Sex on the Moon  by Ben Mezrich

Space the final frontier and always a fascination to me.  When I was in High School I was so enamored by the space program that I wrote to NASA for any information on space and the program.  Several weeks later I received a large envelope filled with information and beautiful pictures of space and stars. Along with the packet was something totally unexpected, a letter from one of the Directors of the program ( I no longer remember who) informing me that if I was interested in the program to contact them after I finished college.  I kind of laughed at the time because even though I was very good at sciences and was a pre-med major in college my Math and physics skills were laughable.  Oh and in addition I suffer from motion sickness which at times can be really bad so being an astronaut was therefore out of the question.  My scope of knowledge of available positions at NASA was limited to being an astronaut, who knew there were people who actually supported the program doing other things. So I read the wonderfully written information, hung up the beautiful pictures and moved on.  Another opportunity lost.

The title of this book interested me.  You know me and titles.  The book is about Thad Roberts and the book pretty much starts with events that altered his life.  He grew up Mormon in Utah and was sent on his two year mission.  The first night in the dorm he and other young men in his dorm confess to premarital sex something considered a sin in their religion. He and his High School girlfriend could not wait for marriage. Unlike the others who kept this admission of guilt to themselves, Thad tells it to the “headmaster” and is asked to leave.  His parents disown him.  He ends marrying his high school girlfriend but they are very young and are struggling to make it.

One day he finds himself in the career center at the University of Utah looking for something that will pay a little more money and he finds literature about the Space Center Program.  This changes the course of his life and he does everything he can to obtain a coop position which is basically an internship position at the Johnson Space Center (JSC)  in Houston.  He gets it because he is a very intelligent young man.  The internship literally changes his life in so many ways.  He goes from being a shy awkward man to being the center of attention.  He dares to do what none of the others would ever dream to do like getting himself into buildings at the JSC where he does not have clearance.  He loved the attention in fact he craved the attention which caused him to make decisions he should not have made.  This book deals with his personal transformation, the Johnson Control Center, wonderful insites into the space program and his scheme to steal the very valuable moon rocks brought back by the Apollo missions.  I must say it is very interesting stuff although my title for the book would have been Stealing the Moon.

I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections  by Nora Ephron

I don’t understand, I am usually a pure fiction kind of girl but I am trying to open myself to different possibilities.  It sort of started when I picked up Bossy pants by Tina Fey and is continuing with this book by Nora Ephron.

Sadly Nora Ephron died in 2012 from a very nasty illness and its complications.  I am familiar with Ms Ephrons movies.  I mean who can forget the unforgettable film When Harry Met Sally starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.   The mere mention of the movie brings back the scene in the deli between Harry and Sally. I don’t think I need to go any further explaining that scene, if you have seen the movie you will know what I am talking about.  If you haven’t seen the movie well then RENT THE MOVIE or Download it from Netflix or buy it at Amazon.com.  Just watch it. It’s a classic. 

This book is a little of this and that.  The beginning is spent talking about growing up with parents who both were writers. Who wrote the Play take her She’s Mine and Carousel.  Unfortunately they became alcoholics and the family home life became a disaster.  I found it interesting how she described her parents as one day they were not alcoholics and the next day they were.  All her sisters are writers.  Maybe it’s genetic being a writer I mean not being sisters that is genetic.

She talks about her days at Newsweek and the Post and she talks about her marriages and divorces.  It seems like the marriage and divorce that most impacted her was number two to Carl Bernstein.  Yes she knew who Deep Throat was and actually told people but they really didn’t believe her.

One thing she said that really made me pause was that as a writer she hoped to write something profound and she said she didn’t.  Maybe what she wrote wasn’t profound but a lot was certainly memorable.  I really enjoyed reading this book.

