Hachette Books – Page 3 – …on the B.L.

Difficulty: II
Length: III
Quick Review: Grace Hammond is having a rough time, so she goes home to figure her life out.

As summer approaches, I’m trying to compile a list of books good for a vacation reading list. The Rules of Love and Grammar fits into that category perfectly. It’s light, romantic, and escapist in nature. Not a fabulous novel, but it holds its own as a beach read.

The book begins with Grace Hammond telling the reader exactly what is going wrong in her life. It was abrupt and unnecessary. In her early thirties, she loses her, her boyfriend, and her apartment before returning to her small hometown. While she tries putting her life back together, she takes a small job at a bike shop, dates, hangs out with her hometown best friend, rekindles old rivalries, and deals with the ups and downs of living with family.

Grace is your run of the mill grammar nazi, and, quite frankly, she comes off as a bitch. (I, as an editor, am always finding grammar mistakes in people’s work… So I get it. I do not point it out unless I am being paid because it is not a trait I have found that makes many friends.) Grace returns to her hometown which seems to bring out antics similar to those of a high schooler with a tendency towards exaggeration and fantastical scenarios. It felt immature at times. Her love sick puppy attitude made it a little hard to find the interesting person through the husband-hunter exterior.

Each chapter starts with a grammar rule and a sentence depicting the previously mentioned rule. The chapter usually reflects a similar concept in Grace’s life. It’s a cute way to effortlessly weave the theme throughout the book.

I have a difficulty reading books about grammar obsessed main characters, which seems to be the most important character quality to the author never developed just constantly mentioned. Once that personality trait has been established, I am on duty looking for any mistake. This does not disappoint. There were plenty of grammar mistakes including one in Simses bio. Though, this is not the author’s fault but the fault of the editor. It’s just irritating.

Simses tries to add a flair of mystery but does a thin job veiling what that is. The love interests are all lovely but highly predictable. To be completely honest, I had the entire plot figured out by page 17. The aspect I appreciate the most is the complexity of familial relationships: ie. siblings, parents, perception, reality, coping, etc. Simses touches on these thematically, but I think it would have been a stronger book had she focused on Grace’s reconciliation more than her love life. I really thought the ending was going to be strong aside from the predictable love story portion. However, Simses felt it necessary Grace narrate the meaning of the book instead of allowing it to speak for itself. I audibly cringed as she ruined what she had managed to turn around. Us readers are not dumb. We get it, unless, you wrote the next Lolita… but this is not that.

Personally, I enjoyed the bike shop aspect. My brother was a semi-professional cyclist, so my life revolved around bikes for many, many years. For me, that was sentimental.

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Memorable Quotes:
“”Let life unfold, or you’ll miss the chance to be surprised.””

Title: The Rules of Love & Grammar
Author: Mary Simses
Publisher: Back Bay Books (Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group)
Copyright: 2016
ISBN: 9780316382083

Books

Get Money

March 27, 2018 RaeAnna

Read: Yes
Difficulty: II
Quick Review: Kristin Wong writes about finances in the most approachable way possible. She doesn’t overwhelm you or make you feel stupid while comprehensively covering everything from basic savings to investments and taxes.

I can’t recommend this book enough. Especially for the millennials who are entering and working through adulthood. I was lucky enough to have parents who taught me about finances, but, in adulthood, I have realized so many of my peers have not been so lucky. Which is a shame because money is a huge part of our lives… Usually something we struggle with because it’s money or we don’t have enough of it or whatever.

Kristin Wong has tons of experience with money because she writes about it for all the biggest outlets and she’s also human. Money is scary. Money can be depressing. Money can seem like a distant dream belonging to our favorite Instagrammers. She is unafraid to talk about the nitty gritty details without dumbing it down or making it too hard to understand.

Balance. The overarching theme of Get Money is balance; balance between savings and living. From the beginning of the book, Wong talks about the Oh Shit Cycle; us adults out there adulting are probably over familiar with this cycle of blame, shame, and a bit of depression. Wong gets to the real point of money, it’s personal. How we spend, save, and look at money is different with each person. She is consistent in pointing out in order to put your finances in order, you must look inward to your motivations, which takes time and work.

