My Life According to the Books I Read in 2014

Hello friends! Remember me? I know this space is covered in a thick layer of dust, but I'm sweeping away the cobwebs this week. I'm so disappointed in myself for not posting anything here since last January. I've still been reading, albeit not nearly as much as I have in past years. I've also been investing time on instagram, where I have been participating in daily photo challenges and in essence, micro-blogging in the captions of my daily photos. It has been fun and rewarding, but I do miss the interaction here, especially over books and bookish related topics. And food, fitness, travel, crafts and everything else! I truly hope to revive this space in 2015. 

I couldn't let the year end without revisiting this favorite book meme. I first spotted it on Angie's blog several years ago and have made it an annual end of the year tradition on my blog ever since. It's a fun, creative way to reminisce about all the books you read throughout the year. I'd love for you to join me! If anyone stumbles upon this post, anyway.

To play along, use only titles of books that you read this year (2014) and complete the prompts below. 

Try not to repeat any book titles, think creatively and have fun! 

Once you've posted your Life According to the Books You Read in 2014, please leave a comment below so I know to visit your blog and see what you've come up with!  It's so much fun reading everyone's responses. 

Also, Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your loved ones. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

My Life According to the Books I Read in 2014: 

Describe yourself: 

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor 

How do you feel: 

Hearts of Chaos by Kira Brady

Describe where you currently live: 

Nowhere But Home by Liza Palmer

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 

Your favorite form of transportation:

Angels' Flight by Nalini Singh 

Your best friend is:

Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Weiss 

You and your friends are:
Unveiled by Courtney Milan

What's the weather like: 

Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh [re-read]

What is life to you: 

Birthday Gift by Courtney Milan 

Favorite time of day: 

His At Night by Sherry Thomas

Your fear:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 

What is the best advice you have to give: 

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Thought for the day:
Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews [re-read]

How I would like to die:

Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh

My soul's present condition: 

Unlocked by Courtney Milan 

My family is: 

Daytripper by Fabio Moon

(this last prompt idea is from Tanya @ Mom's Small Victories Thank you, Tanya!)

If you have any suggestions for prompts to add to next year's meme, please leave it in the comments below! 

Happy New Year and here's to some more great reads in 2015! xxx

Book Bingo 2014

Host: Kristilyn [readinginwinter.com] and Anne [creativityscorner.com]

Link: Book Bingo 2014 Sign Up

Goal: Be amazing. Get any one BINGO or fill your whole board if you're an overachiever.

Time Frame: Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2014

I did this challenge last year and had a lot of fun keeping lists of the books I read for each category and crossing off squares. Kristilyn and Anne designed a new board for 2014 to keep things interesting. Check out the sign up page at the link above and join the Bingo fun! I'm aiming to fill the whole board this year.

The 2014 Big Book Challenge

Host: orianna at Walkabout

Link: The 2014 Big Book Challenge

My Goal: Read at least one 500+ page book that I've been putting off because of it's length.

Time Frame: Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2014




 I hate to make promises I can't keep but I'm going to try once again to read Anna Karenina this year. My copy has 838 pages.

TBR Challenge 2014 {Romance}

Host: Wendy the Super Librarian

Link: 2014 TBR Reading Challenge Sign Up

Goal: Read one book every month that's been languishing on your TBR pile and share via review or commentary.

Time Frame: Once a month for 2014




Schedule and suggested monthly themes:
Jan 15     We Love Short Shorts!
Feb 19     Series Catch-Up
Mar 19    New-to-you-author
Apr 16    Contemporary romance
May 21   More Than One [author with more than one book on your TBR]
Jun 18     Romance Classics
Jul 18      Lovely RITA [past RITA winners or nominees]
Aug 20    Luscious Love Scenes
Sep 17     Recommended read
Oct 15     Paranormal or Romantic Suspense
Nov 19    Historical Romance
Dec 17     Holiday themes


Updated June 12, 2014
I'm not doing well at all keeping up with this challenge in any organized way. I have, however, read a few romances from my TBR shelves, though, and will list them here:

Wait For Me by Elisabeth Naughton [novella - rom suspense]  JAN
Dark Slayer by Christine Feehan [series catch up] FEB
Dark Lycan by Christine Feehan [series catch up]
Winning the Wallflower by Eloisa James
His At Night by Sherry Thomas [new-to-me author] MAR
Libertine's Kiss by Judith James
Unveiled by Courtney Milan [more than one book on TBR]  MAY
Unlocked by Courtney Milan [more than one book on TBR]

What's In A Name? 2014

Host: Originally BethFishReads but now being hosted by Charlie who blogs at The Worm Hole.
Link: What's In a Name? 2014 Sign Up
Goal: Read one book per category below
Time Frame: Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2014




1. A reference to TIME
2. A position of ROYALTY
3. A NUMBER WRITTEN IN LETTERS
4. A FORENAME or names
5. A type or element of WEATHER

1. a + e 4Ever by Ilike Merey
2. The King by J.R. Ward
3.
4.
5. Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh

My Best Reads of 2013

My most memorable reads of 2013 are based on the 98 books and stories I read in 2013 and does not represent books that were published in that year.

The Book(s) That Broke My Heart: 
I read more than my usual dose of heart wrenching books last year.. 
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Kite Runner Graphic Novel by Khaled Hosseini
The Fault in Our Stars by Johen Green

The Most Electric Shock Value: 
Sins & Needles by Karina Halle

The Fantastic Fantasy:
Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

The Surprise Little Gem:
One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry

Kicking Myself for Waiting So Long to Read:
The Guardians Series by Meljean Brook
still catching up...

