Finished: Before I Go To Sleep (Watson) OMG, a true page turner about a woman with amnesia who wakes up each morning having forgotten her life from the day before! What's more, Christine has forgotten her entire life, yet she has a journal her doctor, Dr. Nash, has encouraged her to write in and the first words she reads are DON'T TRUST BEN! Ben is her husband who she wakes up to every morning who patiently tells her that they're married, and about their lives together. Sadly, she doesn't remember him, and he goes through the pain of telling her every day about their love, that she doesn't know if she can reciprocate, and of the son they shared that he says died in Afghanistan. When she wakes each morning, she usually feels like she's still in her early 20's, when in reality, it's been over 20 years since her "accident" and she's 47. Of course, she gets the tiniest flashes of memories and she knows that something is not right. Things snowball from there to a scary thriller that I couldn't put down! In the end, the truth comes out, and it's not at all what the author has been leading you to think. Though, I must say that I guessed pretty close to the truth. Thank goodness for Dr. Nash, the college best friend, Claire, and Christine's own fortitude!

Finished: Peyton Place (Metalious) My curiosity got the best of me and I finally decided to read this 1950's blockbuster. I read it a little bit at a time for the past couple of weeks. I can vaguely remember the television series, which I'm quite sure I wasn't allowed to watch. However, I do remember Ryan O'Neal being in it and thinking he was so dreamy, lol. After seeing which character he portrayed in the book, if the television show stayed true to the book, then he was a quite unlikable character. Peyton Place is all about the closeness of a small town in New England, and when I say closeness, I mean sometimes too much closeness, i.e., they all know each other's business! There are the town gossips and the town good guys and the town drunks and the town rich guy (Leslie Harrington) with the rich son (Rodney) who gets whatever he wants, until he crashes his convertible into an oncoming truck while trying to convince a girl to have sex with him. Buh Bye Rodney. There's the town poor "shack" girl (Serena) from the wrong side of the tracks who, though she's sexually abused by her step-father as a young teenager, develops the most strength of character out of all the youngsters. There's the naive but ambitious daughter (Allison) of the hot, single, store-owning mom (Constance) in town, the product of a shameful secret of her mother's that eventually comes to light. There's the awkward town nerdy boy (Norman) who falls for Allison (and vice versa), but whose mother is so domineering that she insists on giving him enemas (ewww), and pretty much nips that relationship in the bud.There's the mysterious new principal (Tom), tall, dark and handsome, who comes to town and woos Constance. And, my favorite character, the white-haired, widowed, but not too old, town doctor, Matthew Swain. The best person in town. When Serena goes to him, a 15 year old pregnant by her disgusting stepfather (Lucas), Dr. Swain performs an illegal abortion so Serena's life won't be ruined. Then, he extracts a confession out of Lucas, runs him out of town and tells him never to come back. Of course, you know that in Peyton Place the truth will eventually come out. When Serena is 19, practically running Constance's store, still taking care of her 8th grade brother, Joey, and planning a future with longtime love (Ted), Lucas comes back to town and tries to force himself on Serena again. In self-defense, Serena bludgeons him to death with a fire poker. Serena and Joey cover up the crime by burying Lucas under the sheep pen out back. It all comes back to haunt them when the truth is discovered and Serena goes on trial for the murder. Of course, Matthew Swain steps forward to save the day and tells what happened all those years ago. Even the prosecutor doesn't really want to prosecute Serena and is thankful for the new evidence. Serena is acquitted and the town goes back to being as normal as possible. Meanwhile, the other main female character, Allison, had gone to New York to be a writer after graduating high school. She was one of the few who hated Peyton Place and couldn't wait to get out. She comes back to town for the trial of her childhood friend and ends up reconciling with her mother, who she had never forgiven for blurting out Allison's bastard status AND for marrying Tom. She also reconciles with the town she loved as a child  but had become disheartened with as an adolescent and teen. I see there's a Return to Peyton Place. Hmmm....:-)

Finished: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)

   "It only put me in Gryffindor," said Harry in a defeated voice, "because I asked not to go in Slytheryn...." 
   "Exactly," said Dumbledore, beaming once more. "Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." 

That about sums up book two of the Harry Potter series. It has taken me years to start reading these after much encouragement from my kids, hubby and family. I think I read book one over a year ago. And now, I'm much more interested in reading book three since I can see the character building going on here. And, by the way...who KNEW that Tom Riddle was Lord Voldemort??? ok, everyone else but me. :-) I love how Harry never wavers in his loyalty to Hagrid or Dumbledore...not to mention Ron and Hermione, when all his young life he never had anyone to believe in HIM. I love how Harry is brave enough to face Aragog the huge spider and Basilisk the deadly serpent, all the while fearing that he's truly a Slitherin and not a Gryffindor. And, I love seeing all the relationships developing that I know will be continued throughout the series. I'm not sure how fast I'll read the books, but I'm thinking now that I will read them. oh, and Professor Lockhart! What an odious tool!!!

