A year summed up

So I lost count somehow and messed up, I only made it to 114 books this year, not 115, and I am half way through two books that I was hoping to finish today, but it's just not going to happen.

A quick summary.....

My most favorite books this year, in no particular order:

• The Help
• The Book Thief
• The Thirteenth Tale
• Thirteen Reasons Why
• The Hunger Game series

My most favorite characters:

• Tiny Cooper (Will Grayson Will Grayson)
• Ron Weasley (Harry Potter)
• Lisbeth Salandar (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
• Grandma Mazur (Stephanie Plum Series)

Least favorite characters:

• Prof Umbridge (Harry Potter)
• any character in Kurt Vonegets books
• All of the characters in The Magicians
• Sookie Stackhouse
• Bella Swan (Twilight)

Most kick ass character ever written:

• Lisbeth Salander---Hands freaking down

A few books that I can't even remember reading:

• Love the One You're With
• Everyone is Beautiful
• Some Girls Are (even though I slightly remember that I did like this book)

Worst books all year:

• The Magicians
• The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

I am changing things up this next year with my list. I will be participating in a challenge that is 111 books in 2011, but not 2011 books in 2011 like my husband thinks I should do. I am also going to change up my side bar with my list of books. I am not going to have a preselected list this year, since as you can see how well I did with the list from last year. I am just going to add the books to the list as I finish them and my to be read list will just be stored on my GoodReads account.

I am going to make sure that I read more printed books this year because my cousin and close friend think that I cheat by listening to audio. Little do they know that I actually retain more and pay attention more with audio mainly because I am a multi-tasker and when all I am doing is one thing, my mind wanders and I lose focus. So my goal is to read at least 4 print books a month, this also includes on my kindle. I also want to decrease my unread books at home. In a little bit I am going to separate my books into read and to be read, take a picture, post it, and then in the middle and the end of the year, do it again to show the impact that I have done. This post might even wait until tomorrow depending on how sassy I feel tonight.

So that is it everyone. I really hope everyone has a far better 2011, as I had the worst year of my life this year and am totally looking forward to bigger and better things.

Happy New Years, and see you on the other side :)

Two for the Dough

Two for the Dough

By Janet Evanovich

352 pages

9 hours and 2 minutes listening time

Grade C-

As quirky as these books are, and has much as I want to like them, I am just not feeling them. At all. I really don't have a bunch to say, because these books for me, are terribly forgettable, very corny, cheesy, and they do not capture my full undivided attention.

Maybe my biggest problem is the narrator and while I am listening I keep thinking "how the hell is Katherine Heigl going to pull off this character. Katherine Heigl is just to.....put together (?) for this part?* I don't know. For me it's like hearing Brittney Spears is going to play Lizbeth Salander. It just doesn't seem like it's going to work. But since I don't work in Hollywood, we shall see. She might totally throw me.

I am going to finish the series, mainly because as bored as I am, I do want to know what happens in the end, so I guess, that is a start to liking it? I felt the same way about the Sookie books, and I ended the released books and still don't like it, but I will also read the others when they are released.

Ok, tangent over. And so is this post!

*By no means does this mean I do not like Katherine Heigl, I actually love her and have watched almost everything she is in. I just can't picture her in this movie.

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

180 pages

4 hours and 53 minutes listening time

Grade A-

In a mad dash trying to meet my adjusted goal to 125 books this year, I searched all audio books that were less that 8 hours seeing as I can usually bust those out really fast. This one came up on my search on Audible.com and I figured I would try it out. I asked Matt if he had read it, and he said yes. I asked what it was about, and he said, "it's about a guy that likes a girl and then I don't remember what happened." Seeing as my husband can tell you everything about every book that he has read, I figured this book would suck if he hadn't remembered anything about it.

But you know, I really really enjoyed it. It was about a guy that likes a girl. But the guy actually loved the girl and tries to steal her from her husband, and then a bunch of bad stuff happens. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. I was very surprised too seeing as I don't typically like books that are more than 10 years old; don't ask my why because I have no idea.

Either way, I was going to wait to do the review on this one until I watched the movie, but seeing as it is 12/31/10 and the movie hasn't shown up yet from Netflix, I figured lets tie up all loose ends here before the day ends. I am excited to watch the movie though because Paul Rudd is in it (I ordered the most recent version of it), and I really like him.