The Boonsboro Inn Trilogy by Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is a prolific writer.  She has written many, many books and I have read many of her books. Many of her books are Lifetime books.  I mean that sincerely since many of them have been turned into movies for the Lifetime Network.  Sucker that I am I have watched them. What can I say, I am a sucker for romance and happy endings.  Hey someone needs a happy ending to their story.

I just read her Boonsboro Inn Trilogy.  Sunday mornings I wake up make myself coffee, sit down to read the Washington and lo and behold the travel section is spotlighting Nora Robert’s Inn, The Boonsboro Inn.  Well imagine my surprise to find out the setting for her last three books actually existed.  I must admit I did not enjoy her last few books.  She has become so formula driven that you basically can write the story with her.  Ok you may not be able to write it but you certainly can figure out where it the story is going.  A little boring, I must confess.  Gone are the days when I looked forward to reading the books that made up a series.  I loved her Key series and her Chesapeake series and a few of her stand alone novels, her new stuff not so much.  Nora go back to writing like you use to, change your damn formula.

Getting back to the Inn, the rooms are named for romantically linked couples in works of fiction.  Each room apparently is very well appointed.  In her Boonsboro books the Inn is haunted with a lovely but petulant ghost who comes to the rescue several times throughout the series.  I have to admit I loved the description of the Inn much better than the actual characters.  It is obvious Ms. Roberts has great affection for the Inn as does the person who wrote the article in the Travel section of the Post.  I wouldn’t recommend the books but I do hope I get to see the Inn.

 

 

 

Bossypants  by Tina Fey

Of course I knew Tina Fey before I picked up this book.  Well I don’t actually know her personally, I know of her like millions of other people.  I will never forget her as Sarah Palin or in 30 Rock.  And I confess I didn’t actually read the book I listened to it in my car read by Tina Fey.  I think the fact that she herself read the book added a lot to the enjoyment of the story. It was kind of like she was sitting on my couch just chattin with me, Just us girls.

I really did not know what to expect from this book.  As I discussed in my previous blog I always am curious about why an author picks a title.  Once again Tina answers my question in the introduction so my curiosity was satisfied very early on.  The book is her autobiography and I found the book to be humorous at times and very biting and sarcastic at other times but what would a comedian be if not funny and sarcastic. What I was really surprised about is how much we had in common like her distaste for cruises. Any of you who know me are well aware of how much I abhor big boats and the ocean.  I know a lot of you love to cruise and I respect that however, there is no way I would willingly get on a ship and spend any time on the open or closed sea.  Who cares if there is an all you can eat buffet.  I am happy eating a normal meal rather than stressing about how the heck I will burn of the extra 20,000 calories I have just eaten when my body is barely able to handle 1200.  Yes I have a metabolism with two speeds slow and stop.

 

The other thing she talked about was the “health class’ we had in fifth grade.  I don’t know if any of you remember it.  It was not a coed class so I think you all know what was being discussed.  If any guys are reading this you may want to skip to the next paragraph.  The topic of discussion in this class was Aunt Flow and Bloody Mary and we were given a little goody package that helped us deal with those feminine icons if you know what I mean.  

 Last thing she talked about going to a photo shot with wet hair and no makeup so the hair and make-up people had a very distinct before and after.  She seemed to think that they felt a real sense of achievement with the after.  It’s kind of how I feel when I go into Sephora.  The only difference is I wear make-up there and the make-up artist still winces when I ask her about applying eye make-up.  I do want to give a shout out to the lovely make-up artist who with extreme professionalism and patience showed me how to do a smokey eye.  Needless to say I bought all the products she had used.  I promise to work hard to get it to look like that again or not.

That is where the similarities and things we share in common end. 

 It is always interesting to learn what experiences in a person’s life caused them to choose their profession and the path they chose.  If you like Tina Fey LISTEN to the audio book.  I think you will really enjoy it.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Many of you may be acquainted with Ann Patchett because you have read her other novel Bel Canto.  I must admit, I really enjoyed Bel Canto but many of the people in my book club did not share my feelings.  If any of you have read Bel Canto please let me know what you thought.

