Book Review - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Why did I read this book?
I had listened to Sharp Objects on audio and really enjoyed it (although it was much darker that I expected).  Everyone had been talking about Gone Girl and I was curious.  I found out my local library would lend out books for 7 days to my kindle.  It's a pretty tough task for me to read a book in 7 days and the waiting list for this book was pretty long. My first attempt I got about one third of the way though before my lending period expired, I then had to wait three weeks on the waiting list again.  When I got it again I made sure to spend all my free time finishing it

First Lines:
"When I think of my wife, I always think of her head." (Flynn 3)

What is it about?
The story begins with Nick realizing his wife, Amy, is missing.  A neighbor tips him off to the fact that the door has been left open for quite a while and he heads home from work to investigate.  Coming home to what appears to be a crime scene the police are called in to this strange disappearance.  The more and more we learn about Nick and Amy the weirder things get and more questions arise.

Why you should read it!
I will try really hard to not include any spoilers here but if you haven't read this book and don't want it ruined for you it might be a good idea to stop reading now.  I really liked how uncertain things were the whole time in this book.  The twists and turns kept coming but there weren't too many and they weren't too ridiculous that I wanted to stop reading.  For the whole first half of the book I just knew there had to be more to the story and I real liked finally hearing both sides.  Although as soon as I started feeling like I was identifying with one character they would do something to make me angry and I would feel sorry for their spouse.  I know there has been a lot of talk about the ending and I hated it.  I have no clue what I wanted but the ending left me feeling blah.  With that being said I still loved the book, which I guess says a lot about the majority of the book and the writing since I despised the ending (seriously I was thinking that my kindle version got cut off a few chapters early).  Luckily, this book wasn't as dark as Sharp Objects but there were still some very twisted parts, but again it wasn't overkill and I think almost anyone would enjoy this book!

Reviews from around the blogosphere:

S. Krishna's Books
Book Jingle Blog
Book Club Classics

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!

Blog Every Day in May Challenge: Day 1

This blog has been super quiet for the past couple months.  Part of that is because I moved, another part is that I've been working ridiculously long hours at my new job, and part of it is just because I'm lazy.  I figured a good blog challenge might help me get kickstarted and back up and writing again!

I found out about this challenge through a couple other blogs (which directed me to Jenni's blog, story of my life) and am super excited to join in!  I may or may not write to her prompt everyday, but I will try very very hard to get a blog post out everyday.  For today I will use her prompt, well kinda.  Her prompt is the story of your life in 250 words or less, mine will be heavily focused on recent events and how I ended up in Washington State. Here goes:

Born 12/21/84, grew up in Tahoe, love the outdoors. Somehow made my way to school in Michigan.  Decided to study Mechanical Engineering because everyone told me I'd be good at it.  Going there was one of the best choices I've made, not only did I meet RoB, become a huge fan of college football, but it set me up for a successful career.  I started my career in controls and instrumentation engineering in Oakland, CA with some awesome, very knowledgable, coworkers.  I loved living in the bay area, it was everything I wanted after college, but the big city started to wear me down.  With the sad closing of that office I packed my bags (and boyfriend and dog) to head to Kentucky for a year assignment.  Kentucky was awesome, I got some new work experiences, made some very fun friends, and took in all Kentucky had to offer: bourbon and horse racing.  As my time there came to an end I took my career into my own hands and pursued a job I was interested in in Washington state.  Next thing I knew, I was packing up all my stuff again to head back out west, this time to the pacific northwest.  This is my new adventure!  Work is more demanding than it ever has been, but I've already met so many awesome people and there is so much to explore here.  I have a feeing this place is going to be another on my list of great places to live.

Audio Book Review - Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Why did I read this book?
I got this on audiobook from the Lexington public library.  I had heard of the author because of her most recent book, Gone Girl, which was receiving a lot of praise.  I figured another book by her would be a good listen, so I borrowed it!

What is it about?
Camille is a crime reporter, and some recent disappearances and murders in her very small hometown have given her current employer reason to send her back there and investigate.  She is thrown back into her life there with a strained relationship with her mom and her half sister.  Seeing old friends who have gotten married and started families, and trying to piece together these weird crimes.

Why you should read it!
This is a great book.  The mystery surrounding the plot keeps you very interested.  While discovering little bits here and there about Camille's past keep adding twists and turns.  This was a very dark book, so be ready for that.  I did think it kept getting darker as you learned more about each and every character.  But somehow you just had to know what was happening in this messed up town, and who was behind the murders.  Although I couldn't personally relate to any of the characters, I still found most of them fascinating. I would highly recommend this book!

Reviews from around the blogosphere:
The Readventurer
BookedinChico
The Book Geek
Book Hooked Blog
An Unexpected Book Blog
Literate Housewife

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!