Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld

Finished in fall 2013. A great, engaging read with a storyline that stuck with me.

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

The World We Found and Are You My Mother

I'm now realizing what an ambitious project this was for the first year of motherhood- to both READ books and then comprehensively write about them with my own thoughts! This has proven to be a little too much for me to handle, as my book club attendance in recent months has shown, but I have read a few things! Such as:

Set in Indian and American, this story follows the adult lives of 4 college friends who have since moved on into their own adventures. It was a quick, easy read which was entertaining but nothing substantial. I read it in December, and sadly had to search reviews on Google to jog my memory about what the story contained.

As a therapist, I loved this graphic novel about a woman's growing up experience. I blew through this and her first novel Fun Home in about a week, although I'm sure I could reread them and get much more out of them at second look. I would love to have both of these in my  personal library (which is currently mostly shared with the Monroe County library system at the moment, but hopefully will one day be extensive and stored solely in my home!).

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

This was the November selection for my book club, and I read it twice in order to fully grasp the intricacies of the story and its interesting ending. In this book, the protagonist Tony recants an experience from his late adolescence which has recently come back to haunt him as he reestablishes a relationship with a former girlfriend. Mysteries surrounding the suicide of an adored peer are eventually cleared up, leaving much of the romanticism of his death unfounded.

 I found this novel's philosophical undertones regarding the permeability and validity of one's memory to be more interesting that the story itself. It was an interesting character study, but somewhat slow and not my preferred reading for the time of year when the nights are longer than the days. However, I recommend it as a short, meditative read for someone who is wishing to slowly digest a very introspective and thought provoking puzzle.

Arcadia by Lauren Groff

Finished in early September. A great fiction about "Bit", a boy who grows up in a hippy commune set outside of Rochester, NY in the 60's. The novel starts during his childhood, and follows him as he progresses into adulthood. Interesting ideas of Utopianism and the time honored tradition of the corruption caused by excessive power.