Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

“The thing about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the thing that was so profound to me that summer—and yet also, like most things, so very simple—was how few choices I had and how often I had to do the thing I least wanted to do. How there was no escape or denial. No numbing it down with a martini or covering it up with a roll in the hay. As I clung to the chaparral that day, attempting to patch up my bleeding finger, terrified by every sound that the bull was coming back, I considered my options. There were only two and they were essentially the same. I could go back in the direction I had come from, or I could go forward in the direction I intended to go.” 

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.
Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wildpowerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her. 

I love travel books - hearing about new places I've never been to, remembering places I have already seen, sharing experiences with others during their travels. 

Before I started reading this book, I thought it would be a pretty standard travel book, someone visits somewhere and writes about what they saw, who they met, and a little complication they have to overcome, such as a lost passport or a tropical illness etc. I guess in essence this book does cover those things, but what surprised me was that there is a deeper story that makes it much more compelling to read. 

Straight away the prologue lets you know exactly what it's all about. It finished in such an uplifting and mysterious was that I was hooked straight away, and I couldn't  wait to hear more about her story - how she ended up hiking the PCT, things that happened while she was there, and what happened after.

Another thing that surprised me, was hearing her describe her Mum's battle and loss to cancer. I've heard people talk about themselves or a loved one getting sick and then either surviving or dying, but I am lucky to be quite naive about what happens in between the diagnosis and end result, so this was the first time I had actually ever heard or thought about it too much. Strayed spoke about the effects of her Mum's cancer treatment (on both her Mum physically, and for herself emotionally) in detail but still respectfully, so you could tell she really loved her Mother very much.

By the end of this book I was ready to go on an adventure myself, or at least think about what kind of 'great achievement' I could do in the future! 

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

“Once you educate the boys, they tend to leave the villages and go search for work in the cities, but the girls stay home, become leaders in the community, and pass on what they’ve learned. If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to educate girls.”

…

“If we try to resolve terrorism with military might and nothing else, then we will be no safer than we were before 9/11. If we truly want a legacy of peace for our children, we need to understand that this is a war that will ultimately be won with books, not with bombs.” 

Anyone who despairs of the individual’s power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson’s quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.

The things I liked most about this book was 1) It gave me a view into the lives of those in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and 2) I got to read about someone who was so dedicated to helping the women and communities that the rest of the world didn't think about.

It sounds like a massive task that Mortenson had taken on, and good on him for doing it (although his wife must be an absolute saint, because I can't imagine me being so understanding about my husband leaving me alone with 2 children for so long!)

There were a few slow parts in this book, but it was worth pushing through them to the end - although there is definitely a big blank at the end where a second book could continue on with the next stages of his work.

I wish the Central Asia Institute all the nest with their work and hope they continue on helping educate women for many years to come.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer? 
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

For me, this book was very unpredictable - it moved so fast I didn't even really have time to guess what was going to happen, and I loved that it kept it's momentum right to the very last page.

The ending was very ambiguous (particularly the very last paragraph!) which leaves me to think 1) this might have been done deliberately to leave room for a sequel???! or 2) just goes to show that Amy's and her scheming, manipulative, overactive mind hasn't changed at all. I loved that it was left with a big question mark at the end to keep you thinking, rather than tying everything up with a neat little bow. 

I can't wait to go see the movie now to see how it plays out on screen.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

“You will be fine,' the fortune teller says. 'There may be decisions to make and surprises in store. Life takes us to unexpected places sometimes. The future is never set in stone, remember that.” 

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

Firstly I need to say that I found the blurb for this book really deceiving -  I have passed over reading it in favour of another book so many times because I didn't think it sounded intriguing or 'deep' enough. Finally I gave in due to how many positive reviews it had received and once I started I couldn't put it down! I am in awe of the writer for having such an amazing and creative imagination!

It does start of slow though - for the first 40% it is a really nice story and then before you know it, it builds momentum and unfurls like a magical Alice in Wonderland, and you are stuck within the story whether you like it or not. I could sit down meaning to only read "a chapter or two", and look up hours later feeling like I have spent the afternoon walking around the circus myself.

On reflection, one of the things I liked about this book is that it is very much a love story, without being a story 'just about love'. For the first half of the book there really is no romance at all, and when it does come, it isn't in that thick sickly way that most writers smear on, which to me made it feel more genuine and real. The story is a much about the circus, other performers and the competition, as it is about their love for one another.

The best way to describe this style of book would be whimsical and dreamy, and I think it would best suit readers who love books/movies such as Big Fish, Life of Pi and Walter Mitty (i.e. those with the ability to believe in something magical rather than the practical)

Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman

Seven Types of Ambiguity is a psychological thriller and a literary adventure of breathtaking scope. Celebrated as a novelist in the tradition of Jonathan Franzen and Philip Roth, Elliot Perlman writes of impulse and paralysis, empty marriages, lovers, gambling, and the stock market; of adult children and their parents; of poetry and prostitution, psychiatry and the law. Comic, poetic, and full of satiric insight, Seven Types of Ambiguity is, above all, a deeply romantic novel that speaks with unforgettable force about the redemptive power of love.

