35: The Kitchen House

The Kitchen House, by Kathleen Grissom, was one of those books that was recommended to me a while ago (thanks, Sarah!) and I kept putting off reading it because I knew I was not going to like it and whoa. I was wrong. I FLEW through this book, hardly remembering to feed my child or leave the house every day. I think I finished it in a day. Seriously. I sat in a parking lot and read it just to get a little farther. I absolutely devoured this book, and while it’s not happy (it reminded me of Little Bee with the sadness), I still loved this book.

The Kitchen House is the story of a white girl, Lavinia, who is orphaned on a ship coming from Ireland. Instead of moving into “the big house” with the other white people when she arrives at the plantation, she is sent to live in the kitchen house with the black women. She learns about family and love and of the incredible differences in lifestyles between these two groups of people in this time.

This book completely follows the “what if” questions. What if Lavinia had married someone else? What if the papers had been served earlier? What if… what if… what if?

I give this book a 9/10. While the book is depressing and overwhelming at times, I absolutely devoured it and would think it’s a fantastic book for a book club to read, because the questions that could be asked about what could have been are absolutely amazing.

34: Bossypants

Bossypants, by Tina Fey, is the absolutely hilarious autobiography by one of my favorite comediennes ever. I absolutely love Tina Fey, and we watch 30 Rock religiously, and were big SNL fans when she was on.

It’s hard to review this book. It’s hilarious, it’s so entertaining and it’s just so HER. It’s hectic, funny and awesome wrapped up and presented neatly. You can hear her sarcasm and funny sayings coming through the book and I really enjoyed some of the “behind the scenes” stuff that she talks about with SNL and Lorne Michaels.

I give this book an 8/10. I really enjoyed it. I finished it in 2 nights, which is quick (especially lately…). I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good and funny book.

25: The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein, tells the story of life through the eyes of a dog who is living his last days on earth. Enzo has been a faithful companion for many years, through thick and thin, to his owner Denny. Named after a racing car company, Enzo and Denny watch hours of racing footage on TV, as Denny tries to get his big break in racing, and when Denny marries Eve, Enzo steps aside, but knows he is still valued in the family. Denny and Eve have a baby, Zoe, and the family is so happy. Then Enzo smells something bad happening in Eve, but he has no way to warn his family. The something bad tears the family apart, and causes Denny and Zoe great pain for a long time. And, with the clarity of Budda, Enzo continues to tell the story of their life together. 

I cried from chapter one in this book. But, I absolutely loved it. The analogies to life are astounding, and I think you could make a case that this book should be required reading for college students around the globe. I am most certainly a dog-lover, but not necessarily a race-car lover and I still loved this book. I give this book a solid 9/10, because everyone should read this book. 

One of my favorite quotes from the book is, “Racing is about discipline and intelligence, not about who has the heavier foot. The one who drives smart will always win in the end.” Such truer words have never been spoken.

20: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is the debut novel by Beth Hoffman. A true Southern charmer, this book delighted me to no end. It was uplifting, funny, sweet and sad all in one book, and I found myself cheering for CeeCee, for her aunt and for her adopted family as the book went on and while the ending was a little far-fetched, I still loved the book so much.

CeeCee’s mother has a debilitating mental illness that she has stopped taking medication for. CeeCee immerses herself in books so she will learn as much as she can so the genetic disorder that has taken over her mother’s life will not take over hers. The story unfolds, and her absent father refuses to help and travels for his job so he is gone often and does not notice how deeply depressed his wife is. A tragedy occurs and CeeCee’s father sends her to Savannah, the land of bees and honey, to live with her great-aunt. CeeCee is plopped into a foreign world, complete with racial tensions, a naked neighbor, an aunt who loves her and a whole lot of fun.

The story solidifies women’s friendships, the strength of women and the delight of a young child. I loved this book. It is true Southern fiction and almost a perfect story. I give it a very, very, very solid 9/10 and recommend this to everyone.

11: Little Bee

Little Bee, by Chris Cleave, is an amazing and thought provocative book about our lives in the world on this increasingly smaller globe. It’s going to be hard to give a synopsis of this book without giving too much away, but basically a Nigerian girl’s life changes the lives of many English citizens – some for the good and some for the bad.

The one pivotal scene on the beach is so haunting. It made me think about it for days. Actually, I read this book a week and a half ago and I am still thinking about it. It’s terrifying and nerve-wracking and makes you want to throw up a little and I cried and cried while reading it. And yet, I loved this book. The topics covered in this book are not fun ones and the undertones of the differences in first and third world countries are obvious and make you think. The presence of the oil politics are an underlying theme and made me want to do SOMETHING – ANYTHING – to help these refugees.

I can’t stop thinking about this book. About Little Bee, about 4 year old Batman/Charlie, about Sarah and how quickly her life veered off path. I want to reread it, but it is such raw writing, such an explosive topic, I think I need to reread it when I have the chance to really think about it and discuss it with others. This is not a book to read alone, that’s for sure. This would be a fantastic book club book.

I give this book a 9/10. Superb writing, deeply moving topics and characters and overall, a fresh and new outlook for a book.