Money is rough, but it is a part of life. It is part of friendships and relationships. Who we are is intrinsically linked with money. Wong understands this and so much more. She gets money. No pun intended. She wants her readers to understand money and the choices they have. Banks. Everyone needs one. What we don’t realize: we have options. Wong wants her readers to know they have options. She does not want anyone to be blinded by their fears and reservations of money.

Things included in Get Money that you need to know/Reasons to buy her book: a) credit scores are confusing b) taxes c) compound interest for the good and the bad d) savings e) IRA, 401k, what? f) debt g) financial advisers h) negotiating incomes/interest/anything. You need it!

The book is organized into three sections covering about every aspect of money issues normal (non-financial sector) people need to know. There are work spaces throughout, so you can make plans and complete the exercises. If you’re awkward or shy like I am, Wong includes advice and scripts for calling to negotiate with insurance companies, banks, etc. She gamifies money/reading into levels, so you can level up instead of dealing with boring old chapters. Advice from other financial experts is scattered throughout, as well as, outside information and resources. If you’re wanting to put her words to work and use it as a guide to getting your money in order, it’s not a quick read. Although, I would suggest reading it all at once, and then going back using it as a personal game plan.

Kristin Wong is competent, funny, motivating, helpful, understanding, and human. I don’t want financial advice from someone scary, and she is anything but scary. Her book is fun to read and informative. Everyone and anyone can learn something from her.

Memorable Quotes:
“If you’re bad with money, take solace in the fact that you’re not stupid, you’re just human.”
“Sticking to your budget is really about sticking with your goal.”
“Sex is an awkward topic, but based on my experience, money is leaps and bounds more taboo.”
“If you want to stick to your budget and goals, learning to spend consciously, with a purpose, is a must.”

Title: Get Money; Live the Life You Want Not Just the Life You Can Afford
Author: Kristin Wong
Publisher: Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9780316515658

Books

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour

March 15, 2018 RaeAnna

Read: Yes
Length: 352
Quick Review: He’s an opinionated dentist with almost no online footprint until someone else did it for him. Funny, witty, insightful, and highly originally.

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour is Joshua Ferris’ third novel, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. I didn’t know a thing about the book when I picked it up, but I knew it was different than what I have been reading lately.

Paul O’Rourke is a dentist in New York City. He’s an average man. He’s addicted to his phone, but abhors people attached to theirs. He smokes, is a fan of the Red Sox, an atheist, has an obsession with religion, falls into obsession with the women he dates, and is alone. Paul O’Rourke has many opinions and a thriving internal dialogue. He keeps his online presence to a minimum hiding behind a different name; his dental practice doesn’t even have a website. He continues leading his rather mundane life until someone hijacks his identity online, which he deems wildly violating. What begins in anger launches him into a full inspection deep into his soul.

Ferris has an incredibly unique style. The majority of the novel is not action based but thought based. He has an uncanny ability to bring the reader into the mind of someone who, otherwise, would be difficult to relate to. He makes the mundane wildly funny. Paragraphs can go on for a brief sentence or several pages.

The novel could have been a complete disaster, but Ferris is very successful. The book is captivating.

Total side note… While reading this book, I was waking up at an age appropriate time. Coincidence? Most definitely.

Memorable Quotes:
“To me, a church is simply a place to be bored in.”
“”How could you be a good person and not believe in God?””

Title: To Rise Again at a Decent Hour
Author: Joshua Ferris
Publisher: Back Bay Books (Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group)
Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 9780316033992

Books

13 Hours

November 16, 2017 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 320
Quick Review Six men put everything on the line to protect their fellow Americans during a brutal attack in Benghazi, Libya on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11.

Zuckoff writes an enthralling account of the men who protected an American safe hold in Libya on Sept ember 11, 2012. I had a hard time putting the book down once I got into it. As an American who watches as little news as possible when the word Benghazi is mentioned, it has an air of sadness to it. Although, I never really knew the particulars of what happened. To be honest, I would be surprised if many do. It is thought of as a sad moment in a sea of depressing incidents we live in post 9/11.

Zuckoff focuses on the six men who put their lives on the line that night. He wants the book to be impartial telling the events as the Annex Security Team remembers them with no political implication. It would be hard to call the book completely impartial because there were more people present that night than just the members of the Annex Security Team. It would have been interesting to hear their accounts of the night as well.

It’s hard not to begin the book optimistically because, like Titanic, the ending is already common knowledge. If it isn’t to you, I won’t spoil the depression.