The story is told in seven parts, by six different narrators, whose lives are entangled in unexpected ways. Following years of unrequited love, an out-of-work schoolteacher decides to take matters into his own hands, triggering a chain of events that neither he nor his psychiatrist could have anticipated. Brimming with emotional, intellectual, and moral dilemmas, this novel-reminiscent of the richest fiction of the nineteenth century in its labyrinthine complexity-unfolds at a rapid-fire pace to reveal the full extent to which these people have been affected by one another and by the insecure and uncertain times in which they live. Our times, now.

I don't often read novels this long - in fact I usually deliberately and stay away from them because I get so time-poor, but I'm glad I persevered with this one.

It is a very intelligently written story, yet I never felt that I was unable to keep up with it.

I loved the characters and how their stories were woven together, and I didn't see the twists at the end coming which is refreshing.

The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs by Tyler Hamilton & Daniel Coyle

“I discovered when I went all out, when I put 100 percent of my energy into some intense, impossible task - when my heart was jack-hammering, when lactic acid was sizzling through my muscles - that's when I felt good, normal, balanced.” 

The Secret Race is a definitive look at the world of professional cycling—and the doping issue surrounding this sport and its most iconic rider, Lance Armstrong—by former Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton andNew York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle.

Over the course of two years, Coyle conducted more than two hundred hours of interviews with Hamilton and spoke candidly with numerous teammates, rivals, and friends. The result is an explosive book that takes us, for the first time, deep inside a shadowy, fascinating, and surreal world of unscrupulous doctors, anything-goes team directors, and athletes so relentlessly driven to succeed that they would do anything—and take any risk, physical, mental, or moral—to gain the edge they need to win.

Tyler Hamilton was once one of the world’s best-liked and top-ranked cyclists—a fierce competitor renowned among his peers for his uncanny endurance and epic tolerance for pain. In the 2003 Tour de France, he finished fourth despite breaking his collarbone in the early stages—and grinding eleven of his teeth down to the nerves along the way. He started his career with the U.S. Postal Service team in the 1990s and quickly rose to become Lance Armstrong’s most trusted lieutenant, and a member of his inner circle. For the first three of Armstrong’s record seven Tour de France victories, Hamilton was by Armstrong’s side, clearing his way. But just weeks after Hamilton reached his own personal pinnacle—winning the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics—his career came to a sudden, ignominious end: He was found guilty of doping and exiled from the sport.

From the exhilaration of his early, naïve days in the peloton, Hamilton chronicles his ascent to the uppermost reaches of this unforgiving sport. In the mid-1990s, the advent of a powerful new blood-boosting drug called EPO reshaped the world of cycling, and a relentless, win-at-any-cost ethos took root. Its psychological toll would drive many of the sport’s top performers to substance abuse, depression, even suicide. For the first time ever, Hamilton recounts his own battle with clinical depression, speaks frankly about the agonizing choices that go along with the decision to compete at a world-class level, and tells the story of his complicated relationship with Lance Armstrong.

A journey into the heart of a never-before-seen world, The Secret Race is a riveting, courageous act of witness from a man who is as determined to reveal the hard truth about his sport as he once was to win the Tour de France.

I don't think I have ever read a sports biography before, or even follow/watch that much sport to be honest, so this book was something totally different for me to read, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Before starting this book I didn't really know too much about professional cycling - I had no idea it was such a team sport, that there were strategies to attack etc, I didn't have a clue what the different coloured jumpers meant in the Tour de France, and I definitely didn't realise how naive I was when it came to doping in professional sports!

I found this novel very enlightening. Not just about the sport itself (I did learn a lot but it was so well written that I never once got bored or lost in the sports jargon - it felt like it was written for both those that understood the sport or had no knowledge at all), but prior to reading this book I would definitely have judged an athlete (in any sport) for taking performance enhancing drugs, and while I still don't think it is the right thing to do, reading this book made me realise how hard it would have been to say no to it in that environment, and I found it very interesting how they justified it to themselves (if everyone is doing it, then it just makes it an even playing field).

This book came across genuine, and I still think Tyler Hamilton sounds like a good guy, and I am in awe of his strength and determination, as a cyclist and now speaking to against doping.

One things for sure though, I will never look at professional/competitive sports the same way again!

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

“What are you reading?”

That’s the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less.

This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a “book club” that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading. Their list jumps from classic to popular, from poetry to mysteries, from fantastic to spiritual. The issues they discuss include questions of faith and courage as well as everyday topics such as expressing gratitude and learning to listen. Throughout, they are constantly reminded of the power of books to comfort us, astonish us, teach us, and tell us what we need to do with our lives and in the world. Reading isn’t the opposite of doing; it’s the opposite of dying. 

Will and Mary Anne share their hopes and concerns with each other—and rediscover their lives—through their favorite books. When they read, they aren’t a sick person and a well person, but a mother and a son taking a journey together. The result is a profoundly moving tale of loss that is also a joyful, and often humorous, celebration of life: Will’s love letter to his mother, and theirs to the printed page. 

I only made it halfway through this book before I picked up something else.

While I really loved the idea of this storyline, and Schwalbe's writing style was engaging (his mother sounded like such a lovely lady with a fascinating life!) the main reason I stopped was that I wasn't familiar with many of the books they discussed, and they weren't books I would necessarily choose to read.

I haven't ruled out coming back to this book at a later stage, but there are a few other books i'd want to get through first.