Sheet Music

Sheet Music: Uncovering the Secrets of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage by Kevin Leman is the book club pick for February. Trisha recommended this book as it has been used in churches and support groups as a marriage strengthening book. Ideally you and your partner should read this book together. It is supposed to make women see how sex is important to men and why they desire it even when you don't. I hope this book is helpful to me as I have not been very desirable through my depression lately. Hopefully I can get something positive out of this read.

Glass Houses

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine is the first book in the Morganville Vampires series. It's the story of a girl named Claire going to collage in Morganville, TX which is a vampire town. The back sounds incredibly cheesy, but a couple people suggested this series, but I'm going to give it a shot. It's under 250 pages, so I will either become addicted and have to read the entire series, or I won't have wasted too much time since it should be a short read.

Finished #6

I just finished Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende. It's the story of an "orphan" in Chile. The first part talks about her growing up being raised by both a rich spinster and an Indian maid. Eliza falls and love and wants to follow her boyfriend to California during the gold rush. Parts 2 and 3 talk about Eliza's trip to America and her life after she gets there. I think most of all this book is a story of survival. It was a good read.

Book #6

The next book I will be starting is 'Daughter of Fortune' by Isabel Allende. This is a book that Maggie suggested for book club. It was supposed to be the December book, but we moved it to January. Maggie said this was a book that she didn't want to put down after she started reading it. I hope this book will catch my attention and get me back on track with reading.

Book #5: Wonderstruck

Last week we had family reading night. Mason brought home 'Wonderstruck' by Brian Selznick. We all sat on the couch together after dinner most nights while Levi read the book to us. We all loved this book! Norah loved to look at the pictures and say "it's getting closer and closer" or "it's getting smaller and smaller". I really loved how the pictures told a different story, but in the end they came together to combine the stories of Rose and Ben. This book was beautiful. It's the perfect book for reading together as a family.
Levi read 'The Inventions Hugo Caberet' to Mason a few years ago. I'm hoping Mason can get this one from school too so we can read it as a family too. :)

PS. The boys have been obsessed with David Bowie songs lately, so I loved that the "Space Oddity" song was a reoccurring theme in the book.

Finished Book #4

I finally finished World War Z last night. Some parts were exciting and some could not hold my attention at all. I haven't had anytime to read during the day, so I've been reading right before bed. This book made me fall asleep after about 10 minutes, so that's why it took me about a month to read it. I really don't know what happened in this book. I feel like I should know what "Zack" means, but I don't....

Book #4: World War Z

I started 'World War Z' by Max Brooks a couple weeks ago. I thought I would read this book because I really want to start watching The Walking Dead. Only thing is, I'm afraid. I have been pretty busy and haven't had much time to read, but I am about 1/2 way through the book. I woke up at 2am this morning and couldn't sleep. Since the internet wasn't working, I tried reading, hoping I could fall asleep. A book about zombies on a windy night in the dark downstairs all by myself was not a good idea. In the book the zombies were marching and tapping and then I heard the Christmas lights tapping on the window. I only read about 1 chapter before I had to turn on a bunch of lights and run upstairs. Hopefully I will finish this one soon....

Finished Book #3

I finished 'Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac' a while ago. I just forgot to come update my blog. It was okay. The main character fell and hit her head and forgot everything that happened the past 4 years. She was missing out on some important things that happened and it seemed like maybe she was subconsciously trying to forget those years. During this time some bad things happened that she wasn't happy about. She tries to start over fresh and losing her memory seemed to make her a better person.

Book #3

I started 'Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac' by Gabrielle Zevin yesterday. This book is about a teenage girl who falls, hits, her head, and loses her memory. I grabbed this book from the Young Adult section because it was next to 'The Book Thief' and the title caught my eye. I don't really know what to expect, but it has me interested.

Book #2: The Book Thief

I finished 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak a few days ago. This was are really interesting story. I loved how it was told from death's perspective, but you could still feel the emotions of the girl. I really liked her family. It was interesting how everyone showed love for each other in different ways. I love seeing a book about WWII with people who actually showed concern for the Jewish people.

Finished Book #1

I finished my first book a few weeks ago. I just didn't have time to update my blog. This book started out interesting, but then just felt like the same thing over in each little story. It was okay, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone.

Book #1: Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible!

On Thursday I started Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible! Stories by Jonathan Goldstein. This is a modern, sarcastic take on the stories in The Bible. We bought it for 80% off at Borders. I'm hoping it will help me to get more interested in starting reading my Bible every day again.

