The immediate thought upon beginning When She Woke was Margaret Atwood meets Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hannah Payne’s name even sounds like Hester Prynne. I don’t normally love futuristic novels. Exceptions are The Handmaids Tale and The Hunger Games series (embarrassing to admit, but true). I cruised through When She Woke while on vacation, neatly reading it in two days. I love lazy days by the pool reading – I wish I could make that into a career. But I digress. When She Woke was an enjoyable read. There were flaws, like Hannah’s ridiculous commitment to Reverend Dale, and a few not-fully-fleshed-out threads in the story, but overall, it was an intriguing storyline and a compelling read. I recommend it.

This was a total beach read. There was nothing to it and it took only about 3 hours to read. I had nothing in common with the main character, Franny, a mostly out-of-work waitress and actress wannabe. Not only did I not identify with her, but I barely wanted to find out what happened to her because she made such obviously bad choices over and over. Fortunately, I checked this one out of the library, so there was no regret that I had spent any money on it.

Americanah just won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. I hadn’t heard anything about the book prior to starting it, other than it was very long. I was totally into the book until I hit about 50%. Then it started dragging. I liked the characters and I enjoyed the story, but for me, it was too slow and too long. My kids kept asking me why I was still reading it and I had no answer other than, after investing so much time, I wanted to finish it. I will admit that the last 20% I just skimmed quickly through. I merely wanted to finish. While I found the book very informative — it taught me about the African in America’s experience — it was a bit repetitive and just too long.

I didn’t know what to expect when I started The Rosie Project, but I was hooked from the moment I started. Don Tillman, the protagonist, drove me nuts and was so painfully awkward, that it was often hard to take. And, yet, you wanted him to succeed and you had to find out if his hypothesis was true. What a fun read. I loved getting into Don’s head and was impressed with the realistic way Simon portrayed Aspbergers. This is a quick read and absolutely worth grabbing. You won’t regret it.

Wow. And an exhalation upon finishing this book. The House Girl was an incredible read, well worth hanging in at the beginning when it was WAY too slow. I almost gave up several times and then everything picked up and I could not stop reading. The intertwining of Lena and Josephine’s stories was powerful and perfect. I loved the research element and the way the past came together in the present. It left me wanting more – the ending was too abrupt. But, I can live with that because everything else about the middle and ending sections was so compelling. While there were parts of the book that bothered me, on the whole, I really enjoyed the story and would definitely recommend it.

I loved The Circle from the first page. In fact, I read most of it over the weekend. The sense of foreboding which was in the background for me the whole time was very uncomfortable, and I think, for Eggers, intentional. I found myself so irritated by the ease in which Mae fell into the perils of life in The Circle, and kept going with it unquestioningly. But, despite all this, I couldn’t put the book down. Dave Eggers is great and if you are not familiar with his work, you must immediately grab A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. It’s one of my all-time favorite books. I also couldn’t put down Zeitoun. What an incredible story!

I chose Cartwheel next because it was such a departure from Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. I have to admit once I read that the story was loosely based on the Amanda Knox story I thought I wouldn’t like it, but as mysteries are wont to do, this one gripped me right away. I haven’t read much about Amanda Knox, except to know that she was originally found not guilty and then found guilty just recently. So, even though I was initially not interested, once I plunged into the book, I wanted to know what happened. It kept my interest and I cared enough to want to find out what happened. It even made me want to more about Amanda Knox and the cartwheel she did or didn’t do once in custody. A downfall of the story was that it lacked fully developed characters. I didn’t feel like I really got to know anyone well enough, even Lily herself. They were all too surface for me. It was a quick read, though, and not too deep, which sometimes is a treat.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore was suggested to me by a fellow book-obsessed friend. But, it was suggested with a caveat that it was unusual and that I might not like it. I have to say, though, by page 58, I was totally hooked. I liked the main character, I wanted to find out more, and I was captivated by the writing. I am so glad she suggested it to me. And, the more I have read about it, the more I have learned how much respect the author garnered with this novel. It was chosen one of the best 100 books of 2012 by the Sn Francisco Chronicle, was a NYT Editor’s Choice, and was on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Seller list and the NPR Fiction Bestseller List. The fact that the cover glows in the dark is pretty cool too. I am so glad I pulled it out of the stack ahead of some others. The long weekend and unexpected snow days have been very good to me!! You should run out to get this unusual and captivating book. You won’t be sorry that you did.