Zuckoff makes it easy to get to know the Annex Security Team. He has an incredible ability to take himself out of the narrative allowing each man’s personality to bleed in when necessary while staying factual. Zuckoff spends a great deal of time describing people and places. The descriptions can drag a little over geography, but he includes diagrams making it possible to skim those sections to look at the pictures instead.

This is incredibly moving and a testament to the men who put their lives on the line to protect their country and their people. Their complexities come through in how they view the world, each other, and their superiors. It is always important to remember that heroes are people, and Zuckoff is able to portray this sentiment clearly throughout.

13 Hours is an important read for anyone who wants to be aware of recent history. Unfortunately, the events are not isolated, and similar attacks and atrocities happen all over the world to more or less media attention.

Memorable Quotes
“Oil had yet to be discovered, so no one wanted colonial responsibility for an impoverished, bombed-out Arab sandbox.”
“…telling each other that the United States had gotten its money’s worth for teaching them how to be soldiers.”

Title: 13 Hours; The Inside Account of What Really Happened
Author: Mitchell Zuckoff and the Annex Security Team
Publisher: Twelve (Hachette Book Group)
Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 9781455582273

Books, NonFiction

A Moonless, Starless Sky

September 1, 2017 RaeAnna

Read: Yes
Length: II (236)
Quick Review: Alexis Okeowo tells the story of four African countries in the midst of their own battles with extremism through people most affected by them.

I like to think of myself as a fairly aware person, and I have found my African knowledge to be extravagantly more informed than the average American’s. I will admit my knowledge of this century’s goings on in Africa are severely lacking. It is mostly my fault, but not entirely. Unless our soldiers are dying or a super celebrity gets a hold of something, the media seldom covers African issues. When they do, you probably have to dig for it. In college, my research focused on the linguistic evolution of North African immigrants in France, so naturally I have an extensive knowledge of North African history and culture. Okeowo addresses African issues with extremism as well as the lack of media coverage and more in A Moonless, Starless Sky without making you feel terrible for not knowing about the struggles of an entire continent.

Okeowo is a first generation daughter of Nigerian immigrants. Having grown up in the deep south hearing about the homeland, she decided to move to Lagos, Nigeria after college to work as a reporter. She is currently a staff writer at The New Yorker, but her time in Africa shaped her. Her debut book A Moonless, Starless Sky, which is released on October 3 of this year, addresses an issue she is so clearly passionate about.

Stories from the countries of Uganda, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Somalia are deeply moving, heart wrenching, and yet hope-filled looking to the future. Each country has been dealing with extremism for decades. As Americans, we have heard about the child soldiers in Uganda, slavery in Mauritania, the Boko Haram in Nigeria, and terrorism in Somalia. What was talked about briefly in the news has been ongoing for years and continues after coverage fades. Of the four countries, Somalia has been covered the most in recent American media due to the military interaction within the country, but still it has faded from our attentions and visibility. Okeowo tells the stories of normal people having to cope with the effects of terrorism on their lives, their families, their culture, and their country. Even in the midst of immense turmoil, there is a theme of bravery. Sometimes the simplest acts convey bravery and even resistance. In these moments, the average person can be thrust into a position of power becoming a symbol of activism providing a glimpse of hope for change.

Okeowo writes with intensity and honesty. She captures the humanity and struggle of those forced to commit atrocities with no problem pointing out double standards, struggles, scare tactics, and more she encountered while traveling, interviewing, and witnessing local life. She writes without qualm about the complexity activists face in their battle to extinguish extremism in their countries. Among the serious subject matter, she has poignant moments of humor, sarcasm, and irritation. The book is so relatably human in it’s approach to a topic saturated in monstrosity.

A work of literary journalism, Okeowo accomplishes a devastating roller coaster of feelings in a mere 256 pages. It is impossible to read A Moonless, Starless Sky without being emotionally sucker punched. Intertwining the larger issues with the stories of the impact they have on the people, Okeowo’s words will haunt your thoughts long after the book has been closed. My only criticism is: I want more.

Title: A Moonless, Starless Sky; Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa
Author: Alexis Okeowo
Publisher: Hachette Books
Copyright: 2017
ISBN: 9780316382939

Tag: Hachette Books

The Rules of Love & Grammar by Mary Simses

Get Money

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour

13 Hours

A Moonless, Starless Sky