The BookFetish Blog

I’ve really been struggling with how to review Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl without spoiling it. It’s complex and intense and engaging and I don’t want to do anything to ruin it for you. So I think this review will be really short.

Read the book.

Ok, not that short.

“Marriage can be a real killer.
One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.”

The summary leads you to believe you’ll read something along the lines of a CNN crime headline or a Lifetime movie.  Thankfully, you’re in for something much more compelling.    I can’t recall reading two characters that disgusted me more than Nick and Amy, yet still drew me into their story and kept me turning pages.  That’s a terrific talent on Flynn’s part, drawing despicable characters but still making the story so engrossing that you simply cannot turn away from it.

Really, all the stuff I want to rave about would come dangerously close to giving away an excellent plot that I delighted in discovering, and I don’t want to do that to you.

But suffice it to say: Read This Book.

Welcome to the very first column of My Author Crush.  Each month I’ll be featuring an author I’ve read and want to know more about.

While there will be some book talk here, the purpose is really to get to know the author a little more. I think it’s fun to know a little bit about the person behind the words.

A very special thank you to Meredith Schorr, author of Just Friends With Benefits,  and the soon-to-be-released Planet of the Flakes for being my inaugural profile.  I wanted to know more about Meredith because I identified so well with Stephanie in Just Friends With Benefits.

So, here we go:

TBF: Tell us a little bit about your new book, Planet of the Flakes.

MS: I’m going to cheat and give you the blurb: 

“Jane Frank is ready to fall in love.  It’s been a year since her long term relationship ended and far too long since the last time she was kissed.  With the LSAT coming up she needs to find a long term boyfriend (or husband) before acing law school and becoming a partner at her father’s law firm.  There’s just one problem: all the guys in New York are flakes.  They seemingly drop off the face of the earth with no warning and no explanation.  Should she join her best friend Marissa in singlehood, making cupcakes and watching True Blood?  Or should she follow her co-worker Andrew’s advice and turn the game back on those who scorned her?  As Jane attempts to juggle her own responsibilities and put up with the problems of everyone around her, she starts to realize that the dating life isn’t as easy as she originally thought.”

Although this book is completely fictitious, I will admit that the inspiration was born out of my own frustrations with the dating scene in NYC.  Although I have since found a boyfriend who is not the slightest bit flakey, he’s also not from New York… 

TBF: What’s your favorite part of the writing process- and by that, I mean the process from inspiration to writing to editing to publishing and marketing?

MS: My favorite part of the process is definitely the writing.  If I didn’t enjoy writing so much, everything else wouldn’t be worth it.  

Notwithstanding my love of the writing process, getting “the call” (or in my case “the email”) and later reading my published novel for the very first time were both magical moments I look forward to experiencing over and over again.  

TBF:  If I picked up your iPod, which song would you be most embarrassed to have discovered in a playlist?

MS: There are so many songs on my iPod I should be embarrassed about, but I’m not!  The theme songs to Welcome Back Kotter, Mary Tyler Moore and Greatest American Hero are up there, along with oldies like Summer Breeze, Just the Two of Us and You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.  I could go on and on and on, but I do have some cool and current music on their as well.  I swear!

TBF: Do you have a guilty pleasure magazine/movie/book/TV show? If so, what is it?

MS: My current television guilty pleasure is The Bachelorette.  I find the concept utterly ridiculous yet I am riveted to the small screen every Monday from 8pm-10pm.  

Movie – I just saw Magic Mike and it was quite the pleasure, but I didn’t feel the slightest built guilty  (smirk) Additionally, I think I have watched 13 Going On 30 about 5 times in the past few months.  That movie is so adorable and Jennifer Garner was perfectly cast – I can’t get enough of it.  

But my guiltiest pleasures of all are Chicklit and YA books.  I like to get lost in a book that I don’t have to think too hard to read.

TBF: Where is your dream vacation destination?

MS: Lake Como, Italy.  

TBF:Do you have a dream you’d like to see come true?