50 Book Challenge Year 3

I was going to take a break from the book challenge until the beginning of next year since I have read all of our book club picks, haven't finished The Bible yet, and have been busy. But I decided that I can't just not read for 3 months. I decided I need to start the challenge again.

Finished #50

I finished my 50th book last night! It was Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. This was the story of a family that could change people's moods by cooking things from their special garden. I guess they were witches of a sort, but it never really said that. There was an apple tree in the garden that would show people a big event in their lives when they ate the apples. It usually wasn't a good thing to eat the apples. Overall I liked the characters in the story. The book was a little cheesy to me, but I like ending my year with something different.

286 pages

Finished #49

I finished Julie and Julia a few days ago. I loved the movie, but didn't really care for the book. I loved the idea of cooking through Julia's book, but I didn't like the main character at all. I hate people who think just because they are married they are so mature and responsible. I really just though Julie was whiny and a drunk. For some reason the way she said things just grated on me. I liked her in the movie and felt sorry for her when Julia didn't like the project, but I could completely see what Julia was thinking based off of Julie's character in the book. They cut a lot of the cussing, drinking, infidelity, etc out of the movie. I agree with Lindsey, that I really liked hearing Julia's story in the movie.

307 pages

#49: Julie & Julia

I started Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell last night. I caught part of the movie a few months ago and really liked it. So far we are learning a lot more about Julie's childhood than we did in the movie. I usually don't ever watch a movie before I read the book, but since the book is usually better, maybe I will enjoy the book even more.

Finished #48

I finished Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls yesterday. This was the story of Jeannette's grandmother Lily's life. She had a very full and interesting life. It was filled with even more adventures than Jeannette's childhood. While I liked reading her story, I didn't find it as intriguing as The Glass Castle.

390 pages

Book #48

3 more books in 15 days? Hope things slow down so I have time to read.

I started Half Broke Horses by Jeannette wills on Friday. I've only had time to read a few pages, but I'm really liking what I read so far. It's the story of Jeannette's grandmother Lily as a child. It talks about her life growing up on horse ranches in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Finished #47

I finally finished Here We Go Again by Betty White. I really like Betty White from The Golden Girls and some of her recent comedy appearances. I never new she had some many shows while she was younger and didn't even realize there was a sequel to The Golden Girls called The Golden Palace. It seems that Betty has had a very full life filled with lots of love and loss. It was great reading about her life, but this book was very boring at times. This may just be because I am too young to know any of the actors and shows from the first 3/4 of the book.

289 pages

Here We Go Again

Today I started Here We Go Again, a biography by Betty White. I loved the Golden Girls and like seeing Betty White in lots of star roles lately. I thought it would be interesting to learn more about how she got started in show business.

Finished #46

I finished The Pilot's Wife last night. This book was really hard to put down. I kept wanting to see what would happen and what new secrets would be revealed. I liked the book, but didn't care for the ending. I just think a lot of things were left unresolved.

293 pages

The Pilot's Wife

I started The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve last night. This is the story of a pilot who dies during a plane explosion leaving a wife and 15yr old daughter behind. As they investigate the crash, they begin to learn more about the life of this pilot. Right now I'm a few chapters in and we are getting present story (where the wife is dealing with the death of her husband) and flashbacks (about how they met). So far I am really liking the book and am interested to see what secrets they find about his life.

Finished #45

I finished Heaven is for Real today. This is a great book that I would recommend to anyone, believers or not. At first I thought, "Really the dad's a pastor, of course he would know what Heaven is like" and I kept thinking of ways to doubt the story. But some of the things mentioned were just amazing. The most interesting to me was the people he met in Heaven. Even if we haven't read the Bible, most of us can say that angels have wings, the gates are pearly white, and there are clouds and sunlight. Those descriptions weren't impressive, but meeting people in Heaven that he didn't know in real life were what impressed me. It was a very heart warming story.

This book has also made me want to start reading the Bible again, which I gave up a few months ago. Hopefully I can get back on track with that.

162 pages

Heaven is for Real

Today I started Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent. I've heard really good things about this book and my friend Pam bought it for me for my birthday. I'm really excited to read it. So far Colton has told his parents that the angels sang to him while he was in the hospital. It's really interesting to hear stories of what the boy has said so far. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Finished #44

A couple weeks ago in childwatch I didn't have any kids to watch. I was really bored, so I rearranged all the toys and then dug through the book bin. I was able to find a Baby-sitters Club book in the bin. I started reading it and then 2 kids showed up. Luckily one was a baby who just slept the entire time I held him and I was able to read half the book. I decided to take the book home with me last night and finish it.