Short But Oh So Sweet:
Wanderlust by Kitty French
It only has 3.76 stars on goodreads but I sure did love this sweet and sexy novella.

Most Sinful Guilty Pleasure:
50 Shades of Gray series by E.L. James
Yes, it has its flaws but don't we all?

The Book That Swept Me Away:
The Shadow of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Book Most NOT Worth The Hype:
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Book That Challenged Me:
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Other books worth mentioning: 
A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

What was your most memorable book(s) of 2013?

Last Year's Book Challenges + stuff

Is anyone still talking about the books they read last year? Yeah, I didn't think so. How was your year of reading in 2013? I did okay number wise, but you know, I'm a little disappointed with my year of reading in general.. I don't know exactly why, but it didn't feel like a stellar year. I think maybe I didn't read enough romance. Anyway, I'm just getting around to pulling together my book stats and reading challenge success and failures from last year now. Hoping it will inspire me for a fabulous year of books in 2014.

First up.. Last Year's Reading Challenges:

I actually had a lot of fun with these and plan on repeating all of them in 2014.

100 Books in a Year 2013:
I read 98 books which includes 11 re-reads.
My goodreads challenge goal was to read 101 books and only made it to 87 I guess because you can't count re-reads there. And then they delete your challenge if you don't make it which stinks because now I can't browse the books I read through that widget anymore. Darn it.

My list of Books Read in 2013

Big Book Challenge 2013

I read four 500+ page books:
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley [527 pages]
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami [611 pages]
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness [579 pages]
Shadow of the Night by Deborah Harkness [584 pages]

TBR Challenge 2013 [romance]
I missed December but read a book from my TBR pile for all the other months and kept to the suggested theme, too. I missed a few reviews, but am pretty happy about getting to all those books.

(NR = No Review)
Jan 16    Surrender At Dawn by Laura Griffin
Feb 20   The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
Mar 20   The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
Apr 17   Any Man of Mine by Rachel Gibson
May 15  Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie (NR)
Jun 19    First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Jul 17     Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale 1992
Aug 21  Dirty by Megan Hart (NR)
Sep 18   At Home in Stoney Creek by Linda Lael Miller
Oct 16   Beg For Mercy by Jami Alden (NR)
Nov 20  50 Shades of Gray by E.L. James (NR)
Dec 18  ----

What's In A Name 6 Reading Challenge
The categories were tough for me this time around but I managed to get it done.

1. A book with up or down (or equivalent) in title
2. A book with something you'd find in your kitchen in title
3. A book with a party or celebration in title
4. A book with fire (or equivalent) in title
5. A book with an emotion in title
6. A book with lost or found (or equivalent) in title

1. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
2. French Milk by Lucy Knisley
3. Mercy Thompson: Homecoming by Patricia Briggs
4. The Rose of Fire by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
5. A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen
6. The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn

Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2013
I read two of Murakami's books:

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Sputnik Sweetheart

Murakami is a great writer and story teller but I'm think not quite my thing. I am willing to read another of his books, though.. thinking of Norwegian Wood in 2014.

In Death Series perpetual Reading Challenge
My own challenge and I'm failing miserably. I read only one In Death book in 2013, which was Promises In Death back in March. I barely even remember what it was about. In theory I'd like to continue with this series, but I just haven't found the desire to. I think Kindred in Death is next on my list.. is it a good one? Someone motivate me to pick it up! HELP!

Book Bingo 2013
I almost filled the whole board.. I just needed two re-reads! I WAS SO CLOSE! And let me tell you I was very tempted to spend my New Year's Eve re-reading two novellas or something just to fill that Bingo board, but there was celebrating to be done so I let it slide. Here's by Book Bingo 2013 Scorecard:

Finally, the numbers:

I read 98 books total, 11 of which were rereads.

SO CLOSE TO MY GOAL OF 101 BOOKS! Did you know that goodreads basically deletes your book challenge data if you fail to meet your goal? What a bummer.. I'd rather it be there and show my failed numbers than be gone completely. I worked hard for those 87 books! (re-reads not counted). Anyway, more numbers...

  where did the books come from? 
42 were library books
53 were from my shelves
3 were online shorts

  what kind of books did I hold in my hand?
21 were ebooks or online fiction
77 were paper books

  what kind of books did I read? 
54 novels/books
13 novellas
28 graphic novels
3 online shorts

 what percentage of male or female authors did I read?
20 male authors 31.25%
44 female authors 68.75%

 what were the genre of books I read?
9 nonfiction
89 fiction
 
  more specifically .. 
44 romance
   17 paranormal
   11 contemporary
   10 historical
     5 romantic suspense
     1 magical realism sort of (The Winter Sea)
28 graphic novels
9 general fiction
5 urban fantasy
2 young adult
2 fantasy
1 crime fiction

  how many books did I read each month?
Jan 6
Feb 5
Mar 9
Apr 12
May 10
Jun 8
Jul 5
Aug 11
Sep 12
Oct 7
Nov 6
Dec 7

Are you still with me? So what did I learn from these numbers? The one thing that stands out the most to me is that I read A LOT of graphic novels and I have no problem with that but I think they contribute to my feeling of not reading enough BOOKS. Also, and probably most indicative of my reading blahs, is that I ONLY read 44 romances in 2013!? That's only 45% of the books I read! Not good...

The moral of this story? READ MORE ROMANCE IN 2014!

