I am suppose to be keeping a catalog and review of all the books I have read lately so that anyone interested can hopefully find something that interests them in all this. I guess I have been slacking off the past couple of weeks.
Since my last post I have read:
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs-again this is me veering out of my comfort zone with books and this time I was not disappointed. This book was just strange-but in a good way. I laughed so much reading this. There were also points where I was both shocked and disgusted. I loved this book so much that I decided to acquire all of the author's books. I am only lacking three now.
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin-again a branch out from my norm. I really liked this book as well as this author. I like the fact that the book is written in first person so I can easily step into the role of the main character. It makes the book that much more emotionally charged as I felt like I was the one going through all the trials of the character. I cried at a few points in this book. It was great.
Something Blue by Emily Giffin-this was sort of a continuation of Something Borrowed but it was written in the FP POV of the villan of the last book. At first I begrudgingly read the story as Giffin did such a good job villifying this character in the previous book. I was able to watch myself as this bad person change for the better and find happiness in the end. I also like that Giffin added in a personal lesson of taking responsibility for your actions. I also cried in this book.
Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin-This book was a big disappointment after reading the two books above that were so great. I didn't like the fact that it shifted from FP POV the third person POV every other chapter. I also found myself around the middle of the book asking myself, "what is the point?" and "where is this going?" I had a clue but not the patience to read the whole book to find out. It did not get my hooked by the middle, it wouldn't have later. I skipped ahead to the last chapter and was glad I didn't continue reading.
That is all I have for now. I just started reading "The Sign" by Raymound Khourey. I really like his books but he has done something in this book I don't really like so far. I hate having to follow more than 4 main characters. This one has seven so far and it's almost annoying me to the point of tossing the book aside, even though it's exciting.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Wrapped Around Her Finger
The past few weeks I have been wrestling with my two year old to go to sleep, be it a nap or straight up bed-time. The fact that she doesn't want to sleep is so frustrating! It is literally a battle to get her to stay in her bed. Today is no different that the others except my realization of what's happening during this time.
To her the ritual of going to be is one big game. I put her in the bed and tell her, "now go to sleep and take a nap." She lays down like she is going to cooperate with me. A few minutes later I hear her pitter-pattering feet heading for her bedroom door. Then she cracks the door and peers out, looking around for me. When she meets my gaze she smiles. I try to firmly tell her to get back in her bed. She looks at me, still smiling and inches the door open a little wider. I act as though I am about to get up and she slams the door and makes for the bed. I settle back down, attempting to relax. I get good a cozy then I hear the door open yet again. She is peeping back at me, with her mischeivous little smile. I am getting a little frustrated because for 4 hours I have been at her beck and call, playing with her, and pretty much there for her personal amusement and all I want to do is sit back, relax and read a little before I have to do it all over again.
I walk to her door and she slams it in my face and high tails it to her bed again. This time I open her door and fuss at her, "you need to go to bed. Mommy needs to catch her breath. Do not get back out of this bed again!" She starts covering herself up with her "Princess and the Frog" blanket and pulls it over her head. I tell her, "that's right! Cover your head up and go to sleep." I then walk out the room, settle myself back on the sofa and pick up the book I started at 9 this morning while she was eating her breakfast and amused by "The Little Shop of Horrors."
Moments later the door cracks again and she glances out with a big smile on her face. This time I try a new tactic, I ignore her. She slowly creeps out of her room towards the sofa, expecting any minute that she is going to be caught. I continue to ignore her. When she has successfully reached the sofa and climbed into the cushion on the very end I look over at her and she just smiles.
This smile reaches into the depths of her eyes and that's when it hits me: How can I be seriously firm with this child when it's so hard to be angry or annoyed at her for very long? One look into her eyes is enough to melt even the most bitter person. Her eyes are so dark brown they are almost black. I search my entire mind for a comparison to her eyes and the closest similarity I find to them is Hematite. A blackish stone that is so polished and shiny that it takes on a metallic hue. The gleam in her dark eyes when she smiles at you looks just as beautiful as Hematite. Her eyes give the ordinary face of any other ordinary child a uniqueness that is all her own.
Her eyes add to her character in so many ways. Even when she was itty bitty strangers would stop and dote on her. I remember when he had to take her to Children's Hospital for the acid reflux tests and we had to walk down this long, crowded hallway to get to the area we needed to be. There were dozens of people in front of us carry babies down the hall and I watched this one woman walk from the end of that hallway past all of them and when she saw my little one she stopped and did a double-take proclaiming, "that is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen!" Other's who complimented her often said she has so much character in her face, one even said they felt as though she was looking directly at her soul.
I know parent's spend a lot of time bragging about their children, but I feel in my case, I am not exaggerating anything. This child has a power in her, a power that I cannot myself match. When she smiles at you, with her gleaming little eyes, it's hard for anyone to tell her, "no." The moment you have a flash of anger, it's immediately canceled out by amusement. She is a force to be reckoned with and if you try to challenge her, it's definately her that will win. That realization has me thinking about the future we have with her: is she going to be so spoiled that no one can reign her in, or will we learn to develop and immunity to those beautiful eyes of hers?
