Book 39: Heartburn

This was a re-read.  I LOVE this book, it always makes me cry.  The story of a woman who remarries in her 30's, thinking she's found true love, only to find out her husband has been cheating on her.  She has a small child and is pregnant and has to decide if she's going to forgive him or leave.  I love the movie too, Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep...perfection. 

Book 38: Dracula

Book 37: The Painted Veil

Book 36: Grand Ambition

 

Really interesting story about a real-life husband and wife who set out to run the rapids of the Grand Canyon back in the 20's, and set a record of the first woman to do so.  Unfortunately the couple goes missing and is never seen/heard from again.  I honestly hate mysteries that go unsolved.  I want to know the truth!  The author wraps up with what she thinks happened to the couple, but I'm not sure I agree with her version.  After reading this book, look up the real story and see what you think may have happened.  There have been eye-witnesses claiming to have seen one or the other years after they disappeared. 

Book 35: The Turn of the Screw

Book 34: In Cold Blood

Book 33: And a Then There Were None

Book 32: The Beekeeper's Apprentice

Book 31: George Muller

Book 30: Felicia's Journey

Book 29: The Night Circus

Book 30: Felicia's Journey

Book 29: The Night Circus

Book 28: A Great and Terrible Beauty

 

Good book about a young girl who goes to boarding school in England and finds out family secrets.  Reminded me of The Craft somewhat, it was good.  First in a trilogy, but I don't plan on reading the rest of the series.

Book 27: The Sign of Four

 

My first Sherlock Holmes book.  I definitely enjoyed it.  I could actually picture the actors from the movie and the BBC show.  They both have done a good job of portraying Sherlock, in my opinion.  I now would like to go back and read the first Sherlock mystery.

Book 26: The Beginning of Everything

 

This was pretty good.  It started out as a typical YA book and I thought I may not make it through, but it ended up having a bit more substance to it.  

Book 25: Losing Control and Liking It

FrightFall Wrap-up

Last night when I finished the Read-a-thon I had about 85 pages of A Great and Terrible Beauty left.  I so wanted to finish it and at least start And Then There Were None, but I didn't :(  Still had a lot of fun reading and got almost all the books I had listed read.

I finished The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding, I love Bridget Jones's Diary and read it every year, but I had only read the sequel once so I read this one again to get ready for #3, Mad About the Boy, which is coming out next week I think!

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider was a cute YA book.  It started out being a little too "fluffy" for me and I didn't think I was going to enjoy it, but it got better.  As with most YA's I didn't like the ending.  Is every teenage girl troubled these days??  Mine aren't!  

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle was my first ever Sherlock Holmes and I really enjoyed it.  After watching both movies and the newer Sherlock series I could picture Holmes and Watson as I was reading, which I think made it more enjoyable.  I definitely plan on reading more of these.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray I'm not sure if this is a YA but I think it is.  It's a good supernatural book about teenage girls at a boarding school.  Reminds me a bit of The Craft movie, but set in the late 1800's.  Good story, there are 2 more but I doubt I will take the time to read  them.

FrightFall Check-in

I'm not reading as fast as I'd like.  I finished The Edge of Reason and read The Beginning of Everything.

I'm now on page 70 in The Sign of Four and am very much enjoying my first Sherlock Holmes.

Next up will be A Great and Terrible Beauty, which I'm very excited to read.  We are possibly getting hit with a tropical storm this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some nice rainy days to read.

FrightFall Read-a-thon

I'm reading anyway, so I'm joining in on this fun read-a-thon. 

List
Finishing: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
 The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (SPOOKY)
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (SPOOKY)
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (SPOOKY)

Book 24: The Edge of Reason

 

Rereading this to get ready for the 3rd book coming out next month.  I love Bridget Jones's Diary and reread it every year, but it's been a while since I've read this one.

Book 23: The Mysterious Benedict Society

 

This is a book I'm reading aloud to my kids, we've read ch. 1 so far and they really like it so far.

Book 22: The Sandcastle Girls

 

This was a sad, but very interesting novel about the genocide of the Armenians in Turkey around 1914-1916.  I never knew about this period of history and I'm glad I read the book.

Book 21: Eleanor and Park

 

Really good YA.  Much better than John Green, in my opinion.  I really felt for Eleanor, and found myself thinking about her whenever I had to put the book down.  Which I tried not to do too much.  

Book 20: Orphan Train

 

Loved this book.  Wonderful historical fiction.  Another tear-jerker, but finally, a happy ending.