It was The Ghost at Dawn's House. I don't remember reading this one when I was younger, but it was fun to hear about all the babysitters club girls again. So many things I had forgotten since I read them last. It was a cheesy, but fun read. I hope Norah wants to read these books some day, because they really are quite entertaining.

148 pages

Finished #43

I finished Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil on Tuesday night. I really didn't realize that this book was non-fiction until after I started it. There are some very interesting characters in the book, and I can't believe they are real people. I was confused by the timing in the book and when some events actually occurred. It really did seem to read more like fiction than non-fiction. I was really interested in the history of Savannah. It is some where I would love to visit some day. The houses and town sound beautiful, plus there are lots of famous landmarks. I do get a little creeped out by all the voo doo spells though. Some parts were boring and a little confusing, but overall I liked the book.

386 pages

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

I started Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt yesterday. I never really knew what this book was about. It's set in Savannah, GA and goes through the lives of several unique people living in the town. This book is a true-crime book, but I haven't gotten to the murder yet. So far the back stories of the characters and history of the town is very interesting. I would love to see the town of Savannah some time just based off of the descriptions given in the book.

Finished #42

I read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls while we were in Las Vegas. This story was so sad and unbelievable, but I still couldn't put it down. I read it in one day and have to say it is one of the best memoirs that I have ever read. It's about Jeannette's childhood and how the family never had any money and traveled around the country constantly finding new places to live. The dad was a major drunk and the mom is pretty crazy. I can't believe that some of the stories in this book were true, but I haven't found anything that disputes them.

I had read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn right before this book and thought the stories were a little similar. Later in the memoir, Walls mentions Betty Smith's book and says that she could identify with Francie's character. I could see a lot of similarities in the 2 families in the books. This story was amazing and I would recommend it to everyone.

288 pages

Finished #41

I finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith while I was in Las Vegas. I really liked this book. It reminded me a little of Angela's Ashes, but had a more positive take on poverty. I loved how Francie and Neely were always able to find the good in the people around them. There were lots of interesting characters and stories behind them. I think one of the important messages was that families stick together no matter what.

674 pages (large print)

Book 41: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I started A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith a few days ago. I've been pretty busy and haven't had much of a chance to read, but so far I'm liking the book. Right now I'm learning the background of Francie's family.

This was my book choice for book club. I think it is the September book, but I wanted to read it ahead of time since I've read all the other books that were chosen for book club.

Finished #40

I finished book #40, Farmer Boy, this morning. This was the story of Laura's husband as a little boy. I liked learning about his like and how it was different than that of the Ingalls. I just don't really understand why this is the 3rd book in the series. I was really wanting to learn more about the Ingalls family since the 2nd book ended with them moving. This book was solely about Almanzo and didn't mention how the two families meet or anything. Looks like I will have to keep reading the series to find out more.

372 pages

Farmer Boy

I started Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This is the 3rd book in the Little House series and is the story of her husband Almanzo Wilder as a young boy. It's going pretty fast so far. I'm interested to see how the Wilders of New York meet up with the Ingalls of the Missouri/Wisconsin area.

Finished #39: Bossypants

My friend Xochitl sent me a copy of Tina Fey's Bossypants for my birthday. I couldn't wait to start it. I think I read half of it last Wednesday while Levi was driving. Part of the book were very entertaining. My favorites were her advice on breastfeeding and stories about becoming a woman. I liked to learn some of the background about the other 30 Rock writers too. It was a great book. I recommend to anyone who likes Tina Fey.

275 pages

Finished #38

I finished Dexter is Delicious last Wednesday while we were on our way to Wisconsin. I am still addicted to the series and am so glad that Lindsey pointed out that there is a new book coming out this fall. I think the 5th book was more like the 3rd which I really liked. Not sure what other Dexter fans will think of it. I'm excited to see where the story goes with the introduction of some more characters.

350 pages

Dexter is Delicious

I am now reading Dexter is Delicious, the 5th and final book in the series. I only read the first 6 pages, but in the book Dexter has a new baby daughter. He is having a battle with himself about whether he should give up his dark side or use it to protect his daughter. I can't wait to see how the series ends so I can finally sit down and watch the show.

