The Goldfinch discussion

For those of you who haven't already heard, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is the winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and labeled as One of the New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2013. This comes as no surprise to me!

In a nutshell, the book is about Theo Decker, a 13-year-old boy in New York who miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. On an impulse and to please a stranger hurt in the explosion, Theo takes both a small but famous painting from the museum and a family heirloom ring (belonging to the man). Previously abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the wealthy family of a friend from school. As Theo becomes part of the family, his father mysteriously shows up and whisks him off to Las Vegas. Struggling to survive in a world very different than where he came from, all of Theo's decisions and experiences are influenced by that one day of disaster; the tragic loss of his mother, the ring he received from the dying man and the potential repercussions of stealing the famous painting.

The Goldfinch is not a short story by any means. The book has 784 pages in print and 758 on the Nook. Although lengthy, this was a quick read for me! I made it through faster than several of the much shorter books I've read recently simply because it was so good! I couldn't put the book down, eager to see what was in store for Theo around each corner. I do, however, regret purchasing the book on my Nook. I wish I had bought it in print instead. The author writes with a lot of detail jam-packed on every page and it would have been easier for me to flip back and double check details -like I sometimes do- with the actual book in my hands.

Following Theo from childhood to adulthood, The Goldfinch ponders the recurring themes of life, death, love, betrayal, addiction and fate. Throughout the story, several very influential people in Theo's life are introduced and chronicled including his mother, his father, Andy, Mrs. Barbour, Pippa, Hobie and Boris. What relationship do you think was the most significant? What about the most toxic?

I've heard rumors that the film rights to this book were purchased and it may become either a movie or a TV miniseries. Which would you prefer? I was excited to hear it might become a movie and am equally curious about the possibility of a miniseries...

As far as the ending goes, I've heard more than a few people say that they felt like the novel fizzled out toward the end and that it didn't finish with as big of a BANG! as they expected. Others have actually said they wish the book would have been longer to tie up more of the loose ends! I was slightly disappointed that the ending wasn't more concrete. While the conflict with the painting was resolved, most of Theo's personal dilemmas were not. He seems to be on the mend in the final pages, as far as his mental state is concerned, but we never really find out where he ends up in life.

Maybe some of those unanswered questions will be answered in the future on the big screen?!

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

Next up on The Reader Board:

Room by Emma Donoghue.    

Celebrate National Library Week

April 13-19 is National Library Week. How do you plan to celebrate? Our family utilizes the public and school library weekly already.

The public library is a great place for children and adults. Also, if you don't do it already, look into renting E-Books from your electronic device. When the book is due, it automatically expires. No late fees!

Some day, I would LOVE to have an amazing home library like one of these:

Celebrate National Library Week by diving into a new book. That's what I plan to do!

Hands Free Mama

I've been working on reading Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters for awhile now. It's taken me a long time to get through it.

I first stumbled across the Hands Free movement on Facebook. I think I saw some sort of post about it. The post directed me to the author's blog Hands Free Mama and I was immediately hooked! I liked the page on Facebook and signed up to receive new posts via email. I enjoyed the regular blog posts so much that I wrote down the book release date in my agenda book and ordered it the day it first came out! I was, however, mildly disappointed that the book wasn't as much as an attention-grabber as I'd hoped for.

Don't get me wrong, the message is VERY important and the book is a great reminder about what is and isn't important in life. The author encourages parents to let go of the distractions, expectations and clutter in their lives (cell phones, laptops, email, over-scheduling, multitasking, etc.) so they can embrace what really matters.

The personal stories add a nice element to the overall read. For some reason though, I just wasn't able to get into it like I expected. A lot of the chapters are repetitive, emphasizing the same information over and over and over again... You get my point :) I'm still enjoying the blog posts immensely though!

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Spring Break

It's Spring Break for us and I haven't been doing as much reading as I'd like. By the end of the day, I've been too tired to do anything! So... I haven't finished Wild yet. I'm on the last part of the book and hope to complete it this weekend. If you've finished, please feel free to start a discussion or give a summary of your thoughts!

On another note, I went to the movies last week and saw Divergent. The movie is based on the novel series by Veronica Roth. Since I really enjoyed the trilogy of books, I was very excited to see the movie. It did not disappoint! I thought the movie followed the book fairly close. Of course there were some small changes but none that I thought changed the story line too much. Even if I hadn't read the book, I would have enjoyed the movie.

The first book/movie in the Divergent series introduces Beatrice Prior as the protagonist. It goes on to describes the dystopian Chicago world she lives in, a society divided into five factions – each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful) and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all 16 year olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. If they choose differently from the faction they were born into, they must forever forsake their family and friends. “Faction before blood,” is the motto. As the story unfolds, Beatrice discovers something about herself that she must keep hidden from everybody. All the while, she and her fellow initiates struggle to live out the choices they have made.

If you haven't read the books, give them a try! If you have read the books (or watched the movie), which faction would you choose? I'd like to say I'm Dauntless but in reality I'm probably more Candor.

Next up on The Reader Board radar is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Go ahead and purchase, rent or borrow the book if you haven't already!