Finished: American Gods (Gaiman) What a good book! The story of 32 year old inmate, Shadow, who is released from his three year prison sentence early, only to find himself on an airplane with the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, who is in reality the old Norse god, Odin...or at least an incarnation of Odin. The wild tale begins there as Mr. Wednesday talks Shadow into coming to work for him as he travels the country stirring up all the other old gods to prepare for the coming battle with all the new gods like money, technology, media, drugs, etc. We find out that the old gods arrived in America through many different channels in the minds and hearts of people who traveled here ages ago and brought their beliefs and worships of gods with them. However, once living in America, with each generation, the beliefs and stories faded until most of the old gods and their powers were forgotten. However, the gods still existed! Manifested in human bodies, they lived among the people. When the newer gods started growing strong and prevailing in the forefront of the human's minds, the new gods became brazen and cocky. They decided it would be okay to get rid of the old gods and provoked them into war. This is what Mr. Wednesday would have Shadow believe, anyway. In reality, Mr. Wednesday's Odin drew his power from other gods dying, and he relished the impending battle. He didn't really care which side won as long as more gods lay dead in the aftermath. His partner in crime in provoking the old gods is another old god himself, Loki...the god of chaos! Together these two pit the old gods and new gods against each other and almost get their way with an incredible battle until Shadow figures it all out and puts a stop to the battle. I love Shadow! From the first moment I feel very compassionate towards him...in the same way I feel compassionate about the suicidal Quentin Compson in The Sound and the Fury. Shadow was basically talked into being the driver of a bank robbery by his beloved wife, Laura. Though Laura was never associated with any crime, and Shadow was not convicted of the bank robbery due to lack of evidence...Shadow was convicted for beating up the two guys who robbed the bank and cheated him out of his portion of the money. No money was ever found, hence the no bank robbery conviction. Once in jail, Shadow's cell mate is a wise inmate, about ten years his senior, Low Key Lyesmith. Yep....that's Low Key, as in Loki!! It turns out that Mr. Wednesday ("Day of Woden" (Odin, get it?)) and Loki have been following Shadow since his birth and have big plans for him. Shadow is going to be their distraction to all the other gods while they pull the big one over their eyes and work together to start the big battle. As it turns out, Shadow's mother (who died when he was 16) had a one night stand with Mr. Wednesday and Shadow is his son! I can't possibly recap the whole book here, but there are so many things that were interesting. Shadow gets out of prison early because his wife, who he is about to see in three days when he's released, is killed suddenly in an automobile accident. Yep, Mr. Wednesday's doing. They couldn't afford to have Shadow distracted. To pour salt on the wound, though, and no doing of the gods...Laura is killed while driving in a car and performing one last sex act on Shadow's best friend, who she'd been having an affair with! Shadow, distraught by her death, is even more distraught to find out about her infidelity. Shadow tosses a gold coin given to him by Mr. Wednesday into Laura's grave before it is covered in dirt and low and behold, the dead, but undead Laura follows Shadow throughout the book. She still loves Shadow and actually helps him out of at least three scrapes. Independently of Shadow, Laura figures out that Loki is no good and she ends up killing him. We meet loads of colorful characters in the form of old gods...Mr. Ibis the undertaker and his partner Mr. Jacquel, Egyptian gods Toth and Anubis; Easter, the Germanic goddess of the dawn, Eostre, who brings Shadow back to life; Mr. Nancy, aka, Anansi, a trickster from African folklore; Bilquis, the man-devouring Queen of Sheba, and on and on. Throughout the book we also get glimpses of some of the stories of the actual old gods, what their legends and powers were, and at the same time, the people they supposedly traveled with over to America. At one point, Wednesday places Shadow to live in a Wisconsin lake town where the people are very friendly. He meets some characters there...Mr. Hinzelmann and police chief, Chad Mulligan, who he befriends. And, he meets a hitchhiking female named Sam on his way to the lake town who comes back into play again. He also gets peripherally involved in the mysterious disappearance of a local 13 year old girl and figures out that the disappearances of local teens in the town are a yearly thing, same time each year, and have been going on for decades! Needless to say, Hinzelmann ends up being a supernatural figure as well, and responsible for the "sacrifices" of the children. Anyway...far too much to put into words except to say that Shadow really does end up being a good, honorable guy who I really rooted for. So glad that he didn't stay dead after sacrificing himself to to keep his word and hold vigil for Mr. Wednesday in an outrageous way! I hear that Gaiman is working on a sequel to the book, but not sure if I want to read it or let Shadow live on the way he was at the very end of the book. :-)

Finished: The Boys in the Boat (Brown) The awe-inspiring story of the incredible young rowing crew from the University of Washington who, after first battling to a national championship, went on to win the Gold medal at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler's Berlin. An amazing story that focuses on the nine man crew, coach and boat maker, and in particular, on the life of Joe Rantz, a rower who had a childhood of abandonment and poverty. The mostly working-class crew had to work their fingers to the bone just to finance their trips to the east coast to face their rich counterparts at Princeton, Pennsylvania, etc. And, they had their California competitors to the south who had already won national championships and Olympic Gold. With an incredible coxswain, Bobby Moch, at the head of the boat, the crew won resounding victories at the national championship and Olympic trials, only to be thrust into the cleverly constructed Berlin that Hitler chose to show the world, when all the while he had already began committing the human atrocities that the world would soon be privy to. And, even though having the best time during the pre-race heats at the Olympics, the U.S. team was put in the outside, extremely choppy, and absolute worst lane. No amount of arguing by the coach would change the situation. The Germans, of course, had lane number one. It was an uphill battle for the young Washington crew. If I hadn't already known the outcome of the contest, I'm not sure I could have kept reading to find out if they won! Whew! The book has inspired me to look up some of the old crew footage from the 1936 Olympics and it's rather neat to see the faces from the still pictures in the book come to life! I'm also so happy that Joe ended up meeting the love of his life, Joyce, who, along with their five children, finally gave him the family he'd been missing since being deserted at such a young age. In all, a very inspiring book! I think I can probably walk a 5k if these guys can row like that! :-)