Finished 37

I finished Killer's Laughter yesterday. It was kind of formatted like an Agatha Christie novel, but was just kind of boring. It was written in the 1960's, but I'm not sure if it was supposed to be set during that time. There were lots of complicated facts to tie the solution together at the end, but I felt some things still weren't answered. If I were you, I wouldn't waste your time on this book and would instead read more Agatha Christie.

192 pages

Killer's Laughter

I am starting Killer's Laughter by Isobel Lambot today. I don't really know what it's about, but it caught my eye when I went to get the Dexter books. I guess I'm in a serial killer type of mood. It's a fairly short book, so I hope I enjoy it and that it helps me to meet the book challenge.

Finished #36

I finished Dexter by Design last night. I really like the caring side of Dexter, but I know this is big change in character and has upset most fans of the first 2 books. I just find it interesting to see how he can be a wife, father, and serial killer all at once. In the first 2 books, I was really annoyed with all the cheesy cliques used, but I understand that it is who Dexter is. He needs those over used sayings to fit into society. Now when he says something super cheesy I just smile. I will be starting the last book soon. I think too many people are on to Dexter's hobby and don't know how long it will be before he is caught.

285 pages

Finished #35

I just finished Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay. This is the 3rd book in the series and so far was my favorite. The book starts out with Rita and Dexter planning the wedding and honeymoon, and Dexter becoming more of a father figure to Cody and Aster. I really liked this side of Dexter. He loses his "Dark Passenger" during the book and this makes him seem more human. I found this book to be more suspenseful because we saw that Dexter really does have fears. I really liked this book and am headed to the library in a few minutes to get the next one.

302 pages

Dexter in the Dark

I started "Dexter in the Dark", the 3rd Dexter book, a few days ago. I thought I would have more time to read on vacation, but unfortunately I didn't get any reading time in. I'm really liking the "father" in Dexter, so I'm excited to read more of the story. I can't wait to see how he helps Cody with his dark side.

Finished #34

I finally finished "Parenting with Love and Logic". Some of the ideas in the book were great and really seem like they could work. The book described 3 types of parents, but I don't really think that Levi and I fit any of the categories, we are kind of a combination of all of them. If you don't know which one you are to start with, it's hard to change things to become another type. I really want to learn how to yell less, but some of the ideas in the book didn't seem like my style. I'm glad I read it, and finally finished it, but non-fiction/self-help books really don't seem to be my thing.

255 pages

Finished #33

I just finished Dearly Devoted Dexter. I liked the book, but I'm just really more excited about watching the series. Seemed like there were so many plots in this story that I couldn't keep up. And I thought it came to an end too quickly. But I'm anxious to start the next book tomorrow morning.

292 pages

Dearly Devoted Dexter

I am still slowly working my way through Parenting with Love and Logic, but there is only so much of it I can read at a time. It's a good message, but some parts seem to read like a text book.

I decided to once again start another book before finishing the Parenting book. I am starting Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay today. This is the 2nd book in the Dexter series. I liked the 1st book okay, but it wasn't one of my favorites. We were bored a few weeks ago, so we watched the first 2 episodes of Dexter. Now I want to finish watching the tv series, but I also want to read the books first. So I thought I'd try out the 2nd and 3rd Dexter books before watching any more of the tv show.

Finished #32: Little House on the Prairie

Last night I finished the 2nd Little House book: Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I really liked learning about why the family moved and the struggles they faced on the journey to building their new house and once they got there. It was interesting that the house and stable, and rest of the farm could be build so quickly. I really want to go back and watch the show in order now. I didn't remember them moving around so much. I'm anxious to read the whole series now.

335 pages

Finished #31: Little House in the Big Woods

I finished the first Little House book last night. I really liked learning about the beginning of Laura's story. It's so amazing how hardworking the family was and I loved the relationship between Ma and Pa. It's also interesting to see that there was "middle child syndrome" even back then. I'm excited to read more of the books.

238 pages (big words and illustrations)

Little House in the Big Woods

I am a little worried that I might not make the 50 Book Challenge this Year. I think I have about 16 weeks left, but 20 books. So basically I have to read 1 book every 5 days. I went to the library and got the first 2 Little House books. I feel like I'm cheating in a way, but I've always wanted to read them anyway.

I started Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder yesterday. I didn't realize that the story started in the woods of Wisconsin. I used to watch Little House on the Prairie when I was little, so I excited to read some of the stories as well.