Book 19: The Old Man and the Sea

 

BORING.  Sorry, but it was.  I tried to appreciate it.  I tried to find meaning in it, and to a point I did.  I was disappointed in the ending to a certain degree, but was glad he had the boy to take care of him.  When the sharks arrived I seriously rolled my eyes and sighed.  I saw that coming.

Book 18: My Sister's Keeper

 

Oh, this book.  Another where I saw the movie first.  Most of the movie.  Ever since I've wanted to read the book and the ending was different.  Some books mane me teary, but I BAWLED with this one.  More than once.  And after when I was telling someone about it.  I've read a few Picoult books before and this one was by far the best.

Book 17: A Year in Provence

 

A man and his wife and their first year living in France.  It was a sweet book with quite a few funny moments, but it was kind of a slow read.  It did make me want good  French bread, cheese and wine though!

Book 16: Warm Bodies

 

I watched the movie first and that made me want to read the book.  That keeps happening to me lately.  It was a good story.  Gross at many points, but good.  

Book 15: Me Before You

 

I enjoyed this book.  A girl in England has to get a job and ends up finding one taking care of a paraplegic man.  I don't want to write anything that will give it away, but there's quite a few twists.  Another ending I didn't care for. 

Book 14: The Alchemist

 

I have seen this book everywhere, so I thought it was a book I need to read.  I was worried when after ordering it, I looked on Goodreads and saw really bad reviews.  Seemed to be a book  you either love or hate.  I went into it with an open mind and at first thought it would be a good story.  Unfortunately it wasn't that great.  I had to force myself to finish.  It was one of those short books that took me a while to read because I just didn't care about it and I was disappointed right through to the ending.  

Book 13: A Spot of Bother

 

I bought this because I really liked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by the same author.  I liked this book, it was slow at times, but it was really cute and I laughed aloud more than a few times.  About a man in his 60's who starts to lose his mind.

Book 12: Cry, The Beloved Country

 

I've had this on my shelf for years and finally got around to reading it.  I really enjoyed it.  Beautiful and sad story set in South Africa, it made me cry more than once.

Book 11: Daddy-Long-Legs

 

Really cute book.  I had never read it when I was younger.  Reminded me a little of Anne of Green Gables.  I plan on having my younger daughter read it in a year or two when she might appreciate it more.

Book 10: Candide

 

Just one of those classics you always hear about, so I decided to read it.  It was fast and easy.  Ridiculous events of a man and all the terrible things that happen to him, but still he believes life is good.

Book 9: The Spectacular Now

 

This was a really good book, I read some YA and am usually not impressed.  I thought this was a good, solid story with a likeable protagonist.  Told in the first person, it's the story of a teenage boy, Sutter, with lots of charisma and a drinking problem.  He is dealing with his father abandoning him and his girlfriend breaking up with him.  He finds a new friend to help, but it's too bad he can't help himself.  I didn't like the ending.  Much better, in my opinion, that John Green books.

Book 8:

 

Ugh, I HATED this book.  I will admit it got slightly better, just slightly...towards the end.  It mostly didn't make much sense to me, maybe I'm just not smart enough to GET IT.  I don't know.  I understand the basic plot, it was just written bizarrely and I couldn't wait for it to be over.  Thankfully it's short.

Book 7: Amy and Isabelle

 

I really enjoyed this book, it is my second Elizabeth Strout book, I also read and enjoyed Olive Kitteredge.   It's a book about a single mom and a teenager daughter and the troubles they have that have caused them to grow apart.  I'm going to make sure I read all of Strout's novels since I think she's an author I will always enjoy.

Book 6: Kissing in Manhattan

This was an odd book, I almost gave up after the first chapter.  I decided to give it one more and there was some potential. Some chapters were better than others, it's one of those where each chapter is a character's story and the characters would come together throughout.  It was ok.  Thinking its going back to the used book store. 

Book 5: More Charlotte Mason Education

Rereading this since our school year starts tomorrow.  I will review when I finish, will keep reading fiction while I read this. 

Book 4: The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax

I wanted to like this book, but it was only ok.  About an older woman who becomes a secret agent and is sent on a mission in Turkey.  It was funny and cute at times but it just wasn't my type of book. 

Book 3: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

 

This was such a surprising book.  I had wanted to read it for years and just never got around to it.  I was worried that I wouldn't like it.  I found it at the used book store (along with a few others) on a trip to Jacksonville on Sunday, so I went ahead and bought it.  I ended up really enjoying it.  An autistic (I think, he is special needs and I'm guessing autistic) teenage boy comes across his neighbors murdered dog and decides to be a detective and solve the mystery.  He ends up solving a few mysteries and also deals with his parent's separation.  In my opinion this book is a must-read.  My teenage daughter already took it to her room.

