Jump to content

Julie 2014


julie

Recommended Posts

The Storied Life of A J Fikry  -- Gabrielle Zevin  5/5 *

 

Wow, this book was good ! I picked it up yesterday and read it straight through in just a few hours' time .

It's the story of A J Fikry, who owns a small bookstore in a small tourist town ,who barely makes ends meet moneywise , but he loves books a LOT ,so he is fairly content with life in that area . The rest of his life has been sad . He becomes a widower at a fairly young age, so also becomes pretty cynical about life and isn't really very well liked by a lot of people. He is rude and not very friendly to most people , including the customers in his bookstore .

One day, he loses one of his most prized possessions, but in a strange twist of fate, he "finds" something else that replaces it .In the beginning, he considers it a burden ,but as time goes on, he realizes that the "burden" becomes the greatest blessing in his life . His personality begins to change with his added responsibility . He seems to be a bit like the Grinch, if you know that story . He actually finds out he has a heart and life becomes so much better for him. He begins to open up to people and learns to be happy .

Throughout the book ,there are MANY books mentioned ,and little mini-reviews of each at the beginning of each chapter.

I don't want to give away any more of the story ,but let's just say you will do yourself a huge favor if you read this book. It truly was the best I've read all year so far . A Beautiful story !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 471
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Great reviews :)! I have The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry on my wishlist, it's great to see another good recommendation of it. I've read three books by the same author and enjoyed all three. I'm happy you're able to read a bit more, Julie. Good luck with the surgery, I'll be thinking of you on the 28th :friends0:.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Athena   :)

I'm glad you reminded me to look for other books by the same author ( of AJ Fikry)  . I meant to look that up last night before bed and forgot !

I'm glad to hear her others were also good !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have Standing In The Rainbow by Fannie Flagg. I bought it on a whim in the charity shop, afterwards I regretted buying it to be honest so it's not high up my TBR pile. I'm glad you enjoyed it though Julie (I hadn't looked at the author's name until Sarah/Pixie pointed it out).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Athena   :)

I'm glad you reminded me to look for other books by the same author ( of AJ Fikry)  . I meant to look that up last night before bed and forgot !

I'm glad to hear her others were also good !

 

Thanks Pixie --

I've read the Fried Green Tomatoes book you have and it's good too . Probably a bit better than Daisy Fay. They made a movie of it I know . 

I'll keep an eye out for some of the other Zevin books .

 

I have Standing In The Rainbow by Fannie Flagg. I bought it on a whim in the charity shop, afterwards I regretted buying it to be honest so it's not high up my TBR pile. I'm glad you enjoyed it though Julie (I hadn't looked at the author's name until Sarah/Pixie pointed it out).

 

Athena

 I haven't read all of Flagg's books so I'm not familiar with that one or how good it is. At least since you got it used, if it's not something you'll like, it wasn't the cost of a new book. You can just donate it or something if you don't care for it . You might like it though !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Julie. :)  Great reviews!  I really like the sound of The Storied Life of A J Fikry .  I've seen it around, but hadn't looked into it.  Now I will. :D

 

I'm really glad the Hubster's job is working out, and Yays that your surgery is scheduled!  Happy news all the way around. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Kate

 Yes, the Fikry book was quite a surprise for me . I didn't know quite what to expect. It's really different,  so that always helps to make things more interesting . I think you'd enjoy it with all the book references throughout . The author mentions a LOT of books during the story, so that's also a plus if there are any that sound interesting to you !

 It's also a quick read ,plus it's so good you keep reading faster to see what will happen .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dead End Gene Pool - Wendy Burden

 

Wendy is related to the Vanderbilt family from a few generations back, so she grew up knowing she would inherit " a few million dollars" when she came of age . She spent most of her life with her grandparents, who were filthy rich. It was interesting to hear how much money they had, the houses they lived in ,the trips they took , and the extravagant lifestyles they lived . It sounds very tempting to live a life like the with the world at your fingertips, but with it came a pretty bad legacy of suicides, drugs, alcohol and too much pressure to look perfect and make perfect decisions.

Her Mother wasn't really ever there for her and spent most of her life on constant vacations, having several man friends , and never really having much interest in being a mom . Through it all, the author is able to look at the humor in her life ,but yet tell a story of a lot of sadness ,too .  I don't think it'd be worth it to have hat much money if your life was as difficult as hers was .

Interesting book, though !      It's always interesting to read how the other half live !   4/5

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know it was so long ago that you posted it, but I LOVE the reading bingo challenge and if its ok I'm totally stealing that for next year!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They went ok, Pixie . Everything done and ready . The Dr explained what all would happen, then I had my therapy class to learn pre-op exercises to strengthen my leg muscles .

I have my therapy class set up for the Monday after surgery , and my walker rented to use ( for 1st 2 weeks) ,so all systems go .

 

Thanks for asking !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They went ok, Pixie . Everything done and ready . The Dr explained what all would happen, then I had my therapy class to learn pre-op exercises to strengthen my leg muscles .

I have my therapy class set up for the Monday after surgery , and my walker rented to use ( for 1st 2 weeks) ,so all systems go .

 

Thanks for asking !

 

Ooh, glad it`s all systems go. It`s a week tomorrow, isn`t it ? :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, Pixie ,

One week from tomorrow . I'll sure be gad to get it over with . Too much time to think isn't a good thing !

 

 

Thanks, Kate

I appreciate your well wishes !  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad you enjoyed My Cousin Rachel. It's a great book and Daphne Du Maurier is one of my favourite authors. I'm yet to read Rebecca though but will get to it one day :)

 

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry sounds great. Another for the wish list.

 

Best wishes for your surgery Julie :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Andrea ,

     Yes, Du Maurier is great . I've only read 3,  Rebecca was also terrific . Jamaica Inn was good , too, but it's been so long since I read it I really can't remember much about it . Maybe I need to read it again one of these days .!

 

 

Thanks , Andrea and Devi , for the well wishes ~

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks ,guys --

Will be glad to get it over with . Tired of thinking about it . Will check in here when I can .. I'm bringing my laptop with me ,so will possibly check in here if I get the chance .   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...