Finished #30

I finished The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane today. It was interesting, but not as good as it could have been. I felt like it had a lot of filler information that didn't need to be there and didn't really tie in well. Some of the science talk went over my head. I liked the idea of learning more about the Salem Witch history, but I feel like this book didn't make it as entertaining as it could have been. It was suspenseful at the end, but I had a hard time concentrating on some of it. I am really interested in reading about book about the Salem Witches or maybe even reading some non-fiction about this time in history.

362 pages

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

I started The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe a couple days ago. This is the library book discussion pick for May. I grabbed it because I couldn't think of any other books to check out. It has something to do with the history of the Salem Witch trials. (I already posted about this book, bur for some reason it's not showing up. Didn't feel like reposting all I wrote before.)

Finished #29: Mockingjay

I finished Mockingjay, the 3rd book in The Hunger Games trilogy. This book was a little harder for me to get into than the other books. I don't really enjoy books about war and technology, but I really wanted to know what happened in the book. I started getting more interested once we heard from Peeta. There were so many times in the book where I wanted to reach through the book and strangle Katniss myself, but overall I was happy with the ending of the book. The story was devastating, but ended as I would have liked.

390 pages

Mockingjay

Mockingjay is the 3rd book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. The 2nd book ended abruptly and very suspenseful, so I am very curious to see what will happen next. I really want to know what has happed to Peeta, as he has been my favorite character.

Finished #28: Room

I just finished Room by Emma Donoghue. I have to say this was one of the most disturbing, yet best, books that I have ever read. Ma was kidnapped and locked in a room when she was 19 yrs old. During that time she was used as a love slave and eventually had a baby, Jack. The story starts with Jack's 5th birthday. We learn that Jack has no understanding of the outside world. He watches tv, but doesn't realize that some of the things he sees on tv are actually real. The only things he knows are Ma, Old Nick, and the things he has seen in Room. When Jack starts to question things, Ma decides that Jack is old enough to help with a plan to escape the Room. I don't want to say anymore, because I feel there would be too many spoilers. It's a great book that really made me wonder how people can live through something as traumatizing as a kidnapping, let alone for 7 yrs.

321 pages

Room

Today I am starting Room by Emma Donoghue. This is the YMCA book club pick for June. I picked it because I have heard really great things about it. I had my name on the reserve list at the library for almost 3 months and just got it, so I figure I better start it so I can return it on time. It's the story of Ma and Jack who are locked in a room together. The room is simply home to Jack since it is all he knows, but to Ma it is a prison that she has been locked in for 7 years. I don't really know much else about it, but it has definitely peaked my curiosity.

Finished #27: Catching Fire

I finished Catching Fire last night. This was the 2nd book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. The more I get into this story, the madder I get. It's just one of those books that makes me so angry with the things that are happening that I just have to keep reading. For some reason, I am really drawn to books like this.

Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the 2nd book in The Hunger Games trilogy. I just started it this afternoon and it's already getting suspenseful. I can't wait to hear what happens next.

Finished Book #26: The Hunger Games

I finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins last night. This book was so good that I couldn't put it down and read over 250 pages yesterday. The idea behind the hunger games is really disturbing and there is a lot of blood and pus talk, but I still had to keep turning the pages to see what would happen. I don't feel like I can really review it without giving spoilers, so I'll just tell everyone to read this book. I can't wait to start the next one!

374 pages

The Hunger Games

I started reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins on Sunday. I have heard nothing but good things about this trilogy. I'm only 6 chapters in, but I'm already finding that I don't want to put it down. It's the story of children aged 12-18 whose names are put into a lottery drawing. The kids chosen (12 boys and 12 girls) are grouped together to fight to the death against each other to cut down on some of the hunger problems in the city. The winner is the last person remaining alive. It's kind of a disturbing concept, but I really want to know what is going to happen.

Parenting with Love & Logic

In book club we rather talk about the book we chose and usually talk about kids, food, sex, and other things. During one of our parenting discussions someone mentioned the book Parenting with Love & Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay. Several of the moms had read it and said they really loved the message behind it. It is supposed to teach good parenting skills that rely on conversations and logical thinking rather than yelling and threats or spanking. So many parents use yelling and fear as a way to get a message across, and I admit that I am guilty of it at times, especially my middle child. I would love to learn how to be a mom who feel more in control of the situation without physically or emotionally controlling my children. A friend loaned this to me a few weeks ago and I'm excited to finally start reading it.

