Spring Break

Spring Break is finally here!  Yesterday was the first official day, and I have to tell you, I was already a little bored out of my  mind.  It felt like a Saturday and Nate was working (as he is today, on an actual Saturday) and I just sat around and read my book (11/22/63, which is a giant book and I am making slow progress on.  I need to hurry up because its due back on the 11.  Yikes!)  I don't know what I am going to do next week, when Nate is working Mon-Friday and I am here, alone.  Still.
Yes, I do - I will be reading.  I am attempting to do the Spring Book Challenge on the Nest this time.  I always start them and never finish.  I get bored with the categories or a better book comes along (as in, the library gets in all my holds at once!).  But this time, I picked books that I already have on my wishlist at the library (although, one book I am 34 in line, so I might have to rethink that one) or already own.  I need to make a concerted effort to read books that are on my 4 bookcases.  They aren't just decorations!

In other areas...
Tee's wedding was about a week and a half ago.  So much fun!  She got married in Disney at the Wedding Pavilion and it was beautiful.  Her reception was at the Grand Floridian and half way through Mickey and Minnie and Pluto came to visit!  It was, by far, my favorite part of the day - dancing with Mickey Mouse!

Nate and I at the end of the night, after watching the fireworks outside and dancing all night. (My second favorite part - most of the ladies who were at the reception put on Mickey ears during the dancing.  The ears are so fancy now!)

The three of us - me, Jul, and Tee.
(I met Tee when my college roommate (Jul) invited me to Disney for Tee's 21st birthday.  I kind of knew her before that, but we became really close after that.  So here we are, almost 9 years later, back in Disney!)

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

I have heard fabulous things about John Green.  I read Will Grayson, Will Grayson and I enjoyed it (of course, let me fangirl a minute and say that it was almost definitely because of David Levithan.)  But I tried to read Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines.  But I just didn't see the appeal.

But I wanted to give him one last try.  And so I picked up The Fault in Our Stars from the library. I came home from the library on Thursday night, sat on the couch (with my coat and library bag still on) and read for 3 1/2 hours.  I finished it in less than 24 hours.

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind. -from Goodreads.com

Remember those Lurlene McDaniel books you read in middle/high school?  The ones about the sick kids with rare diseases or cancer?

This is not one of those books.  John Green approaches the subject of sick teenagers with grace and a sense of reality.  The main characters drip with sarcasm and teenager-ness.
Without giving too much away, I think its a good thing I didn't read Green's other books, because from the reviews I have read, this book follows most of his other plotlines.

I do not think I will reread his other books, but I am glad I picked this one up.

Sister - Rosamund Lupton

When her mom calls to tell her that Tess, her younger sister, is missing, Bee returns home to London on the first flight. She expects to find Tess and give her the usual lecture, the bossy big sister scolding her flighty baby sister for taking off without letting anyone know her plans. Tess has always been a free spirit, an artist who takes risks, while conservative Bee couldn’t be more different. Bee is used to watching out for her wayward sibling and is fiercely protective of Tess (and has always been a little stern about her antics). But then Tess is found dead, apparently by her own hand.

Bee is certain that Tess didn’t commit suicide. Their family and the police accept the sad reality, but Bee feels sure that Tess has been murdered. Single-minded in her search for a killer, Bee moves into Tess’s apartment and throws herself headlong into her sister’s life—and all its secrets.

Though her family and the police see a grieving sister in denial, unwilling to accept the facts, Bee uncovers the affair Tess was having with a married man and the pregnancy that resulted, and her difficulty with a stalker who may have crossed the line when Tess refused his advances. Tess was also participating in an experimental medical trial that might have gone very wrong. As a determined Bee gives her statement to the lead investigator, her story reveals a predator who got away with murder—and an obsession that may cost Bee her own life.

A thrilling story of fierce love between siblings, Sister is a suspenseful and accomplished debut with a stunning twist. (from Goodreads.com)

I was sucked in from page 1.  I have a sister who is 9 years younger than I am  and the whole time I was reading, I kept thinking "what if that was A?"  To be honest, during the 4 days it took me to read the book, I had nightmares each night that it was MY life.

The character development was really good.  I felt like I knew the characters, like they could have been my friends.  Even the characters who were in the book solely to throw you off as to the real killer were well written.

I guessed who the killer was the first time he was introduced (to be fair, I kind of guessed EVERY man when they were introduced), but then changed my mind to someone else.  So I was completely surprised with that.

My only problem?  I would have written a different ending.  The ending was great, but if I had written the book, I would have done the complete opposite.

My next book: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? , which is written by a girl who writes for The Office.  Its okay.  I am not loving it, but it is good for the type of book it is (think Chelsea Handler light).

last post of the year

I did not meet my goal of 50 books this.  I read 48, so close!
I am excited about the new authors I discovered this year (Ann Patchett and David Levithan are my two new favorites).
For 2012 I have set up a schedule for posting, because I really want to keep this blog much more current than I did this year.  I am pretty sure that was one of my goals last year, too.  But Nate has been encouraging me to actually write, and I recently saw that 50 Cent has novel published and I thought: "if he can write a book, so can I". And Nate said this blog is a good practice spot.  He also suggested I write a blog as my book.  I don't know how I feel about that.
Anyway, 2011 was a fabulous year for us - and I am hoping the trend continues!  Happy new year :)

Charity Book Sale

Over the weekend, on Sunday, a charity organization near Nate's parents held a book sale.  $3 for a shopping bag, and then you fill up the bag with as many books as you can fit.  We were able to fit 15 books (of which 11 are hardcover) and a VHS collection of martial arts videos for Nate (I think there were about 9 tapes).

I was able to get the following books:
Staying Street Smart - Mark McCormack (Nate)
Thunderbolt Kid - Bill Bryson
Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese
Skinny Legs and All - Tom Robbins
The Hours - Michael Cunningham
The Runner's Handbook - Bob Glover and Jack Shepherd
The Lincoln Lawyer - Michael Connelly
The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff
Got Fight? - Forrest Griffin (Nate)
King of the Cowboys - Ty Murray
Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog - Lisa Scottoline
A Widow for One Year - John Irving
The Last Promise - Richard Paul Evans
The Girls - Elaine Kagan
What They Still Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School (Nate)

Can't wait to start reading! :)

In the Pages of...

David Levithan - Love is the Higher Law

I cannot say enough how much I love David Levithan.  It started with the collaboration book he wrote with John Green, Will Grayson, Will Grayson.  Then I read The Lover's Dictionary. 

I love his word choice and his phrasing.  I love how I actually feel what his characters feel, how its real and honest.

I'm not finished this book yet, but I will be today.

Save Me - Lisa Scottoline

This is the first book I've read by Lisa Scottoline.  I bought her empty nest book for my mom for Christmas and got Daddy's Girl, Courting Trouble, Dirty Blonde, Think Twice and Look Again from Goodwill.  However, they have remained on my TBR shelf for quite some time now.  I saw this book on the "Grab and Go" shelf at the library and picked it up.  I had 7 days to read it before I started accruing the  25 cent/day fine.

I read this book in 1 day (now I just have to make sure I get it back to the library before Thursday!).  And I was loving it...until I got to the ending.  I was moved by the struggle that Rose faced...save her own child or save the child who is bullying her daughter?  I would never want to make that decision.  I couldn't put the book down as Rose made her choices and faced the repercussions of her actions.

Unfortunately, I came to the end of the book.  And I was left thinking: "WHAT?!?!"  It was unrealistic and a little bit of a letdown.