What do you think?

If you had to recommend ONE ROMANCE NOVEL that you read in 2013, which would it be? Okay you can tell me more than one if you want to..

Hope your 2014 reading is off to a great start! Let's not talk about mine.. January 18 and I've only read one book. A graphic novel. Not a good start...

My Life According to the Books I Read in 2013

Well hello dear blogging friends.

REMEMBER ME?

It's been way too long since my last post. While I may have lost my blogging mojo in the last several months, I haven't forgotten all of you sweet friends and I have been missing you all and thinking of you often. I'm looking forward to some new blogging energy in 2014!

It's that time of year again! I first spotted this meme on Angie's blog [http://angie-ville.com] several years ago and have made it an annual end of the year tradition on my blog ever since. I love this book meme--it's a fun, creative way to reminisce all the books you read throughout the year.

What's even more fun?

Having your friends do the meme, too!

To play along, use only titles of books that you read this year (2013) and complete the prompts below.

Try not to repeat any book titles. Think creatively and have fun!

Once you've posted your Life According to the Books You Read in 2013, grab the link to your blog post and come back here to add you name and link to the Simply Linked list below. I can't wait to see what you come up with and spread the word! It's so much fun reading everyone's responses.

Also, Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your loved ones.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

My Life According to the Books I Read in 2013:

Describe yourself: 
 The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson

How do you feel:
 Spellbound by Nora Roberts

Describe where you currently live: 
 Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
 Paradise by Meljean Brook

Your favorite form of transportation: 
 The Last Unicorn [graphic novel] adaptation by Peter S. Beagle

Your best friend is: 
 Any Man of Mine by Rachel Gibson
(my husband)

You and your friends are: 
 Working Out by Marie Harte

What's the weather like: 
  The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsely

What is life to you: 
  Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Favorite time of day: 
 Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare

Your fear: 
 A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

What is the best advice you have to give: 
  Wanderlust by Kitty French

Thought for the day:
 It Happened Under the Mistletoe by Valerie Bowman

How I would like to die: 
 At Home in Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller

My soul's present condition: 
 One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry

My family is:* 
 To Die For by Linda Howard

*this last prompt idea is from Tanya @ Mom's Small Victories http://momssmallvictories.com/ Thank you, Tanya!

Can't get enough of reading these lists? Check out past years:
My Life According to the Books I Read in 2012
My Life According to the Books I Read in 2011
My Life According to the Books I Read in 2010
My Life According to the Books I Read in 2009

If you have any suggestions for prompts to add to next year's meme, please leave it in the comments below!

Happy New Year and here's to some more great reads in 2014! xxx

This is my first time using Simply Linked widget... hope it's friendly.

REVIEW: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

Relish is a food-themed memoir that reveals a young woman's love of good food through fond memories. Lucy Knisley grew up in both New York City and rural Hudson Valley, New York with a chef mother and gourmet-loving father who both exposed her to a wide variety of luxurious foods from babyhood through young adulthood. In this graphic novel, Lucy explores her relationship with and love of food through a series of vignettes and anecdotes from various stages of her life and several international trips as well, all of which instilled in her strong connections between food, places, and people. Her stories are honest and open, often laced with humor and sentimentality to which readers can relate well such as a grandmother's famous pickle and a mother's perfect chocolate chip cookie. Although Lucy clearly developed a gourmet palate like that of her parents, she still has a fondness for processed junk food every now and then, something that I think helps dilute the level of privilege that runs through this novel.

A few months ago I read Knisley's earlier work, French Milk, another food-themed graphic memoir that chronicled the author's month long visit to Paris with her mother, which I found to be a boring and pretentious recount of what should have been a trip of a lifetime for a college-aged girl yet instead was a whiny recollection of a trip of complaining and examples of how to be an ungrateful brat and treat your mother poorly. Anyway, I'm pleased to report that Lucy has matured a bit since she wrote French Milk and it shows in Relish. Each chapter of Relish visits a different place, phase and food experience of Lucy's life and each ends with a delightfully illustrated recipe (probably my favorite part of the book). As Knisley reflects on some striking food memories, she shares them with a fond affection for her family and friends connected to those experiences. I would have liked to see Knisley share more about other people's connections to foods, especially relating to her international travels. I was disappointed that Knisley never attempted to learn about or connect with any local people and their culture during her trips. Or if she did do those things on her travels, she doesn't share them in her book, which is a shame because I think those experiences would be a huge asset to her books.

In the future, I'd like to see Knisley develop a more heightened awareness of the world around her and write with a little less self absorption. I realize Relish is a memoir and therefore focused on the individual, but I still think a well written memoir includes some attention to the rest of the world and Kinsley's writing could be stellar if she wrote with a bit more substance and depth overall.

In the meantime, Relish is a quick, fun graphic memoir to read. The drawings are well done and I found the human expressions are accurately expressed as well as charming. Again, the recipes at the end of each chapter are great and a special touch to this food-based book. I also have to admit I particularly enjoyed reading the chapters in which Lucy was living in the Hudson Valley since I'm familiar with that area and have visited it regularly over the years.. both downtown Rhinebeck and Grieg Farm as a very close friend of mine lives in that same area.

GRADE: 3.5+ out of 5 stars. Maybe 4 stars. I really did enjoy it. :)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Weekend Cooking, a weekly blog event hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food related post to share--a food related book review (fiction or nonfiction), cookbook review, movie review, a recipe, random thoughts, gadgets, food quotations, photographs, etc. Please visit Beth's blog for more information and join the fun!