Finished Book #25

I just finished my first, and most likely last, trashy romance novel. It was Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. While this story did actually have a plot, I just found it to have lots of cheesy repetitive lines. The main character, Sophie, was obsessed with Dusty Springfield and dove ice cream bars. Her lover, the mayor Phin, was obsessed with playing pool and using the phrases "fuck your brains out" and "head banging sex". I can't even count how many times he used those phrases and how often dove bars or Dusty Springfield songs were mentioned. If they would have been reduced in the story it wouldn't have been half as bad as it was. The crimes in the story were kind of interesting, but there were way to many twists to make it believable. I'm just glad to be done so I can start a new book.

381 pages

Book #25: Welcome to Temptation

Last night I started Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. This book was suggested to me by my friend Maggie. She says this is a romance novel, but a well written one. Her sister Lisa informed me that it is still just a trashy romance novel. The back cover says it's "the story of a woman named Sophie filming a movie in the town of Temptation, but finding trouble as all the towns people want the movie shut down. The mayor, Phineas Tucker, tries to keep things peaceful, but eventually Phin and Sophie find themselves in a web of gossip, blackmail, adultery, murder, and really excellent sex." I'm willing to try a new read even though this doesn't sound like my type of book. Welcome to Temptation sounds a little intriguing, but if the book had stuck to it's original title of Hot Fleshy Thighs, there is no way I would be reading it.

Finished Song of Solomon

I finished Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison last night. I have really loved the previous books I have read by Morrison, but I had trouble focusing on this one. I think it has been due to me being so busy and not having time to read. The story was about Macon Dead trying to find out about his past. There were lots of mysteries about where his grandfather came from. I didn't really see the conflict between black and white in this book. It was more of a struggle in family relationships. Macon's parents did not get along, his dad did not get along with his aunt, the sisters hated Macon. When Macon was a teenager he fell in "love with his cousin". It turns out it was more lust for him, but the cousin Hagar, actually loved him. Throughout his life Macon didn't really care about helping others or having relationships with other people. This all changed once he found out about his past. It really turned him into a different person. I don't feel like I had my full concentration on this story, so sorry for the sloppy review.

337 pages

Finished Plain Truth

I finished Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult today. It was an interesting story since it was based on the life of an Amish girl. I liked learning about her life on the farm. This book was classic Picoult. There's always a moral dilemma. In this case the lawyer has always wanted children and found herself defending a girl accused of killing a baby. This one didn't make me as made when I read it. Usually I have a strong side one way or the other, but this one I kind of felt sorry for everyone. And then of course the end has a little twist, that quite honestly the reader knew all along. One weird thing in the book was the ghost of the girl's sister. I don't think that really fit into the story or was necessary. Anyway, I will probably continue to read her books and complain about them each time. :)

405 pages

Book #24: Plain Truth

The YMCA book club pick for April is Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. It's about an Amish teenager who gives birth to a baby and later the baby is found death on a farm. The story will go through how they find out who the mother was, how the baby was killed, and a lawyer trying to protect the teenage mother. There's always some big moral dilemma in Picoult's books, so it sound like that will have something to do with the girl not wanting to be represented by a lawyer. I usually like to read her books because they read fast and keep me interested, but they always make me really frustrated. A few people mentioned that they have read this book before and that it was really good. I'm interested in learning more about the Amish through this book.

Book #23: Song of Solomon

I started Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison last night. I've only read one chapter, but I already find the story interesting. It's a story of Macon Dead and all the circumstances around his birth. Like all of Morrison's books, it deals with race relations in America. I always love learning more about Black History, so I look forward to continuing this book.

Finished Book #22: The Joy Luck Club

Last night I finished The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. I decided to count this book in the challenge since, even though I read it about 10 years ago, I still didn't remember any of it while I started reading it. I really liked this book. I loved how it was broke out into separate chapters to tell the stories of the mothers and daughters. It was really interesting to see how critical the mothers were of their daughters. This is a strong part of Chinese culture and something I find fascinating. I wonder how the mothers acted towards their sons. It didn't really touch on that in the book since it was a mother/daughter story.

There were a lot of sad moments in the book, but I found the stories very heartwarming. It gives you a great sense of how important family really is to the mothers in the book. My only complaint is that it was hard to keep the characters straight and to remember which mom and daughter went together. Once I stopped trying to concentrate so hard on that and just enjoy the story, it made the book read a lot faster.

