"The Swans of Fifth Avenue" by Melanie Benjamin

This novel is about the rich and the famous living in New York in the 1950s and 60s. At the center of it is the unlikely friendship between the flamboyant and strikingly talented Truman Capote and the glamorous socialite and trend-setter Babe Paley. I knew very little about the book going into it and when I started reading it I had never even heard of Babe Paley and the circles she was part of. She was from the same era and social class that produced Jackie Kennedy. These people had summer mansions on Long Island, winter villas in Jamaica and yachts on the Mediterranean. Babe was married to the founder of CBS Bill Paley and was often described by Vogue and Vanity Fair as the best-dressed and having the most impeccable style. However, behind each facade, be it literary talent or beauty and money, we are all the same: lonely, insecure and starved for love and attention. Babe and Truman are no exception. In fact, if anything, fame and success make one feel even more isolated and vulnerable. Truman and Babe's story is one of love, hope, pain and betrayal.

The book is beautifully written. It transports the reader to the place where beautiful women shop at Tiffany's and dress up for lunch. If you like Downton Abbey, you might enjoy this book also. It is not quite as "soapie" as Downton Abbey but it is filled with glamorous people with unattainable lifestyles. Truman was of course an outsider in this crowd of "swans" as he called them. But he was desperate to be included, to be close to them, to be one of them, to the point that he thought he could do no wrong. Until one day he did - by spilling all of their secrets in a short story...

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It inspired me to read some of Capote's work. I did see the movie adaption of Breakfast at Tiffany's but will now also plan to read the book. This was a great read. 5 out of 5 stars.

I received an advanced reading copy from NetGalley. The book is coming out on January 26, 2016.

"The Map of Heaven" by Eben Alexander

In 2013, I reviewed a couple of really powerful books focused on near death experiences (NDE). One of them was Proof of Heaven by a renown neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander. You can view my original post here. The Map of Heaven is Dr. Alexander's newest book. In it, he tries to further make sense of the near death experience he had in 2008. As an experienced neurosurgeon, he had never believed NDE accounts to be anything other than hallucinations. However, once he himself came face to face with a situation that modern medicine could not explain, his whole outlook on modern science and religion has undergone a tremendous change. In The Map of Heaven he provides numerous examples of other people's encounters with the world of spirit which often transform their entire outlook on life and our place in the universe. Ultimately, Dr. Alexander says we as conscious beings are concerned with three questions:

Where did we come from?
Why are we here?
Where are we going?

Modern science cannot answer these questions. One must reconnect with spiritual realms in order to start gaining a more profound understanding of reality. If you are interested in spirituality and seek an opinion of a scientist who also had a transformative spiritual experience, this book is a great place to start. I personally really enjoyed it. Even though it might not have presented anything new to me, it definitely cemented even further my deep faith in the Divine.

Top 5 Reads of 2015

Looking back over 100+ books that I read in 2015, I decided to pick 5 of those that had the most impact on me. By this I mean, these books made me think, moved me in some way, and I keep thinking about them from time to time. These are also the books that I am likely to re-read or recommend to others. Instead of listing them in any particular order, I have selected books from 5 different genres and here they are.

1. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

This was by far one of the best modern day classics I have ever read. It deals with street gangs and is told from the perspective of a fourteen year old "greaser" Ponyboy. The fact that it was written by a sixteen year-old girl just completely blew my mind.  I borrowed it from the library, but am definitely planning to buy a copy for my book collection. I have a full review of the book here. This is a definite must read for everyone.

2. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

I mentioned in my 2015 wrap-up post that I managed to read 10 classics in 2015. Classics for me are usually hit or miss: I either really like it or cannot fathom how it managed to pass the test of time. Metamorphosis is amazing. Again, I do have a detailed review if you'd like to see my thoughts on it. But if you are hesitant about picking this book up, please give it a shot. It will surprise you.

