Book Review: The Fireman by Joe Hill

The Fireman by Joe Hill
First published in 2016
747 pages
My rating: 5 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

The Short Of It:
A completely unputdownable apocalyptic thriller told in Joe Hill's distinctive voice. I loved it!

The Long Of It:
Fire has been a particular fear of mine since I was a little kid, so the premise of Joe Hill's latest novel is basically my worst nightmare: not only has an apocalyptic plague struck the world, but the fungus, nicknamed Dragonscale, causes its victims to spontaneously erupt in flames and burn alive -- which in turn causes uncontrollable fires that reduce parts of the planet into a toxic wasteland. The horrors only multiply with the formation of Cremation Crews, vigilante posses who hunt down and viciously slaughter "burners." Yikes!

But sometimes unthinkable disasters make for the very best reading, and "The Fireman" was utterly enthralling! At almost 750 pages, this sucker is long -- and yet it was so addicting that I annihilated the entire thing in just over three days. This is the second fairly long book I've read by Hill, but he has a talent for making the pages rush by. It never felt draggy or dull.

Our protagonist is school nurse Harper Grayson, a lovable (if somewhat overly cheerful) Mary Poppins-esque young woman. In the midst of the crisis, she helps treat hundreds of Dragonscale patients before finally coming down with the fungus herself -- and this is when her world comes crashing down, betrayed by the person she trusted the most.

To her rescue comes the titular Fireman, a gawky but adorable British science professor dressed in a fireman's suit who seems to have tamed Dragonscale, even corralling his internal flame to his advantage. He takes Harper to a small community of folks who may have figured out the secret to keeping Dragonscale in check -- i.e. not going up in flames -- but Harper's journey is just beginning when she arrives at this supposedly safe harbor.

It's a little bit "Lord of the Flies," a little bit "Station Eleven," and an entirely unique take on the apocalypse novel. Hill does a masterful job creating a rich and terrifying end-of-the-world atmosphere while imbuing the story with a bevy of characters both wonderful and horrifying, as well as plenty of thrill and drama. "The Fireman" will have you losing faith in humanity and then thinking there's hope -- that good people might still exist in the world after all -- then losing it all over again. It was an intense, terrifying and fun ride and I thoroughly enjoyed it! This is my third Joe Hill book and with "The Fireman" he has reached the upper echelon's of my must-read authors!

Book Review: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

"When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi
First published in 2016
228 pages
My rating: 5 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

The Short Of It:
I recommend this memoir to everyone. Written by a courageous, compassionate and brilliant neurosurgeon, it's about doctors, it's about dying, and it's about the quest to discover what makes a life meaningful. Paul had firsthand experience with all those things because, at just 36, he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.

The Long Of It:
Like most readers, I had never heard of Paul Kalanithi until I picked up his posthumously published memoir, but now I will never forget him.

Paul didn't set out to become a doctor; his bachelor's degrees were in English lit and human biology. But life pulled him in the direction of his family's legacy, and he made the decision to attend medical school. Then -- because he wanted to challenge himself and he sought the best opportunity to confront philosophical questions about death and what gives life meaning -- he pursued the twin fields of neurosurgery and neuroscience.

At 36, Paul was quickly approaching a peak in his career -- graduation from the neurosurgery resident program at Stanford -- when, despite exercising regularly and never smoking, he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. "When Breath Becomes Air" was composed as Paul was dying, and it's about discovering what matters in life, it's about bravely making peace with death, it's about the role switch from doctor to patient, and it's also about Paul's journey to become the best physician he could be.

I'm not a crier, but I held back tears as I read the conclusion of "When Breath Becomes Air," mourning the loss of a such a great and brilliant man with so much potential to actually change the world, in immediate ways as a compassionate and devoted physician, husband and father, and on a global scale as a brilliant scientist and researcher.

Every doctor should read this book as an example of how to achieve excellence in not only the medical aspect of the field but, as Paul says, the human relationality aspect. He was devoted to slowing down, listening to his patients and treating them emotionally as well as physically and always with compassion, and seeing them as human beings instead of problems to be solved. "Here we are together," he writes, "and here are the ways through -- I promise to guide you as best I can to the other side."