443 pages

Finished Gulliver's Travels

FINALLY! Okay. I had really, really high hopes for this book and then it turned out to be an extremely slow read. I couldn't concentrate on the story at all. It had some very deep subject matter and was written in what I would call "Old English". We looked up the movie on Netflix and found a 2 part mini series called "Gulliver's Travels". We are watching it right now. As I was reading the book I thought I wasn't understanding any of it, but as we watch the movie I seemed to remember most of the parts. It was a really good story and I'm glad I didn't give up on it. Just wasn't in the mood for a book that makes me really pay attention I guess. I don't think we will be reading the book to the boys, but will let them see the Jack Black movie. :)

260 pages

The Joy Luck Club

The YMCA book club pick is The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. I just realized that book club meets next Friday and I haven't started the book yet. I read it about 10 years ago, but don't remember any of it. Since I already read it, it won't count towards my book challenge total. I still want to read it so I can discuss the book for the 1-3 minutes out of our 2 hrs that we actually talk about the book. I love Amy Tan's books, but for some reason I really can't remember a single detail about this one.

Finished Handmaid's Tale

Well, after 11 days I finally finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. This was a really interesting story. It kind of reminded me of 1984, but more interesting because it was about important women's issues. I was really interested in the story up until the end, but I was also very confused. I didn't like the Historical Notes section at the end. It was very lecture like and I couldn't concentrate on it. It doesn't seem like it really answered the mystery of what happened to the author, but maybe I din't read it close enough. Right now my mind is too distracted to concentrate on that ending.

395 pages

Book 21: The Handmaid's Tale

I am currently reading The Bible and Gulliver's Travels. I am to the point where reading about 2 pages of both of these puts me to sleep. I am getting very far behind, so I thought I better at a new and interesting book into the mix. I just started the The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I only read the first 9 pages while waiting at the school to pick up Wesley, but it didn't put me to sleep, so that's a start.

Book 20: Gulliver's Travels

I am starting Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift later today. I really don't know anything about this book. I wanted to read it because it has been mentioned in a lot of other books that I have read recently. My boys also love Jack Black and really want to see the new movie. I told them they have to read the book before we can see the movie, so Levi bought the book a few days ago.

Finished Book 19

I finished The School of Essential Ingredients last night. I didn't really think this book was good or bad, it was just okay. I liked how the story was broken into separate chapters about each character. It kind of gave me a feel for why cooking and food was important to each of the characters. What I didn't really get a feel for was how it came to be a complete story. It just seemed really cheesy (no food pun intended) that all of the characters got a long so well. That rarely happens in real life. I can't imagine taking a cooking class with people and immediately becoming their best friends or life partners. Especially in such a short amount of time. I think I have finally realized that while I find the stories somewhat interesting, I'm just really not a "chic-lit" sort of gal.

240 pages

Book 19: The School of Essential Ingredients

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister is February's book club pick for Lindsey's book club. I don't really know much about this book, but this is what I gather from the cover description. This is the story of a cooking class that meets once a month on Monday nights. The lives of the people in the class begin to intertwine outside of the kitchen. This book has been compared to Like Water for Chocolate which I liked, so I hope it is similar.

Finished Book 18

I finished The Girls from Ames this morning. I think the idea of life long friendships is good, but I couldn't relate to these girls. They are from Ames, but they made it sound like the only thing for kids to do in Iowa is have cornfield keggers. I think the biggest chunk of the book that I didn't like was about their high school years. They not only sounded like a bitchy clique, but they were even horribly mean to one member of their group. If I was Sally, I would never have forgiven the other girls. I did feel sorry for the girls as they got older and faced struggles and tragedy in life. I think I can relate to them more as a wife and mother, but not based on their friendships. I didn't see this as a full group of friendships. To me it seemed more like there were 2 or 3 girls who were really close and then became friends with another 2 or 3 girls and so on. I know they meet every year and are there for each other in hard times, but I just couldn't see the 11 friendships as a whole group.
I did love learning about Jack Trice though. And loved the mention of Taco Time, going to have to make a trip there.

291 pages

Book 18: The Girls from Ames

The Y book club pick for February is The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow. It's the story of 11 childhood friends who grow up in Ames, IA and keep an extraordinary friendship throughout the highlights and low-points in their lives.

