Kimberly (KPug) (24 books)

Kimberly is now friends with Amy

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Dark Places
by Gillian Flynn (Goodreads Author)

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Kimberly rated a book 3 of 5 stars

One Last Thing Before I Go
by Jonathan Tropper

read in April, 2013

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I read another book of Tropper's, "This is Where I Leave You," and immediately fell in love. I've been scouring the library until this one came up and I was a little disappointed. "Silver" is in a really bad place, leaving in a crap apartment, hangin...more

Kimberly rated a book 2 of 5 stars

A Dog's Journey
by W. Bruce Cameron (Goodreads Author)

read in March, 2013

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This week I read “A Dog’s Journey” by best-selling author W. Bruce Cameron. Never have I ever read a book quite like this before.

This book is a series of stories told from the perspective of the soul of one dog. After having lived a few lives and rem...more This week I read “A Dog’s Journey” by best-selling author W. Bruce Cameron. Never have I ever read a book quite like this before.

This book is a series of stories told from the perspective of the soul of one dog. After having lived a few lives and remembering each one, he grows up as Bailey with Ethan and eventually Ethan’s wife Hannah and their three children. It is during this life that he realizes his purpose; to love Ethan. He loves Ethan deeply, and Ethan loves him back equally. After Ethan passes away he remains with Hannah at “the Farm,” and eventually Gloria and her toddler Clarity come to live with Hannah indefinitely. Gloria is the ex-girlfriend of Hannah and Ethan’s son. She is very self-involved and always distracted, and on two occasions Bailey is forced to save Clarity’s life. Gloria blames Bailey for both incidences and tells Hannah, “It’s us or the dog.” Hannah chose the dog. At the end of his life, Hannah was with Bailey while he was put to sleep and he thought his lives were fulfilled.

The soul of this dog always returns to Clarity (CJ) in several dog forms, Molly, Max and then Toby. Because the soul has memories of previous lives it is able to give CJ “signs” that it’s the same dog.

CJ’s mother Gloria was narcissistic and left her alone for weeks at a time to vacation when she was growing up. She had several men in and out of her life and home and always put CJ in the backseat. She insulted CJ to the point that she developed a body image and eating disorder. She was downright cruel to her daughter. As a result, CJ grew up always making bad choices and it took her a very long time to accept happiness into her world.

Why didn’t I like this book? It made me very sad. I never stopped waiting for CJ to hit rock bottom so that she could climb back up. She had such a miserable mother and as a result a miserable childhood , adolescence and adulthood that she was destined to continue being miserable. It was what she knew. She had no idea what happy way. This poor girl then woman suffered emotionally and physically. I just wanted to bring her home and be her friend and hold her hand and tell her, “I love you. You are loved.” The second reason I didn’t like this book? It was written from the perspective of a dog (well technically the soul). Dogs don’t understand human speak or gestures. Dogs sound juvenile. I found it annoying. It would have made a world of difference to me if the story had been written in third person.

Why did I like this book? Because CJ does find happiness intermittently and does make something of herself, but there’s always an underlying sadness or illness that comes as a result of her tumultuous life. I found myself cheering every ounce of happiness she gained, even if it was often followed by sadness. This was just the hand she was dealt. Of course, I also loved every dog in the book, because I love dogs.

Do I recommend the book? No, I really don’t. It’s just too sad.(less)

Kimberly made a comment on her review of Skipping a Beat

"I've been reading again folks. Yup I went to the library earlier this week and got three books. I chose the smallest one to read first because it was...more I've been reading again folks. Yup I went to the library earlier this week and got three books. I chose the smallest one to read first because it was on the top of the stack.

Skipping a Beat is by Sarah Pekkanen. The basics of the story is Michael and Julia were from the same small town in West Virginia, neither in a popular crowd, both from dysfunctional families, who become high school sweethearts. After high school they save up money and move to Washington D.C. where they manage to live very broke lives but with diligent budgeting and socking away money slowly make it work. One day Michael has an idea about bottled water and before they know it he is worth 70 million dollars and is part owner of a sports team. Julia, on her own, begins a party planning company and is successful in her own right. With their busy schedules, specifically Michael's, their lives begin to separate. When they are together they are both on their Blackberries (he more than she), but he is rarely ever there; always on business trips.

One day while in a business meeting Michael drops dead. In one moment he's standing at the head of the table and the next he is on the floor. He remained dead for 4 minutes and 8 seconds, until the company's defibrillator brings him back to life and he's completely back to normal. Only he isn't. For those 4 minutes, Michael was shown real life and true love and realizes he has it all wrong. With the purest intentions, Michael immediately changes the lives of thousands of people, first and foremost his wife, who is devastated.

This was a really good book. A fast read (aren't they all for me?). I empathized with both spouses and I wanted them to both get what they needed and remain together at the end of the day. Julia flip-flops between anger and a new-found love for her husband like the one that drew her to him in the first place, while he falls deeper in love with her and more remorseful of what he missed for so many years by putting business before her. This trauma and change forces them both to think again about their childhood lives which started out wonderful but had them running away as soon as they could. With a new lifestyle on the horizon they are forced to rethink about what's really important in life, in a marriage, even in business.

I think the only thing I found unneccessary about this book was a side-story about Julia's best friend, Isabella. I don't like side stories. I don't like them on television shows and I don't like them in books. I think it's stupid filler. Keep the best friend but let's leave her story out of Michael and Julia's. Her little section had no bearing on the story at hand. Other than that little segue I think this was one of those great little chick books we like to pass around.

