I can't keep up with this kid...

He is a veracious reader and I can not keep this kid in books! He received this book in his Easter basket and started it right away. I think he finished it in 3 days and then was hounding me for the next book in the series {which was still in hardback}. I finally got him the next book and he finished that on in another 3 days. Now we are looking for the next book for him to read.

Where did she go?

April 1, 2011 - catching up

I hadn't seen Sarah for some time and I found her reading in her room. She started reading a series of books that Ian turned her on to and has spent many hours with her nose in a book. I love that my kids have a love for reading as I do.

I can't keep this boy in books!

Ian is a prolific reader reading book series after book series faster than I can find another he is interested in and purchase for him. He had just gotten this book and spent the afternoon on the couch reading the day away.

Book Club

These lovely ladies are a part of my book club and they joined me at my house to discuss the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It was a great discussion on a difficult topic. The book is an easy read {I think it is a young adult book} and not very long but still manages to be thought provoking and worth the read.

Our next read

The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas

Reading

I left my book club book {Finding Tom Connor by Sarah-Kate Lynch} on the airplane {on our way to Loreto} so although I was in the middle of it I had to read some of the other books that I had brought along with me on vacation.

I had started A Tendering in the Storm and brought it along with me to finish only to figure out that I had already read it so I started and finished A Mending at the Edge. These are the last two book in a series of three by Jane Kirkpatrick. Although it is not my favorite books by this author I enjoyed this series that is about the Bethel Community from Missouri and their journey to the Northwest and there eventual settling in Aurora, Oregon. Fun to read books about where I live.

Once I was done with that I moved on to just pure fun, easy and mindless reading.

Enjoyed these. Such a Pretty Fat is the second book that I have read by Jen Lancaster and I really enjoy her sarcasm. I even ordered another book by her. And... I am now reading her blog called Jennsylvania. Check it out. If you went to high school in the 80's you will really appreciate her current posts.

Book Club

We met at Chantal's house for book club {it is beginning to be a January tradition} to discuss A Thousand Splendid Suns, a book that we all seamed to like and agreed that it was a disturbing but beautifully written story. We had a great discussion, even better food and celebrated the New Year with poppers that were filled with a prize, a crown, and a fortune or joke. We also welcomed Michelle to the group. We were only missing Angela {who's sister had her baby early}

We also chose our next two books 

Wicked by Gregory Maguire & Finding Tom Connor by Sarah-Kate Lynch

Done - Finally

Holy Cow this book took me forever to finish. It was the sequel to "Through a Glass Darkly" and I wasn't expecting a sequel and was annoyed when I finished the book that I had to read another book to find out the fate of the characters. I headed out and bought "Now Face to Face" and started off well but I lost the book and couldn't find it for more than a month. It turned out it was in Terry's car and when I tried to pick it back up the momentum was gone. I have been struggling for months to finish this darn book. I wasn't thrilled with the ending - it wasn't what I expected and then, well it ended, just like that. The next day I was looking at the back of the book because I thought there was a section that had book club questions and it turned out to be an alternate ending. The author had written the ending prior to writing most of the book but her sister got sick and wasn't going to live long and she wanted her to read the manuscript of the book before she died and didn't want her to read about a death while she was living one. I understand why the author changed her ending but after reading the 2nd ending I felt like it made more sense. Overall, I think if I hadn't taken so long to read the book I would have enjoyed it more. Now on to "A Thousand Splendid Suns" which I must have read by the 14th - I better get reading!

books, books & more books

Just some books that I actually don't own but would like to read sometime in the future.

So Many Books, So Little Time

I went to my book cabinet to find my book clubs next book {that I have had for more than a year} and I was shocked {ok, not really. I knew they were there} to find quite the stack of books I have. I pick up a book every now and then at Costco or when we {book club} are looking for another book to read I buy one thinking I can convince them to read it but if not I will read it anyway. The crazy thing is that I still have SO MANY because I do read them either with my book club or in between book club books. I think maybe I should stay away from places like Borders and Costco's book isle for a while. Maybe that could be a New Years resolution - to read the books in my cabinet.

Book Club

We had our annual Christmas ornament exchange {this year at Amber's House} with the only missing member being Aimee. We traditionally read a small Christmas book and this year it was a inspirational book that promotes the spirit of giving called Christmas Jars. I really enjoyed the book and it is a very quick read. I read it the day of book club.

Now on to our next book

Books, books & more books

We met to discuss the book Twilight the other night at Kris's house. Twilight was well received by the group as a whole and it was a nice easy read after The Pillars of the Earth a few people even went on and read the rest of the series. I had already read Twilight {and the rest of the series} so while the rest of the book club was reading Twilight I read Through A Glass Darkly. It is a historical fiction taking place in the 17th century. I enjoyed it but as I was getting to the end it became clear that the author was not tieing up all the loose strings at the end of the book - there was a sequel. When I started the book I had no idea that there was a sequel so I was a little bothered but am now currently reading Now Face to Face which takes the historical fiction to a Virgina plantation dealing with slavery. I am finding this book interesting too but now need to get moving on the next book club book as it might be a little bit of a tougher read.

