The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

If you don't read anything else from this blog, you have to read this book. Wally Lamb is my favorite author. I read She's Come Undone and thought it was good. I then read I Know This Much Is True which became my favorite book of all time. I waited ten years for Wally's new book to come out and it was well worth the wait. It is 700 pages plus of story telling at its finest. It is about Caelum Quirk and his wife Maureen. Maureen was trapped at Columbine during the school shootings in 1999. The book then follows them as they try to recover from this tragic event. As no one can do, Wally then incorporates Caelum's past and ancestors into the present day story. I don't want to give too much away, but it is a whirlwind of a read. I could have read it in a few days, but wanted to take my time because I knew it might be years before Wally comes out with another book. This is a must read!!!

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

I found this book by surfing around on Amazon one day. I checked it out at Barnes and Noble and decided to buy it. I finished it in about a week so I guess that means it was a pretty good read. It was both a novel with a character story and also a mystery. The story had three sub-plots within the book. Each of the three stories contained a mystery. The first mystery was about the youngest of four girls that disappeared one night and years later her sisters want to find out what happened to her. The second mystery is about a young woman that was killed in her father's place of business. Her father wants to find out who the killer is. The third mystery is about a woman who is overwhelmed with her life and new baby and can't take it anymore. The woman's sister wants to find out where the young baby ended up after her mother went to prison. All three of these stories are brought together by an investigator named Jackson Brodie. By the end of the book you find out how all of these mysteries are tied together.

Beautiful Boy by David Sheff

This was a powerful memoir written by a father about is son's addiction. David is a divorced father of Nic and they lived in the San Francisco area. David remarried and had two children with his new wife. Nic started to experiment with drugs when he was in junior high. His father found out about it, but didn't really know what to do. Nic told him it was a one time thing. This was the beginning of ten year drug addition that Nic couldn' stop. David began his own addiction with his son's drug use and became obsessed about helping his son and getting him to quit. Nic was in and out of rehab many times during the ten years and just couldn't stop no matter how hard he tried and how hard his dad tried to help him stop. This book was quite powerful and an inside look at what meth can do to a person. It also told the story of addiction and what it can do to the person using drugs and the people around them. David's son Nic also write a memoir called Tweak which I plan on reading in the future.

Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman

This was a different pick for me, but I had seen it written up in a couple of different places and thought I would give it a try. I'm glad I read it. I didn't love it, but I certainly didn't hate it. It was an interesting read and quite different from most of the books I read. The story takes place in a small town called "Owl" in North Dakota. The book focuses on three people who live in the town. One is a high school student trying to fit in. One is an elderly man living a simple life waiting to join his wife in heaven. One is a new young female teacher who has just moved to Owl and doesn't know what she has gotten herself into. For the most part the three character's stories do not cross. Each chapter is about one of the characters and their life in Owl. It is probably more of a character book, than a plot book, but I'm pretty picky when it comes to plot and the story did hold my interest. Towards the end of the book there is a major storm that hits Owl and I was a bit surprised by the ending. I'm glad I read it, but wouldn't put it at the top of my must read list. Some books are just like that I guess.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Wow! What a book. I read all 465 pages in one week's time. This was one of those "unputdownable" books. I must admit it was a bit of a slow start. As I read the first 50 pages or so I was wondering what all the praise about this book was about? But once I hit around page 50, I couldn't put this book down. It was a great story and had it all. I suppose it would be classified as a mystery, but it was so much more than that. I'm also surprised with the title of this book because it was more about Mikael Blomkvist than it was about Lisbeth Salander who was the girl with the tattoo. Mikael has been hired by the Vanger family to solve a family mystery that happened over 40 years ago. The Vanger family is a very powerful family in Sweden. Harriet Vanger disappeared over 40 years ago and her uncle has spent all those years trying to find out who murdered her. Once Mikael starts digging into the family history, he finds out more than he bargained for. With the help of Lisbeth, they crack the mystery and uncover many dark family secrets. Mikael is a journalist that co-owns a magazine and a second story of his reporting, his magazine, and a scandal is also being told. This book had it all. An excellent mystery, a family saga, international business, and a love story of sorts. I think any reader would enjoy this book.

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

It was time for another memoir. This was a very touching story of a boy, Ishmael Beah, growing up in Sierra Leone in the 1990's. When he was twelve his country was invaded by soldiers. He was separated from his family and he had to survive on his own. Ishmael writes about his life on his own and what he had to do in order to live. Many boys his age ended up being forced to join an army to fight against the rebels in the country. Life changed very quickly for Ishmael. He was with weapons and killing people in order to save his life and those lives around him. He saw and experienced more at the young age than most do in a lifetime. He was exposed to drugs and became hooked. He was finally rescued and spent quite a bit of time in a rehabilitation center. Through this center he met some very important people who changed his life. This was a shocking and uplifting story.

Undiscovered Country by Lin Enger

I had read both books by Lin's brother, Leif Enger, and really enjoyed them. This book was recommended to me by a co-worker, and I thought I would give it a try. I truly enjoyed the story and found it a quick read. The story takes place right here in Minnesota so that was kind of fun to read about. The story is about Jesse who is in high school. At the beginning of the book, Jesse and his dad are hunting and his dad is shot and dies. They rule it as a suicide. Jesse knows in his heart that his dad didn't kill himself. He turns toward the one man he knows is responsible who happens to be his dad's brother Clay. No one but Jesse believes this to be true, including his mother, so it is up to Jesse to prove Clay's guilt. The story moves along smoothly and works toward an interesting and satisfying conclusion. Both Lin and Leif Enger are talented writers and I know you will enjoy all of their books.