MS: With respect to my writing, I dream of seeing one of my books made into a movie or television show (me and every other author!) For now, I would simply be thrilled to spot someone (a complete stranger) reading one of my books.

I also dream of having a small, tight butt that looks fantastic in really short shorts.

Generally speaking, while I am a very happy person, I always want more and I dream of a time when I’m truly content with my life exactly the way it is.  I’m not sure it’s possible because I dream big in all things (except my butt), but I’m getting there!   

TBF: What’s the best thing you’ve heard from fans of Just Friends with Benefits?

MS: That Stephanie and her group of friends are so real, they could have been plucked out of any of their worlds. From the beginning, my goal has been to write books about “real” women and so to hear readers tell me they saw themselves in Stephanie and her friends, means so much to me.  Oh, and I smiled all day when one blogger said she was surprised it was my debut novel and could see it play out on the big screen.  

If you want to know more about Meredith Schorr, you can check her website, find her on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.

Another thank you to Meredith for her time in answering my questions.

“In the midst of a sudden spring snowstorm, an unknown man with a gun walks into an elementary school classroom. Outside the school, the town of Broken Branch watches and waits.” I read these words from the summary of One Breath Away and knew I had to read the book.

Heather Gudenkauf details the saga through the voices of five characters. A student trapped in the school, a teacher in a classroom with the gunman, a policewoman on the case, and the mother and grandfather of the student trapped in the school.

Although it must be challenging for the author to do well, using five unique voices to reveal the story works here. We know only what each character knows, but each character enlightens us more and more to the plot. And speaking of plot, this one is great. With events in recent years, I think everyone’s heart must still a bit when news of a gunman in a school is announced. It’s a charged story, and one deep in emotions to explore.

In One Breath Away, Gudenkauf takes these emotions and creates a tense, suspenseful story. At times, I didn’t want to turn the page for fear of what might happen next, but at the same time, I couldn’t not turn the page because I just had to know what happened next.  That’s right. This is one of those books that I read in one day and started telling friends “you have to read this book.”

Just before the identity of the gunman was revealed, I  had figured out who it was.  That might bother some fans of suspense but I don’t think it took away from this story.  Gudenkauf had laid subtle clues throughout the story as to who it could be, and I think people who enjoy crime and suspense will enjoy this bit of reader detective work.

Gudenkauf also wraps up the story well, giving us what we need to know about characters I came to like and care about, while at the same time leaving just enough unanswered that fans can have  good discussions about what happened next for some of the characters.

Although author Heather Gudenkauf is already a New York Times bestselling author, this was my first time reading her. I will definitely be checking out her other books. I’m excited to read more by her.

Giveaway

I’m going my first ever giveaway, with a copy of  One Breath Away to a blog reader from the US or Canada. Leave a comment below, and a comment will be chosen at random to receive the copy of the book.  The giveaway is open to readers with a US or Canadian mailing address who leave a comment on this post between July 8 and July 21, 2012.

I received this book as a galley copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was a sorority girl.  I loved my four years of mixers and parties, of always having someone to sit with in the dining hall or class. I made friends I have to this day. I wore the sort-of preppy clothes and worried about our image (were we being discreet, classy, etc).  I can still recite part of our creed, and still get a secret little thrill when I hear a part of our initiation in a popular song lyric.  And then I graduated. And realized that while some parts of me are still sorority, other parts very much are not.

Later, I made more friends as I attended alumnae events when I moved to a new city.  It wasn’t intimidating to go to an event where I didn’t know anyone because we’d be guaranteed at least fifteen minutes of conversation as we talked about where we went to school and our favorite memories.  At a wedding last year, several women from the sorority (and from chapters all over the country) surrounded the bride and sang one of our (tasteful) songs to her, just like we used to do at all the weddings right out of college.  These women know me as the part of me that isn’t so sorority girl with a little bit of throwback to that persona mixed in.

