Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Doing That Library Thing

I'm not very good at this library thing.  I said I wanted to read more books this year and I am thanks to the library but sometimes it feels a little complicated and I'm always two seconds away from getting a fine.  Which isn't the end of the world or anything, but I'd rather not.  I had a fine balance of a whopping $4.00 in 2010 and it took me five years to pay it off.  It's cheap enough.  When all is said and done I come out ahead when you consider how much I would have spent just to buy one book, but it's the principle.  I need to return them on time.  I have a calendar reminder in addition to the e mail reminder they send three days before.  I renew what I can on line, and cart around what I can't in my car plotting the optimal time for me to swing by and drop it off.  I had to renew the last set twice and one was on a different cycle because it was a second renewal from the first set.  Are you still with me because even I'm confused?  Anyway, I couldn't renew it again because someone was requesting it so I had to drop that one off before these were due and I barely avoided a fine because I put it in the book drop on the last day pretty close to closing.  These three made it back exactly on the due date.  It's basically a game of let's see how long it takes me to get a fine and when I do, I'll just consider it a donation.

I'd probably do a whole lot better if I limited myself to 1 or 2 but when I walk up to the new release table which is sitting right at the front entrance, and see 4 or 5 that look interesting I have to get them all.  Get aaaaaaallll the books and worry about finishing and turning them in on time later.  The time limit is annoying, but I'm pretty sure it's helped keep me reading.  Heaven forbid I don't get a chance to read one, or even worse if it's really good and I don't get to finish.  I might have to take the fine for that one.

Remember the old days when it was so much fun to go to Blockbuster and pick out a movie for the weekend?  And how annoying it was trying to remember to get it back in time?  Their fees were much worse, but it's like that and I know there has to be a better way.  In fact, there is a better way and the information card that the nice man at the library desk gave me about it is still bumping around in my purse.

The next book I read will be Gone Girl.  I've waited long enough so I'm going to download it from Amazon and dig in this week.  The plan was that I read the book so we can watch the movie before MJ heads off to Europe because if I watch the movie I'll never read the book and I'd hate to miss out on what I've been hearing is an awesome reading experience.  I won't even need to do a review for it because everyone already read and liked it.

Even knowing that I planned to read Gone Girl I STILL couldn't resist checking out books when I turned in my last set.  I should have done the book drop to avoid temptation but at least I limited myself to two.   Maybe I should keep them in the car so I don't get too attached and we'll see if I can keep my no fine streak going.


The Wonder Spot
by Melissa Bank
The Wonder Spot follows Sophie's quest for her own identity—who she is, what she loves, whom she loves, and occasionally whom she feels others should love—over the course of 25 years. In an often-disappointing world, Sophie listens closely to her own heart. And when she experiences her 'Aha!' moments—her own personal wonder spots—it's the real thing. -Via Goodreads

It's kind of a slice of life kind of story.  There is no dramatic plot or storyline so if that's the type of book you like this may be a little long winded for you but I actually enjoy that kind of story.  It follows a girl from adolescence to adulthood and is basically about what she discovers along the way about herself and life.  The author's writing is very artistic and descriptive and she throws in humor where you least expect it.  I really enjoyed this book. 

Otherwise Engaged
by Eileen Goudge
Jessie Holland is in search of a hot story for Savvy magazine when her editor poses a compelling question -- can you ever really go home again? Jumping on the idea, and with her love life currently at a crossroads, Jessie plans to return to her Arizona hometown and follow the path not taken -- with a twist. Her best friend back home, Erin Delahanty, is dealing with a crumbling marriage, a teenage daughter, and the demands of running a bed & breakfast. Needing to take stock of her life, she agrees to Jessie's offer: she'll live in Manhattan for six months, while Jessie steps into Erin's shoes. But the choices and challenges they face take them by surprise...and what began as a daring magazine article will change both women forever. -Via Goodreads

This was another good read for me.  Who in their real life has never wondered what if or wondered what it would be like to live the life of such and such and that's basically what this book is about.  The story that unfolds is very interesting.  Each of them have man drama they need to resolve which also affects their decisions about whether they want their old life back or if they want to keep their new one. 

I've Got Your Number
by Sophie Kinsella
Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!  Well, perfect except that the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life.  What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents . . . she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life. -Via Goodreads

I had a bit of a hard time getting into this one but once I did I found it to be a really straightforward and fun read.  The one thing that bugged me is that there are footnotes throughout the book to say things that are not necessarily relevant to understanding the character or the story.  It really annoyed me at first because I didn't want to read them, but if they were there I felt like I had to.  Like, my eye immediately went down to read the footnote even though I already knew I wouldn't be missing out on much and that I didn't want to read it.  Cute idea, I just wasn't a fan.  The book eventually picked up, I got better at ignoring the footnotes and it turned out to be a really cute story with several laugh out loud moments.  I don't usually find myself laughing while reading so that was cool.  It's a girl talk easy read kind of book. I read Confessions of a Shopaholic and I like that one too. 

Not pictured because I had to return them in a hurry and didn't get a picture.

Where We Belong 
by Emily Giffin
Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six year old television producer, living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and satisfying relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s perfectly constructed world—and her very identity—will be shaken to its core, resurrecting ghosts and memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her. -Via Goodreads

I really liked this book.  I was interested from the start and it didn't take me too long to get into it.  The story switches back and forth between the perspective of Marian and Kirby and it's really interesting to see the struggles and emotions surrounding adoption from both sides.  I hate it when books don't end the way I want them to and this one did not disappoint.  It wasn't the perfect storybook ending but it was a good ending and leaves you hoping that there is more of that happy that you want to come.

