The Book Fetish

I finished the Fifty Shades trilogy a week or so ago. Much like the first two books, I feel like this one was “meh” although more entertaining than the second book.

The plot contrivance I wondered about at the end of book 2? Well, I still think it could have been left out, but it did play a bigger role than I anticipated in Fifty Shades Freed. Still, the same things that bothered me about the first two books continued to annoy me here. Christian is still stalker-controlling. Finally, towards the end, he appeared to relax a small little bit. I did like that Ana continued to grow a backbone in this installment, but she still came across as a little too immature.

And the cliches…. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but OF COURSE Ana finds herself in a particular situation and OF COURSE Christian reacts in a less than ideal way. And OF COURSE it works out perfectly in the end.

The smut was still a bit tedious, but somehow less annoying than in book two.

My verdict on the series? As a mindless read, pure entertainment, it meets the bill. It’s certainly rooted in fan fiction, and the writing leaves much to be desired. But EL James does give us enough in the characters of Christian and Ana that I did want to know how things ended for them, and hoped for the best.

In Divergent, Veronica Roth gave us a great heroine in Tris and set us up well for an adventurous saga. Insurgent picks up the story and fans of Veronica Roth will not be disappointed.

Packed full of action, Insurgent brings a revolt against the Erudite and shows the cracks in the foundations of the Factions and the Factionless. Tris is guilt-ridden over her actions at the end of Divergent and she’s lost confidence in her own judgement. Tris and Tobias (Four) don’t know who they can trust. Unlikely alliances are forged, and former allies become enemies.

A sequel always makes me nervous, especially when I adored the first book. Roth maintains the best of Divergent in this continuation of the saga. Tris is still a fantastic heroine- of course she’s more vulnerable and confused in Insurgent but this doesn’t read as a weakness. Instead, it comes across as authentic because of everything going on. The relationship between Tris and Tobias remains complex, but again in a good way. Roth introduces good tension between them as she has Tris wary of  Tobias’ reaction to a new character introduced in this book (I don’t want to spoil anything, so that’s about as much as I’ll say about that) and struggles with whether or not using Marcus is betraying Tobias.

I mentioned earlier that Insurgent is action packed, and it is.  It’s done in a way that advances the story and reveals more about the various factions and the factionless.  I think Roth is on a good trajectory here.  She took the end of this book in a direction I wasn’t expecting, and set up a very interesting premise for the third book.  It will be long wait for the next installment, which I believe will be out next year.

If you haven’t read Divergent yet, definitely start with it. But have your copy of Insurgent handy, too, because you’re going to want to keep reading.

Stop. Just stop.

That was my reaction this morning when I put Pandora on to provide some background music while I was working.  I was inundated with ads about finding single men in my area.

Facebook does the same thing.

It’s exhausting.

Because I would like to be in a relationship, find the man of my dreams, who fits in my reality.  For a number of reasons I won’t bore you with here, online dating isn’t for me.  But it is hard to meet people. A lot of my hobbies are relatively solitary activities.  The causes I currently volunteer with don’t provide much opportunity. Work isn’t a great option.  My friends either don’t have single male friends or wouldn’t recommend the ones they do know.

However, I’m of the mind that you can’t complain about your situation if you’re unwilling to do anything to change it. I took drastic action.  I hired a matchmaker.  It’s a weird thing to do that, but in my day job, I work largely as a consultant, bringing together people and technology to meet end goals- so why not apply the theory to my own life and hire someone who has a much more vast network than I do, and allow them to help me meet people I would not otherwise encounter?

I’ve had three dates so far. I really liked the first guy and we went out twice. I thought things were fine on the second date, but now I’ve not heard from him in over a week. He’s not into me. That’s fine.  I’m not into everyone I meet, either, but I’m glad I at least met him.

The second guy was nice enough, but neither of us was interested in a second date.  Isn’t it always easier when the feelings (or lack thereof) are mutual?

The third date went well enough that we planned a second date, but then that didn’t happen- he said he would call with a plan and details for the evening… and never did.  Whatever. Next.

No one that I know has ever said dating is easy.  I’ve reached an age where I’m tired of dating, but know it’s something that needs to be done if I’m ever to meet anyone.  It doesn’t help that  I’m not very good at it. I’m not a natural flirt; it’s very hard for me to open up with people I don’t know well.  I don’t really like talking about it to my friends- somehow, here on this blog with its degree of anonymity, it’s easier to lay it all on the table. Maybe it’s the catharsis of getting it out of my head and onto paper (or screen, as is the case).

But when I see all these ads from any site – which I suppose they are picking up from a “single” status on Facebook- I don’t tend to talk about dating in my Facebook updates- it brings to the forefront that somehow being single makes me incomplete or defective, and that my focus must be on finding a mate.