Every person should read this book because, there's no way around it, we're all going to die. It's the nature of life. And Paul shows us how to meet death with respect and bravery instead of fear and devastation. He was a truly Great Man with important ideas -- a thinker, a philosopher, a man constantly pondering the human condition -- and through his chosen profession he impacted so many lives.

"When Breath Becomes Air" is not a happy book, but it has a positive and inspirational message, as well as an eye-opening glimpse into the grueling life of a doctor in the 21st century. I urge you to get to know this wonderful man through his elegant writing.

New Release: Everything I Don't Remember by Jonas Hassen Khemiri

"Everything I Don't Remember" by Jonas Hassen Khemiri
First published in the U.S. in 2016
Originally published in Sweden
My rating: 3?
Image from Goodreads

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Short Of It:
What a strange and unique and ultimately unsatisfying story. If you don't mind ambiguous endings, this might be for you; otherwise, it's probably not worth it.

The Long Of It:
I can't remember ever having such a tough time deciding on a rating for a book, but "Everything I Don't Remember" is not like any other book I've read.

Samuel, a young Swedish man, dies in a terrible car wreck, and the novel is an attempt by an unnamed writer to piece together what really happened: was it an accident, suicide, or something more nefarious? The writer interviews several people in Samuel's life: his best friend, his roommate, his ex-girlfriend, his mother and his dementia-addled grandmother, and the story is basically a transcript of these conversations. It's quickly apparent that every person remembers things -- and Samuel -- quite differently, and that there was a lot going on in Samuel's life at the end.

Far more interesting than the story is the way the book is written, in very brief, alternating snippets of conversation from the interviews. There are no quote marks, no introduction to who is speaking, and segments of the conversation -- the unnamed writer's questions -- are left out entirely. It was initially confusing, but once I adjusted I really enjoyed this unconventional and creative format for storytelling. The characters have pretty distinct voices, and it was usually fairly easy to distinguish who was talking, though I admit I did have to double-check a few times. Overall, it was a pretty easy read, and I was anxious to find out what happened.

Then came the big problem: I felt the story barreling toward an explosive, revelatory conclusion -- and then, nothing. The book ends without really answering any questions or giving any concrete information, leaving the reader to puzzle out what she thinks happened. Except that I was so put off by the conclusion -- and honestly, I never really bonded with any of the characters -- that I hardly even bothered trying to decide what to make of it. I closed the back cover and already, a day later, I can feel the story slipping from my mind.

It was innovative and gripping, but it was also unmemorable and ended with a fizzle instead of a bang. I guess the book makes points about the larger topic of memory as well as a handful of completely different subjects like friendship, cultural assimilation and the treatment of refugees, but this straightforward and simple-minded reader just wanted to know what the hell happened to Samuel and why, as well as the identity of the writer with a mysterious interest in Samuel's death. I'm typically not a fan of vague, confusing and/or philosophical endings in novels (all of which describe the conclusion of "Everything I Don't Remember"), so I was left feeling like the entire book was rather a waste of time. However, if that type of ending doesn't bother you, the book does have some things going for it and it may be worth checking out.

Yarn Along: "When Breath Becomes Air" and Cap Sleeve Lattice Top

Yarn Along is a wonderful weekly link-up hosted by Ginny at the Small Things blog about two of the best things in life: books and knitting.

Reading: I'm a little ways into "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi, a memoir written by a neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer at only 36. Paul is so much more than a doctor; he's a writer and a philosopher and a scientist and a general thinker of big ideas, and his take on finding meaning in life -- even when death is imminent -- is poignant and interesting. It's a pretty short book so I'm sure I'll be done soon.

Next up will be "Burial Rites" by Hannah Kent, a book I've been meaning to read for years. It takes place in 1800s Iceland (which, coincidentally, fits perfectly with my Top Ten Tuesday post from yesterday about books set outside the U.S. You can see my whole long list of suggested reads here!).

Knitting: No surprise here, I'm still chugging along on the Cap Sleeve Lattice Top by Purl Soho. Now that unpacking is winding down and my husband will be working some odd hours for the next couple weeks, I anticipate getting lots of knitting done. All that's left is endless rows of stockinette, which makes for perfect (if a bit dull) TV knitting.

Wonderful Worlds to Explore: Great Reads Set Outside the U.S.