The One & Only 
by Emily Giffin
Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.  But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets. -Via Goodreads

This one was a slow start for me, but it got good.  I was a little bit skeeved out by the idea of this woman being interested in her best friends much older father but he was described as handsome and striking so that helped.  I was all over her dating the hot NFL guy but in the end I found myself rooting for her and the older man.  There is a lot of football talk and football worship in this book.  I am not interested in football at all and there is a lot of football talk and football worship but it didn't detract from the story at all.

I'm Reading Again!


For someone who loves reading so much I can't believe this is the first book review to ever grace my blog but I shouldn't be.  I'm sadly aware that I haven't done a whole lot of reading over the last five years.  Yes, FIVE.  I'm blaming MJ because the reading stopped the year we got married.  I was so distracted by my him and everything else that I didn't make time for it.  Then I was so occupied with blogging and trying to write my own book that I forgot how much I enjoy it.  I didn't make New Year's resolutions, but if I did read more would be at the top of the list and I'm trying to make that happen.  I checked out five books from the library over Christmas Break and finished four in January.  After one renewal I knew I was going to run out of time and that one would be going back to unread.  That last pick turned out to be my favorite one of the bunch.  When I returned them I limited myself to two because realistically, with work and everything else I figured that's all I'd have time for.  I already finished one!  Instead of choosing from just the 'free' or 'cheap' books off of Amazon I went to the library and found books I was really interested in reading so when I have spare time I reaching for a book instead of the remote.  And they are still free!  Project read more in 2015 is going good so far.

Without further ado, in the order in which they were read....

Best Friends Forever, Jennifer Weiner 
Addie Downs and Valerie Adler were eight when they first met and decided to be best friends forever. But, in the wake of tragedy and betrayal during their teenage years, everything changed. Val went on to fame and fortune. Addie stayed behind in their small Midwestern town. Destiny, however, had more in store for these two. And when, twenty-five years later, Val shows up at Addie’s front door with blood on her coat and terror on her face, it is the beginning of a wild adventure for two women joined by love and history who find strength together that they could not find alone. -Via Amazon

My thoughts:
I really liked it!  I was interested right from the start and that remained throughout.  Addie's friend Val was a super annoying character, but she was so annoying because that was her character and the author did a really good job of conveying that.  There was a really cute love story worked in there as well.

Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult
Sterling is an ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens--until the day its complacency is shattered by an act of violence. Josie Cormier, the daughter of the judge sitting on the case, should be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened before her very own eyes--or can she? As the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show--destroying the closest of friendships and families. -Via Amazon

My thoughts:
I've never read a Jodi Picoult book I didn't like.  She had me at My Sister's Keeper and at some point I want to read everything she has written.  There are quite a few at my public library, with multiple copies even, so I should be able to get my hands on quite a few from there.  She is an amazing storyteller and my only critique about it is that sometimes she's such a good storyteller that the storytelling words go on longer than I wish they would.  Sometimes I just want her to get to the point and found myself skipping over a sentence or two to get there.  It does not prevent me from wanting to read more from her though.  There was also a lot of going back and forth between the past and the present which was confusing at first but I got used to it. The story line was really interesting.   We see the shooter as a monster and based on their actions they are, but there are two sides to every story and this book does a wonderful job of telling both.  We get some insight into what can turn a person into a monster and it is heartrendingly sad.  She makes the reader love him a little bit which is really hard to do because he has ruined so many lives and in the end I felt totally conflicted.  

Ladies' Night, Mary Kay Andrews 
Grace Stanton’s life as a rising media star and beloved lifestyle blogger takes a surprising turn when she catches her husband cheating and torpedoes his pricey sports car straight into the family swimming pool.  Grace suddenly finds herself locked out of her palatial home, checking account, and even the blog she has worked so hard to develop in her signature style.  Moving in with her widowed mother, who owns and lives above a rundown beach bar called The Sandbox, is less than ideal.  So is attending court-mandated weekly "divorce recovery" therapy sessions with three other women and one man for whom betrayal seems to be the only commonality.  When their “divorce coach” starts to act suspiciously, they decide to start having their own Wednesday "Ladies' Night" sessions at The Sandbox, and the unanticipated bonds that develop lead the members of the group to try and find closure in ways they never imagined.  Can Grace figure out a new way home and discover how strong she needs to be to get there? -Via Amazon

My thoughts:
It took me a while to warm up to this book and even half way through I still wasn't sure if I wanted to keep on reading.  I soldiered on because it's really hard for me not to once I start reading or watching anything.  The writing was a little bit repetitive in some places but overall it was a good story.  I was glad I stuck it out to the end, although I'm not sure I would recommend it just because it was so slow and hard to get into.

Girl in Translation, Jean Kwok 
When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family’s future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition. Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles. -Via Amazon

My thoughts:
Out of all the books I read in that bunch this one was my favorite!  I read it in all in one day on one chilly glorious Sunday where I spent most of the day in my granny robe cozied up with this book.  The author is an amazing storyteller and captures Kimberly's experience so well.  I really enjoyed this character.  I was rooting for her so hard to make it and overcome the life circumstances that had been thrust upon her.  It's definitely a must read.