The Wife by Alafair Burke -- Battle of the Book

Hello Deweys!  And now for a short spine breaking review.....

The Spine Breakers Book Club chose The Wife by Alafair Burke as their latest selection.  I was apprehensive.  I'm starting to not find the thrillers so thrilling anymore.  But this book was different, it was fresh, and I liked it.

So rather than a thriller that centers so heavily of the psychological aspect of the novel, or on strange murders, this novel uses a marital relationship between two people.  So, your wife or your husband...How much can you really trust someone?  And how well do you really know your loved ones?  

So you can probably guess that this book centers around suspected infidelity at the fault of the husband of course.  *(Inset emoji with two hands up in the air here!)* But how far over the line was this infidelity? Was it flirtation?  Was it an affair?  Was it sexual harassment of the workplace? Was it rape?  So yeah, the novel does center around murder, disappearances, and "thrilling" thriller things, but it also centers around something which is so prevalent relationships, trust & cheating,  which makes the novel as a whole more believable.  

But, I didn't like the end.  I could do without the "twisty" endings.  It would have been more spine breaking without it.  

So Dewey Readers, I give you a rating of 4 out of 5 Coffee Beans. Let's see what Jillian thinks! 

~Jessica  

P.S.  I returned my copy to the library before I could take a #Bookstagram :(   

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn - Battle of the Book

Hello Dewey Readers!

As we've mentioned before, Jillian and I are in a book club called The Spine Breakers.  We break spines...book spines.  Our second book club selection was The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn.  We were both disappointed with last month's selection, The Lying Game by Ruth Ware, and Jillian didn't seem like she was in love with this novel either (she read it before I did) so I wasn't sure what to expect.  (You'll have to read her review to see her thoughts.)  So, I went into this novel half thinking that I wasn't going to enjoy it and that it would be draggy.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  

This novel is a psychological thriller about a woman named Anna who has agoraphobia caused by the result of a traumatic experience.  What was this traumatic experience?  We're not quite sure, but we do know that she won't leave her house...she can't leave her house.  However, just because Anna can't leave her house does not mean that she doesn't know what's going on in her neighborhood.  She sees into other people's homes from the safety of her front window.   

Now, Anna is heavily medicated with anti-anxiety medications that should not be mixed with alcohol, that being said, Anna is also an alcoholic. So one day when Anna claims that she saw her neighbor get stabbed, not only dos the reader begin to wonder if Anna is hallucinating, but the characters and even Anna herself do as well.  

Now without giving too much away...
What I liked about this novel:  
-It was fast paced with REALLY short chapters which made me read faster
-Anna's mind was... interesting 

What I didn't like: 
- The ending of the novel seemed too...theatric and even borderline cliche... I wanted something else.  

In comparison to last month's read, where I walked around wondering "wtf did I just read?"  to the point where I didn't even remember it, this novel kept me interested and wanting to find out more.  I read this book in about two days, and for that fact alone, I am going to give it 4 out of 5 Coffee Beans. 

~Jessica
 

Hello Dear Dewey Readers!


Today I am writing to you from inside the local coffee shop while working on my #ToRead pile and trying to figure out life...  One of my new goals is to try to figure out where people actually hang out.  What do people do?  Where can I find these people in their mid 20's - early 30's... and do you think they will want to come to my library book clubs? Usually I like to sit home with my books in between loads of laundry... but today is the beginning of a new reading era!

I was not forgotten! 

About a year ago (Can you believe it has been that long already!) I wrote about reading in strange places... like the Stop and Shop Pharmacy.  I even took a #bookstagram photo of a book within a case of yogurt! Obviously the coffee shop is not strange, but today I am going to give you a quick snap shot of my experience. 

The experience: 
I am sitting in the corner with my back to the wall.  There are about 4 other girls sitting on their computers typing, and small groups of people scattered about just hanging out. Many of the men in here are with their respective dates.  I feel sort of guilty for taking up a small bistro table that could theoretically fit 3 people for me & my clunky purse...  but oh well.  I have also been waiting quite a while for the barista to take my order... but that's probably just my anxiety...No. I think she really forgot about me.      