Anyway, it's a quick easy read, and it's enjoyable. If you have been hesitant in reading it, just pick it up, spend a few hours and get it out of the way. Plus then you can say you read one of the books that they have in those huge posters on the wall at Barnes&Nobles.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

By J.K. Rowling

784 pages

Grade A+

So look, I have written and re-written this review about 8 times, and nothing that I write comes out how I want it. So instead of trying to be sophisticated and smart like, I am just going to write like I talk and get out how I really feel, inside and out about this book.

If you haven't read the HP series, you really just need to. The entire series really sets a standard for all other books, children's, YA and adult books. The world that J.K. created in this series is incredible, unbelievable and phenomenal. The struggles individually and in the wizarding communities as a whole are so realistic and so perfect. The emotion that shows through in relationships, in Harry's feelings towards his school, and even as something as simple as his owl touch my heart every time I start this series.

This book in particular holds so much tragedy, and sadness, and just raw pain. I have read/listened to this series over 20 times, no joke (probably more like 30) and every time the Battle of Hogwarts starts, I get tense and agitated, and will typically cry. I cry for the pain, the loss, the struggle, the action, and in the end, the happiness.

I LOVE how this series ended. It was the perfect ending to a perfect series. And when I say a perfect ending, other authors should read and re-read this book and figure out what they are doing wrong.

And let's not forget that the audio version that is narrated by Jim Dale is absolutely incredible. I love Jim Dale. He is just utterly brilliant. As a matter of fact I have searched for other audio books read by him just so I can continue my ear affair.

Harry Potter is my favorite series I have read. They might even, as a whole, be my #1 favorite book(s) ever. If you haven't read them, just go do it. Stop putting it off and do what is right. Read the magical world of Harry Potter. And then buy me and my family tickets to the Wizarding World in Florida, because at that point, I would literally be in heaven.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge

So I found this blog and decided to participate in this little activity. I thought it was really neat and well, I love showing off my books. So a little background to the pictures below...

The first book is in our living room. My husband made it however it is not yet completed yet. But on the left of the shelves is the Great Books that we inherited from my grandparents. Below those are some, and when I say some, I mean like a quarter, of the computer books my husband has. I guess when you are a programmer it requires you to own every book on every type of programming language, or at least that is what he tells me. To the right of the Great Books on the top shelf are my books. They are in no particular order, nor is that all of them. I tend to leave half read books everywhere. On the second shelf there are my daughters books, and then some more of mine, and on the bottom shelf are some more of mine, and my collection of Real Simple magazines.

The next picture is our "nice and old" books. There is two copies of Little Women and Little Men that I discussed in a previous post, and some other books that we keep dear to our hearts.


Next up is our Series of Unfortunate Events. The only reason that collection is all pretty like on a shelf is because, well, it's a really pretty collection :)

And last but not least is our set of HP books. The first book is missing because it is in my daughters room since we started reading it to her and as you can see, it's behind glass. I take my HP very seriously :)

And so there you go, there are most our books. I left out pictures of my cook books, the computer books in the office, the bookshelf in the office closet and the bag of books my cousin gave me.

One for the Money

One for the Money

By Janet Evanovich

334 pages

8 hours 34 minutes listening time

Grade C-

Bleh. I know that a TON of people including half my online book club, my mom, and my grandma, that just adore this series, but I am going to go against the grain. I don't know what the hype is. I was bored for the most part and it was just eh. I thought that the author tried entirely to hard to make it funny, and so the parts that should have been funny, were just....not.....

I mean don't get me wrong, there were parts where I did a mildly amused chuckle, but nothing that made me LOL like Chelsea Handler did. And it makes me sad because my grandma will try to tell me about the current book in the series that she is reading and she can't make it through a sentence without bursting into laughter and then I can't understand anything she is talking about other than a word here and there mixed in with her chuckles.

And because I am not a quitter, I am going to continue on with the series. I am doing this for one of a few reasons. The main reason being that they are quick reads, and since there isn't a lot of depth to it I don't have to pay 100% attention to it like I did The Thirteenth Tale.

Oh and would you like a quick overview? Well the main character Stephanie Plum is down on her luck and is unemployed. She decides to go to work as a bounty hunter for her cousin. Her first FTA (failure to appear) is a guy that she used to sleep with. She has quite the time trying to capture him. And that is the story....Not much depth and I didn't really like the characters either (why am I going to continue with the series???)

Either way, I am going to finish it, but I am not going to be happy about it. If I can get the second book done before the end of the year, I will blog about it separately but if I don't, I will just do one post summing up the rest of the books when I finish the whole series.

