2009 Clue-up...

Well I read a lot in 2009 but with December being so busy I have yet to finish the next book "Uphill all the Way"

It'll be my first book for 2010!

I look forward to reading a lot this year... Currently I have 7 novels here to read and I've left 5 in St. John's for this summer.

I'm hoping to have about 20 books read this year... that's 1-2 per month and a comfortable pace for me.

Some books on my list for this year are

Twilight

New Moon

Under the Tuscon Sun

The Kite Runner

and I forget the rest! SO's parents gave me Twilight and New Moon for Christmas. I hope that I like them. Most of the other books I buy at second hand stores for $5-6 each or at Chapters.ca where I have a discount card.

I'm looking forward to buying/recieving some books this year too...

Twenty's Girl - Sophie Kinsella

Baby Proof - Emily Giffin

I hear that Giffin has a new book arriving in May as well, so I'm sure that'll be added to my list as a must read...

Any suggestions for great reads are always appreciated! Until the next update... Happy Reading!

THe Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc.... <3!

Well I just loved this book! It's definately a 5/5! It's really a great read and very believable too :)

Sissy is a SAHM to 3 boys in the 50's-60's... she married her high school boyfriend and then 14 years later her high school sweetheart returned to find her.

With liquor, humour, race issues, adultry, and murder this was one great read!

I haven't decided what I'll read next.... I'll figure it out in the next couple of days I'm sure :)

Dear John...

Dear John was a delightful book!

Nicholas Sparks is famous for writing those sappy sad romantic love stories. I have to say I only think his work is ok most of the time.

But this book, I can't say that I could relate to the story but it was a really great read. Maybe I was in that kind of mood when I was reading it.

The main character is in the Army and stationed in Germany, while home on leave he falls in love. The story is about their love and it's growth. Of course you can probably tell something happens so that it changes and becomes sad but it's not that he dies in the war!!! This is actually a great read. I would really like to see a sequal for it. I would like to see this one on film! This book is everything that Nights in Rodenthe wasn't for me... and that makes it a great book in my honest opinion. So check it out from your local library today... or if you're a book snob like me, just go buy it! You could spend $10 on a lot worse entertainment!

Life's pretty simple around here

Not a lot going on to blog about.... school, work, eat, laundry, dishes... repeat.

There have been a few posts on my sewing blog... but unless your into sewing, you probably don't care much about that.

I've finished a new book... it's the second one in Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series.

Dearly Devoted Dexter was a great read. I enjoyed it far more than the first one in the series yet I still like the show better. I'll read the other two books eventually but I won't be rushing out to buy them. It's more gory than the first book but it's delightfully gruesome. If you get a chance check it out from the LBS!

New Book Review... and yes it's been a while

I actually finished this book on the plane while venturing home :) but with the new kiddo and all I didn't have time to write about it.

Dexter is a guilty pleasure for me. I love to watch the show and I have even purchased the DVD's. If you're not into crime novels this one may not be for you, however it is vastly different than any crime novel I've ever read so don't count yourself out just yet!!!!

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay is an ok read. It took me a couple of chapters to get into the book because Lindsay's writing style is quite different from anything I read before. The details are similar to the show however the ending is very different.

For those of you familiar with the show, here are some differences I've noticed

LaGuarta - rich and not good at her job... doesn't like Deborah. She's a detective and well lets just say (don't read any further in this sentence if you plan on reading this book) she won't make it to the next book!
Deborah Morgan - Big chested prostitute type... and then masculin in nature... not in looks
Angel Batista - Not a police officer, works for the coroners office

There are others... like the ice truck killer's differences himself... but it's best to read the book to figure out the rest. I don't want to spoil the fun.

I'm now reading the second book in the series. That's the only two Andrew owns so I probably will have to wait to read the next two.

Here's a shot at the cover if your interested in knowing what to look for...

Reading List Update

I haven't updated my Reading List in a long time!

School was finally finished on Monday and I've been trying to finish up my hours at my summer job. I've been doing a lot of sewing so not much blogging has been going on.

Anyway, I have two books to talk about... one really good and worth every penny paid for it and the other was the kinda bad you had to finish. Just like one of those cheesy made for tv movies not really good but you have to keep watching anyway...

I'll start with the really good one... Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin.... I loved the idea behind this book. A happily married woman runs into her ex and he clearly wants her back. What does she do? Normally I'd let a little slip but for you... just go read it!