To her the ritual of going to be is one big game. I put her in the bed and tell her, "now go to sleep and take a nap." She lays down like she is going to cooperate with me. A few minutes later I hear her pitter-pattering feet heading for her bedroom door. Then she cracks the door and peers out, looking around for me. When she meets my gaze she smiles. I try to firmly tell her to get back in her bed. She looks at me, still smiling and inches the door open a little wider. I act as though I am about to get up and she slams the door and makes for the bed. I settle back down, attempting to relax. I get good a cozy then I hear the door open yet again. She is peeping back at me, with her mischeivous little smile. I am getting a little frustrated because for 4 hours I have been at her beck and call, playing with her, and pretty much there for her personal amusement and all I want to do is sit back, relax and read a little before I have to do it all over again.
I walk to her door and she slams it in my face and high tails it to her bed again. This time I open her door and fuss at her, "you need to go to bed. Mommy needs to catch her breath. Do not get back out of this bed again!" She starts covering herself up with her "Princess and the Frog" blanket and pulls it over her head. I tell her, "that's right! Cover your head up and go to sleep." I then walk out the room, settle myself back on the sofa and pick up the book I started at 9 this morning while she was eating her breakfast and amused by "The Little Shop of Horrors."
Moments later the door cracks again and she glances out with a big smile on her face. This time I try a new tactic, I ignore her. She slowly creeps out of her room towards the sofa, expecting any minute that she is going to be caught. I continue to ignore her. When she has successfully reached the sofa and climbed into the cushion on the very end I look over at her and she just smiles.
This smile reaches into the depths of her eyes and that's when it hits me: How can I be seriously firm with this child when it's so hard to be angry or annoyed at her for very long? One look into her eyes is enough to melt even the most bitter person. Her eyes are so dark brown they are almost black. I search my entire mind for a comparison to her eyes and the closest similarity I find to them is Hematite. A blackish stone that is so polished and shiny that it takes on a metallic hue. The gleam in her dark eyes when she smiles at you looks just as beautiful as Hematite. Her eyes give the ordinary face of any other ordinary child a uniqueness that is all her own.
Her eyes add to her character in so many ways. Even when she was itty bitty strangers would stop and dote on her. I remember when he had to take her to Children's Hospital for the acid reflux tests and we had to walk down this long, crowded hallway to get to the area we needed to be. There were dozens of people in front of us carry babies down the hall and I watched this one woman walk from the end of that hallway past all of them and when she saw my little one she stopped and did a double-take proclaiming, "that is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen!" Other's who complimented her often said she has so much character in her face, one even said they felt as though she was looking directly at her soul.
I know parent's spend a lot of time bragging about their children, but I feel in my case, I am not exaggerating anything. This child has a power in her, a power that I cannot myself match. When she smiles at you, with her gleaming little eyes, it's hard for anyone to tell her, "no." The moment you have a flash of anger, it's immediately canceled out by amusement. She is a force to be reckoned with and if you try to challenge her, it's definately her that will win. That realization has me thinking about the future we have with her: is she going to be so spoiled that no one can reign her in, or will we learn to develop and immunity to those beautiful eyes of hers?
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
To Read or Not to Read?
Not one time in my life have I ever closed a book half way through and given up until today. I was trying to read the Time Traveller's Wife, it started off promising, but I just couldn't get into it after all it's back and forth. I kept thinking: what's the point? Where is this story going? Am I just going to follow this couple's love life through their years at different ages? Not my kind of book in the least. I did not have that desire to find out what's going to happen next.
Now looking at all the choices on my shelf as to what to pick up next I am at a loss. It's so hard to decide. I really want to pick up where I left off with Stephen King's Dark Tower series, but The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest should arrive anyday now and I want to pick up with that one since the previous books are so fresh on my mind.
That's the problem when you have so many different things to choose from on your shelf. Indecisiveness becomes a predominant factor in life. With so many more arriving each day, it's bound to make a decision that much harder! *Sigh*
There are some fail safe Stephen King's on my shelf so perhaps that is a good starting point.
Now looking at all the choices on my shelf as to what to pick up next I am at a loss. It's so hard to decide. I really want to pick up where I left off with Stephen King's Dark Tower series, but The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest should arrive anyday now and I want to pick up with that one since the previous books are so fresh on my mind.
That's the problem when you have so many different things to choose from on your shelf. Indecisiveness becomes a predominant factor in life. With so many more arriving each day, it's bound to make a decision that much harder! *Sigh*
There are some fail safe Stephen King's on my shelf so perhaps that is a good starting point.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Entertainment for the Bored, or those lacking excitement.
Why am I doing this again?
Oh yeah, that's right. I am writing again to share the things I find interesting with others.
So lately I have resumed an old hobby of mine: reading. Now when I say resumed I mean I have returned to it the way I did it when I was a kid. I am averaging a new book every two days. I have found myself in some of the oddest places lately, whereever these stories may take me. Last night I was in both Chicago and Michigan. The night before that I travelled from Spain to Egypt in search of treasure.