Would I recommend this book to anyone? Probably not, but I also wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it if they wanted to. Over all....just eh.

Along for the Ride

Along for the Ride

By Sarah Dessen

416 pages

12 hours and 46 minutes listening time

Grade B-

Oh Sarah......Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, you trapped me into one of your books once again, and I love you for it.

I have read quite a few books by Sarah Dessen, and like other authors I know ::coughSophieKinsellacough:: if you jam all their books together in one shot, you will get tired of them. Fortunately for me and for Sarah, I split her books up. So they are a lot more enjoyable.

This one in particular has the same story premise, perfect/troubled girl gets thrown into a very out of the ordinary situation, meets a guy that is not her type that she falls for, and then completely changes into a more well rounded fun loving girl. I am not saying all her books are like this, but chose at least two of those three and you have a SD book.

I think I liked this book so much because the main character Auden reminds me so much of my BFF Christina. Great student, spends a lot of time studying, working towards being great. Her parents (Auden, not Christina) got divorced and her dad remarries and they have another baby. Auden decides she wants to spend her last summer before running off to college with her dad and her stepmom, and of course the new baby. She learns a lot about herself, her dad, her stepmom, and about other people over the summer. It was a light quick read (or listen) and I really enjoyed being in that world for a little bit.

I will also say, that I love the name Auden, and I loved her brother's name Hollis. I just liked the 'out of the norm' feeling they had.

Anyway, if you have read one SD book and liked it, you will like them all and Along for the Ride is no exception. For a quick, fast, easy going read, pick this one up.

The Tattoo Chronicles

The Tattoo Chronicles

By Kat Von D

240 pages

Grade B

As previously stated in past reviews, I watch a lot of reality TV. One of the shows that I watch is LA Ink, which is a show that stars Kat Von D owner of High Voltage Tattoo. I started watching this show about a year ago, and the seasons that I missed or didn't complete, I just got from Netflix. I have enjoyed the show, especially when they feature the tattoos, and not so much the drama that they have created. Anyway, Kat wrote this book, and because I felt like as a dedicated fan, I needed to pick it up.

So the cool thing about this book was it's layout. I really thought it was neat and creative. I also really liked the personalization of the book. I was a tad disappointed because I was expecting more in depth thoughts and stories behind the tattoos, instead it was more focused on her relationship with Nikki. I also wished that more of the entries were about her more famous friends as opposed to the average joe client. That could have been for a few different reasons, the reason I like the most is that maybe she couldn't get clearance from some of the average joe clients to publish their stories, but I am afraid that it is because she mostly tattoo'd her famous friends. Does that make her to "Hollywood", I don't know.

I enjoyed that I feel like I got to know Kat a bit more from this book, and you know, she is pretty down to earth. I also liked her photography shown in the book, and it was interesting to see some of the collections that she has.

And speaking of Kat being totally down to earth, I got to meet her tonight at her book signing. I have never been to a book signing before so this was a really fun experience. The book signing was at 6, I got there at 330. It wasn't really that bad of a wait. I had my daughter with me until 5pm when my husband came to pick her up. I am proud to say that I got numerous compliments about how great she was behaving, which makes me happy, because maybe we are doing something right as parents.

The best part about meeting her was I mentioned to her that I remembered her tweet a few weeks ago about how she heard a saying "This too shall pass" and I had tweeted back to her with a picture of my right wrist where I have that saying tattoo'd. Well she never tweeted back, but tonight I replayed that, and she gave me like three more hugs and told me how much she loved it and how cool it was and how I need to remember to live by it. In other words, she rocked.

On top of how how cool it was that Kat was there, Rooftop and Dan Smith were there too. They are WAY hotter in person, and really awesome and down to earth. And I was lucky enough to get pictures with all of them.

Little Women

Little Women

By Louisa Mary Alcott

464 pages

19 hours 20 minutes listening time

First half Grade B-

Second half Grade B+

I have been listening to this book for months, and months,

and MONTHS. I started it about 4 months ago, and I really had a hard time getting into it. I won't lie. I also had a VERY hard time with the very proper English, but hey, I'm a girl of the 2000's, even though I was born in the 80's but whatever. Either way, I had a hard time with it.