The other book... it's called Big Boned by Meg Cabot. It is a book in a series but I haven't read any of the others. Some of the details were alluding to other books but I didn't have that info to catch on to the reference. It wasn't a terrible read, It's a "Chick-Lit Murder Mystery" and I think those are two things that (IMO) shouldn't be mixed. You can check it out if you like cheesy murder mysteries and all lol!

I don't know what to read next! I have 10-15 novels sitting on my shelf that I've yet to touch and with my $$$ in such dire straights lately I'll be reading those before purchasing any new ones!!! I may even read one of the boy's books... he has the Dexter novels there and I love the show... I may read them to see how twisted they are in print too!

Another book...

I just finished the another book in my library. It's Happiness Sold Seperately by Lolly Winston. She could easily be my favourite author.

I just love this story... infertility, infidelity, separation, divorce, miscarriage, love, hate, children... it's all in between the covers. Just got to read it... I dare you to put it down!

It took me a while to read this one but it's because I loved it that much I would read sections over and over. I probably read it 2-3 times before I got through the whole thing!

It had a very interesting style too. It was written from multiple points of view. It was the first time I had read a book like that but it creates a situation where only the reader is omnipotent (I think that's the omni word I was looking for.... if it's not please let me know in the comments lol).

I loved her first book Good Grief and I can honestly say I can't wait for a 3rd one!

Check it out at the library or bookstore soon!

Autism...

I guess most of you know that I worked as an ABA for a child with Autism. We'll when I seen this book at Coles and was only $5.99 I figured I've wasted money on worse than that before...

I had never heard of the author Marti Leimbach and certainly never heard of her other books... although one of her books, Dying Young, was made into a movie with Julia Roberts.

I didn't expect this book to be a love story but that is what it is. It's the story of a mother and her love for her son who is Autistic. They have a journey through diagnosis, ABA therapy, Play therapy, and life.

She struggles in her marriage and in the end I believe she found love. It was really well written and I enjoyed every page... I have to say I could put it down and leave it for a while as it wasn't a tear jurker or thriller. It's like a look into somebody's life. It's not my favourite book of all time but it is a great read. If you or somebody you know has a child with Autism, this may be a book of interest. But I think everyone will enjoy this book.

This book was written as a kind of Autobiography for her... on the Autism Speaks website she wrote "The novel Daniel Isn't Talking reflects the situation for my family between the years of 1999 and 2001, what I've come to know as the “autism years.” Of course, the autism years have carried on. It's just that I have grown so accustomed to them that they have ceased to require the appellation autism years and have just become the years, like any years "

You can purchase the book from your local bookstore or try...

Nicholas Sparks

I've always heard the Nicholas Sparks was a fantastic author. So I picked up 2 of his books recently. I started with the most recent one that was made into a motion picture. (I haven't seen either of the movies yet!).

Nights in Rodanthe. It was a good read... not a lot of detail... minimal sappiness. Overall it left me asking questions of why people love this guy so much... the book was only ok. I'm not sure I'd read it again but it wasn't terrible. Just OK. I actually think the movie will be (is) better than the book in this case. I think the actors can fill in the blanks on the missing emotions and expressions that weren't penned.

That being said... I decided to see if all of his work was that "ok" so I read the Notebook. I have to say I LOVED IT! It was short and sweet, sad and funny, just a beautiful love story. Not over the top, very tasteful, just beautiful! This is why Nicholas Sparks is loved by the world. I would tell you to pick this one up and have a little read. It's only 200+ pages so it's quick and fufilling. If you don't like this book... I'm convinced you have no heart... like nothing... grinch style... seriously... I'm not kidding!

I don't know which one I'll read next. I have a stack of about 20-25 to read lol! I need to stop buying them so I can enjoy them!!! Anywho... here's the links to the books so you can check them out yourself!

Multiple Bles8ings

Well I've been clipping right along in the book category lately. I have devoured the book Multiple Bles8ings by Jon & Kate Gosselin and Beth Carson.

It's largely an Autobiography of Kate and her life since conception of sextuplets. I really enjoyed 95% of the book. The only part I wasn't a big fan of was the last chapter. It was really faith oriented and although I consider myself Christian I thought it was a little pushy for the previous feeling of the book. I mean I would read a religious book (and have!) but I didn't think that this book would be like that. It was published by Zondervan so I knew that I should expect religious views etc but the first 90% of the book just wasn't like that.

I have to say though that if you followed the show at all or even if your just curious about what life may be like with 8 children, twins and sextuplets... less than 3 years apart... this is a great read! I'd recommend it to everyone. I still gave it a 4.5/5 in my ratings

I just loved the light-heartedness of the book and it was really well written. I could almost hear Kate narrating in my head as I read lol!

