New Book Challenge

I've decided to start my book challenge for the new year. I will have the challenge go from Levi got me the book Rav Hisda's Daughter by Maggie Anton for Christmas.  I was going to read it in Wisconsin, but really didn't have any time, so I started it last night.  I'm only about 20 pages in, but I'm liking it so far. 
I plan to do the challenge from Dec 30, 2013-Dec 30, 2014.  I'm shooting for 50 books again.  Even though I didn't make the 50 books last year, I came pretty close.  I think having the set # of books actually gives me an "excuse" to read instead of doing other things around the house. :)

You're a Horrible Person, But I Like You

You're a Horrible Person, But I Like You is a book Levi got me for Christmas.  It's an advice column type of book from famous actors and comedians.  The questions come from writers at "The Believer" magazine and the actors/comedians answer the questions.  I thought some were really funny, especially Michael Cera.  Others were pretty funny and some were dumb.  Overall, I liked most of the book.  A lot of the humor was things I find really funny like Cera, Sedaris, etc.  Others I didn't find as funny.  This was a really quick read as I read the whole book on the car ride to Wisconsin.

A Secret Kept

I finished A Secret Kept by Tatiana De Rosnay last night.  I really want to believe that Rosnay is a one hit wonder in the book world.  When I started the book it sounded really entertaining, but I just flat out didn't like it.  I kept wanting the new story lines (of which there were many) to redeem the book.  I feel some things were thrown in at random and nothing was resolved.  I also didn't enjoy the random erotic quotes.

Maybe I'm just being a lot more picky about my books since I don't have as much time to read, but I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone.

The House I Loved

I just finished The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay.  I read Rosnay's first book Sarah's Key awhile back and loved it.  This book had a little bit of the same writing style, but I wasn't as drawn to the main character.  I kind of felt that she was a little selfish. 
During the story is is writing letters to her dead husband about the government wanting to tear down their house to make room for the new Paris.  Some of the letters were interesting, but I was a little bored with others.  There was a little twist at the end, but not as big as the one in Sarah's Key.  At the end of the book I did sympathize a little more with the main character, Rose. 
This book was interesting, but not nearly as good as her first book.  If you love historical fiction and books about Paris, this would be a good book for you.

I have another book from the library by Rosnay, but I'm trying to decide if I will read it, or start something else.

Practical Magic

I finished Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman last week.  I forgot to write up about it and could barely remember what the last book I read was.  I thought the book was okay.  The story was interesting (about a family of witches), but it wasn't really as interesting as I thought it would be.  It talked about some great aunts, sisters, and the daughters of one of the sisters.  It kind of went through the ups and downs they faced having everyone treat them as witches.  I just felt the story lines were so-so.  I wanted to identify with the characters, but really couldn't.

I am currently reading The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay.  I'm almost done with it, so I will be posting about it soon.

Some books I read

I haven't updated my blog in awhile, because my computer needed some work and when Levi fixed it, I didn't have any of my favorites saved.  Here are the books I read since then...

Flavia de Luce #3: Red Herring Without Mustard
-  I finished this book awhile ago.  I don't really remember the entire story, but I liked it.  Flavia started out the book by burning down a gypsie's tent.  She later had to help solve some murders and learned something about her mother's past.  I like these mysteries, but always get mad that I can't figure out the solution to what happened.  I guess it's nice to always keep guessing until the last minute.

Pretty Little Liars #6 (Killer) and #7 (Heartless)
- Just when I think they are going to answer an important question, they have another twist that just creates even more problems.  The books are similar to the show, but also introducing new characters now.  I want to see what happens, but I'm starting to feel it could be put into 1 or 2 more books  instead of another
 5.....

Now starting Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

A Tangle of Knots

I finished A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff yesterday.  It was a magical story of people with "talents" and how they use or abuse them.  In this story all the characters were connected from their past, but didn't realize it right away.  I like stories where you get to know characters by seeing how they are connected to others.  I really like Cady in this book.  There were some parts that I still found a little confusing, but overall it was a good story.  It reminded me a little bit of Like Water for Chocolate and Lemon Cake and the Infinite Sadness, just because Cady was able to feel emotions through her baking.

Another Challenge Over

This year I didn't make it to the 50 books for the challenge.  I read 44 books for the year, which is still a lot more than most people read.  I have been trying to decide how I want to log the books for the next year.  What I have decided is that I am going to write a little summary as I finish the books for 2013.  I am not going to start numbering them again until Jan 01, 2014.  That way I will go off a full calendar year and have my holidays at the end of the year so I have catch up time to read.  I'm not sure yet if I will pick a number for the challenge in 2014 or just log how many I read.  I'll keep thinking on that... :)

Finished #44 on Monday

I finished the 5th Pretty Little Liars book on Monday.  Although I didn't get to the 50 books this year, I did make it to 44.  Pretty good for starting a full time job and gaining a kid this year.  I think I am not going to set a 50 book challenge, and instead just continue to keep a log for all the books I read in a year.