Our book clubs next read. Between the Lines by Jonathan Alter. We chose a political book to go along with the upcoming elections. We did this last election choosing In our Defense : The Bill of Rights in Action by Ellen and Caroline Kennedy Alderman. A dry read but very educational.

The inside jacket of the book:

For more than Twenty years, Jonathan Alter has enjoyed a front-row seat on history. In his widely acclaimed Newsweek column, Alter has witnessed the biggest events of our time. He was in the Soviet Union when communism was collapsing, in Los Angeles after the Rodney King riots, at Bill Clinton's impeachment rial, in Florida during the historic 2000 recount, at Ground Zero just after 9/11, on an aircraft carrier on the eve of war with Iraq, in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and much more. He has interviewed today's major newsmakers - Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain - more often than any print journalist, as well as a cast of other colorful characters from Paul McCartney to Richard Nixon to his own mother. Whether he's writing about the 2008 presidential campaign or his own bout with cancer, Alter's timeless analysis and revered prose style set a high standard for political commentary at the turn of the  century. He is our recent history, in the voice of one of America's finest nonfiction writers.

I am caught up and now

{after posting 7 posts}  I will be busy reading for a while.

Book Club

Book club met at Angela's house to discuss "The Pillars of the Earth". Not everyone finished the over 900 page book but of those of us who did it was a bit of a mixed review. Some thought it was too violent but I got caught up in the story and will admit that although it was very violent I read right through it and didn't give it much of a thought. I liked it and would recommend it. Lucky for me, after reading such a huge book, the group was looking for something much easier to read and everyone agreed to read twilight {which I have already read}. Stephenie Meyer's new book "breaking dawn" {the forth book in the twilight series} comes out on Friday so I will read that while the rest of book club decides if they are a Edward or Jacob fan. I can't wait to hear what they all think of the book.

Tonight I started reading James and the Giant Peach to my kids. This book has quite a bit of nostalgia for me. When I was in fifth grade after we would come in from lunch my teacher, Mrs. Moore, would read the book out loud to the class. I am sure it was her way to settle us all down after we had been out running around but as I would run in I would have much anticipation about what would happen next in the book and I couldn't wait to settle in and listen. Tonight as I read all three of the kids sat and listened with anticipation as much as I did all those years ago. They didn't want me to quit {neither did I} but it was late so I promised to pick it up again during the day tomorrow - they don't want to wait for bed time. I don't think I want to wait either. I am so excited to share the book with my children.

While in Sunriver

I read.....

They were booth book candy and I don't think I could recommend either of them {especially She went all the way} unless of course you are interested in some mindless reading and then maybe the Queen of Babble.

Book Club

We met at my house to discuss Eat Pray Love. It wasn't a favorite of mine however I am glad I continued to read and finally finish it. It was about one woman's quest to find herself after a messy divorce that took her to Italy to eat, an ashram in India to meditate and pray, and Bali where she found love. I didn't agree with the way she looked at some things but it was interesting to read about and get some insight on meditation and places in the world that I am most likely not going to travel to. Not everyone finished the book but that didn't stop us from having a great conversation that went to the wee hours. Our next book is The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett {HUGE book - 973 pages} and the book after that will be Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. 

Just finished

I just finished The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory. It wasn't as good as The Other Boleyn Girl but I still found it to be a fascinating book. I think I would read anything by Philipa Gregory. The book is a historical fiction {my very favorite type of book to read} about Henry VIII and for some reason I am quite interested in the time period and Henry VIII. I can't get over that he started out to be such a handsome and good king and ended up being a tyrant and obese spoiled child. FYI - he had six wives and it went like this...

Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived

Book Club

We met last night at Patricia's house to talk about our latest book Pretty Little Mistakes. The book is one that you read the story and then decide where you will go next {to collage or tour Europe} and then go to that page and continue reading until there is another decision. I read the book while we were on spring break and I felt that the book was making me focus on death. Every story ends in death {some good but most not so good}. I didn't hate the book, but it certainly is not a favorite, I probably wouldn't even recommend it, although I went a bit crazy in the way I read the book. I marked where I left one part of a story and moved on to another tangent to make sure that when my character died I knew where to go back and start reading from. So, at any given time my book at least half a dozen strips of paper sticking out of it. Using my method, I can say I am pretty sure I read all of the story endings in the book. Most of the book club had stronger {negative} feelings about the bock than I did. That said, it didn't inhibit us from discussing it and having a great time while doing so. Patricia served a wonderful dinner {as usual} and we all enjoyed the food and conversation. We choose our next books Eat Love Pray and then The Pillers of the Earth.

Vacation Reads

I somehow managed to read these three books as well as my book club book while on vacation. Im not sure how considering my unease when my kids are around water but read them I did. These three weren't tough reads, I suppose that is how I did it. They were defiantly 'chick lit' and didn't require great consternation to follow the plot. Although I enjoyed reading them they don't make my list of books to recommend, unless of course your interested in some mindless beach reading.

Our next read

My book clubs next read is Pretty Little Mistakes by Heather McElhatton. It is a book that you can read over and over and choices you make {go to collage or go to Europe} decide the outcome of the story. I am really looking forward to it after reading something so difficult.