BOOK REVIEW: Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


While I enjoyed the book, I found myself a little more emotionally detached than I normally would have been. I had put this book on my to-be-read pile over a year ago, and a friend contacted me and told me that I should wait. At the time, I had recently had a miscarriage, and she said that this might be a tough read. She was definitely right. I'm in a much better place in dealing with the miscarriage now, and decided to go ahead and read it with my book club. But I never really connected with the characters like I thought I would. I admit I did skim some of the tough scenes (mostly for my sake), but even then, I wasn't really connecting. Mostly I just felt very sad for the characters. It is still worth reading. I think my history kind of colored it for me.

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Reading Challenges Update

I realize it has been awhile. And now you are getting two posts in one day :)

Even though I haven't been blogging, I've still been keeping up with what I have been reading. Here are the additions for this year since my last update:

44. Fat Chance, Deborah Blumenthal - good
45. Finger Lickin' Fifteen, Janet Evanovich - good
46. Smoke Screen, Sandra Brown - ok
47. Atonement, Ian McEwan - bad - I hated this book.
48. Drums of Autumn, Diana Gabaldon - fantastic
49. Bet Your Bottom Dollar, Karen Gillespie - good
50. Sanctuary, Nora Roberts - good
51. Good Grief, Lolly Winston - good
52. 92 Pacific Boulevard, Debbie Macomber - ok
53. The Fiery Cross, Diana Gabaldon- good
54. A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Diana Gabaldon - good
55. An Echo in the Bone, Diana Gabaldon - good
56. Bed of Roses, Nora Roberts - good
57. Certain Girls, Jennifer Weiner - good
58. Kindred in Death, JD Robb - fantastic
59. REREAD - Twilight, Stephenie Meyer - fantastic (yes I read them for a 2nd time this year)
60. REREAD - New Moon, Stephenie Meyer - fantastic (yes I read them for a 2nd time this year)
61. REREAD - Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer - fantastic (yes I read them for a 2nd time this year)
62. REREAD - Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer - fantastic (yes I read them for a 2nd time this year)
63. Firefly Lane, Kristin Hannah - good
64. Can you Keep a Secret - Sophie Kinsella - fantastic
65. Barefoot, Elin Hilderbrand - good

So I'm definitely NOT going to make it to 100 books this year. Good thing I didn't sign up for the challenge. Not that it matters, I didn't complete some of the challenges that I DID sign up for.

Chunkster Challenge - FAILED
Deadline: Nov 15
I was supposed to read 5 books by the deadline. I only read 2 from my original list. I substituted another 1 from the list because my original was to hard to find. And just ran out of time on the other two. I read the following for this challenge:
1. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - decent book overall, but very depressing. Took me FOREVER to get through cause I kept stopping.
2. The Moon Below - decent book - I think my hopes were too high
3. Substituted An Echo in the Bone (most recent Outlander book) for History. Couldn't find History anywhere. Echo was FABULOUS - started out slow but then the ending picks you up, throws you across the room, and then slams the book in your face. Yes it is that crazy.

Romance Reading Challenge - COMPLETE
Deadline: December 31
1. Bridget Jones' Diary - good
2 Bed of Roses - good (substitue for The Reluctant Widow - our library didn't have it, but I still want to read a Georgette Heyer novel)
3. On a Highland Shore - good
4. Vision in White - good (The Awakening was nixed. Couldn't get through the first chapter)
5. The Princess Bride - EXACTLY like the movie - good

Outlander Challenge - FAILED
Deadline: Release of An Echo in the Bone
Hubby and I were listening to these on audio (btw, Hubby loves the books). We were getting them from audible.com, but they didn't have the last 2 books in an unabridged version, so I had to wait for them at the library, and it just seemed to take a lot longer. I did finish the 6 book about 2 weeks after Echo came out, so that isn't too bad.

Chick Lit Challenge - IN PROGRESS - 1 book to go

Book Vs Movie Challenge - IN PROGRESS - 5/6 books to go
It doesn't look like I am going to finish. I have watched 4 of the movies, but only read 1 of the books. EEP.

Look for my postings on the 2010 challenges that I will be signing up for soon. Here's hoping I do better next year.

Book Review: Can You Keep a Secret

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I really really enjoyed this book. I had heard of the author before, but hadn't read any of her books. This was a pretty fast read for me. I had several literal laugh out loud moments (one was late at night and I woke up my husband, who was quite irritated). I seem to have a thing for books about British women. So far I've read several books where the main character is a British woman, and I've loved all of them. This is a fun, entertaining, captivating book. I highly recommend it.

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I know its been awhile since I've posted, but I found some motivation. :) This blog is giving away a KINDLE if you post a book review. Go to this site for more info:



Book Supplied by: Lexington Public Library :)

Update: Fall Into Reading Challenge

Life has been nuts. Still dealing with everything, but I'll try and post more on that later. I want to get back into blogging, and the best way to do that is to just start. So, a nice easy post. :)

I am enjoying the Fall Into Reading Challenge, because I get to look forward to reading specific books. I've also found it a challenge, because I keep getting distracted by other books that I come across. So while I've read 9 of the 40 books on my list, I also read 3 others that weren't on my list. :)

So far I have read the following from my list:

• Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell - great read as usual. Probably one of my favorite books. I've re-read this multiple times, and probably will continue to reread it over the years.
• Scarlett, Alexandra Ripley - again, great read. I have to read this after Gone with the Wind. I'm definitely one of those people that like to see some redemption in the end. I have to admit there are times when I want to race ahead to the parts where Rhett makes an appearance. But I also like to see the character of Scarlett evolve and grow up.
• Calico Palace, Gwen Bristow - one of my favorite pieces of historical fiction. Gwen Bristow is a fantastic author. I've learned so much American History from her books (and actually retain it).
• The Husband, Dean Koontz - my very first Dean Koontz book. I was pleasantly surprised. I expected more of a "horror" book, but it was actually just suspenseful. Which I like a lot better. I have been told that this book is a little different than his other books though.
• The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, Lilian Jackson Braun - this was recommended because of my love of cats. I did find this a little bit of a tedious read. Enjoyable, but not captivating. I've been told they get better, so I may try again with a later book in the series.
• Queen of Babble, Meg Cabot - fun, light and chatty. I listened to this on a weekend road trip. Definitely made the time fly by. Even better, there are two more books in this series. I love it when I get invested in the characters, and I know there is more in the story in the follow-up books.
• Little Lady, Big Apple, Hester Browne - another book that is fun and light. Twists and turns and romantic drama. The author has a great "voice".
• Fearless Fourteen, Janet Evanovich - another favorite author. I love Stephanie, Joe and Ranger. And Lula, Grandma and Mooner. She writes the best characters. My husband and I listen to this series on audio books, and we ALWAYS laugh like crazy. I've heard that some people were critical of this book, but I really enjoyed it.
• Salvation in Death, JD Robb - latest in the Eve Dallas books. This one felt a little different but I liked it. It was a tricky topic (involving Catholicism). I'm not Catholic, but I felt like she was very respectful in how she explored the topic. I was a little reserved at first, but I think she did a great job. And she setup some background for the next book. :)

I have also read the following (not from the list):

• Queen of Babble in the Big City, Meg Cabot - great follow up. Really good book, and fun to listen to. My only issue is that I felt like they changed the boyfriend character too much. He didn't seem at all of a commitment-phobe in the previous book, and that is the main "problem" that this book focuses on. But it was still a great book.
• Midnight, Dean Koontz - a little more of what I expected a Dean Koontz book to be. Still not gory, which I'm happy about. But I definitely couldn't read this one before bed without having disturbing dreams. And he makes a great analysis of human-engineering (whatever the term is for messing with dna to evolve the human race into something "better"). I did enjoy this book. My boss recommended this one to me.
• Tribute, Nora Roberts - great book. I love Nora Roberts. This did remind me a lot of another book I read by a different author (Looking for Peyton Place by Barbara Delinsky). Same concept.

Twilight Series

Longer review coming later.

Simply put,

I LOVED ALL THREE BOOKS

They will probably rank up there in the list of series that I read over and over. So good. Wish I had taken my friends advice and read them earlier.

An Additional Reading Challenge

So I'm really liking the idea of the reading challenges that are out there. I technically say that I am starting the 100+ Reading Challenge on April 1st. It comes out to be about 2 books per week. I'm almost caught up (I couldn't remember all of the books that I had read, so it looks like I'm behind).

So I found this other challenge, the Historical Reading Challenge, that I am planning on doing concurrently (I mean at the same time, is that the right word?) I have to read 6 historical fictions books in 6 months. I plan to read the following:

1. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
2. World without End by Ken Follett
3. Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
4. Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati
5. Calico Palace by Gwen Bristow
6. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

And of course, those will count towards the 100+ Challenge as well . . . I'll probably mark them differently in the long list at the right, to indicate that they are part of the challenge.

Update on the Challenge. I just finished the Harry Potter Series . . . I'm pretty sure that I finished it in less than two weeks. I usually don't start reading it till Halloween Night (as I'm passing out candy, it has turned out to be part of a tradition), but I had run out of books to read, and that is the only thing that sounded appealing. The series is fantastic, and if you haven't had a chance to read the books, I highly, highly, reccomend it. Fantasically written, completely engaging, and totally heart warming.

Book Review - Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch

So I have decided that I'm going to start doing book reviews. Here's my first.


Synopsis:

Southern housewife Linwood Breedlove Scott was happily content in her comfortable, complacent thirty-year marriage, but when her husband cleans out their bank accounts and runs off with a stripper, her life takes a hilarious, yet touching, right turn into reality. With no place to go but home, she's forced back to her insular hometown and the "eccentric" family she escaped by marrying at nineteen: her senile father, her loving-yet-controlling mother, her long-suffering aunt, her crazy uncle, and her good-for-nothing brother. But despite her newly dependent situation and her family's genteel insanity, Lin begins to stand on her own two feet and wake up to the joys-and perils-of life as a single woman. And she also learns surprising lessons about her family: that things aren't always what they seem, and that the power of love governs even the most dysfunctional of relationships. This joy-filled, moving, and wise-cracking novel delivers a portrait of Southern life, Southern families, and self-discovery that readers will never forget. (courtesy of http://www.haywoodsmith.net/queenbee.html)

I found this book courtesy of some random browsing at the library. I admit, I judged the book by the cover. I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't able to relate to the main character's situation, but I was able to relate to her. She was a refreshingly honest character. I had thought this would be a 15 minute a night book. Instead, I read through the whole thing in 2 evenings. I'm a pretty avid popular fiction reader, and I can usually determine the direction of the story pretty early. I found myself anticipating a certain direction, and then being quite surprised when that didn't come true. Sometimes this annoys me (seems like the author is purposely being misleading), but I didn't mind it here. Because it made sense. She wasn't doing anything out of character or storyline. I will definitely be reading Haywood Smith's other books. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.