was the p...