Just started:  A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

Finished #43

I finished Unbelievable, the 4th Pretty Little Liars book on Sunday.  I really thought I could make it to 50 books reading these.  Sadly, I haven't even had time to start the 5th book.  If I had time I could definitely read 7 more books like this to meet the challenge, but I've been to busy.  I'll just try to find time and read as much as I can before October 8th.  :)

Finished #42

I finished the 3rd Pretty Little Liars book this morning.  I like that the book is different from the tv series.  It's similar, but the characters aren't doing things exactly as in the show and there are some new surprises.  I just got 4 and 5 from the library and hope to read them this weekend.  Trying hard to get to the 50 book goal.

Finished #41

I finished Flawless, the 2nd book in the Pretty Little Liars series.  I'm really addicted to this tv show (but only when I'm folding laundry).  The 1st book was exactly the same as the 1st episode, except some of the character descriptions were different.  I thought the 2nd book would stay close to the tv show, but things are going differently.  I can't decide if I like the books or show better right now.  Guess I'll just try one more... It's also maybe helping me catch up to my 50 book goal.

Finished #40

I just finished "Living Dead in Dallas" the 2nd Sookie Stackhouse book.  I guess I just feel this series is kind of blah.  I don't really see what the draw to it is.  I'm really over the Twilight series and haven't been able to get into any other vampire series.  Maybe vampires just aren't the thing for me.

Finished #39: An Ocean in Iowa

I finished An Ocean in Iowa by Peter Hedges last night.  It was about a 7yr boy named Scotty Ocean.  The story followed his life from his 7th to 8th birthday with lots of life changes around the way.  Now that I finished the book, I understand why Mason said it was a little inappropriate.  It was a great story, but not the best choice for a 10 year old boy.  :)

Up next:  I just started the 2nd Sookie Stackhouse book.

Finished #38: Dovekeepers

Wow!  It's been awhile.  I finally finished The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman that I started over a month ago when I was in Las Vegas.  I liked this book, but things just got a little crazy by adding an extra kid and going back to work full time.  I was mostly reading right before bed and falling asleep after a few pages.
I really liked how this book tied together the lives of 3 different woman to make retell one story.  I do think that I missed lots of important information from falling asleep, so I would like to re read this book some day.  I just know that I both loved and hated these women all at the same time.  It was mostly a story of survival, not for yourself, but for people you love.  I think we can all learn a lot from the "Witch of Moab".

Up next:  An Ocean in Iowa by Peter Hedges--- I let Mason read this book and he told me it was not very appropriate for kids.  Hope there wasn't anything too bad in it.

Finished #37: Tell the Wolves I'm Home

I finished Tell the Wolves I'm Home on Monday.  This book was recommended by Lindsey and it was absolutely wonderful.  It was a book about love, friendship, loneliness, and more.  I think the most powerful message in this book is that we shouldn't judge someone just because their lifestyle is different from ours.  I loved the friendship that June and Toby had after Finn died.  There is something amazing about how death can bring others together.

I started The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman on Monday night.

Finished #36: The Fault in Our Stars

I finished The Fault in Our Stars by John Green this morning.  This book was both extremely sad yet highly philosophical at the same time.  The book is about 2 teenagers with cancer who meet and fall in love.  They deal with the struggles of cancer and knowing they will die, but seem to have an amazing love and more importantly, friendship, along the way.  The book is filled with witty comments from Hazel, Gus, and Issac.  It is also filled with tons of heartbreaking sadness.  I really enjoyed this story.  I think the meaning I got from it is how we want to be viewed in life, but I suppose it could mean different things to different people.

Up Next:  Tell the Wolves I'm Home

Finished #35: The Lovebird

I just finished The Lovebird by Natalie Brown.  This was a story of Margie, a lonely girl who is lost in the world and eventually becomes part of the HEART Organization to fight for animal rights.  Along the way Margie makes friends and finds love only to end up in trouble.  She then has to start her life over and struggles with some of her important beliefs.

This was a really beautiful story.  While reading I thought it was just okay, but when I finished I was crying my eyes out.  It really made my heart hurt and made me miss Levi.

