The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete
Matt Long with Charles Butler



rating: 8.5 out of 10 "books"

The Long Run tells the story of happy-go-lucky New York City firefighter, Matt Long. Surrounded by a large loving family, plenty of friends, a fulfilling job, prosperous businesses, and an addiction to running after years of an unhealthy lifestyle (that’s put him in the best shape of his life!), life couldn’t get much better. And while he’s endured his fair share of pain before; running the New York City Marathon and qualifying for the prestigious Boston Marathon, saving lives during the heartbreaking events of 9/11, and competing in an eleven hour Ironman competition, nothing could compare to the events that unraveled one fateful morning and changed his life forever.

Just after qualifying for the Boston Marathon during the New York City transit strike of 2005, Long was struck down by a bus while trying to bike out to meet up with some friends to train. Given only a five percent chance of survival, Matt survived severe wounds, broken bones, and endured multiple operations. The Long Run chronicles Matt’s long road to recovery and his determination to run again despite slim odds of rehabilitation.

Oftentimes, we don’t realize how much we take for granted until it’s suddenly taken away from us. I know I’m definitely that way. Maybe it’s just because I’m a runner, but this story definitely struck a chord. The way Long describes the events surrounding his accident, from his vivid description of what happened (when emergency crew discovered him they couldn’t tell where his body ended and his bike started because the bike had actually gone straight through his abdomen), to what he was told was going on while he was unconscious in the hospital (family and friends camped out night and day to be there for any sign of good news), to his recovery (major obstacles threatened to hinder his chances of ever running again), I couldn’t help but tearing up over and over again. The story includes not only what happened that fateful day and onward, but also provides many flashbacks to background information that further explains how Matt’s attitudes and views on life came to be. If you’re a big athlete (and even if you’re not), I’d definitely recommend reading this book!

Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later
Francine Pascal



rating: 3.5 out of 10 "books"

“Sweet Valley is back ... What terrible secret has torn Jessica and Elizabeth apart? Ten years after graduating from Sweet Valley High, the Wakefield twins have had a falling out of epic proportions. After Jessica commits a complete and utter betrayal, Elizabeth flees to New York to escape the pain and pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a journalist. Jessica remains behind in Sweet Valley, dealing with the fallout of her heart-wrenching choices and longing for forgiveness. But Elizabeth can't forget her twin's duplicity. Uncharacteristically, she decides the only way to heal her broken heart is to seek revenge. Always the 'good' twin, Elizabeth is about to turn the tables” – Amazon.com Review

Imagine my surprise when I found out Francine Pascal was writing a Sweet Valley book. It’s like it came out of nowhere, although I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised with all the reboots of everything from television to film to books. Even the Babysitter’s Club author is apparently writing more BSC books. If anything, Pascal’s novel is long overdue. I feel out of touch with this series since it’s been so long since I’ve read a new Sweet Valley book. Much in the same way, I feel like Francine Pascal has gotten a bit out of touch when it comes to young people. While I don’t mean to slam Francine Pascal, especially since her books were my main lifeline during my early childhood, Sweet Valley Confidential just feels too late. I barely remember which character was which, let alone their personalities or actions from the early Sweet Valley books up through the college years. As many readers stated on the amazon.com website too, there were a ton of inconsistencies within the book and major disparity between characters then and now. It was as if Pascal herself forgot to refresh her memory by revisiting all her previous books prior to writing Confidential. The most laughable parts that I found however had to do with the more intimate moments in the book, more specifically one that happened towards the end of Sweet Valley Confidential. The way Francine Pascal described the situation read like a cheesy romance novel, convincing me even more of how far removed from her audience she must be. While Sweet Valley was never anything remotely intellectual, Sweet Valley Confidential seems to have really missed the mark this time. While it was fun to read a new Sweet Valley book and revisit the Wakefield twins for nostalgia’s sake, I think this book would have been better if it had never been written to begin with.

An Object of Beauty: A Novel
Steve Martin



rating: 4.5 out of 10 "books"

Who knew that goofy Steve Martin of SNL fame was such a renaissance man? Not only can he claim comedy and acting to his repertoire, but he can also add musician, playwright, and author of both adult and children’s fiction to that list. When I first heard that Martin was an author I expected, much like other comedians who write books, that his work would be super funny. But I was very surprised to find out that his adult fiction is pretty serious and oftentimes somewhat tragic. For someone to be able to switch gears in such a way that Steve Martin can, it’s no wonder why he’s such a recognized individual.