I added this book because when I was a little wee reader, my dad worked nights. But he was/is an awesome dad and even though he couldn't be there some nights because he was working on making a better life for us, he got an awesome babysitter for us at nights. Her name was Louise and she was a great person. Just a genuine great human being. She passed away when I was little and what I is that she fell and broke her hip. The little family she had, got her to the hospital and that is where she eventually passed away. However before she passed she touched the hearts of everyone on our block. When she passed, her family came and took what they wanted from the house and left the rest for us to rummage through. I only remember that it was raining that day and all her stuff was outside being rained on. I was able to save three things from that day; Little Women, Little Men and The Giving Tree. I still own all three books to this day. My dad got a little "everyday prayer" case and I can't remember what my brother got, but this is all I have left other than the memories I carry of dear Louise. The pictures here are of the book that I saved.

Before I actually give a review of this book though, I will have to say I think I am the ONLY person I know, well one of the only persons, that hasn't read this book. So many people I know read it when they were younger, and I really hope Lucy might want to read it while she is younger as opposed to almost 30, like me.

Ok so off to the review, and I really hope I don't spoil any of it for people who haven't read it.

So anyway, I think this book is somewhat similar to Anne of Green Gables, where everyone is just NICE and GOOD to each other. So many people pass through my day where I just want to shout out to them, DID YOU PARENTS NOT TEACH YOU ANYTHING???? Everyone was just so polite in this book. Now I know I might not be the nicest person, nor the most polite, but I will tell you, I try because I would rather be like the characters in this book as opposed to anyone on TV or even in real life.

Everyone that I talk to about this book loves Jo, but I am going to go against the grain and saying that Jo was not my favorite. I think my favorite was Beth, she just touched my heart and I was so sad at one part that I was crying in my car on my way to pick up my daughter.

And Laurie and Amy, can we talk about them? Except I don't even know what to say. I don't know if I like them at all. I mean as individuals, they are wonderful, however together, I am just unsure how I feel about that whole situation. I really wanted it to be Jo. It just seemed to be where they were headed...why did Jo have to make the choices that she did. And speaking of Jo....Jo and the professor...REALLY? I mean I totally saw it coming after she turned down Laurie, but it wasn't any less disappointing or odd for me.

The part that really captured me was when Meg is having problems with the twins and her marriage starts falling apart. It is SO easy for a new mom to totally wrap herself around her kid and not thinking twice. I am pretty sure when Meg goes and talks to her mom about her situation that had to have been my very most favorite part of the whole book. The mom gives the best advise and handled it perfectly.

There was so much about this book that I didn't know how I felt about, but you know, it all worked out. Jo was such a great character, but I won't lie, Beth was the one that touched my heart. She is the one that when I look at life say, maybe it won't always be like this, just LIVE life. LOVE life. ENJOY life.

I should have finished this book a long time ago. If I could have skipped the first 10 hours, then I probably would have finished it sooner. But either way, I did it, and this book really, truly, honestly contributed to the completion of "what books will complete my life" list. Although it took me FOREVER, it will stay with me for the rest of my life.

The following pictures are from books my cousin sent me. These books belonged to my grandma, whom passed away, and she had given them to my cousin. When my daughter was born, my cousin sent them to me to have. When my daughter is older, I will give them to her. I have two copies of a book that helped change my life. The fact that they are from two people that have helped shaped my life, means so much more. Now, I listened to the audio, because, you know how I do,but mostly because the copies that I own are so old, and have so much meaning to me that I couldn't bare to open them and ruin their pages with my finger smudges.

I am the Messenger

I am the Messenger

By Markus Zusak

368 pages

8 hours and 38 minutes listening time

Grade B

I don't really know where to start with this book. I have heard so much awesomeness about it, and it was GREAT, however not as good as The Book Thief.

Ed is just passing through life. He has no goals, no ambitions, and the girl he love only likes him as a friend. One day an Ace shows up in his mailbox with three addresses. As he goes to each address listed, he sees something that needs to be fixed. Each issue that Ed finds, he grows as a person.

The story is really nice, it is heart wrenching in others. I won't lie, I cried, a few times. However I did not bawl like a little baby girl as I did in The Book Thief. I might even say this book was mildly life changing. Either way, it's worth the read.

And sorry this review isn't very detailed, one I am exhausted and probably should have just waited until tomorrow, and two, if I say too much, it will give a lot away and I don't like to ruin things.

Skinny Italian Night 2

So tonight I made Pork Chops Alla Salvia with a side of Rosemary Potatoes. I also sauted some garlic cloves in olive oil.