So, pick it up at your local library, bookshop, yard-sale... whatever! and read it today.

My next read is... Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks... my first adventure into the sappy romance novel! We'll see how it goes.

One for My Baby

This was a pretty good book actually. In the end I just decided to take a few days off... from everything including reading. That's why I wasn't blogging and why I never posted in a while... although as you can tell I had stuff to post :)

This book was pretty good It's not one of my favs or even my fav by Tony Parson's. I really prefer his Man and Boy book (also the sequel Man and Wife). I would recommend this book to people who like a book that challenges the social norms and likes to read about things that could have actually happened. I like Tony's style because he writes from a male perspective and he writes in a way that you're sympathetic to the characters he takes on.

This book deals with many family issues including; the death of a spouse, divorce, single motherhood, pregancy and abortion, nuclear closeness, and death of the elderly.

I think this is a good fall read... when you have that cup of tea and want something meaty to think about.

I couldn't find a reliable link to buy this book new... so check out used copies or your local lib!

This time of year I want a feel good book... so my next stop is Multiple Bles8ings by Kate Gosselin and Beth Carson. It's a different type of book for me... it's a biography of sorts... or a documentary lol. But, I love the show and can't wait to start this book.

Have you Ever?

Have you ever started reading a book and you think it's a good book but you just don't want to read it now?

I've started reading Tony Parsons' One for My Baby. I'm only 20-odd pages in and it's great so far. Tony Parsons writes great stories from the male perspective but they're about real life. I mean the characters could be the Joe next door except they're all set in England. I love his style and his books but I just don't think I want to read that book now. I think I'm going to put it on the back burner and start another book.

I bought three new books yesterday and I think I may read one of them first. A couple of them are only short, 200 pages or so. The other is a biography. I'm looking forward to reading all of them... hopefully even more than just those lol.

Am I weird for wanting to do that? Is it just me or does anyone else want to do that sometimes too? I think I may be getting a little tired of the lovey-dovey books and want something different. I'll keep you all posted. I don't want to tell the names of the books because I like introducing them after I read them!

Finished the Second Book!

Well, I just finished the second book in this two part series. I have to say that in the beginning I was captivated but it felt like I was rereading part of the first book. Although, that wasn't a bad thing because in this book the main character isn't the same person.

Without giving away too many details, Rachel was the main character in Something Borrowed. She was the best-friend to Darcy. She "borrowed" Darcy's fiance (which you can read from the cover!!!). In the second book Darcy is the main character and it tells about what happens after Rachel borrowed Dex (the fiance).

I loved this book too! For many different reasons than the ones I liked Something Borrowed. I liked the finality to this book. I don't think there will be another one but I enjoyed it and was sad at the same time that that was it!

Please read this book... but not until you read Something Borrowed. Although you could read it... I think it would make much more sense to read it after.

I actually found out that my sister has been reading these books too! Too funny, maybe we have more things in common than I first thought.

I think I've found a new Favourite....

I just finished reading Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin...

It was FANTASTIC... I give it 6/5 stars... no kidding, it really has been a new favourite of mine since I started reading it. I'm so glad that Andrew has bought be it's sequel Something Blue for a birthday present too.

I will be undoubtedly starting that one today. I'm loving that I've decided to post about the books I've been reading. I think for a while I lost things to blog about. Without delving into the uber personal areas of my life that is.

I'm hoping that this will attract some new readers to my blog too. I want to continue sharing about the books that I have read. I think I may even do some posts about previous books that I have read. We'll see what the summer brings.

I've decided not to do any courses over the summer. I've been doing courses for 20 months straight now and I'm burnt-out. I'm just going to take a break and work for a bit. I wish I could find a permanent job as a teacher but I'm settling on this ABA job for now and possibly ECE later on.

Wow, this post is all a jumble! I'm usually not this scatter brained lol. Anyway, if you're looking for a great story about love and friendship... this book is it! Pick it up from your library, bookstore, best friend, wherever! You won't be disappointed!!!!

I am...

So SIIIIIIIICK! I want my Mommy!

I am barely draggy my butt to the places it needs to go. I have a sinus cold and the pressure is unbearable. I hate this crap. My eyes are runny, I'm sneezing, I'm stuffy, I'M MISERABLE!

So please... forgive me for my lack of posting... I'm in bed... and in the process of writing a paper for school... the last one until September!