I have come to the conclusion that there are really no bad books, just the books that spark your imagination and those that don't. The ones that do take you on unlimited adventures whether it be searching for an ancient artifact, treasure, love, or a killer. I love the books that not only spark my imagination, but the ones that can stimulate my emotions as well.
I have read quite a few books over the past few weeks and would love to share that list with you: what I liked and didn't like about each one.
Currenly I am reading the Time Travellers Wife: So far I really like this book, but I worry that the further along I get in it the more confused I will be about when and where I am, as well as which character's story I am listening to. Of course which character doesn't really matter because a good writer will allow me to become that character anyways.
13 Reasons Why-I absolutely loved this book. It's not a book I would normally get into, but the description intrigued me so I read it. It was a very disturbing book. I mean, personally, what would you do and how would you feel if someone sent you tapes as to how you were one of thirteen people who contributed to her comitting suicide.
The Alchemist: This book is definately a life lesson book immersed in fiction. The lesson is more memorable than the characters for sure.
The Giver: Technically this is a children's book, but I love Lois Lowry and it seemed really interesting. The story was very interesting. To live in a world where there is perfect conformity is intriguing except when people are actually forced into that conformity. The ending was rather abrupt and disappointing.
The Girl Who Played With Fire-The second book in the Millenium Trilogy. I love this series and that is putting it mildly. There is something about a heroine that is barely 5 feet tall who absolutely kicks butt in about everything. What's makes it even better is that so many people misjudge our heroine as being a crazy biatch! When the truth is that she only get's crazy with those who hurt her first!
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo-The first book in the above mentioned trilogy. Need I say more.
Angelogy-I would usually devour a book like this up but again I couldn't relate to the main characters very well. It also had some unusually small print that made my eyes very tired trying to read it. On the plus side it did have an exciting plot line.
Emotional Vampires-a good read identifying those who like to suck you emotionally dry.
The Vampire Diaries Series(6 books total-) I personally did not like this vampire series, only because I didn't relate very well to the characters. Others do. Books are all about relating to the characters.
The Lost Symbol-what can I say? All Dan Brown books are exciting to me. I love the puzzles and the mystery surrounding his works and in this one he does not fail to deliver.
I have a long list of books left to read and as I finish them I will post my thoughts on them as well. If you love to read but can't make a decision as to where to start hopefully this small list will point you in the right direction.
Oh yeah, that's right. I am writing again to share the things I find interesting with others.
So lately I have resumed an old hobby of mine: reading. Now when I say resumed I mean I have returned to it the way I did it when I was a kid. I am averaging a new book every two days. I have found myself in some of the oddest places lately, whereever these stories may take me. Last night I was in both Chicago and Michigan. The night before that I travelled from Spain to Egypt in search of treasure.
I have come to the conclusion that there are really no bad books, just the books that spark your imagination and those that don't. The ones that do take you on unlimited adventures whether it be searching for an ancient artifact, treasure, love, or a killer. I love the books that not only spark my imagination, but the ones that can stimulate my emotions as well.
I have read quite a few books over the past few weeks and would love to share that list with you: what I liked and didn't like about each one.
Currenly I am reading the Time Travellers Wife: So far I really like this book, but I worry that the further along I get in it the more confused I will be about when and where I am, as well as which character's story I am listening to. Of course which character doesn't really matter because a good writer will allow me to become that character anyways.
13 Reasons Why-I absolutely loved this book. It's not a book I would normally get into, but the description intrigued me so I read it. It was a very disturbing book. I mean, personally, what would you do and how would you feel if someone sent you tapes as to how you were one of thirteen people who contributed to her comitting suicide.
The Alchemist: This book is definately a life lesson book immersed in fiction. The lesson is more memorable than the characters for sure.
The Giver: Technically this is a children's book, but I love Lois Lowry and it seemed really interesting. The story was very interesting. To live in a world where there is perfect conformity is intriguing except when people are actually forced into that conformity. The ending was rather abrupt and disappointing.
The Girl Who Played With Fire-The second book in the Millenium Trilogy. I love this series and that is putting it mildly. There is something about a heroine that is barely 5 feet tall who absolutely kicks butt in about everything. What's makes it even better is that so many people misjudge our heroine as being a crazy biatch! When the truth is that she only get's crazy with those who hurt her first!
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo-The first book in the above mentioned trilogy. Need I say more.
Angelogy-I would usually devour a book like this up but again I couldn't relate to the main characters very well. It also had some unusually small print that made my eyes very tired trying to read it. On the plus side it did have an exciting plot line.
Emotional Vampires-a good read identifying those who like to suck you emotionally dry.
The Vampire Diaries Series(6 books total-) I personally did not like this vampire series, only because I didn't relate very well to the characters. Others do. Books are all about relating to the characters.
The Lost Symbol-what can I say? All Dan Brown books are exciting to me. I love the puzzles and the mystery surrounding his works and in this one he does not fail to deliver.
I have a long list of books left to read and as I finish them I will post my thoughts on them as well. If you love to read but can't make a decision as to where to start hopefully this small list will point you in the right direction.
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