My Book Bingo Scorecard: 3rd quarter

It's time for a Book Bingo update! I'm actually doing a lot better with this challenge than I expected. I've completed quite a few more squares since the last quarter update, but I still have a lot of reading to do to complete the grid. Some squares will be easier than others to complete.

I need to read:

2 TBR books
3 books from a series
5 books released in 2013
5 books everyone else has read
3 re-reads

Not too bad, but I still think it's going to be a close finish!

Read From Your TBR Pile: [15] [see 1st column]
[X]ONE book:
    1. Surrender At Dawn by Laura Griffin

[X]TWO books:
    2. Promises in Death by J.D. Robb
    3. A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

[X]THREE books:
    4. First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
    5. Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale
    6. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

[ ]FOUR books:
    7. To Die For by Linda Howard
    8. At Home in Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller
    9.
   10.

[X]FIVE books:
   11. Any Man of Mine by Rachel Gibson
   12. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
   13. The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn
   14. Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn
   15. Spellbound by Nora Roberts

Read Books in a Series: [15] [see 2nd column]

[X]ONE Book in a Series:
    1. Mercy Thompson: Homecoming by Patricia Briggs

[X]TWO Books in a Series:
The Works Series by Marie Harte
    1. Bodywork by Marie Harte
    2. Working Out by Marie Harte

[X]THREE Books in a Series:
The Princes Trilogy by Elizabeth Hoyt
    1. The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
    2. The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
    3. The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

[ ]FOUR Books in a Series:
Elemental Assassin Series by Jennifer Estep
    1. Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep
    2. "Thread of Death" by Jennifer Estep [novella]
    3. By A Thread by Jennifer Estep
    4.

[ ]FIVE Books in a Series:
Guardians Series by Meljean Brook
    1. Demon Bound by Meljean Brook
    2. Demon Forged by Meljean Brook
    3. "Blind Spot" by Meljean Brook [novella]
    4.
    5.

Read 2013 Releases: [12] [see 3rd column]
[X]ONE book:
   1. Sins & Needles by Karina Halle

[X]TWO books:
   2. Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas
   3. On Every Street by Karina Halle

[No THREE books in this category - see FREE SPACE below]

[X]FOUR books:
   4. Wild Invitation by Nalini Singh
   5. Hearts of Shadow by Kira Brady
   6. A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
   7. Primates by Jim Ottaviani & Maris Wicks

[ ]FIVE books:
   11.
   12.
   13.
   14.
   15.

FREE SQUARE: [middle square] 
Read ONE book someone else has read for this challenge
[X]1. Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi ... read by http://msbuff.com/reading-challenges-2013/

Read Books Everyone Else Has Read: [15] [see 4th column]
ONE book: [X]
    1. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

[X]TWO books:
    2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
    3. Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie

[X]THREE books:
    4. Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
    5. Dirty by Megan Hart
    6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

[X]FOUR books:
    7. Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacey
    8. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
    9. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
   10. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

[ ]FIVE books:
   11.
   12.
   13.
   14.
   15.

Re-Read books: [15] [see 5th column]
ONE book: [X]
   1. The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

[X]TWO books:
   2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
   3. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Expuréry

[X]THREE books:
   4. Demon Night by Meljean Brook
   5. "Thicker Than Blood" novella by Meljean Brook
   6. Sins & Needles by Karina Halle

[ ]FOUR books:
   7. Amulet, Vol. 4: The Last Council by Kazu Kibuishi
   8.
   9.
  10.

[X]FIVE books:
   11. Hearts of Darkness by Kira Brady
   12. "Falling For Anthony" by Meljean Book [novella]
   13. Demon Angel by Meljean Brook
   14. "Paradise" by Meljean Brook [novella]
   15. Demon Moon by Meljean Brook

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday, everyone!

I've been thinking about participating in some weekly blog memes in hopes of sparking some blogging consistency on my part and this meme is one of them. It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, the goal of which is for readers to share what they're reading, spark conversation and maybe expand our reading lists. There's usually a link up at Sheila's blog every Monday, but of course the first day I decide to join there isn't one. ;)

Sheila has been busy hosting a Reading to Beat the Band book event for Banned Book Week last week, so go check that out.

Now for the the books I'm reading this week. Normally I am a one book at a time kind of girl. Maybe two if one is a graphic novel and the other is a regular full length novel. But right now I find myself pages deep into not one, not two, not even three books but SIX! Who does that? Okay it's really more like five because I shouldn't be counting Anna Karenina if I haven't cracked it open in a few months already. Still, five is just ridiculous, but I couldn't seem to avoid it. I want to read all of these books yesterday.

1. Demon Forged by Meljean Brook (p.148) 
Guardians series, #5
The concluding book of this series that I LOVE so much came out in August so I am playing series catch up and LOVING it. I started reading Demon Forged within hours of finishing the previous book and I just can't put it down. So much is going on in this book's plot and the overall series arc, it's fantastic. Every single page is gripping! I have to tell you, it's going to take ALL of my resolve to read all the other books I've started reading already before reading the next book in the series. I don't know if I'll be able to do it!

2. A Study in Scarlet by Ian Edginton (p.11) 
This is a graphic novel adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes novel of the same title, of course. I've been on a graphic novel kick lately (I've recently read some really awesome ones, by the way..) and I picked this one up over the weekend. Would you believe I've never read a Sherlock Holmes story before? Have you?