Then, my friend Dove posted this on her Facebook today (disclaimer: Dove posted this from another source- I do not know the original poster/author to credit):

SIngle… is not a status. It is a word that describes a person who is strong enough to live and enjoy life without depending on others

And I like a lot of the sentiment in this, but it isn’t quite right, either.  It implies that partnership means a weakness, and I don’t believe that is a universal truth. While partnering might be a weakness for some, I believe that successful relationships are complementary to each person, not a sign of weakness, but a melding of strengths.

I do like the part of the statement, though, that says you don’t have to be coupled to live and enjoy life. Because I have a very fulfilling and happy life as I am currently. It would be nice to share it, but I don’t feel incomplete because I’m not married.  I just wish it wasn’t in my face all the time.

Fifty Shades Darker, the second book in the “Fifty Shades” trilogy, could have been about fifty pages (maybe more) shorter. I get that it’s sort-of erotica that’s trying to still have a story line. But really, it’s OK to go more than three pages (or what felt like only three pages) without yet another tryst. Seriously. How do these people get anything done?

But before I rant more, let me talk about what I liked in this one. Christian opens up more. Ana gets a bit of a backbone. Their relationship progresses on a mental and emotional, not just physical level. I Christian was more human, more authentic in this book. For all of his flaws, he does love Ana, and she loves him.  And although Christian is more controlling than I would be comfortable with in a relationship, it seems to work for them.I’m still interested enough to see how things end in the final book.

BUT….

Frankly, I was bored in this one.   It truly did feel like Ana and Christian were jumping into bed every third page.  It got redundant after a while. Ana’s constant “Jeez” got on my nerves.  And I finally figured out what bugs me about Christian.  It’s the same way  I felt about Edward in the Twilight books.  Christian is too damn controlling.  It’s ridiculous how he yells at Ana while she’s driving, how he gets mad every time she even speaks to another man, even though she is with Christian and it is obvious NOTHING is going on with the other guy.  It stifled me just reading it.

And, Ana’s constant worry that when she speaks her mind, Christian is going to be mad. That’s not healthy.  I was glad to see Christian break out of his self-loathing (more or less) but the change felt rather sudden to me.  I suppose that’s the beauty of fiction- you can suspend reality within a story if you need to.  Now, without being too spoiler-y, I felt like the end of Fifty Shades Darker is a complete plot contrivance that won’t really drive Christian and Ana’s relationship forward, but was added to build up some drama or action that is really secondary to the story (and I will freely admit if I am wrong when I read book 3).

This one was a much slower read for me than Fifty Shades of Grey.  We’ll see how things end up in the final book.

Steven C. Eisner’s debut novel, The Mine Fields, is a story about ambition, loss, dreams, and finding happiness, told against the backdrop of the advertising industry.

Our hero, Sam Spiegel, grew up the son of an ad man. Entrepreneurial from a young age, Sam takes on the challenge of changing his father’s small agency into one of Philadelphia’s most successful firms. Just as Sam’s dream of attracting an advertising conglomerate and cashing out are on the horizon, the unthinkable happens. Now, everything and everyone Sam has depended on and fought for is at risk and Sam starts to take stock of what’s really important.

The glimpse into the world of advertising is a great aspect of the book, but it’s really the backdrop for the meat of the story.

Everything is about relationships. Sam wants to do right by his father’s legacy, and at the same time, make it greater. Yet this puts a strain on their relationship and father and son struggle to see eye to eye.

Sam’s relationship with his brother Mikey has always been tricky but a terrible accident in their childhood put an irrevocable strain on the brothers’ relationship.  Even Sam’s relationship with his wife, Amy, falls apart as Sam sees everything he’s worked for slipping away.

This is when Eisner gives the heart of the story: when everything is crumbling around you, do you give in and accept it, or do you fight for what you really want? Most of the book read to me less like a novel and more like having a drink with someone who’s telling you his interesting life story.  But when Sam’s world crumbles,  The Mine Fields ratchets up a thrill.  I started thinking about possible outcomes, and really hoping to see a couple of them.

Thankfully, Eisner chose a different path that what initially crossed my mind.  He could have gone a cliched route where everything works out perfectly in the end, but instead, Eisner gives his readers a more complex, and more relatable resolution.

I think The Mine Fields benefits from Eisner’s experience as the chief executive of an advertising agency. It lends Sam a credibility and authenticity that might otherwise not be there. And I think it provides reality in the advertising campaign aspects of the story.  Thankfully, The Mine Fields is less a soap opera than Mad Men, but the same character development that draws fans to Don Draper also drives Sam Spiegel.

I’m glad I had a chance to be a part of the blog tour for The Mine Fields.  You can learn more about the book and book tour here.