Up next: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Finished #34: The Phantom Tollbooth

I finished The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster last night.  This is a children's book that I never read but have heard of, so I grabbed it for Mason.  He read it on the way to Wisconsin and said it was really good.
It's the story of a boy, Milo, who is really bored in life and doesn't care about anything.  He finds a tollbooth in his room one day and takes a trip to a faraway land.  The land is full of adventures in wordplay and math quizzes.  I think this book would be great for older kids or younger teens, because it really gets them to use their imaginations and to understand all the word play.  I think the whole point of this book is to get kids out of their boredom and to make them think again.

Next up I'll be reading The Lovebird.  My friend Pam just bought it for me for my birthday.

Finished #33: Wild

I read the book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed while I was in Wisconsin.  This was a really interesting book.  I can't say that I really loved the person that Cheryl was before or even during the trail hike, but I really liked how her hiking trip made her change her life around.  While I found some of the things she did really annoying, it was interesting to get a background on her childhood and early life to see why she needed to take a break from "normal" life.  I'm glad I know a little more about the PCT too.  We sometimes randomly stop on the road when we see a walking trail.  Now I know that if we ever go out west, we should NOT just randomly start walking and think that the PCT would be an okay trail to venture out on.

Now reading: The Phantom Tollbooth (Yes it's a kid's book, but I am loving it so far)

Finished #32

I just finished Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard.  I'm a little mad that they changed the description of the characters for the show, but the lies/secrets of each character are the same.  This first book really only covered the first episode of the show.  I really wanted to get the 2nd book before I watched too much more of the show, but someone else already has it checked out.  Guess I'll just have to go watch the show instead why I fold laundry and pack.  :)

Not sure what to read next.  I have a few books I bought on sale, so I might start one of them.  And I'll probably take The Hobbit on vacation since Levi is nagging me to read it.

Finished #31

I finished Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai last night.  I really liked this book.  It was a very quick read, but a full beautiful story at the same time.  Ha writes in journal entry/poetry style to tell her story in the book.  It's the story of fleeing Vietnam and coming to America.  The poetry tells of the hardships they faced while on the ship and once they arrived in Alabama.  I thought she had wonderful descriptions of meeting new people, experiencing new things, and learning the English language.  The book was sad, but it was also funny and heartwarming at times.

Next up I am starting the first Pretty Little Liars book.  I'm kind of addicted to the tv show on Netflix, so hopefully the book is good too.

Finished #30

I finished Seven Up last night.  This was the 7th book in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.  I took a break from the series and thought that if I picked one or two up they would be quick reads.  I think maybe my Stephanie Plum reading is over.  Last time I picked one up I was entertained again and enjoyed the characters again.  This time I was just annoyed.  There is nothing new happening in the series.  She still can't chose between Morelli and Ranger, can't catch anyone on her own, and has no money.  I thought something would have changed.  I thought maybe she'd finally marry Morelli, but I guess not.  I think I will take an even longer break this time, or maybe never pick them up again.

Now reading:  Inside Out and Back again (from Lindsey)

Finished #29

I finished "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag" today.  This was the 2nd book in the Flavia de Luce series.  I really like the quirkiness of Flavia and her sisters.  I always find her insight into her investigations to be really interesting.  The characters and storyline in this book were good.  I'm hoping the library has the rest of the series.

Finished #28

I just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  I loved the beginning and end of this book, but got bored through the middle of it.  I really enjoyed the story, but felt the writing was scattered and rushed.  I had no idea what HeLa cells were, so I feel I learned a lot from this book.  It makes me wonder if I have some immortal cells floating around somewhere....

Finished #27

I forgot to update this, but I finished Great House a few days ago.  This book took me forever to read.  It wasn't bad, it just didn't grab my attention.  I kept falling asleep after just a few paragraphs.  And I found it really confusing.  I couldn't find a way to fit all the characters together.  After finishing it, I realized it was one I really wouldn't have cared if I hadn't finished.

I started The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks a few days ago.  This one I am loving.

Finished #26

I finished squirrel seeks chipmunk today.  I found some of the stories in this book really funny.  I'm a huge Sedaris fan, so I love his humor.  I think he did a really good job picking the perfect animal to fit the theme of each short story.  This could have easily been a one day read if I wasn't so busy crushing candy.

Next up is Great House by Nicole Krauss.  I saw it on the recommended shelf at the library yesterday and don't really know what it is about.

Finished #25

I just finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.  I know I haven't read this book before, but half way through it started sounding really familiar.  I've either seen part of the movie or read a book that was similar.  Anyway, I thought this was a sad and beautiful story of friendship.  I can't even imagine what it would have been like to be a woman in China during the foot binding/women are worthless time period.  How sad to not be able to love a daughter as much as a son and to not even know your husband and possibly never see your family again.  So many sad parts in this book, but I was pleasantly surprised in the ending.