Hello, look at those potatoes, they are amazing.

So the pork chops called for some of Teresa's Quickie Tomato Sauce. It's really super simple, like way more simple than I was expecting. The issue I came across is that I didn't think it was seasoned enough. I am not HUGE fan of tomatoes and I especially am not a fan of red sauce, but I still gave it a try.

The first thing I learned was that when I was heating the oil to start the sauce, I should have put the tomatoes in right away, instead I waited until the oil was really hot, and when I poured in the tomatoes, they splattered EVERYWHERE. And since I don't learn from my mistakes, it happened again when I added the tomato sauce to the pork chops. So lesson learned, I won't be doing that again.

The other great thing about dinner was that Lucy ate it. She didn't seem to want anything to do with the noodles last night, but she ate all the potatoes tonight, but she didn't eat the meat, but she has been having a little bit of a meat diversion anyway.

I was going to take pictures of the finished product, but Matt and I ate it before I remembered I needed to do that. There was only one other issue with dinner, there was only enough left overs for one lunch tomorrow. Matt and I almost had to box it out on who got it. I only won because I told him since I cooked it, I got the left overs to which he said "well I helped" to which I answered "you opened the can of tomato paste" to which he repeated, "well I helped" and we went back and forth for about 10 minutes until he finally conceded and now I get awesome lunch tomorrow!

Score!

Skinny Italian

Skinny Italian: Eat It and Enjoy it Live La Bella Vita and Look Great, Too!

By Teresa Giudice

256 pages

not available on audio

Grade A

I am not going to lie, I watch reality TV. I am not proud of this, but well, it is what it is. One of the shows that I watch is The Real Housewives of New Jersey. I also watch Jersey Shore, American Idol, LA Ink, and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which I will tell you is NOTHING compared to NJ.

ANYWAY, in the last season of TRHNJ, Teresa talked about this book, as well as at the reunion. I also follow her on Twitter, and she mentions it a time or two on there. So, yes, I am a tad obsessed, however not enough to pay attention to smut magazines that are slandering her marriage. So ok I went off on another tangent.

I decided I needed her book and when I saw it was 20% off at Target, it was an impulse buy. One of the best impulse purchases that I think I have ever made. I love the little tid bits from Joe, her husband, and I really enjoyed the part where Teresa talks a little about her fashion background and how you need to carry yourself with confidence etc.

So I finished this book in two days, and decided that for the rest of the year, every night I am going to cook from her book. This is exciting for a number of reasons. Reason #1, I normally only cook the same 5 things over and over again. Reason #2, I LOVE cooking and am always looking for new recipes, however I never really cook them more than once. Reason #3, this gives me more of an incentive to actually cook outside my comfort bubble.

Tonight the first recipes that I made was Gorgeous Garlic Shrimp and Sin-Free Linguine with Parsley Sauce. Unfortunately, I am not going to post the recipes on here, because they are in the book, and you should get the book! However, the two that I did tonight were incredible. I will say, I probably need to work on the sauce for the linguine because it is made from red potatoes (which is so incredible) but I think I needed to thin it out a little more. However it was incredible, as you can see from my husband pictures below,

Here are a couple action shots of my ingredients.

Of course wine is one of the biggest ingredients :)

And as you can see my extremely handsome husband is totally enjoying it :)

Anyway, Skinny Italian, awesome!

Books are easier to forgive

So in light of my new announcements, this weeks' Books are Easier to Forgive I got the following:

Skinny Italian by Teresa Giudice

The Tattoo Chronicles by Kat Von D

The Fledgling Handbook 101 by PC Cast

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

and I also have an advanced reader's copy (ARC) that is on tour with my online book club called Mother's and Other Liars

I am hoping to have the Fledgling Handbook finished tonight, because as you know the House of Crack, I mean Night, books had me up way passed my bedtime until I was finished with the released copies. Then onward to the Skinny Italian!

Wow! Over 100!!

I don't know if anyone caught this, but I just surpassed my 100 books :)

All congrats will be accepted and appreciated! So I think I mentioned before that I am unofficially upping my goal to 125, I have a few books that I REALLY want to get done before the end of the year, such as The Count of Monte Cristo, (finish) Little Women, the rest of Matt's picks and a few other ones that I have been putting off.

I am going to keep up the momentum that I am on now, and what I mean by that is I am not going to revert back to Harry Potter and Twilight. I am enjoying the recommendations and I really like being able to talk about something other than Dementors.

