So I added this page to keep track of all the books I've been going through!
Enjoy =) Will update often!
I really enjoyed this book! It's about two wives who find out they are married to the same man. He has two completely separate families and the book is about them finding out and dealing with the problems that ensue. It has perspectives from both wives and goes back and forth- very entertaining read and a little bit of a surprise ending!
Gotta love Nicholas Sparks! I enjoyed the movie too, though it was a little different. Two love stories combined into one book- Ira reminisces his life and love during WW2, their life together, etc. While meanwhile Luke and Sophia are aspiring in a young romance. Luke is a bullrider (who doesn't love that?) and Sophia is a city-college girl. Super cliche with the romance, but I loved it.
We read this with book club and I have to admit I was not at all excited to start it- but it was a wonderful surprise! The synopsis of the book really doesn't accurately tell what the book is about. Yes there is a real estate deal occurring, yes his wife is in a coma....but the whole story is about him developing a relationship with his daughters and dealing with their mother being in a coma. Plus a bunch of other family issues. I did not enjoy the movie nearly as much as the book- an excellent read! And very fun given that I know all of the places it talks about on Oahu.
This book took a little bit to get into. It has a unique style of writing (it was actually written as if it were going to be a play in a way. The work men are the "chorus") so if you look at it that way its a little easier. 3/4 of the book is build up and the rest of it is where the bulk of the story takes place. If you can press through its actually quite good! Serena Pemberton is married to George Pemberton at a lumber company and is absolutely crazy. She has no problem killing off people that get in her way, and after a miscarriage, goes after Pemberton's illegitimate child.
The movie is terrible. Definitely read the book.
I admit I had a hard time reading this book for long periods of time, but it was a quick read and still very entertaining! Bee's mother goes missing, and the bulk of the book is about the build up. It is uniquely written, consisting mostly of emails that cause you to put the story together. Bernadette is a unique, crazy mother who was once an architect. She only goes missing for a short part of the book, but metaphorically she is missing for the entire story. Not only are Bee and her dad searching for Bernadette, Bernadette searches for herself.
Unwind: Neal Shusterman
I wasn't a huge fan of the way this book was written, but it still had an interesting story that can spark a lot of conversation! It's a young adult novel that follows three characters, in a futuristic society where children can be "unwound." (essentially harvested for their body parts.) There was a civil war between pro life and pro choice people, and this was the agreement that they came to. Yes it may be a bit of a stretch, but it definitely had an interesting and imaginative way of how society could be different and disturbing.
Paper Towns: John GreenI absolutely adored this book! Yes the movie just came out and I am excited to go see it- I hope it fulfills my expectations. Quentin has an unexpected adventure one night with his neighbor/ love of his life Margo, and she disappears shortly afterward. The rest of the book is him piecing together a bunch of clues in order to find her, and ends up on a journey of self discovery as well. There were several deep thoughts in this book and the character development was hilarious. I loved it!
American Sniper: Chris Kyle
This was definitely an interesting read! I loved the movie so I was very eager to read this. I was a little disappointed to learn how much hollywood changed things- they incorporated all of the elements of the story but definitely changed it. Which I guess makes sense, because they need a story line for people to watch. Otherwise it would just be a documentary. Getting to see this man's thoughts and recount of his time over there was definitely eye opening and a bit uncomfortable. Parts of it were tough to get through, for me personally, because he goes into specific detail about things I didn't really care to know about. (I don't mean violence.... I mean it was the type of equipment he used and I don't know anything about it so I got a little bored through those sections.) Over all though it was an interesting book!One Lavender Ribbon: Heather Burch
This is a super typical romance novel, with not much action, lots of dumb arguments, and no steamy scenes. It was entertaining and a sweet story, but pretty typical. A few times I found myself wanting to slap the character, but hey, we can't love them all. It's about a woman who moves to a town and finds letters in her attic. She tracks down the man that wrote them, a WW2 hero, who happens to have an approachable grandson. As she spends time with them and helps the old man reconnect with the love of his life, she of course falls in love with the grandson. Not bad....but not a great book. The Lucky One: Nicholas Sparks
See, I'm not anti romance. I love cheesey romance! But when they are written well and have a little bit of depth to the story. Another Nicholas Sparks novel....its basically the same as the movie but I actually liked the book way better. The characters are way more developed and the plot goes a little deeper (for example, Keith is a jerk in the movie but in the book he's just awful.) Logan Thibault is a marine that is saved countless times because of a picture of a girl that he finds. When he gets out of the military he goes out to find her and ends up working at her dog boarding facility and being a great role model for her son. Lots of good feels with this one.
To Kill A Mockingbird: Harper LeeThis is of course a classic, but I never read it in high school so it was a new experience for me. I think I appreciated it a lot more even though it took me forever to get through. There were a lot of interesting elements, themes, and take home messages in this book. It definitely captured the time period. It follows the adventures of a brother and sister, their mysterious neighbor, and a murder trial. I'm glad I read it, but boy was it slow.
Uninvited: Sophie Jordan
I was not sure how this book was going to go- I was thinking great...another sci-fi utopia about an uprising of teenagers. But I actually loved it! Davy is prestigious and gifted student that is bound for Julliard until she is diagnosed with HTS- a genetic disorder that predisposes people to be killers. Crime rates are through the roof, with mass shootings, and the public is trying to control the violence by finding and isolating the killers. I really loved the author's writing and will be excited to read the sequel- not to mention the disturbing parallel of how it applies to our society today. 