Aleph

I saw Aleph was on the shelves and rushed to the library thinking I would surely be placed on a waiting list. Surprisingly, it was right there on the shelf.  Should that have been a warning?  I really tried to enjoy the story, get absorbed by it, and gain insight from it.  Paulo Coelho is known for his, often profound, spiritual perception of what we believe to be the basic ennui of life.  As I was reading Aleph, I did come across some spiritual gems, but by page 123 I was dozing off.  Also, I should note that it took me several days to get to page 123 because I kept putting it down.  If I'm putting a book down often, I have clearly not become engrossed enough in the story to allow it to take me away to a place where time and pages completed don't matter.

The long and short of the plot is that the main character takes an inspirational journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway and the journey is a metaphor for the journey we take in life.  He also is trying to figure out why he is so restless and unfulfilled in this life (as most people are) and journeys to past lives to find the answer. His main partner who helps him during this voyage is a young woman who is about thirty years his junior, but apparently knows his soul.  They have an affair of sorts (which turned me off because he is married) and teach each other about forgiveness.  I think this book was "just ok".  If you really want to great book by the author I will continue to recommend "The Alchemist".  It is always relevant.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I can't quite put my finger on why it took me a little while to become interested in this book, but it wasn't until around page 120 that things started to move along quickly enough for me. When it did start moving, I couldn't put the book down.  However, for the first 120 pages I was only mildly interested.  The basic premise is that a young boy learns that his grandfather was a "peculiar child" who spent some time at a home for "peculiar children".  After the grandfather dies, the boy is thrown into a bit of a mystery. He must find these children if they are still alive.  What he discovers includes an adventure surrounding children with X-men mutant-type talents, time travel, and supernatural bad guys.  Vintage photos are interspersed within the chapters, and I found those to be very interesting. However, at times I felt the author was trying too hard to incorporate the photos into the story. There is also room at the end for a sequel, but when I finished the book, I specifically had the thought "I will not be reading the sequel to this".  The concept was unique and it was a quick read once you got into it, but the problem was actually getting into it.

Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror

Perfect book for Halloween!  It is written for children and contains some cautionary tales about children who misbehave and the unfortunate events that befall them.  I actually really enjoyed reading the stories.  This is essentially a group of short stories encompassed within a larger story that is equally as frightening if you are afraid of dark, scary woods at dusk/nightfall or things that go bump in the night.  This is a great book to read under the covers with a flashlight for a scary effect for kids.  Then again, I'm not sure you want to scare kids before they go to bed. You may never sleep alone again if you do!

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

This book was a bit melancholy but sweetly written.  It's unassuming and sort of slowly walks you through the story.  You wonder in the back of your mind what really happened to the main character. The author shows you in pieces what is the truth behind the tragedy.  However, when you find out, you realize that you already knew.  Even with out the tragedy, this is a story of a bi-racial girl who is growing up confused about where she belongs in a 1980s-1990s race-conscious America.  The tragedy that befalls her family could have been omitted and a solid story could have still been written more like a character study.  I did enjoy it as a coming of age story. I found that I was pacing myself while reading it so I could take my time and enjoy it.  As a side note though, I still have to say the best "bi-racial coming-of-age" book I ever read (thus far in my short life) was Caucasia by Danzy Senna.  Hey, I'm all about reading so I suggest reading both and coming to your own conclusion.

The Mill River Recluse

If you enjoy stories with a Hallmark/Lifetime movie feel to them, then this is the book for you.  I could easily see this as a holiday movie.  It is also a book about how we treat others and how we want to be treated.  The brief premise is that an older woman with social anxiety disorder has become a recluse in her small town.  The book vacillates between the past and the present to tell the story of how this reclusive lifestyle was started and how it affects the town today.  I enjoyed it because of its simplicity.  If you are looking for deep plots and multiple twists and turns, this book will not help you. However, if you are looking for a simple book with a lesson about kindness, pick it up and enjoy.  I don't know if it is available in traditional print, but the e-book was only a dollar or so.