Brainiac by Ken Jennings ****

My husband recently started DVR-ing Jeopardy! so I've watched more episodes of that in the last month than I think I have in my whole life. It used to be something my grandpa would watch when I was little. I never understood why he liked it. But, he liked a lot of boring things, like reading Reader's Digest, watching M*A*S*H, dancing at the Elk's Lodge and playing card games. But, guess what I discovered this time I watched it? I actually KNOW some of the answers. So, adulthood is definitely an affirmative at this point.

Last year for Christmas, my mom gave Joel this book and he thoroughly enjoyed it. After he found me lingering on the couch during entire episodes of Jeopardy! he recommended the book to me. And, as anyone who knows Joel knows, if Joel recommends something for you to read or watch, you should totally do it. It will almost always be a big win (only 2 strike-outs in the 15 years I've known him). So, I did. And liked it.

Ken Jennings is incredibly relatable, infusing his book about both his experiences on Jeopardy! as well as the history and meanderings of trivia itself. Fun bonuses: he's surprisingly funny for a moon-faced Mormon boy (I laughed out loud several times). He also embeds trivia clues throughout the normal text of the book with answers at the end of each chapter.

I never realized how trivia had eked its way into our every day existence until I started reading this book. I'm listening to classical music on one of our cable music channels right now, and guess what runs at the bottom of the screen every 30 seconds? Trivia! And, because of my recent shining to Jeopardy! I have a trivia question for you that I discovered all on my own in the last week: "What US city is home to two of the top three most successful Jeopardy! champions?" Answer provided in next week's post. Feel free to buzz in anytime below in the comments.

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende ***

I think everyone finds tries to reincarnate something from their childhood as adults. It rarely works the way you think it will. That was my experience with this book. The Neverending Story was part of the film canon in the Buhler household (along with Amazing Dunks and Basketball Blupers and Tukiki - a movie about an eskimo boy who discovers the real meaning of Christmas), so you have a pretty good idea of what we were raised on.

The book and the movie follow each other almost verbatim until the climax of the movie. Remember at the end, where the narrator says something like, "Bastian had many more adventures in the land of Fantasia [known as "Fantastica" in the book] ... but that's another story"? Well, in the book, they go on to tell that part of the story. I thought I was going to be riveted, but I wasn't. Those stories weren't a part of my childhood memories, and I must really be an adult now, because I couldn't relate to them the way I could to Atreu and Falkor (who arch significantly in the book as opposed to the movie).

I found myself wishing I had just rented the movie off of Netflix and watched it again for my childhood fix. Though, now I can say that I'm one book closer to my 52 for the year, and I can say that I've finally read this book (Spoiler: without getting sucked into it ... sorry to disappoint).

Those of you who have been biting your fingernails at the lack of posts over the next few weeks ... I feel like I should apologize. But, I started this whole thing with the promise that it wouldn't become something I would have to apologize for. This goal (and thereby blog) are only a part of my life. And real life has been a lot more real lately than usual. So, no apology. I'll still make my quota for the year. And, that was the whole point.

Lucky by Alice Sebold ***

If you liked The Lovely Bones there's no guarantee you'll like Lucky. Instead of a novel, this is a real-life account (memoir, as it states on the cover) of Sebold's rape and how it affected her life. The first chapter is not for the faint of heart; after reading it at 10:30pm I found myself shaking with the fear of the reality of what I'd just read until 1:30am ... even tried the old "rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens, sparkle tights and Puma socks, brand new fleece blanket" trick and it didn't work for hours. But, the good news is, it gets better from there. As difficult as rape is to recover from (I honestly didn't realize how devastating this crime can be until I saw how it played out in the course of her life), Sebold's account is one of recovery and, if her story itself wouldn't be defined as "triumphant," her writing and publishing of it is, at the very least, courageous. She doesn't pull punches and the rose colored glasses come off. And I admired her for that.

There is just something about her writing style, even in this altered format, that pulls me in and absorbs me. I would say I would just read for 15 minutes and the next time I looked at the clock, I would be shocked to see 45 minutes had just flown by.

So, if you're not sure if you should read this or not, I would tell you: "Maybe." Read the first two chapters, and see how you like it. If not, put it down and count your blessings that this isn't your life. But if you need a reminder of how lucky you are, then read and give thanks.

A Tale of Two Cities *****

I am not liberal in my giving of five stars. I think this might only be the second of the year (the first being The Help). It received so many stars, because that's how many kleenexes I was required to use to get through the last several chapters. I will say this for all who are daunted by the thick, meandering, sometimes seemingly non-sensical sentences of Mr. Dickens: it all falls into place at the end. I would recommend a few things for those who have tried without success to read this book (I was one ... this was at least my third attempt) and who don't have an English-teaching husband to read it aloud with them, offer them little crumbs of clarity along the way when it gets too confusing, and to ask questions like, "Now what just happened?" anytime something significant does. Because I realize that Joel's expertise is a precious commodity. But, here are the recommendations:

1. Make a character list of everyone mentioned. You'll be surprised how many resurface throughout the story. Record just a little line of significance so you'll be able to follow them through their epic journey.
2. Don't use SparkNotes. I promise, you don't need them. As long as you're aware of the historical set-up, you'll have the background set and you can focus on the foreground of Dickens' characters. (Brief, over-simplified historical background: France is on the verge of the Revolution. England, whose revolution was relatively long ago is just relinquishing its empire in the New World to the United States ... begrudgingly. The two cities (I didn't get it at first ... no shame if you didn't either!) are London and Paris. The "pretty queen" mentioned in the first paragraph is Marie Antionette.) That should be enough to get the training wheels off.
3. Keep going. If you start to feel bogged down by the ins and outs of the story, keep reading. You'll remember more than you think you will, even if at times it does seem tedious. Don't stop - read steadily, at least a chapter a day. By the end you won't be able to put it down (except to get the kleenex box).

As we finished reading today, it was so gratifying. Joel said that reading Dickens is like doing a really difficult puzzle. It seems impossible at first, but if you just start going forward, by the end, every piece is where it needs to be, and you are so proud of yourself that you put it together. At the risk of sounding like a eulogy and a heavy-handed Dickensian wanna-be, but without wanting to give too much away, my final words are this: My heart will forever remember the seemingly insignificant character of Sydney Carton. Thank you, Joel, for not giving up on me, and for trudging in the mud with me until I was ready to run.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson ***

The least riveting of the trilogy for me ... Lisbeth, the main character, typically wily and sneaky, was left immobile in the hospital for almost the entire book. However, since it was originally designed to be one of a much longer series, I was satisfied with the many loose ends that were wrapped up. If it does end up being the last of his books that gets published (and there's apparently some debate over that), it's a good end of the series. I think the first one is still my favorite.