So Dewey Readers, while I wave down the barista and try to overcome my table guilt, tell me, do you read in public? & Where do you hang out?  

Until the next coffee bean review! 

~Jessica 


P.S. I am currently re-reading Delirium by Lauren Oliver. My November book club choice for I Read Ya.  Is it better to love and to suffer than to have never have known love at all? 
    

The Charm Bracelet by Viola Shipman

Hello wonderful For the Love of Dewey Readers!!! 

I have news for you!  I am officially an Adult Services Librarian & I'm in charge of 2 new Book Clubs a month!  My first Book Club is called Fiction Addiction and my second Book Club is for Adults who love to read YA.  I am SO excited. 

So today I am sharing a review with you that will also be my first Fiction Addiction Book Club book in August, The Charm Bracelet by Viola Shipman.  (For those of you in the NJ area, reach out to me and I can share with you the details so you can join!) 

This novel explores the idea of intertwining maternal family relationships, as symbolized through a charm bracelet that has been passed down from generation to generation.  The charms were collected from important events within each woman's life, allowing them to take on a certain type of strength and energy.  The strength found within these charms made me think of mine (and Jillian's) collection of healing crystals.  

But anyway, let's talk about the plot.  This novel follows the story of Lauren and Arden, a mother daughter pair living in Chicago who gets called back to Lauren's original southern home when she learns that Arden's mother, Lolly, is becoming forgetful.  Lolly begins to exhibit signs of dementia.  She has post-its everywhere to remember simple tasks and names, and she frequently begins to forget to arrive to her shift at the local ice cream parlor, Scoops, on time.  Together the three begin to recall the past all the way back from Lolly's mother, while worrying about what the future will hold.  Ultimately, this novel also explores the feelings of heartbreak, of true love, and of regret.    

Broken down into sections based off of the charms, this story is a powerful journey about placing value in one's life, remembering the past, and making memories within the present / future.  But most importantly, it is about learning to value what you have now while you still have it, and to not let regrets take over the good memories.  

I think that this novel hit on my anxiety a little bit, because our Grandmother had suffered from Alzheimer's and dementia (and to be honest, for someone only 25 years old, I can't remember s**t).  While I thought that this novel overall came off as "sweet" and endearing, and I loved how Shipman broke the book into sections based off of the charms, it didn't engulf me in the same way that some of the other novels I have read the summer so far have.  So dear Dewey Readers, for this reason I leave you with a rating of 4.5 out of 5 Coffee Beans.  I hope this Book Club goes well, and I hope that by the time August 21st rolls around I can still remember what I've read! 

~Jessica    

Will You Find Us?

Not to long ago we read about a campaign via our Twitter Page (@theloveofdewey) about book fairies.  Yes, you read that right.  Magical book fairies that leave books in unexpected and mysterious places for readers to find, devour, and pass on.  I absolutely loved this idea and ordered some stickers right away.  You can read more about them on The Book Fairies' website. 

After ordering my set of stickers, I had to order business cards for a Mid-Atlantic Regional Archiving Conference (MARAC) I am presenting at this spring.  But of course, I did this at midnight and in my sleep-deprived state put the wrong professional web address on them and had to order more.  Does anyone with a MLIS really need personal business cards?  Now I have 100 non-useable and 100 useable ones.... But that's not what I really wanted to tell you...

While I was ordering my second batch of library business cards I decided to create some for For the Love of Dewey.  Wouldn't it be fun to hid them around town?  In places like the coffee shop, at the park, in the bathroom at the mall?  Wouldn't it be even better if we placed our cards inside a beloved book for people with bookish hearts to find?

So here is the For the Love of Dewey movement inspired by The Book Fairies and my business card accident.  For those of you who find a card, a book, or both, come to our blog and tell us!  Tell us that you found our card and what you think of the book.  And when you're done reading it, leave it somewhere for another book lover to find.  Let's see how far these books and the love for all things dewey can go!     

You can comment below here, on our Book Club page, or our GoodReads group.  Come and spread the bookish love! 

~Jessica