Martin’s latest book An Object of Beauty, explores the world of the New York art scene as experienced by art reviewer Daniel Franks and his wild card female friend Lacey. The story is told as if written by Daniel himself, mostly chronicling the life of Lacey with little instances where Daniel and Lacey’s lives intersect. Known as first person omniscient, Wikipedia refers to this as “a rare form of first person in which the narrator is a character in the story, but also knows the thoughts and feelings of all the other characters.” Lacey, who can be a very manipulative and selfish character, is young, beautiful, carefree and knows how to use this to her advantage. Starting off at the very bottom of the totem pole, Lacey quickly works her way up in the art world by paying very close attention to the people, and art, she comes in contact with. As with any kind of story that has a tragic aspect to it, this may be what ultimately unravels her.

The author definitely did a good job researching for this story, for as a reader you are constantly bombarded with healthy doses of art history. The one thing I especially liked about this story was the connection between the art itself and Lacey as “beautiful objects.” If you hadn’t already guessed, the title of this book refers to art, but at some point while reading the story, one starts to wonder if art and Lacey are not paralleling one another. There’s even a line early on that really caught my attention. In it, Lacey is really starting to get a handle on the worth of certain art works and what draws people to one particular piece and not another of similar composition. As Lacey starts to factor in various characteristics, Martin writes, “her toe crossed ground from which it is difficult to return: she started converting objects of beauty into objects of value.” That line right there had a lot of weight to it that stayed with me throughout my reading of this novel.

My suggestion is, if you like anything art related or are a huge art history buff pick up this book. It definitely makes reading it a lot easier. This was not one of those books that I could finish in one sitting just because An Object of Beauty is definitely a lot more technical then some of his other works. But even so, Steve Martin’s descriptively flowing words, not to mention his departure from the funny man we know him as, make it worth checking out.

Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List
By Rachel Cohn and David Levithan


rating: 5.5 out of 10 "books"


This second collaboration between Cohn and Levithan (who co-wrote Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist), tells the story of Naomi, a tough city girl with seemingly little interest in anything other than her friendship with her best gay friend, Ely. Naomi and Ely have practically been best friends since birth. They’ve lived across the hall from each other in their Manhattan apartments all their lives and have shared everything from the collapse of their parents’ marriages to clothing. One thing they will not share however is men. Hence the reason for the creation of the “No Kiss List,” a fool-proof plan against a “Naomi & Ely breakup.” But a series of events threatens the Naomi & Ely relationship and leaves readers clambering to find out whether the damage can be reversed.

This novel and I got off to a rocky start. Within the first few pages I was bombarded with a flurry of symbols and names that left me confused and discouraged. It took a few reads of some very nonsensical sentences accompanied by symbols to figure out for example, that a character named Robin was actually two people, one male one female, distinguished by slightly different symbols. The first chapter gives us a look into Naomi’s train of thought, detailing her knack for lying (“Lies are easier to process”—Naomi), to her indifference towards others. She describes levels of “I love you’s” that she says to various people, but none seem to embody the true meaning of love. Even Naomi’s feelings towards her boyfriend, Bruce the Second (named as such because of the existence of a former boyfriend named Bruce), are less than real. The recklessness of Naomi and Ely is reminiscent of the CW version of Gossip Girl. Ely is hardly any better than Naomi, going through boyfriends quicker than the season’s fashions go out of style.

For the first portion of the novel I didn’t feel the smallest bit of sympathy toward the two main characters and questioned my commitment to finishing the book. However, the two-dimensionality of the characters was rounded out by the inclusion of other characters’ points of view including: Bruce the First, the High School boy who has not been able to sleep ever since he and Naomi broke up forcing him to join a group of fellow insomniacs, nicknamed the “Bruce Society,” in the wee hours of the night; Bruce the Second, Naomi’s current boyfriend, who struggles with his feelings and identity throughout the story and who appears to be the total opposite of Naomi in every way (Bruce on telling the truth: “There is something so intimate about saying the truth out loud. There is something so intimate about hearing the truth said. There is something so intimate about sharing the truth, even if you’re not entirely sure what it means.”); as well as other characters such as the Robins, Gabriel, and Bruce the First’s twin sister, Kelly.

In the end, I really enjoyed this book especially because I felt that it included many truths and lessons. I even grew to enjoy encountering the slew of symbols that accompanied Naomi’s chapters, eager to decode the meanings.