Now reading:  squirrel seeks chipmunk by David Sedaris

Finished #24

It took me awhile, but I finally finished Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell.  This book was so sad.  Every time I thought things were turning around for the families, something else horrible would happen.  I do agree with Lindsey that this book was beautifully written.  I could associate with the feelings of all the different family members.

Up next is Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

Finished #23

I just finished Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson.  So many of the things in this book reminded myself of me.  I especially loved hearing that other people act completely awkward at parties.  While I don't talk about swallowing needles or serial killers, I still feel that I sometimes can't have a normal conversation.  I think my absolute favorite story was the 'laxative chapter'.  I usually don't love potty humor, but the "rapist" on the other side of the door just cracked me up.  I really wish I could see a more carefree or humorous take on my fears.

Also- I loved the GPS idea.  Brilliant.

Finished #22

I just finished Eleanor & Park.  I did not want to put this book down.  I was so completely involved in the book and in their lives.  It was such a tragic, yet sweet, love story.  I wasn't expecting it to end the way it did.  I was really thinking that something even worse was going to happen.  In a way it was a partially happy ending.  It's one of those books that I couldn't wait to finish, but that I now wish wasn't over.  I really want to a have sequel to this book to see what happens.

Up next is Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson.

Finished #21

Last night I finished The Inferno Collection.  I thought I would love a book about a secret library collection, and I would have, had this book had anything to do with that.  I think the inferno collection was mentioned a few times throughout the book, but the story was more about Kim's hidden past and some deaths on campus.  I thought the story focused way too much on Kim's feelings and not enough on the main idea of the book.  Plus the writing was kind of clique at times and jumped around a lot.  And don't even get me started on the epilogue, which sounded like it was written by a completely different author.  I give it 1.5 stars out of 5 and don't recommend it.

Now on to the books Lindsey suggested.  I am about 1/2 way through Eleanor & Park already and I am loving it.  It's a book that I could sit down and read in one day if I didn't have anything else to do.  I almost thought I could read it all on the way home from Iowa City, but I was getting car sick.

Finished #20

I finished Dark Places by Gillian Flynn last night.  I found this book creepy, scary, twisted, and suspenseful.  I really liked Gone Girl and I found this one even harder to put down because I wanted to know what happened.  I kept guessing what would happen, but of course didn't figure it out exactly until the end.  I love a good mystery twist. When people in the book kept saying things like "maybe it's better you don't know the truth" to Libby, I kept thinking "no- she has to know".  Once we find out what really happened I think I was even more creeped out.  Maybe it was better to not know.  I'm still trying to decide if Ben was a good guy or bad guy...

Up next is The Inferno Collection by Jacqueline Seewald.  I just happened to grab this at the library and it isn't too long, so I thought I'd try it before I move on to Lindsey's top picks.

Finished #19

I finished Wigfield tonight.  This was a really weird book.  It was about a fake writer trying to finish a novel about small town America.  The town he arrived at first was in danger of being destroyed by a dam being torn town.  He interviewed lots of strange town folk about why they wanted Wigfield to exist.  Lots of twists throughout the dam ordeal.  There were some boring parts, but also some laugh out loud moments.

Up next is Dark Places by Gillian Flynn.

Finished #18

I just finished Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards.  I learned a lot about Elizabeth Edwards life by reading this book.   She has had many struggles in her life:  military kid, death of son, cancer, husband's affair, etc.  Throughout the book she talks about how she dealt with these struggles.  I liked learning about her life, but I feel like everything that happens in her life keeps coming back to her son's death.  I don't think it would ever be possible to "get over" the death of a child, but it seems like she really isn't handling it as well as she wanted people to believe.  This book was sad.  I thought it would have uplifting messages, but mostly they just made me more sad.

Up next is Wigfield by Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, and Stephen Colbert.

Finished #17

I finished Dead Until Dark last night.  This was the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.  I've heard lots of people say that they love these books and the "True Blood" tv show.  I thought it would be more entertaining, but I just wasn't that into it.  I didn't really find it scary or entertaining, but it wasn't the worst vampire series I have tried reading.  Some things that I found weird were Bill the vampire wanted to comb and braid Sookie's hair, the relationship between Jason and Sookie, and some of the other characters were kind of strange.  I found it was focused a lot on sex too.  If I find this book "too porny", then I don't think I could ever read something like 50 Shades of Grey.

Next up is Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards.