But the minute you read “Sorority Girl” I imagine you got a particular image in your mind of who I am and what I’m like.  Maybe I was once, sort of.   But I’m not now.  As my friend Lisa says, I’m an enigma wrapped in a question mark.

So why am I talking about any of this?  I’ve been asked to help out with an initiative within our national organization, and tomorrow night, I’m presenting a progress report in front of our International Officers.

I’m not nervous about speaking. I’m fine with talking to large groups.  I’m stressing about what to wear. Really. Because there’s so much of me that’s not a typical sorority girl, that I’m rebelling at the thought of the stereotype.

Champagne problem, I know.  But I honestly don’t want to be “too sorority” in how I dress. We’re all grown ups now (at least the collegians will not be in the dinner) and I’m sure most people will be in capris and sweater sets of something like that. I’m sure we’ll see some pearls.  And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that for the women who prefer that style.

It’s not for me.  I’m proud of my sorority. I’m glad to be a part of the women I am working with on this initiative.  But I’m terrified of being too much  a member of the group and not enough of just me.  So I’m thinking about clothes.  I think my slacks with the dragon embroidered down one leg are perfect. They’re khaki, but with just enough something different. And a cool top. And of course, funky jewelry. Maybe my sparkly snake bracelet , very similar to the one pictured here.

Why? Because while we’re all a member of the same organization, we’re all unique wonderful, dynamic women.  Sure, we were part of a social club where, for all intents and purposes, we paid to be each others friends. It went deeper than that, though.   Some of the women from my sorority know me better than most anyone else in the world except maybe my best friend. And despite the stereotype, they’re some of the least judgmental, most supportive women I know.

I guess what I want to show is that there’s room for all of us, all the things that make us unique. Even if we have a bit of an edge to us, or go to Science fiction and fantasy conventions.  Or like tattoos and rock music.

Sorority women are so much more than how we’re portrayed on television and in movies.  And the best parts of us are the pieces that make us unique.  I remember one year during rush, our Bid Day t-shirts read “Where all the pieces fit together”. I think that’s a nearly perfect explanation.

On 20 January 2010, St. John Greene lost his wife to cancer. Kate was only 38, and she and St. John (Singe) had two small boys.

When Kate realized she wasn’t going to live to see her boys grown, she enlisted Singe’s help in capturing a list of things Kate wanted for her boys, and memories of her she wanted the boys to have as they got older.

In Mum’s List, St. John Greene recounts his love affair with Kate, the impact of Cancer on their family, Kate’s “Mum’s List” and surviving their tragic loss. Written with a ghost writer, Rachel Murphy, Mum’s List is simultaneously hopeful and heartbreaking, inspiring and and sentimental.

When Kate set out to write her list, she left some very specific instructions like “Kiss boys two times after I have gone” and “Celebrate birthdays big time” along with special memories she had of each of her sons and the types of treats she enjoyed. Simply a mother’s last effort to leave something of herself with the family she wasn’t yet ready to leave.

There are certainly sad and sentimental moments in the book. Kate’s mother’s email to friends and family telling them of Kate’s death gutted me in its simplicity.  Yet the book is not wallowing in self-pity. Part of it is the story of a man who was crazy in love with his wife, the story of a couple who lived a life full of adventure and living on the edge.  Part of it is figuring out how to be a single father to sons, while struggling with the right mix of remembering their mother and allowing them to move forward.

I really enjoyed Mum’s List. I was a bit afraid of reading it at first, scared it would be maudlin or very sad.  I confess I did tear up a few times, but overall, I found the book inspiring. It would have been so easy for Singe to become bitter and dwell on his loss. Partially inspired by Kate’s list, partially just Singe’s character, the family moved on. Not without ups and downs, and certainly not creating a better life but creating the best life they can, around a Kate-shaped hole.

Without being spoiler-y, this family has experienced more than their share of tragedy. Yet they still choose to embrace life and adventure, celebrate their family and friends, and focus on making memories. Kate’s “Mum’s List” was made up mostly of everyday things, but a poignant reminder that the best of life is most often made up of the simpler things.

This books was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.