3. Lady Susan by Jane Austen (maybe 10%?) 
I started reading this book in late August for the Austen in August book event hosted by Adam who blogs at Roof Beam Reader. I chose Lady Susan out of all of Jane Austen's books because it was the shortest in the collection I own, which I thought would increase my odds of reading an Austen book in Auguts, but alas, I still haven't finished it. Truthfully, I find it a little boring. Is that terrible? I'm determined to finish it though. Austen in September, perhaps?

4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (p.67) 
I started reading this beloved classic (yes, for the first time!) in August while on vacation for the July read along hosted again by Adam at Roof Beam Reader. My high school freshman daughter is reading it right now in her English class so OF COURSE this would be the ideal time to finish it!

5. The Fault of Our Stars by John Green (p.1) 
This book topped my 'The Ones That Got Away' 2012 list which consisted of a handful of books published in 2012 that I really, REALLY wanted to read when they came out, but never did. It was my suggestion for September's book club pick and it is the one we are reading. Yay! So I MUST read this before the end of the month! Which uh... is any day now. Yikes! I have to read this book NOW. (I haven't really started this one yet..)

6. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (p.252) 
Okay, okay, I guess I'm not really reading this NOW if I haven't picked it up in months.. but my bookmark still sits at p.252, so I'll list it here once but won't re-list it again in future What Am I Reading? memes unless I am ACTUALLY reading it at the time. Fair?

So What are YOU reading right now?

Library Loot LXXII

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries! 


Hello friends, how is everyone?
Things have been busy around here.. when are they not, right? Anna's in her second week of high school now and we are already counting the days down to summer! Oh yes, we are having that much fun. It's actually not that bad.. I think overall she's just not one of those kids who likes school and so far she says she's not crazy about any of her teachers and she barely has friends in any of her classes. She only has time go to her locker at the beginning of the day, at lunch time and at the end of the day, so she has to carry a lot of her books and notebooks around all day and up and down flights of stairs. Hey, at least it's exercise, right? Tonight is back-to-school night for parents, so husband and I will walk through her schedule and meet all her teachers. Maybe leave a little mommy & daddy love note in her locker.

In other news, Maria came home last weekend! Yay! Those two weeks were the longest we've ever been apart since she was born (since I was pregnant with her?) but frankly she was more traumatized by the three weeks she had been apart from her boyfriend for the first time in 3.5 years. Oh how their love-priorities change so quickly yet a momma's love never does.. sigh. Her boyfriend, Nick came home this weekend, too (he goes to school in NYC), so we had to share her with him, but we'll take what we can get! Actually, Nick wanted to come hang out at our house so he could visit with us, too, which was very sweet.

I picked up a pretty neat mix of books at the library in the last week or so, including an art how-to book, some cookbooks, a health and nutrition book, several graphic novels, and one novel.

a stack of library books

nonfiction: 
nigellissima by Nigella Lawson
VB6 by Mark Bittman
One Zentangle A Day by Beckah Krahula

graphic novels: 
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle adapted by Peter B. Gillis
The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle adapted by Ian Edginton
Amulet: Prince of the Elves by Kazu Kibuishi
The Girl Who Owned A City by O.T. Nelson
One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry

novel: 
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

The last one is a re-loot from last year. Planning to read it for R.I.P. VIII along with The Sandman graphic novel.

I also picked up (on a separate trip) three other books:

 

Another cookbook and graphic novel:
What Katie Ate by Katie Quinn Davis (not pictured - this is a re-loot)
What's For Dinner by Curtis Stone
A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel adapted by Hope Larson


See anything interesting in my stack?

I've skimmed through all of the nonfiction already and read a couple of the graphic novels. If you have any questions about any of them, please ask!

What are you reading from your library right now?

REVIEW: At Home in Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller

Published in 2009 by Silhouette Books.

This is my September selection for the #TBRChallenge hosted by Wendy the Super Librarian. This month's theme is 'Western' and well.. I thought this was a western based on the title and cowboy hat on the cover, but it's actually a contemporary romance with no cowboys or even a ranch really. Well, the main character's brother runs a ranch but the story doesn't have anything to do with the ranch or ranch life at all.

Ashley O'Ballivan is one of the only single women left in Stone Creek. She's had two pretty serious flings with Jack McCall but he's up and left her and Stone Creek without a word to anyone not once, but twice! Lonely and pretty much broken hearted, Ashley is trying to find some happiness in a simple life by cooking, quilting and taking care of guests in her bed and breakfast. Well, maybe she's not getting many guests, but that better change soon if she's ever going to repay her brother's generous business loan.

After a very long dry spell of no customers, someone finally shows up to rent a room from Ashley ... and it's none other than Jack McCall. Jack actually arrives at her door in an ambulance after having been injected by a lethal toxin on a dangerous and secret assignment, but determined to recover in Stone Creek where he knew he'd find Ashley. Jack remains pretty secretive about his job and why he's walked out on Ashely in the past, but he keeps no secrets about how he loves her, 'always have, always will.' Ashely, in turn, has a soft spot for Jack and takes him into her bed and breakfast and into her bed without any hesitation. Her protective siblings want her to be happy, but no one seems to be thrilled with Jack showing up again, and rightly so if you ask me.

Jack's work quickly gets in the way of any progress between Jack and Ashley, and complicating things for everyone. Eventually these two get together and get their happily ever after but it sure did take a lot of let downs, heartaches and half baked excuses before they got there.

