B is for Baggage

Jerome, AZ; Photo Credit: Doree Weller

I don’t know if it’s still on TV, but a few years ago, I discovered a wonderful (awful) show called Baggage, by Jerry Springer.  It was a dating show, and on this show, three women or men would have three different sized bags.  Each one of them would reveal one secret at a time to their prospective date by opening the bags, from smallest to largest secret.  I shamefully enjoyed this show.

One of the things I liked about the show (other than the pure train wreck value), is the same reason I like PostSecret.  We all have baggage.  We all have things we don’t want others to know, things that weigh us down.  But the thing about baggage is that it makes us who we are.  The interesting quirks, the skeletons in the closet are part of what shape us.

In books, baggage can be some of the most interesting parts of the story.  What would have Jane Eyre been without Rochester’s secret wife?  In On Little Wings by Regina Sirois, young Jennifer finds out that her mother is not an only child, which spurs her on a search for the “truth.”  In Beautiful Disaster, by Jamie McGuire, Abby has a huge secret she never wants anyone to know.  Even though she tries to hide it, the secret eventually finds her.  In each of these examples, the secret is eventually revealed, and everything turns out okay. I like the concept of secrets in fiction, and I like them even better when the truth is revealed.  It adds depth and interest to characters.  It adds a touch of humanness and gives me something to relate to.  No, I’m not hiding an insane wife in my attic, but when Rochester eventually tells his story, I felt sorry for his being duped by everyone around him, and I could relate to that moment when he realized that he was forever stuck with the consequences of a bad decision.

“The things you want are always possible; it is just that the way to get them is not always apparent. The only real obstacle in your path to a fulfilling life is you, and that can be a considerable obstacle because you carry the baggage of insecurities and past experience.”
-Les Brown

My 10 Favorite Books

It’s no secret that I love to read, and in fact, I’m a re-reader.  I know that not everyone does that, but for me, it’s like visiting an old friend.  I have a shelf of books that I read at least once (or twice) a year.  Some of these books I’ve read upwards of 50 times.

10.  Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen- I read this one the first time because it was a classic, and I was trying to read more of the classics, but I absolutely adored it, and I even have pages post-it noted with my favorite parts, so that if I don’t feel like reading the whole thing, I can read a page here and a page there.

9.  Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte- I really have no idea what possessed me to read this book.  I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t a school thing.  I read it the first time somewhere in my teenage years.  When I re-read it, I usually skip over the parts with young Jane at the school and go straight to her time at Thornfield Hall

8.  Beautiful Disaster, by Jamie McGuire- This is a fairly recent addition to the favorites list. It’s a romance novel with all the turmoil and drama of young love, with two dysfunctional characters who don’t pretend to be anything but who they are. Travis and Abby are friends first, then lovers, then friends again before they get it right.

7.  Watership Down, by Richard Adams- Yes, it’s a book about rabbits. No, I’ve never seen the movie, so I have no idea how it compares. While the main characters are rabbits, it’s not a kids’ book. Fiver has a premonition that their home is about to be destroyed, and with the help of his brother, Hazel, they and a small group of rabbits set off to find a new home. On their way, they encounter deceit, a megalomaniac, superstition, and fear, and must learn to trust themselves and one another.

6.  Where The Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls- I cry every time I read this book, and I’ve been reading it once or twice a year (or more) since I was in elementary school. Twelve year old Billy wants hunting dogs more than anything, so he saves money for two years to buy the dogs. It’s a beautiful story of friendship, family, and enduring love.

5.  Lightning, by Dean Koontz- On the night Laura Shane is born, a stranger shows up at the doctor’s home, preventing him from leaving and forcing another doctor to attend the birth. The stranger continues to show up at critical points in her life as she ages, matures, and lives her life. As with all Dean Koontz books, there’s action, adventure, romance, and paranormal overtones.

4.  Harry Potter series, by JK Rowling- It’s a series, so it counts as one book. This is one of the best series ever, no matter what age. The series is about good and evil, friendship, family, and growing up. I love re-reading them from start to finish.

3.  Pollyanna, by Eleanor M. Porter- Pollyanna is an orphan who goes to live with her cranky Aunt Polly. No matter what, Pollyanna always finds a reason to be glad, and she teaches others to look at the bright side with her sunny disposition and show that of you look for the best in people, they’ll eventually prove you right.

2.  The Circle Trilogy, by Nora Roberts- Six people have been chosen to make a stand against evil. They discover that each one of them is stronger than they imagined, and that together, they’re stronger than any one of them is separately.

1.  Watchers, by Dean Koontz- This has been my favorite book since I read it in 1988.  Einstein is a genetically engineered, super-intelligent dog.  He meets Travis, a good man without any real reason to live.  Travis dedicates himself to keeping Einstein free, and along the way, finds the meaning that was missing, and a family.

While it was difficult to come up with only 10 books for the list, I did it by asking myself what books I’d want if I were stranded on a desert island and could only have these 10 for the rest of my life. Luckily, that’s not the case. 🙂

What’s your favorite book or books?

Walking Disaster- A Review

Apparently I never reviewed this book.  Oops.  It was released April 2.  Well, actually, I ordered it on Kindle, and it was delivered just after 10 p.m. on April 1.  I finished it around 3 a.m. on April 2.

Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire is written from Travis’s point of view, whereas Beautiful Disaster is written from Abby’s.  I liked Walking Disaster very much.  Not as much as Beautiful Disaster, but it was still really engaging.  Long stretches of the book were the same, and I enjoyed being in Travis’s head.  That being said, some scenes were missing from this book that were included in the original.  Scenes that made me wonder what was going on from Travis’s point of view.  For instance, what did Megan say on the phone to Travis?

It’s worth reading, and I’ll be buying it in paperback eventually.  But the first was the best.

On a related note, I wondered something as I read this book, so bear with me.  In Twilight- Eclipse, I was a little disgusted by Bella when she fell apart after Edward left.  I thought, “Really?  This is how we fall apart when a man leaves us for no good reason?”

When Travis fell apart after Abby left, it seemed romantic.  Now that I think back, maybe it was a little stalkerish.  Okay, I know it was.  And dysfunctional.  And probably pathetic.  But you know what?  I.  Don’t.  Care.  I loved this book.  🙂

Beautiful Disaster- A Review

I read Beautiful Disaster twice.  Back to back.  Over 5 days.

The first time I read it, I stayed up until 2 a.m.  I’d just gotten done working a 14 hour day and knew I had to go back into work the next day for at least 10 hours.  But I couldn’t help myself.  It was so good that I had to finish it.  And since it was such a good book, I wasn’t the least bit tired.

It’s a boy-meets-girl novel with all the stuff that comes along with it.  Abby and Travis’s relationship is dysfunctional, and unlike many young adult romance novels (ahem, Twilight), this one doesn’t try to pretty it up or hide it.  Jamie McGuire knows the relationship is dysfunctional, and the characters know it too, which is one of the things that makes this book so great.

This book really touched me.  I laughed at some parts and cried at others.

The book is told from Abby’s point of view, 100%.  No head hopping.  Walking Disaster, Travis’s point of view, is being released on April 2.  I very seldom buy things new, but you can bet that I’m going to be a the bookstore as soon as they open on April 2nd to get a copy of this book.  Jamie McGuire has other books, and I’m very much hoping that they’re all in the same neighborhood of greatness that this one is.

I read a few reviews online, and this seems to be a pretty polarizing book.  People either love it or they hate it.  I guess you know how I’m casting my vote!