Finished Book 17

I finished The Thirteenth Tale last night. This was a really interesting story and I couldn't wait to figure out the end. Usually I can guess what will happen, but this time I really didn't see how Margaret was piecing everything together. I don't know if I wasn't reading closely enough, or if it was just a special sense she had. I ended up really liking this book. Even though I know the ending, I feel like I could read it over again and see the clues come together easier.

406 pages

Book 17: The Thirteenth Tale

I am starting The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield right now. I have heard many great things about this book and have wanted to read it for a while now. I must admit that I had no idea what it was about, I just know it was a popular book club pick and that everyone that I know who has read it has really liked it. It's about an author who decides it is time to write a biography. Lindsey says it's a "ghost story", so I'm really interested now.

Finished Book 16

I finished Bloodroot by Amy Greene last night. The book is broke into 4 parts. The first part is told by Myra's grandmother and a neighbor boy who is in love with Myra. The second part is told by Myra's children, third part is by Myra, and fourth part is by Myra's husband. During the first part of the book I really didn't find the story that interesting. It was talking about family history and how everyone thought Myra had "witches blood" in her. There were interesting details, but I didn't feel like it was much of a story. Once Myra's children started telling the story I really became interested. I got a better feel for what life was like on Bloodroot Mountain. I really liked the third part from Myra's point of view too. Overall, this was a really interesting story. I like how it was broke into different perspectives so that once you got to the end you saw how they all fit together.

291 pages

Book 16: Bloodroot

I went to the library yesterday and they had January's library discussion book. It is Bloodroot by Amy Greene. This story takes place in the Appalachian Mountains. It's about a girl named Myra Lamb and how the lives of all the people around her overlap. I haven't really read a detailed description, but it's supposed to be about how magic, faith, secrets, passion, and loss follow Myra and her family through the generations. This blurb doesn't make it sound that interesting, so I hope I like it when I start reading.

Finished Book 15

I finished The Boy in the Striped Pajamas this afternoon. This book was sad and like all WWII stories, it just made my skin crawl. I still can't believe Nazi camps existed and how badly all the Jewish people were treated. This book was the story of a 9 year old boy named Bruno. His father was a Commandant for Hitler at Auschwitz and Bruno was completely oblivious to what his father's career was. He knew nothing about Hitler, the treatment of Jews, or anything happening in the world outside of his own life. Bruno forms a relationship with a Jewish boy named Shmuel through a fence. Through this friendship, Bruno slowly begins to realize that some people have worse problems than he does.
This book is categorized as Young Adult, and I can see a difference in writing style compared to other WWII books. Even though the writing style was for younger readers, the subject matter was still very powerful. If you like fictional WWII stories, this would be a good book to read. I also want to say that the last paragraph and sentence actually gave me chills.

216 pages

Book 15: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Back to WWII, although I guess Angela's Ashes was kind of WWII related. I will be starting The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne today. I saw this book on a recommended book club list and then noticed that it was also made into a movie. This is the story of a 9 yr old German boy named Bruno. He has the perfect life until his father is promoted to a higher position in the army and the family is forced to move to Auschwitz. Bruno becomes bored in his new surrounding and is curious about people that he sees on the other side of the fence. His father will tell him nothing about these other people, so Bruno goes exploring to find about more about these people. The story sounds very interesting to me, but has gotten mixed reviews on Goodreads, so we'll see....

Finished Book 14

I finally finished Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt last night. This book was really hard for me to get into. I probably had to read 100 pages before I started to find the story interesting. It was a memoir of Frank's life growing up poor in Ireland. His family was poor, father was a drunk, siblings kept dying, other relatives wanted nothing to do with his family, etc. Basically there was nothing good about his life. Just when they thought something good would happen, something else bad happened. It was very sad and I couldn't help but feel sorry for Frank and his brothers. The thing that made me the most upset was that the grandparents and aunt wouldn't help Frank's family.

I can't say that this was one of my favorite books, but I'm glad I read it. It wasn't at all what I expected. I guess from the title I was expecting that the mother, Angela, would die. Even though I thought the book was just okay, I am curious to see what the sequel 'Tis is like.

459 pages

Holy Bible: New International Version

I decided that one of my goals for 2011 will be to read The Bible in one year. I borrowed the New International Version from a friend and will be starting this tonight. I am going to try to follow one of the online plans for reading it, but sometimes I like to read ahead just in case I won't have time in the next few days. I really hope I will be able to stick to this.