The premise of this story is very appealing--I really wanted to see Ashley and Jack solidify their love for each other and plan for a future together, but I felt none of that happened even though they did get their happily ever after by the end of the book. I understand the Silhouette line produces relatively shorter stories, so there's only so much page time for the characters, but still, I felt everything in Ashely and Jack's story was rushed. The worst part, I think, is that they never really discussed how hurtful it was every time Jack left Ashley for months and years at a time without warning, explanations or even an 'I love you' note. After being treated that way twice over several years, Ashley takes Jack back into her bed and into her heart so easily that she comes across reckless and even desperate. Although as I write this I wonder that perhaps Ashley takes Jack back into her heart and bed so quickly because she wants to experience something--anything close to a happy, loving life before someone else decides otherwise on her behalf! Why not forgive Jack for walking out on her twice before and take what she can from him while she can when her siblings and even Jack himself seem to make all the decisions in this book, know 'what's best for Ashley' and leave her practically a puppet in her own love story.

Overall this story is cute, but both Jack and Ashely's family were way too controlling over Ashley's life and way too quick to make decisions for her. Neither party really ever gave her the chance to express how she felt or what she wanted. On the other hand, Ashley was too soft hearted and forgiving when it came Jack and she really deserved better from him even right to the end. So a few too many disappointments in this one for me to strongly recommend it to other readers, unless you are a fan of the Stone Creek series.

It was okay, so 2 out of 3 stars on goodreads.

GRADE: C

Do you read western romances? 
I have very, very few western romances on my shelves. If you had to recommend just one book to me, what would it be? 

R.I.P. VIII

Artists: Jennifer Gordan and Roman Sirotin.

This year marks the 8th annual R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril or R.I.P. reading event created and hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings. This year will be my 2nd year participating.

The purpose of R.I.P. is to enjoy books, movies or television shows that could be considered mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, supernatural, etc. and to share your experience with others. Um. Like maybe reviews? I'll try.. ;)

R.I.P. VIII takes place from September 1, 2013 through October 31, 2013 and includes a read along of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I actually have this book on my shelves, but I'm not really in the frame of mind to tackle it just now (752 pages!) even though a read along would be a great motivator for this one! Instead I'm going to attempt to tackle this list of books that I've been wanting to read for sometime now, although I'll probably really get going on them in October when I'm more in the mood to read spooky stuff.

I'm aiming to read (and review!) at least four of these books and anything else that might grab me:

The Rose of Fire by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Joyland by Stephen King
Darkhouse by Karina Halle
The Devil's Metal by Karina Halle
Unnatural Creatures by Neil Gaiman

What do you think? Have you read any of these?

Want to join R.I.P.? You can even read just ONE book!

Sign up for the R.I.P. VIII event HERE on Carl's blog.

REVIEW: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

first published in 1943

I first read Le Petit Prince in high school French class several decades ago and recall enjoying it very much. While my recollection of the story itself got very fuzzy over the years, the way it made me feel has always stuck with me... charmed, sentimental, sad, hopeful. I recently read a contemporary novel in which the female protagonist's favorite book was The Little Prince. She painted quotes from the book along the borders of her dining room walls and the book became a topic of conversation several times in the story, most significantly with her lover during which he speculated with whom she identified herself most--the fox or the rose. Of course, this promptly compelled me to re-read The Little Prince. I had no excuse not to revisit this French classic when I had a copy of the book in English on my bookshelf. So yesterday I read The Little Prince for the second time in my life, the first time in English.

If you haven't yet read The Little Prince, I urge you to do so. It's a classic story loved by readers all over the world, and because it's a short book under 100 pages, there really is no excuse not to read it and decide for yourself if it's worthy of its accolades. I adored the The Little Prince and love that it appeals to so many readers. There are important messages about love, relationships, give and take and not taking your family, friends and lovers for granted. The book is often considered a children's book and comes across as such in its whimsical way, but ultimately, I believe adults are its intended audience and its ultimate message is to remind adults not to get so lost in the material and superficial matters of consequence where we ultimately lose sight of what's really important in life.. matters of the heart. To quote the wise fox,

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

My sentimental heart gives The Little Prince a five star rating, but I wonder if a large part of its charm comes from the affection I have for this book having read it in French as a young teen at a time when I probably enjoyed a book for the first time for its philosophical overtures in a foreign language, no less, and not because I truly think today that this book is perfect or near so. Still, the life lessons learned by both the Little Prince and the narrator in this book, and hopefully by readers as well, are truly timeless and invaluable, which maintain that The Little Prince is a true universal classic.

A sentimental 5 out of 5 stars.

On a side note, if you read up a bit on the life of the author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, you will see why Le Petit Prince is often considered an spiritual autobiography. I found it quite interesting.

Have you read The Little Prince?

Library Loot LXXI

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries! 


I returned a whole bunch of library books before going on vacation, but as soon as we got home, I hit the library! I already had (have) several books on my reading queue right now, so I didn't get too many books. I didn't read much in July and because I've been doing some re-reading lately, I've fallen at least 10 books behind in my 2013 goodreads Reading Challenge to read 101 books by the end of the year. I really wish goodreads would allow us to count re-read books to our annual stats. I mean, I read the whole book again.. it should count! Anyway, to help me along a little bit, I decided to check out the graphic novel section for some quick reads. I was psyched to find some pretty awesome--and fairly grown-up-- newly released graphic novels at my library! Check it out:

Primates by Jim Ottaviani & Maris Wicks This one is a nonfiction book about three scientists who dedicated their research efforts to studying primates! Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Biruté Galdikas.