Book 2: A Hundred Summers

 

I was looking forward to this book, it has been on many must-read summer lists.  I thought it would be a great beach book.  It does have a good plot but it was very predictable even though it does have many twists.  I very much looked forward to this book coming to an end.  The most exciting part was the hurricane, which is based on a real hurricane that hit New England in 1938.

Book 1: Agnes Grey

 

This was a short, easy read.  It started out really good, but then became pretty boring.  Agnes is a governess to rotten children who have even worse parents.  She is abused and unappreciated but bears it all with meekness and patience.  She at last finds love and presumably lives happily ever after.

More birthday books

 

My kids are awesome, they bought books from my Amazon wishlist and I spent some more birthday money.  I love new books!  

New books!

The first of the birthday books :)

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, and my own challenge

I recently read Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch.  I really wanted to love this book, unfortunately it was a little boring.  I loved her passion for books and I felt for her losing her sister.  Even though the book wasn't all I hoped it would be, it did inspire me. I loved the idea of reading a book a day.  Right away I thought it would be perfect, I'm about to turn 39.  I had a hard time turning 30.  Really hard.  Now 40 is looming.  Where has the time gone?  What better way to end my 30's and enter my 40's than with an impressive book challenge?  I love reading, I always have.  There have been years when raising my 4 children, that books had to take a backseat, however now I had babies to read to!  Then I decided to homeschool them and of course we used a literature approach to learning.  I still read aloud to my youngest two (13 and 14 years old) on an almost daily basis.  Now that they're all teenagers (I have an almost 18 and a 19 year old as well) I have a lot of time to read. 

As much as I wanted to read a book a day, I am realistic.  I'm not that fast of a reader and there are too many days that life takes over and I don't get much of a chance to read.  We will have company, I can't read a whole book when we have family in from out of town.  I thought about it and talked to my oldest daughter and have decided that 200 books will be a good goal.  It will be challenging and rewarding.  I may not reach the goal, but no matter what, I still win.  I look forward to reading new and different books that I wouldn't normally pick up.  I look forward to buying new books, making use of our local library, but most of all I look forward to not dwelling on the fact that next year I will be 40.  I will lose myself in stories, I will learn, I will grow. 

I changed my url to sandwavesandbooks.  My favorite place to read, besides my bed, is the beach.  It's so relaxing and the perfect place to be transported to another time and place.  I plan to list each book I read and maybe write a line or two about them.  I'm not much on writing reviews.  If anyone decided to do a similar challenge, please leave a comment and let me know, I'd love to follow you.

Monday update

I finally finished Cloud Atlas on Friday.  I also went to the library with my youngest daughter and picked up 5 books.  One I already set aside because it was just drivel.
My other picks were
Breakfast at Tiffanys and 3 other short stores by Truman Capote (read and enjoyed)
March by Geraldine Brooks (currently reading and enjoying)
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

After I drop my oldest daughter off to babysit later this afternoon, I am headed to the beach with my youngest 2 to enjoy the sun, waves and of course, read!

HS Summer Read-a-thon Results

I will be back later to update.

I finished 3 books:
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

I am on page 204 in Cloud Atlas and have just started Tolstoy and the Purple Chair:  My Year of Magical Reading by Nina Sankovitch

HS Read-a-Thon Update

I finished Look for Alaska.  I'm giving it 3.5 stars.  It was a typical teenage book but it actually had a little more depth than most.  Many YA books I start and then say "I don't have time for this" and quit.  This would also be a good book for anyone dealing with death/loss. 

Still working on Cloud Atlas, I love it so far.  Much better than I was expecting.  It's such a complicated story but so well written.

My new book I'm starting today is Where'd You Go, Bernadette? 

High Summer Read-a-Thon, starting line

The books I plan to read are

Looking for Alaska by John Green
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
The Big Book of Unschooling by Sandra Dodd
Where'd You Go, Bernadette?  by Maria Semple
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

High Summer Read-a-thon!

2 more days!  I'm going to get a few new books today to celebrate, but I have a huge TBR pile. 

Book Blogger Hop: March 22 - 28

What are the top five books you would grab in an emergency?


1.  Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
2.  Pride and Predjudice by Jane Austen
3.  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
4.  Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
5.  Anne of Green Gables (whole series) by Ludy Maude Montgomery

The 19th Wife

Started reading this today and even though it doesn't have very good reviews I'm enjoying it so far.