One of the very best things about reading is getting to travel through time and all over the world without ever leaving the comfort of your sofa/bed/beach chair/hammock. Reading has introduced me to so many different cultures and even the fluffiest historical fiction novel has something to teach me about the past. One of my favorite little sayings is "books are full of wonderful worlds to explore," and that fits just perfectly with this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic, books set outside the U.S.

It's no big secret that I'm a bit of an Anglophile, but I do admit I was a little surprised browsing through my past reads to put this post together: England is rapidly gaining on America when it comes to my most-read book settings. That's 100% fine with me, but I am looking forward to browsing some other blogger's lists and broadening my horizons a bit -- or maybe just discovering some more fantastic books set in England!

What's your favorite non-U.S. book setting?

Books Set in England:

Just a small sampling of some wonderful books set in England!

Books Set All Over the World:
(locations below)

Row 1: Afghanistan // Africa // Africa // Australia
Row 2: Australia // France // France // France
Row 3: France // Germany // Guernsey // Iraq
Row 4: Ireland // Ireland // New Guinea // Norway
Row 5: Quebec // Scotland // Scotland // Sweden

Books on My To-Read List:
(locations below)

Row 1: Africa // Antarctica // Antarctica // Australia
Row 2: Australia // Canada // Croatia // Egypt
Row 3: France // Galapagos Islands // Haiti // Iraq
Row 4: Mexico // North Korea // Pakistan // Peru
Row 5: Peru // Russia // Scotland // Sweden

Monday Musings

I didn't do anything particularly interesting this week, so I'm sharing this hilarious/horrifying picture of Lily mid-yawn from the other day. Check out those vampire fangs!

Highlight of the week: It was a pretty quiet week around here. I worked some more on getting everything set up in our new house and we really don't have all that much left to do. We bought a lovely potted palm tree from a Facebook yard sale page (a new-to-me way of shopping). I picked up my Hallmark ornament order and excitedly unwrapped the Harry Potter-themed ones (the only reason I bothered to do a pre-order). I got a coconut boba tea and a raspberry mocha, and I desperately wanted one of those new coconut mocha macchiatos from Starbucks, but they were "temporarily out" (sob). We bought some wood to make a raised planter bed in our backyard. I watered and watered and watered our sod. I snuggled with the cat. I ate about 2/3 of the berry pie I made last Sunday all by myself. We had a visit from a Hawaiian centipede (evil things). I survived my blood test. That's about it.

Reading: I finished the "NOS4A2" by Joe Hill (review) and cruised through an advance-read book from NetGalley called "Everything I Don't Remember" by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, a Swedish author. It was a decent -- if strange -- read, but the vague ending kinda spoiled it for me. Now I'm absolutely annihilating Joe Hill's latest, an apocalyptic thriller, "The Fireman." It's really quite long at almost 750 pages, but I cannot put it down. It's different from his other books, but I think I may be enjoying it even more. I hardly ever manage to read two (or more) books by the same author in any close time frame anymore, and I didn't plan to read two Joe Hill book in the same week, but I'm glad it worked out that way. He's such a talented, immersive writer!

I read "Written in Red" by Anne Bishop (review) a couple weeks ago and I am positively itching to get back to the series in a way I haven't been since "The Hunger Games." I have two more books checked out from the library and one ARC that must be read soon, and then I'll be checking out book 2 in The Others series!

Knitting: I made a little progress on my Cap Sleeve Lattice Top. With unpacking winding down and Jarrod about to start some odd hours at work, I'll probably be doing quite a bit of knitting this week.

Watching: We watched two movies this week, "13 Hours" about the Benghazi attack (much better than I expected), and "The Big Short," about the housing bubble and the economic crash of 2008, which I enjoyed even more the second time around. We also watched a couple more episodes of this season's "Game of Thrones." Only one more to go... I don't want it to be over!

Listening to: "Sucker for Pain" from the "Suicide Squad" soundtrack. Strangely addicting! My favorite line is about eating peanut butter and jellyfish on toast.

Eating: We substituted a fresh Maui Gold pineapple in this recipe from Pinterest for spicy pineapple chicken kebabs, and I'd say it was a winner!