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation by Tim Hamilton So psyched about this one. I read and loved The Illustrated Man when I was maybe in 8th grade but never read Fahrenheit 451. I figured this was a great but sneaky way to catch up with this classic.

The Kite Runner Graphic Novel by Khaled Hosseini I know, I know... I should just read the full book. I even have it! My daughter read it this spring, loved it and implored me to read it, too. And I should. But when I saw the graphic novel I couldn't resist the temptation of a short cut.

The Pickled Pantry by Andrea Chesman Finally, as always I had to visit the cookbooks in the new book section where I found this delightful book on pickling. I'm planning on making at least one of the recipes and posting a review, but in the meantime, know that it is fabulous!


What do you have borrowed from your library?


Do you like pickles? Not just cucumbers.. pickled anything?!

Jet Lagged

There's no place like your own bed
after 2+ weeks away from home!

We're home from our awesome Asia vacation safe and sound and trying to recover from jet lag. I hope it doesn't take too long to adjust .. I was in a fog all day today between about six loads of laundry and I never made it to the grocery store. Our fridge is SO empty! I thought I'd go to sleep early tonight in hopes of waking up cured in the morning but now I'm wide awake and it's already almost 11:30 pm!

Thank you to those of you who followed my trip on instagram. It was a lot of fun sharing photos and having a little interaction with all of you while I was away even though I couldn't always get back online to reply to your comments. I'm going to work on getting some photos and interesting tidbits about our trip up this week, but in the meantime,
What's going on with you? 
Any news to share? 
What have you been reading?

I planned to do a lot of reading on the 19+ hour flight(s) to the Philippines and the 12 hours back to New York, but I barely read at all on this trip! I didn't feel so great on the flight out, so I watched movies and tried to sleep instead.

BOOKS I READ ON VACATION:
While on land, however, I finished my re-read of Demon Angel by Meljean Brook as part of my Guardians series re-read - series catch up I plan to do this summer in preparation for the final book, Guardian Demon which releases TOMORROW! (August 6, 2013) This was actually my 3rd or 4th time I've read Demon Angel and it gets better and better every time I read it. It's five star keeper book for me, no doubt about it. Of course, as soon as I finished it, I regretted not packing the sequel Demon Moon for my trip!

I also read Kitchen by Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto, which I enjoyed very much even though it made me cry on the flight between Hong Kong and Japan. Kind of embarrassing, but oh well. I think I cried pretty discreetly even if I went through several tissues. ;)

On the trip home from Japan I started reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and I'm really enjoying it so far. I didn't realize it was written from a child's point of view. Anyway, I'm looking forward to finishing it this week. I also started reading Demon Moon last night after we got home from the airport. I just couldn't help it! Of course I'm loving it.. Colin and Savi are two of my favorite characters in this series. This story is so unique, dramatic with an incredible amount of character depth, not to mention impeccable world building and series arc development going on in this one. Actually the same goes for Demon Angel but for some reason I'm really drawn to Savi's character.

MOVIES I WATCHED ON VACATION:
I watched an interesting mix of movies on the two flights from and back to the US and we even went to the movies one night in Tokyo! The other flights between cities and countries were too short to show films. (We had a total of six flights on this trip. Oh Lord, was it nerve-wracking!) :/

1. Jack the Giant Slayer. A twist on Jack and the Beanstalk, a predictable fairy tale.

2. Safe Haven. Based on the book by Nicholas Sparks. I've never read his books, but I enjoyed the movie even if I found it predictable and not as fully developed as I think it could have been.

3. Monsters University. We saw this in a movie theater in Tokyo. The movie was in English with Japanese subtitles. Hee hee.

4. Beautiful Creatures. Based on the YA novel of same name that I read a few years ago. Well done, pretty true to the book with a suitable, non-perfect ending. I liked it.

5. Katy Perry: Part of Me. My daughters and I watched this simultaneously. We were cute and we bonded over this documentary even though we had headphones on. Of course we all like Katy Perry a little more now that we watched this. ;)

6. Painted Skin: Resurrection. A Chinese fantasy action film that I just now discovered is the 2011 sequel to the 2008 film Painted Skin. I guess it can be watched as a stand alone because I didn't feel like I was missing anything. If you like Chinese fantasy action films, give this one a go. Just the right combination of fantasy, action, romance and tragedy to suit me.

Have you seen any of these movies?

Hope to catch up with you this week! :)

REVIEW: The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is the second Haruki Murakami book I've read, and while I have mixed feelings about this one, I have a lot of admiration for his writing and still intend to read more of his work. This book was not originally on my Murakami radar, but I decided to read it when Ti at Book Chatter decided to host a Wind-Up Bird read along. I pretty much missed the group aspect of the read-along, but at least I read it. I finished reading this back in May at which time I wrote most of this post. I finally revisited it yesterday and finalized my thoughts.

I've labeled this post as a review, but it's more of a collection of my thoughts on the book. I guess I'm reluctant to say with confidence that this write up is a review because I honestly don't feel qualified to react to it objectively or to even accurately describe the book's premise! It's so unlike anything I've read before -- an ambitious piece of literature that I sometimes felt challenged to comprehend.