Recommend!(less)"

Kimberly rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Skipping a Beat
by Sarah Pekkanen (Goodreads Author)

read in February, 2013

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Kimberly rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Torch
by Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author)

read in January, 2013

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Kimberly made a comment on her review of Torch

"I couple/few weeks ago I read a book by Cheryl Strayed, called Wild. I was completely captivated by this boook, anxious every evening to see where it...more "

Kimberly joined the group Ask Pamela Fagan Hutchins

Kimberly rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author)

read in January, 2013

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In about 5 days, this busy wife, mother, keeper of the house and medical transcriptionist read the entire book Wild, From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed. It couldn't have been bad if I was able to sail through it during m...more In about 5 days, this busy wife, mother, keeper of the house and medical transcriptionist read the entire book Wild, From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed. It couldn't have been bad if I was able to sail through it during my relaxing phase between getting in bed and going to sleep.

How do I describe this book? First of all, the basics of it is this is a true story told by the author about her lone hike along the Pacific Crest Trail when she was 26 years old. It's a story that actually begins before Cheryl even existed.

Cheryl's mother grew up in a pretty horrific environment, and as history tends to repeat itself she was pregnant by 19 with Cheryl's older sister Karen, married the father, had Cheryl soon after and their brother Leif many years after that. Cheryl's mom left their abusive father on several occasions, always to come back, but finally left for good when Cheryl was 6. When she was 11 Cheryl's mother met and married Eddie, who finally taught Cheryl how good men/fathers behaved. Throughout her ever-changing childhood the one constant from Cheryl's mother was her undeniable love for her children, bestowed on them as often as possible. While her behavior as a mother was often inappropriate, the children lived an adventure and always knew she loved them. However, love alone is not enough to teach a child how to grow up and be a productive and positive, appropriate adult. Cheryl did go to college, missing out on her Bachelor's by a single paper, and at 19 she married a wonderful man.

When she was 22 Cheryl's mother died of cancer and her world fell completely apart. She struggled to keep her family together, she separated from her husband and had multiple one, two or three night stands, and eventually hit a low point when she started using heroin. It was when Paul, her husband, came to get her that she finally gathered her wits about her, researched the hike she planned to take and worked to save money to buy everything she needed, including boxes of supplies that were mailed to specific stops along the trail so she would hopefully never be without food or money.

Cheryl and Paul were officially divorced a month before she left.

It was awesome to follow Cheryl's hike as it beat her down in the beginning and she gradually began to gain strength. She met many people along her hike, but never stayed with one person or group for very long, because this was a hike she had always planned on doing solo. She encountered obstacles that forced her to detour. In one day she hiked so high she encountered snow and came back down so low she was sweating in the heat.

This was one of those highly recommended books that I was told to read by I don't know who. I saw some of the other reviews, and they vary. Cheryl had a rough go of it both in her childhood and as an adult. She didn't have the skill set to deal with a lot of adversity and she behaved very inappropriately and unsafely and was a terrible wife, but she made up for her mistakes and the hurt and she set out to essentially find herself, her strength, and through her alone time and the time spent with her friends along the way she got what she needed and she accomplished her goal.

Obviously by the speed with which I flew through this book I enjoyed it. I recommend it. A lot of interesting, scary, funny, exciting things happened to her along her several-month journey and I wonder if any of us could accomplish what she did coming from where she did.(less)

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Kimberly is now friends with Amy
May 21, 2013 01:16pm · like
Kimberly is currently reading Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 12, 2013 06:10am
Kimberly rated a book 3 of 5 stars One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper read in April, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I read another book of Tropper's, "This is Where I Leave You," and immediately fell in love. I've been scouring the library until this one came up and I was a little disappointed. "Silver" is in a really bad place, leaving in a crap apartment, hangin...more
Apr 12, 2013 06:05am · see review
Kimberly rated a book 2 of 5 stars A Dog's Journey by W. Bruce Cameron (Goodreads Author) read in March, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This week I read “A Dog’s Journey” by best-selling author W. Bruce Cameron. Never have I ever read a book quite like this before. This book is a series of stories told from the perspective of the soul of one dog. After having lived a few lives and rem...more
Mar 28, 2013 05:43am · see review
Kimberly made a comment on her review of Skipping a Beat "I've been reading again folks. Yup I went to the library earlier this week and got three books. I chose the smallest one to read first because it was...more "
Feb 08, 2013 04:42pm · see review
Kimberly rated a book 4 of 5 stars Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen (Goodreads Author) read in February, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 08, 2013 04:41pm
Kimberly rated a book 4 of 5 stars Torch by Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author) read in January, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 01, 2013 07:28am
Kimberly made a comment on her review of Torch "I couple/few weeks ago I read a book by Cheryl Strayed, called Wild. I was completely captivated by this boook, anxious every evening to see where it...more "
Feb 01, 2013 07:28am · see review
Kimberly joined the group Ask Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Jan 26, 2013 12:57pm · like
Kimberly rated a book 4 of 5 stars Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author) read in January, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
In about 5 days, this busy wife, mother, keeper of the house and medical transcriptionist read the entire book Wild, From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed. It couldn't have been bad if I was able to sail through it during m...more
Jan 16, 2013 05:02pm · see review

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