Book of the Month: January

For those of you who are new to the blog, Lauren and I are both avid readers. Whenever we find good books, we love to share them with each other. That being said, I'd love to share all of my great book finds with you...that is why we are reviving the Book of the Month on TAL.

While TAL was on its hiatus, I read a plethora of books...some good, some not so good and some absolutely, unbelievably great. It's those absolutely, unbelievably great that I want to share with you. However, since this post is "book" of the month, not "books" of the month, I'll have to just tease you by only sharing one at a time. (Ooooh...the suspense!)

The first one I want to share is 11/22/63, by Stephen King. It is titled thusly because it has to do with the Kennedy assassination. Since it has to do with the Kennedy assassination and I teach American history, this book had been recommended to me several times. Repeatedly, I was told that this book is amazing, however it took me a while to decide to read it...mostly because it's by Stephen King. I am not a big fan of horror books and, well, horror is kind of King's thing. After many months of being told to read the book, and being assured that it wasn't, in fact, a horror book, I finally decided to read it. I downloaded it to my Kindle and read it on a family road trip to Chattanooga in the summer of 2012. And I am VERY glad that I did. It started slowly for me, but once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. I was hooked. I am recommending this book first because not only did I love, love, love, love, love this book, my recommendation is timely--the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination just passed in November.

Here's the basic premise (and I promise I won't give anything away!) a high school English teacher named Jake Epping is shown a wormhole, where he can travel back in time. He is tasked with stopping the assassination of JFK (thus, the book is titled 11/22/63). Along the way, he vows to change other injustices...and finds out that changing history is a lot more difficult than he ever expected. As he travels on the path to his assigned task, his life is fundamentally altered, and he has to decide between living the life that he finds in the wormhole or going back to a life that, quite frankly, doesn't much appeal to him anymore.

This book has everything...mystery, history, romance, intrigue, action and comedy. The book is long--880 pages--but, worth every page. I'll be honest--there are some moments where you think, "Ok, King...get to the point...why are we drawing this out?" And then he does get to the point...and you're left saying, "Ohhh...now I get it. Totally makes sense why you took a while to get here." But, even in those moments when you're wondering why he's drawing something out, you're still enjoying the read.

It's just incredibly well written and incredibly compelling, with a cast of characters that are all incredibly thought out, three-dimensional, interesting and essential to the story. If I had more time to read, I would, without a doubt, read it again. And, one day, I might. Now, as a history lover and an American History teacher, I was compelled to read 11/22/63, however, the Kennedy assassination is merely the undercurrent of the book. The majority of the book is not about the assassination, or even about Epping's task. It's more about the life that Jake Epping finds while traveling in time and what he has to gain and give up to accomplish what is best for the world--which may or may not be what is best for himself.

This is one of those books that sticks with you long after you've read the final word. This is one of those books that you will, undoubtedly, recommend to anyone and everyone you meet. Read it...I promise you'll enjoy it.

* If you click anywhere the post says 11/22/63, you will be taken to the Amazon page for the book.

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