My very simplified plot description of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (which takes place in modern day Japan, if you didn't already know) is this: A man named Toru Okada lives a simple life with his wife of six years, Kumiko, and their cat. Toru is recently unemployed and not really sure what he wants to do about it. Their cat goes missing and Kumiko implores Toru to find him. On his search for the cat, he befriends a teenage girl in their neighborhood and a lonely old World War II Lieutenant who is haunted by his past, consults with an unusual medium about the whereabouts of the cat and then his wife unexpectedly disappears. Toru's search efforts shift from the cat to that of Kumiko and soon a string of strange events occur that even he doesn't understand, spiraling his life in very bizarre and surreal directions. He spends a lot of time contemplating these events and his life in general at the bottom of a dry well.

If I had to name one major theme of this book, I would say it is a study in fate versus free will or perhaps more accurately, the melding of the two philosophies. How absolute is fate? and how powerful is man's free will that he can thwart fate and carve his own path through life? Murakami explores this quite elaborately and in a fairly abstract way that was often difficult for me to piece together.

The Wind-Up Bird is a book you could talk on and on about but still never fully articulate exactly what it's really about, what it all means or how it made you feel. To quote Toru Okada himself, I frequently asked this book to just "name something already. Name something concrete." Toru was always wanting a concrete explanation--something tangible that he could relate to or hang on to so he could understand what someone was talking about. I felt like that a lot myself while reading this book!

Murakami's characters live in reality as we know it, their imaginations AND in some "other version of reality." An "other" place in which they interact with each other in a very surreal way. The word 'phantasmagorical' is probably the best singular descriptor of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (I've always wanted to use that word). 'Perplexingly phantasmagorical' if I were to use two words.

I'm very glad I read the book--it's a fascinating, albeit often slightly nightmarish journey of an ordinary man. The writing is excellent and is nearly effortless to read as Murakami has a natural talent for writing with simple language, realistic characters doing every day things with which we're all familiar. Yet at the same time, strange things happen that make the reader question what is reality and what might be a dream, hallucination or something "other." Murakami strings together a series of events and repercussions that transform the story into something of epic and thought provoking complexity that can be interpreted by readers in an infinite number of ways. It all sounds really 'out there,' and quite frankly, it is.

Yet at the same time it is literature that is accessible to any reader because in the end, the interpretation is left open to the individual. There is no wrong or right interpretation or analysis of this book.

Some specifics about the book that kept me from really enjoying it.. Throughout most of this 600+ page book, I felt that there were clues on every page that I ought to be mentally cataloguing for future reference as the story progressed or for connecting with events that already occurred. Important insights and connections between characters past and present.. events in reality and in "the other side".. I had a hard time putting my finger on all of it.

There are many components of this book that still stump me. At the end of a chapter, I'd often find myself thinking, "Okay so what is the point of THIS chapter?" Some chapters definitely felt more relevant than others and but those that felt more irrelevant to me? Some of those I never figured out how they contributed to the whole at all.. why or how was that connected or how deep was the connection?

For example, the recurrence of the baseball bat. Introduced in one of the zoo massacre chapters, what was the point of that entire scenario other than to show a baseball bat that would become important in another chapter, by another person in another time. It wasn't even suggested that it was the SAME baseball bat. Was it just another thread in which Tarou Okada was connected to the zoo veterinarian who was Cinnamon's father? Or is it more symbolic than that? Was the purpose of the zoo-baseball bat massacre JUST to make a later connection with a baseball bat and if so, was the elaborate display necessary? Personally, I would have been happier never having read that chapter and maybe one or two others as well, but that's just personal comfort level, I think. Needless to say, I kept thinking I was missing some great significance of the recurrence of the baseball bat other than it connected people and time. Was there more to it? I don't know.. And maybe, just maybe, that uncertainty in me as a reader was Murakami's intention. Well, perhaps not striving for it, but I think Murakami would be totally cool with readers not quite making everything in this book "fit." Because it's not supposed to. He wants things to be left open-ended for readers to speculate, imagine and interpret in their own ways, relevant to our own thoughts and personal life experiences.

So how do I feel about this book? I have mixed feelings. I finished this book with a feeling of "Huh. I guess that's it." Not the usual sentiment I imagine most authors desire, yet for some reason, I actually think that could be what Murakami was striving for. Or if that was not his intention, I think he'd find it totally acceptable for readers to not quite make everything they read "fit" just right. Imagine looking a jigsaw puzzle, the image of a piece of abstract art. Now imagine random pieces of this puzzle missing.. it's still a piece of art. Still something worthy of interpretation and admiration, maybe even more so had all the pieces fell into place. Can you see that? THAT is what this book is like to me.

I gave The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle 3 out of 5 stars on goodreads-- 'I liked it."

I may not have understood everything, particularly the excessively surreal aspects of the book and some chapters were quite disturbing and in my opinion didn't significantly add to the quality or progress of the story, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle certainly gave me a lot to think about!

To Kill A Mockingbird Read-Along

Much to my own surprise, I've never read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I don't know how this escaped the attention of my honors high school literature teachers, but there you have it.

When I got wind that Adam was contemplating a re-read and perhaps a read-along, I jumped at the opportunity to fill in the gap in my classic lit experience.

The plan is to read the book in just 17 days, which sounds doable, but with a busy vacation upon me in just a few days, a 12 hour time difference between Asia and the US and uncertain Internet access, my participation will likely be limited. However, I've got some long flights ahead of me so I'll be toting my 50th Anniversary copy of To Kill A Mockingbird along in hopes of finishing it by the time I get back.

To join, visit the Master Post: To Kill A Mockingbird Read-Along over at Adam's. You can see the suggested reading schedule there, too.

Have you read this classic?