Buying: I hardly ever buy books (I'm a library gal!) but I ordered two books from BookDepository earlier this week. I saw a book called "Meadowland" by John Lewis-Stempel, a non-fiction book about a year in the life of an English meadow, on a blog and decided I had to have the original British version (which just so happened to have a cover in my favorite color). I also ordered "84 Charing Cross Road," an epistolary book I've been meaning to read for ages. I love letters, and I'm 1 trillion percent sure I'm going to love this book! It was on sale and I really liked this cover version, so into my cart it went!

Craving: A good ol' thunderstorm. It very, very rarely ever storms here in Hawaii and I'm jealous reading about the thunderstorms everyone else is having!

Looking forward to: This afternoon, as a reward for getting some more stuff done with organizing and sorting and unpacking, I'm going to close the blinds, curl up on the couch with a cup of coffee and watch the Nicholas Sparks movie "The Choice." I don't read many Nicholas Sparks books anymore, but I still love the movies (except the ones with gratuitously sad endings; please tell me "The Choice" isn't a weepy!).

I'm linking up with Kathryn at Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Book Review: Written in Red by Anne Bishop

"Written in Red" by Anne Bishop
Book 1 in The Others series
First published in 2013
433 pages
My rating: 4.5 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

The Short Of It:
This was one of those books that sucks you into a richly detailed fictional world and makes you want to stay there forever. I am totally in love with Meg and all her (mostly supernatural) new friends at Lakeside Courtyard, and I'm excited to dive into the second book in the series!

The Long Of It:
I would never have picked up "Written in Red" on my own, but I saw it on so many other blogs that I decided to give it a try -- and I am SO glad I did!

"Written in Red" is our world reimagined, where humans live in a perpetually tenuous relationship with the Others -- supernatural beings like shapeshifters, vampires and Elementals who can control things like water and air. On a cold and snowy night, Meg Corbyn is on the run -- and her saving grace is a flyer advertising a job for a human liaison to work in Lakeside Courtyard, the part of town run and occupied by the Others; it's a place where human law doesn't apply and she knows she'll be safe from her pursuers there.

What she doesn't count on is making such instant friendships with the Others -- and they don't expect to befriend her either, but there's something different about Meg from other humans. Meg also never imagines that working as a human liaison -- which mainly consists of taking deliveries and distributing mail -- would provide the perfect opportunity for her to find herself and discover an identity she's never been allowed to know. When Meg's dark past catches up with her, the residents of the Courtyard -- whose friendliness with Meg belies their inherent power, danger and dislike of humans -- must band together to protect a human they now consider one of their own.

"Written in Red" has a cozy small-town atmosphere to it and the setting was so incredibly immersive. Bishop is masterful at worldbuilding; it's been a while since I've read such a richly imagined and detailed novel. I have a terrible memory and often start forgetting the details of a book the second I close the back cover, but two weeks later I still remember everything about Meg and all the other residents of Lakeside Courtyard.

I loved getting to know the Wolves, Hawks, Crows, Owls, Bears, vampires and other inhabitants of the Courtyard. Simon Wolfgard is Meg's boss and runs the Howling Good Reads bookstore, and Tess -- an Other whose hair changes color with her moods -- owns A Little Bite Cafe. Erebus is an extremely old and scary vampire, head of the Lakeside Sanguinatis; he takes a rather surprising to Meg, who cares enough to hand-deliver the old movies he receives in the mail. Henry Beargard is the Courtyard's spirit guide as well as a woodworker with a shop next to Meg's office. And Jester is a Wolf who runs the stables and cares for the weather ponies (a delightful aspect to the story!). The Lakeside Courtyard is its own little snug and safe community and I'd love to switch places with Meg for a bit -- though I definitely wouldn't want her special power or the terrible past she escaped from.

My only complaint about "Written in Red" is that the writing could've been a tad stronger. It was hardly unreadable, but I'm a stickler for things like word choice and sentence structure and there were a few times I wanted to bop the author over the head with a thesaurus. And, while adequate, there was really nothing special about her writing. That issue is the only reason I didn't give the book 5 stars, and it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the story because the plot is so fantastic. There are three more books out and a final one to come in March, and I will most definitely be reading them all! I'm reading something else right now, and it's good, but I find myself wanting to get back to Lakeside and Meg and the wonderfully eclectic and dangerous Others.