The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

Book Review!
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
by Jan-Phillipp Sendker



An enchanting romantic story, starring a Burmese handicapped couple, discovered by his daughter and  told by an onlooker. The writing style is scrumptious and I tip my hat to the translator. I give it an A and recommend it for a hearty vacation read.

Book Talk: The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida

This was a very, very fortunate random grab off the "Featured" shelf at my library.

Sentence-Synopsis: An explanation of common autistic behaviors through an extensive interview with a thirteen-year-old autistic boy.

At only 193 pages, this was a two-hour read, which became two important hours of my life. Naoki answers the questions about autism honestly and fully, providing unexpected understanding for an outsider. The active effort to understand and love each other is essential, and this book provides another opportunity for that. It reminded me that as I go on my mission, it isn't "my" mission. My mission is for others, for the people in Japan. To love them, understand them, and render service to them the best I can. The Reason I Jump is a gentle, wonderful reminder to simply follow a commandment: Love One Another.

Overall Grade: A
Disclaimers: No controversial or adult material.

Book Talk: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This book was strongly recommended to me, and the title snatched me for sure. Unfortunately, I was overall disappointed.
Sentence-Synopsis: Fangirl is about a girl who is obsessed with Harry Potter and doesn't want to move on to college but she has to anyway and has personal growth.
First of all, I really enjoyed Rowell's writing style. Her sentences were crisp and her vocabulary was good enough to keep me interested. She had excellent flow and easily painted a picture of each scene for her readers. She often includes details that may seem unnecessary, but really end up complementing the piece nicely.
Having just finished my freshman year of college myself, the story was very relatable. Cather has all the same apprehensions we do, and same dry humor we love to use in ventilation on Twitter. I can see how readers easily connect with her story. We root for her as we would ourselves in her relationships and accomplishments. I was simply disappointed that the story didn't grab me more. It wasn't quite tantalizingly unique.
Sometimes, predictability is a side effect of a relatable book. I didn't guess every detail coming, but no gasping or rapid fanning of face occurred. Although the boyfriend is a total dream, Cath gets there in a very realistic way. He isn't a far-away fantasy like Edward, but he's someone we would wish for, even though there are evident flaws. Rowell doesn't leave out the minor dramas that happen in college, but she doesn't blow it out of proportion either. I applaud her for that and I reiterate, it's a very believable novel. If contemporary romance is your favorite, you will love this book. Slightly witty, entertaining enough, and easy to breeze through.
For me, Fangirl would have made the perfect grieving book. It's the hammock you lie in while wearing your Literary Indifference hat after having your heart broken by the most recent installment of the sci-fi series you're committed to.
Overall Grade:     B
Disclaimers: Adult language used casually and consistently, very brief intimacy.

So I Review Books Now?

Maybe.
I love writing about literature, and I did a bunch in junior high. HA HA. Junior High. Remember that? Take a moment. You okay? Now we're back. I finished this book right before my 2:00 AM toast today, and I just felt like it deserved a post. I've been amiably and aggressively encouraged to delve into each of John Green's novels for about three years now, so I finally began. An acquaintance of mine also said I look like the girl on the cover so I should start with this one. I don't really see it, but I suppose it's difficult to determine such a thing when you've never really seen yourself from an external source. This was actually just the only one my library had in.

Paper Towns by John Green is one of those enchanting, flutter-by novels with a delicious twist of humanity and realism. Margo Roth Spiegelman is that exciting, incredible force of nature every reader either wants to be or bang. She makes you want to pull out and elongate your bucket list or organize a flash mob or wear that stupid blue eyeshadow you think makes you all eclectic and cool. Like Stargirl or Ari Fuller or Luna Lovegood. The narration through Q (main character) is sweet, hilarious, and oh-so-relatable. For some reason it's so weird for me to read books about high school students now that I'm out of high school. It's like books mark my chronology in a way. I read them for so long and imagined how I wanted to be and probably would be in high school. Now I read it and it's like whoa, these people have no clue what's about to whack them. Ha ha. Paper Towns is a splendid and lazy read, but you won't want to miss a word. The whole thing probably took me a total of three hours to read. You'll find yourself in this book, or your Margo or your Q. My Q was a total parallel the entire way through, but then the last two pages occurred and BAM. He was a completely different person I know. Funny. Books are marvelous. Again, this book is rather fantastical, but brings a sad but beautiful reality that'll give you a good little pang in that heart. Also complete with an awesome Harry Potter reference on page 145.

Overall Grade:  A-
Disclaimers: This book does contain some adult language. There are also two brief allusions to sexual activity and inevitable, typical 17-year-old boy conversation. Nothing too major or worry-worthy.