Finished #16

Here is what I wrote on goodreads as my review:  I won this book from a First Reads giveaway this summer.  I finally had a chance to start it a few weeks ago and was very excited to read another mystery.  I also find that I have to be in the mood for mysteries and thought that I was.
It took me quite a while to finish reading this book.  It wasn't that it wasn't good, or that I didn't like it.  I did like it and think it was good, but it was just really hard for me to focus on it.  I started out loving the mystery of "who stole the mustache".  I was immediately drawn to the quirky detective Vish Puri.  I loved his love for food and all the ways he tried to trick his wife to think he was losing weight.  Given the title, I knew there had to be another mystery involving butter chicken rather than just the mustache case.
Once the Deadly Butter Chicken Case started, I had a hard time keeping all the details straight.  There seemed to be so many characters introduced very quickly and lots of other side stories going on.  It was just really hard for me to focus and keep all the details straight.  I did like that he worked with his mom to try to get the case solved.
After I finished the book, I decided I really liked it.  My main problem was that I was busy and wasn't focused, so I stretched my reading time out way too long.  I think I would read another Vish Puri Mystery in the future when I'm in the mood for another mystery/detective story.

Up next is Dead Until Dark.  Hoping this one is a quick read.....

Finished #15: The End of Your Life Book Club

I just finished The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe.  This was the story of a mother and son who start a book club while waiting at doctor's appts for the mother's cancer treatment.  The book is told through the time his mom is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and up until her death.  Even though this book is supposed to be about her cancer battle, I thought it was more about her life.  Mary Anne Schwalbe was such a wonderful woman.  I really loved her as a mother, admired her career and volunteer work, and agreed with most of her political opinions.  She had quite the full life.  I also loved getting all the book suggestions from the book.  I have only read a few of the books mentioned, so it was fun to get some suggestions from another source.

Now I'll be finishing The Deadly Case of the Butter Chicken.

Finished #14

Last night I finished The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.  This book was a story of war, loss, guilt, and hope.  It took be a while to get into the book, but once Tom and Isabel moved to the lighthouse, I was hooked.  This was such a sad story on so many levels, but it was so beautifully written.  I really didn't know whether I should side with Hannah or Isabel towards the end.  I can't say the story ended as I hoped it would, but liked how the other showed that we are able to survive in life even without the one thing that makes us happiest.

I had started a few pages of The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken a few days ago.  This was a first reads book I won.  I'm going to wait to continue it and start The End of Your Life Book Club first since I just received my wait list copy for the library.  :)

Finished #13

I just finished Grave Justice, the 2nd book in the Marcie series by Glen Ebisch.  I really like the Marcie/Amanda team, and enjoy meeting new characters.  The solving of this mystery seemed to have more of a "social" aspect than a "journalism" aspect, but I still enjoyed it.  Some things were cheesy like the ongoing Jeff problem and new love interests.  I did like that there was a twist again in this story after they thought it was solved.

Up next I will be reading The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.

Finished #12

I just finished The Crying Girl.  This was a type of mystery/investigation book about people hearing a girl crying in an abondoned inn.  In addition to the ghost story, there was also a missing girl and an elderly woman killed.  2 editors from a magazine go to find about more things that are happening in town.  For the most part I liked the story.  There was a good twist at the end that I liked.  I didn't really like one of the "cheesy" things that happened at the end.  It didn't seem to fit well with the rest of the book, but I kind of see why it was added.  I liked the 2 main characters, so I think I'll go ahead and read the 2nd book that I got.  It's about a Lochness type monster in Maine.  The 2nd book is called Grave Justice.

The Crying Girl

Today I am starting The Crying Girl by Glen Ebisch.  I was looking for a different book at the library that for some reason was misplaced.  I found this book right next to where the other book should have been, so I thought I'd give it a try.  It's an Avalon Mystery about a haunted inn in New Hampshire.  Some editors are supposed to do a story on the inn when one of them dies unexpectedly while exploring the inn.  The other girl decides to investigate the inn and the death of the editor.

I haven't read a mystery in a while.  This book is pretty short, so I hope I'm able to get back on the reading track.  I grabbed the 2nd book in this series just in case I like this one.

Finished #11

I finally finished One Hundred Years of Solitude.  I was expecting this book to be really good, but I was VERY disappointed.  I found that some parts of the story were good, but that it was mostly just boring and didn't hold my attention.  One thing that bothered me in the story was that all the men had the same name.  This made it so hard for me to remember who the person they were talking about was. Some of the women in the story lived 140+ years too, which added more to the confusion of trying to figure out how much time had passed and with Aureliano or Arcadio was which.  I'm just really glad to be done with this book.