The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I finished The Help last night, and I loved it.  I wasn't sure what to expect when I started it because I avoided the reviews and book description prior to reading it.  I know there is a lot of talk about this book, and I did not want to set myself up for disappointment.  The characters are beautifully developed, you're going to love them.  It is so hard for me to believe that this is the way our country was such a short time ago though.  However, don't avoid the book because it seems like it may be a downer.  The story is both sad and funny with characters that the reader really cares about.  I rate it a 5/5.

Currently reading two

I am starting two new ones, A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif , and The Help by Kathryn Stockett.   The Help is the selection for my new face-to-face bookclub.  The book by Mohammed Hanif just caught my eye.

The Best of Times by Penny Vincenzi

This was my first book by Penny Vincenzi.  I believe that I downloaded it based on a blurb that I read in Bookmarks magazine.  After I finished, I decided to look the author up and read some reviews of her other books.  It seems like her fans found this book to be less impressive than her other work.  For this reason, I think I will try her again.  I liked this storyline and the characters that she created, but it definitely dragged for me.  I think I would have liked it a lot more if she had cut about 300 pages (and I think she could have easily done so).  It was good, not great...3/5 stars for me.

Just finished The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

I just started reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.  I was impressed with his other book, Between the Assassinations, so I've been looking forward to this one.  It has me hooked already.  The style reminds me of The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid.  I just know already that I'll feel torn about this character.

I finished this last night, and I was a little let down by the ending.  I'm not sure why, but I just expected something more.  I ended up feeling indifferent to Balram, the main character, when I was done.  I loved the letter writing style of the book, however, and I really enjoyed it overall.  I will definitely read more by this author.  My rating: 4/5

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

This was a beautiful sad story about innocence lost and a family falling apart.  The writing style gives you both the beauty of the world around the characters and the suspense of the story.  I can't say much without spoiling things for other readers, but I do give this one a 5/5.