What I Read in June (2012)

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Oh, what to say about this final book in The Hunger Games series. There were some highlights that I enjoyed, and there was certainly a fair amount of suspense. My husband plans to read this series next, and I've told him the final book will likely be his favorite, because of the war theme involved. However, I was disappointed. Some people complained that watching Katniss recover from injury after injury was ridiculous and badly written. I disagree. I think it was excessive, but being who she was and all that she went through - I found it more believable to see her inquire injuries. It was necessary. However...the conclusion of the love triangle was garbage. There was no pit-of-your-stomach drop moment. No chill-inducing climax. There were just a few quick, unsatisfying encounters that remained unresolved. The way she let go of Gale after everything? The unemotional reunion with Peeta? I got the feeling that the author wrote herself into a corner. She made Katniss' situation with each guy too difficult, too intense, too complicated for there to be a good, solid answer. Instead, she had to come up with a lame excuse to get rid of someone - a reason to maybe hold a grudge, just in case - and then slowly and off the pages, bring her other choice closer. How unsatisfying! And I was rooting for Peeta most of the time, because of his selfless nature (and he reminded me a lot of my husband), but it was really aggravating that the author didn't dive deeper into Katniss' feelings over Gale's new life as she sat at their meeting spot at the end of this last book. I know that Katniss was a strong, guarded person that tried to keep her emotions to herself - but I think it's reasonable to assume that all she'd been through would change that in some way, and would have made it a lot more entertaining and satisfying for the reader to explore that. All of that being said, I am happy with the conclusion - I like the way things were resolved, and I like that she ended up with Peeta. It just wasn't a satisfying trip.

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

There are so very  many moments that my review of this books should have shown up. It took me about 10 months of renting and re-renting it from the library to finally finish it. The thing is, I loved certain parts of this book - particularly the descriptions of her restoration process and her cooking, but I was bored to sleep on many other occasions (particularly when she described outings). It was interesting, relaxing, and sort of dreamy, but it wasn't overly entertaining. Overall, it made me really want to visit that area some day! And I can only dream of doing what she did with her Tuscan home!

Scary Mommy by Jill Smokler

I heard of this book from a friend that read it, and always one for a humor-infused mommy memoir, I was in! This book was as promised - humorous, and full of truthful, relate-able mommy-quotes. For me, though, it was a lot of the same. I've read a lot of books similar to this, and it felt like a bunch of typical mom-stories that have been told before - including by myself. It was a fun, quick read, but I wasn't overly entertained.

I Suck at Girls by Justin Halpern

Oh, my, goodness - was this book funny! Just like in Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin Halpern's Dad's humor is unmatched. I absolutely adore his logical, sarcastic, bitter humor. However, the funniest part of this book barely included his father. The chapter about Justin's international experiences with getting drunk and partying  - which landed him in a hospital with medical staff that could hardly speak english, gave me an ab workout. I laughed so long after reading his nurses' "official, medical diagnosis". This is a fabulously funny and entertaining book, and I highly recommend it!

Also Re-Read

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

Do I even need to say anything here? Best, books, ever.