Books I Wouldn't Have Picked for Myself

In a previous post, I told you all that because of the book club I am in, I am reading books that I wouldn't have normally picked or been drawn to.  It's out of my comfort zone and it's a good experience.  Thanks to my new book friends, here are a couple of books that I have read that I would have missed out on otherwise.

I give One True Thing 3 solid stars.  This book made me cry and deal with a topic that I don't normally care to read about...cancer.  Books on this topic generally make me uncomfortable and I struggle with my own emotions and feelings as I read.  I thought Anna Quindlen did a great job of making the reader have an emotional connection to the characters and the overall story.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.  This book was released in 2008 and I would not have ever read it had it not been picked for our book club.  I loved how the story weaved through several generations.  I also loved how the majority of it took place in England.  This book was a little longer than many of the books I have recently read and it took a little bit for me to really get into the story but once  I did, I was hooked.  I think I will definitely visit more of Morton's books.

Review: Just One Day

Just One Day had three of my favorite story lines, travel, friendship, and love. I loved so much about this book and it is one that I will be sure to recommend over and over.

First of all, I wasn't expecting the depth that this plot would have. This is not a book that you can just put down and walk away from. This is a story that will stay with you. Allyson is an amazing character. I think readers will be pulling for her the entire time because after her amazing day in Paris, that just cannot be it for her and Willem's story. 

Read the rest of my review over at YABC.

Back to Blogging

So it has been a while since I have posted anything other than some book reviews I had scheduled.  You could say that the last 5 months of 2012 were nothing short of stressful.  I did a lot of crying, soul-searching, and hiding.  I'm pleased to say that I kicked 2012 in the rear and am raring to go into 2013.  I'm excited about a big change that is on the way.  Nothing I can really share yet, but it's something that I know will be a great thing for me and my family.

I'm excited that I am finally part of a book club that actually meets to talk about books.  I LOVE my online community of book friends but there is something special about sitting down with people and talking about books over a cup of tea.  I also love being a part of this group because it is getting me to read books that I would not have otherwise picked up.  We've already read and discussed our first book, Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden.  I loved it and will definitely be reading more of her books.  Her writing is beautiful.  Our book for next month is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  I just picked it up today and I am really excited to start reading it.

I've also been reading a lot of Royal Biographies.  I'm really digging those.  My husband says that I was born in the wrong country...I should be British.  I just received the Official Biography of the Queen Mother in the mail and it is a whopping 943 pages, so I'm sure I'll be reading that for quite a while.

So my goal is to break out of my comfort zone and get more involved in the blogging community.  Please feel free to comment and/or  follow so I can get to know more of you as well.

Happy 2013 friends, it has hard to believe we are almost at the end of January!

Review: Love and Other Perishable Items

I really wanted to love this book. It really fell flat for me and I struggled to get through parts of it. I did like that the book is told through alternating points of view-Amelia and Chris. Overall, I felt at like both characters were so sad and unhappy. It got a little tedious to read over and over about the unhappiness of both main characters.

I think Amelia did learn a lot from her friendship with Chris. Chris is very book smart and has a great understanding of literature. He and Amelia have some great conversations about books. In my opinion, Amelia has a somewhat naive view of the world. I'm all for fairness and equality but some of her thoughts on feminism seemed over the top. Again, just my opinion. I hope that if we saw these characters 4 or 5 years down the road that we would see them both more mature and happy with their families and personal lives. I'm not sure that I would want to see them together in a romantic relationship but I would like to see them as good friends that are able to to talk, share, and laugh together.

This book takes place in Australia, so some of the language may seem different to you. This is not a reason to stay away from this book but it is different. If you want a happy, everything tied up in a pretty bow kind of book then this is not the one for you. I think this book is less about falling in love and more about finding yourself.

Review: Meant to Be

First....a book that takes place in London? Count me in! On Julia's trip to London with her fellow students, she gets the opportunity to see the biggest and best sites the city has to offer. And thanks to Jason, the one person she did not want to be partnered with, she gets to see some places off the beaten path as well.

Julia is the type of character that I love but can also annoy me at the same time. Until the trip, she is completely by the book. She has good grades and always follows the rules. When she gets to London she is paired with Jason, and Julia's world is turned upside down. Throughout this trip, she is constantly arguing with herself about what she should or shouldn't do. She is very stubborn and set in her ways and because of that I think she misses a lot of opportunities along the way.

There were some unexpected twists in this story for me and Julia learns an important lesson from her mom from all the way across the pond. This along with clever writing, some klutzy moments, a few almost kisses, and one sweet kiss in the rain are just some of the reasons why I liked this book so much.

Review: The Encyclopedia of Me

Thanks to NetGalley and Arthur A. Levine publishing, I was able to read THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ME by Karen Rivers.  Isadora "Tink" decides to write a book...actually an Encyclopedia of her life.  Her book gives us insight into her life in a funny and honest way.  Tink writes about her friends, her family, and her first maybe-boyfriend.   The book is full of humor but also has some serious issues in it as well.  Tink's older brother Seb is autistic and their family has some struggles with him that is really heart-wrenching.

The book was a little lengthy but it was a pretty quick read.  Overall, a funny, enjoyable book that will sure to make you laugh out loud.

Did you know you can write your own review of this book and many more over at YABC??

Review: Over You

OVER YOU wasn't what I thought it would be. I was hoping it would be a funny, light-hearted story about a girl helping other girls get over being dumped. The last part of that sentence was true, but I didn't find the funny or the light-heartedness I was looking for.

The story jumped around to different characters a lot...even in the middle of chapters which I found very confusing. In fact, I sometimes had to go back and reread pages because I wasn't sure who I was supposed to be following. Because of that, I never really felt like I got to know any of the characters all that well. 

There were some good one-liners and if you can read between the lines I think you will see some good friendships there too. I wish I could have gotten to know the characters better and that they would have shown more depth. I didn't really hear the right voice with every character. At times I felt like Max was trying too hard to be grown-up and she didn't sound like a teen.

Overall, I liked the premise of the story. It just wasn't what I thought it would be.