3. The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

This was my favorite fantasy read of the year and the biggest surprise. The Invasion of the Tearling is the second book in a trilogy. I did not like the first book. I thought certain aspects of the story were unrealistic and the story lacked context. The second book surpassed all of my expectations. It answered all of my questions. It is almost like in the first book we got only a tiny glimpse of the Tearling world through a narrow window; whereas book 2 dropped the curtain and revealed a complex and amazing universe full of magic, conspiracy, war and unexpected turns. I cannot wait to read book 3 (it is coming out in the fall of 2016). I will definitely be re-reading the first 2 books before the third one is out. My complete review of book 2 is here.

4. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis was my favorite memoir/autobiographical sketch of 2015. This was also my first venture into adult graphic novels. This book is amazing. Since reading it, I have purchased a copy for my personal library and I keep talking about this book every chance I get. My full review can be viewed here.

5. The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

This was the best middle grade fantasy/series starter. I truly believe this is Rick Riordan's best book that I've read so far (and I've read 9 of his books). If you like adventure, mythology, Vikings and snarky characters, look no further. I cannot wait to read the next book. For more detailed thoughts, please see my full review.

"Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers

I read this book in December of 2015 and was debating whether or not to post a review. This was a definitely a book outside of my comfort zone. First of all, it is Christian fiction, a genre I normally do not read. However, I heard amazing things about this book and decided to give it a go. If you are familiar with the Bible, this book is a re-telling of the Book of Hosea. In it, God tells prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute and he does. She then ends up leaving him and going back to prostitution. However, he does not give up and brings her back.

In Redeeming Love we follow Angel, a high-priced prostitute who lives in a brothel in California during the gold rush. Angel had a horrific childhood. Her mother gave birth to her out of wedlock and was abandoned both by the father of the child and her parents. Unable to support herself and her young daughter, she resorts to prostitution and drinking, and finally dies when Angel is only 8 years old. Angel then endures years of child abuse in a New York brothel before she finally escapes at the age of 18 and boards a ship headed for California. However, once she arrives in San Francisco she goes back to prostitution to avoid starvation and violence.

Michael Hosea is a farmer who genuinely believes in God and prays daily. He's been praying to God to give him a wife and one day when he comes to town to sell produce to a local grocer, he sees Angel walking down the street. God tells him at that moment that this is his intended wife....

You'll have to read the book to find out the rest. The short and long of it is for Angel getting out of prostitution is not as simple as getting plucked out of a brothel. It is a long journey to self-forgiveness and finding her innate innocence and purity. Michael does not give up on her. Neither does God.

This book is heart-breaking and filled with hope at the same time. It is definitely not for everyone. But if you ever decide to venture into Christian fiction, I would highly recommend you check out this book.

2016 Reading Goals

Since I did so well on my reading goals last year, I decided to set up some new reading challenges for myself for 2016. Overall, my goals are:

1. Read 85 books in 2016
Even though I read over a hundred books last year, I am planning to read some thick novels in 2016 and am therefore setting a lower goal in terms of the number of books I am planning to read.

2. Read the books I own
This might seem like a strange goal, but I looked over the list of books I read in 2015 and out of 113 total, 49 books were from the library. At the same time I own probably close to 400 books both in paper and electronic formats and most of them remain unread. The problem is I love libraries and end up checking out a lot of books every time I go there. So in 2016, I'd like to focus on the books I own.

3. Read 10 classics
I managed to read 10 classics in 2015 and I think I should be able to do it again in 2016.

4. Read an ARC a month and post a review
In 2015, I read 14 ARCs (advanced reading copies) that I received through NetGalley. I would like to continue reviewing books for them, and 12 in a year should be manageable. I already have 3 ARCs for some upcoming books so am off to a good start.

5. Complete the below reading challenge (originally compiled by popsugar.com for 2015)
I really liked the various categories in this challenge and I think if I follow this, I will read broader than I tend to and venture into interesting territories.