I'm also reading something borrowed. I have to say I've read some chick lit before but this is Woman's Literature... it's classy, elegant, and phenomenally written. Sophie Kinesella may be funny and whitty but Emily Giffin is just outstanding. Some of the best literature I've ever read... the story makes sense, is plausable (thus far), and the characters are realistic. This could be happening to the girl next door for all I know. Thus far, this is one of my favourite books ever... not just this year!

I'm off to drain the NyQuil bottle... and read my book...

The Makedown

This was a great book... I loved 9/10 of it! the 1/10 I didn't like was the ending... I required a little more... and I felt it was abrupt... maybe it's me liking things all drawn out and sappish...

The story was fantastic... secretly I wish the evolution of the main character could somewhat be my life too, but sadly, I still have acne, and I'm far more than 59lbs over my ideal weight. I fear my legs will always touch while walking. I don't get a sweat stash like she did, however... I get lovely boobsweat... pretty and sexy I know.

I however have a beautiful male specimen for a bf and he doesn't need a Makedown... I love him and trust him as is :)

I think this is a wonderful book. I'm so happy that I entered Tee's contest and won it! It is defiantly a book that I'll be keeping. I thought about passing it on but... I just couldn't do it!

My next book is Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin... I'm 20+ pages in and so far... excellante!

A great book!

I just finished a great book. I devoured it in a week again. It's called Cocktails for Three and was written by Madeleine Wickham. I have now left all of her books behind me... it seems I can't get another until this summer. I have 2 pre-ordered and there are 3-4 others that are out of print. I keep checking the local second-hand bookstore but no luck thus far.

Anyways, this book was amazing. Following 3 best friends over their life changing events. I highly recommend this book for a good laugh, a bit of romance, and fun!


My next book is the Makedown by Gitty Daneshvari (I think this one is going to be great too... I've already devoured 10 chapters in a couple of days!) I'm sure I'll be back with this review soon.

Ummm well...

Have you ever read a book that wasn't terrible but wasn't great either? That's what I think about the book "the Gatecrasher" by Madeleine Wickham. It's a take it or leave it book. At points I was rather bored and at other times I was roaring in laughter. The worst part about the book is the ending is unresolved. Atypical of her style altogether. Lets just say this book won't be a movie any time soon.... well not a good one anyway!

It took me a long time to get through this book. I was satisfied with reading only 4-5pages a day... usually I'm transfixed by books and devour chapters at a time, but not this one.

Did I mention that Madelene Wickham is the real name of Sophie Kinsella.

I only rate this book as a 3/5... 60% I mean that's ok right. So if your bored and want something to read this may be a good book, but I've certainly read better.


Next on my list is "Cocktails for Three" and so far it's hilarious! Much more the style you think about when you hear the name Madeleine Wickham.

Can You Keep a Secret?

My Secret is that I'm a huge procrastinator... while I should be studying/writing papers I'm reading for pleasure and writing blog posts!

Anyways... this is my favourite book that Sophie Kinsella has written... over all the Shopoholic Series and her other stand alone novels... this is it! I think it would make a great movie and it's not just a chick-lit book, its fun its whitty and the characters are real, you can picture then. They don't have that fictisious quality that she's known for having (at least in my opinion lol!) So, I say definately add this one to your reading list... and if you're not old enough to do more than hold hands with a boy, this one probably isn't safe for you yet :)



Next book on my list, Gatecrasher by Madeline Wickhem... ham? I dunno I'll figure it out before I do a real post about it!

New Book Review!

Well, school is clippin' right along and I'm back to procrastinating like a pro again :)

So this week instead of studying hard, I've been fretting over not getting a call to sub yet and reading a book instead.

Today I finished, Sophie Kinsella's "Undomestic Goddess" and it was dry and boring for the first 170pages... then it got good.... so good that I took 2 hours this afternoon and read the rest of it!

It's a book where you don't know if you want to continue for the first 1/3 then the last 2/3 are so great. The ending was the best... it left a lot of unanswered questions and I have to say I'm holding out on the "Domesticated Goddess". Although, I suspect that Sophie Kinsella won't take titling suggestions from me lol.

So, if you're looking for another great "chick-lit" book, I recommend this one. I've kinda gotten into a chick-lit splurge lately... I've read 7/8 Sophie Kinsella's books and I have 2 ordered that she wrote under her real name (that's right Sophie Kinsella is a pseudonym). But more on those later.

I think I'll read "Can you keep a secret next" to finish off my Kinsella spree. Then who know's what I'll pick!

I think I've gotten into the chick-lit because it's mindless fun. Entertaining and yet it has a plot and characters that are fun. I give this book a 4/5. It's not my fav read but nonetheless I greatly enjoyed it.