State of Wonder is about Marina Singh a doctor and research scientist for a Minnesota based pharmaceutical company that is conducting research deep in the Amazon Jungle.  The lead researcher, a former professor of Marina, on this very big project has not been heard from for quite awhile.  The pharmaceutical company has a lot of money riding on this project and so Marina’s research partner Anders is sent into the jungle to find her.  He too is lost and presumed dead so the company, desperate to find out what is going on, sends Marina.

We then get to experience Marina’s travels to Brazil and the Amazon and how she deals with the harsh environment in the jungle.  The characters are interesting, some likeable some not.  The research project the pharmaceutical company is funding is extremely interesting dealing with women's fertility issues and brings up many possibilities and questions. 

While I liked Bel Canto more this was also good read.

The Forgotten

I always love to figure out how an author lands on a book title. Don’t you?  Sometimes the title is very straight and tells you exactly what you are getting. Other times I sit there scratching my head wondering where the author or for that matter the publisher came up with it.  Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is one of those for me. and I have talked with English Teachers, fellow readers even people who swear they actually get it and I still don't.  If you feel confident enough, then please enlighten me.

Titles can be mysterious like that. Sometimes the meaning hides in a single line or a subtle theme you only catch on a second read. Other times the connection is so faint you need a literary decoder ring to see it. But with this book, the reason for the title hits you right from the beginning. There’s no guessing, no symbolism to unravel, no secret handshake required. It’s refreshingly obvious, and honestly, a little satisfying. 

John Puller is back.  We first met him in Zero Day (see my blog for a recap). and if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend that you do.  In this new installment, the trouble begins when Puller’s father—a highly decorated General now suffering from dementia—receives a letter from Puller’s Aunt Betsy. She isn’t specific, but whatever she writes is enough to agitate the General so much that he demands to see his son immediately. The letter’s message is sufficient enough to get Puller to visit her in of all places Paradise, Florida. 

The letter’s vague but unsettling message sends Puller straight to Betsy’s home in, of all places, Paradise, Florida. But by the time he arrives, Betsy is dead—and she’s not the only one. So much for living in Paradise. And don’t worry, none of this spoils the story. These revelations unfold within the first few pages, and the real mystery only deepens from there. 

The Police and the Medical Examiner are rule it an accident, but Puller is not buying, not for a second. He launches his own investigation and what he uncovers is shocking—both in what he finds and in who he has to “take care of” to get to the truth behind these murders.  

If you liked Zero Day you will like definitely like The Forgotten. If you read this first, definitely do yourself a favor and go back and read Zero Day.

Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

World War II is over.  Tom comes home from the war weary from all the death that surrounded him.  His relationship with his family are nonexitent and he just wants peace and quiet.  He signs up to be a light keeper which means spending long stretches all alone with absolutely no one on the island and no phone service. 

He is asked to take an assignment on Janus Rock a light house that is extremely isolated.  In fact, he will find himself going months without uttering a word. It just so happens that before he leaves for Janus he meets Isabel and they fall in Love.  He tells her to think over what their life would be like and gives her the opportunity to turn down the proposal of marriage.  She does not refuse him;they marry and go to live on Janus.

More than anything Isabel wants a family but to her and Tom's great sadness she has several miscarriages.  One day a small boat washes onto the lighthouse shores and in the boat aredead man and an infant who by a miracle is alive..  Isabel begs Tom to not report the incident of the boat washing ashore so that she may keep the infant and raise her as their own.  This goes against the rules followed by the lighthouse keepers and for that matter Tom's respect for the rules. 

But as I said before, the life of the lighthouse keeper is lonely iwhether he is alone or even if he has a family with him.  He loves Isabel more than anything and sees how happy the baby makes her feel.  This story is about all the people who are positively and negatively affected by this decision.  It is a very interesting book and makes you question what you would do if confronted with this same situation.