A goal that I am setting for myself to get me through the rest of this year (other than another 25 books) is that since I just picked up the Skinny Italian, I am going to cook. I counted 58 recipes, but some of those are sauces, or pizza dough or whatever. So I am going to cook my way through this book between now and December 31st, somewhat like Julie from Julie and Julia. This is going to do two of many things for me. It will one, force me to start cooking more at home, because I would rather order a pizza than do the dishes, and two, force me to read an entire cook book, because I am FAMOUS for buying many many cookbooks and only using one recipe out of the book.

So here is to another goal. And I will be sharing my results right here on this blog because I really cannot start another one. Oh and I will be updating this blog with some of my baking adventures.

Oh! And I am also going to be updating once a week with the books that I got that week. A bunch of my blogger friends do a "In my Mailbox" but I am going to call mine "Books are easier to forgive" because I always get in trouble with the husband when I buy stuff, but he never gives me shit for buying books. Of course, if I don't buy any new books, I will not be updating that week.

And so there you go!

The Sookie Stackhouse series 1-10

Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse

Dead and Gone

Dead in the Family

By Charlaine Harris

All on audio

Grade C-

If you haven't heard of the Sookie Stackhouse books, you might be living under a rock. Not only is it a series in paper, it is also a huge series on HBO called True Blood. I will admit that I hadn't seen the show or paid much attention to everyone that had talked about the series. I knew about it, but really didn't want to get involved. Well I came across the entire 10 books on audio for free about two months ago, and said what the hell.....

So from what I hear, because I also haven't done any research on my own and since I don't really care I am not going to, so from what I hear, Sookie started before Twilight. Which is wonderful for Charlaine Harris, but completely makes me hate Stephenie Meyer even more. A short list of similarities, there is a mind reader, there are werewolves, there are vampires, there is a small love triangle thing between a werewolf and a vampire.....super lame Stephenie....super lame.

ANYWAY, I think the only character that I have read that was more annoying than Sookie, is Bella herself. Sookie is just sooooo soooo, stupid. The only thing that I like about Sookie is that she can survive without a man, particularly her vampire.

Now all the 10 stories are running together, I cannot tell you the main points individually for each book. What I can tell you is this, the story in each book builds and builds and builds then at around the 6.5/7th hour of each audio book (they are all about 9-10 hours long) something crazy happens, then everything dies down, and then about a half hour before it ends, there is a huge climax again, and then BAM! end of book. And the other part that really bothered me is that anyone and everyone that did something bad, whether it was spilling milk at the table or murdering 15,000 people, admits to it, how they did it, and why they did it every single time. And they admit to everything. It's really annoying because instead of the mystery being solved, all of a sudden someone is knocking on Sookie's door waiting to tell their life story.

The other thing that really bothered me about these books was the way Sookie talked. For instance, every time she mentioned her "word of the day calendar", I rolled my eyes. And there is a lot of sex in this series. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. And the sexy parts isn't what bothered me, but dude, Sookie is supposed to be something like 27 in the book and she would refer to a man's penis as his "Mr. Happy" ::barf::. Grow up Sook, grow up because you sound stupid, oh wait, it's because you are.

Now I never followed the show, and I was going to start, but I watched the first episode of season one, and was so freaking bored that I gave up. And Sookie in the show was equally as annoying as she was in the books. So there you go.

Maybe you're thinking right now, 'if she didn't like the books, why did she invest over 95 hours of listening time' and my answer to that is this, I was totally waiting for it to get better. I was waiting for Sookie to maybe go back to school or something and become smart. I don't know. I don't know why I invested so much time in these books. Either way, I can say now that I have read them and get passed it. And my life has not been changed in anyway.

Now it is the workings of the Sookie books that I am taking a vampire vacation for an unspecified amount of time. I just need a break, however, I did buy The Fledgling Handbook 101 by PC Cast while in waiting for book 9 of the House of Night books to be released.

In conclusion, some of you might like the Sookie books, I know many of you have. All I know is that I was bored and could care less when the next book comes out because I probably won't pick it up right away, if at all.

The Hunger Games trilogy

Hunger Games

Catching Fire

Mockingjay

By Suzanne Collins

Grade A+

Hunger Games was a book that I kept putting off and putting off. I would read post after post from my other blogger friends about this series and I was forced to overlook most of the posts because I didn't want to catch any spoilers. And then came the special day in my life about two weeks ago when I turned on the audio book, and was BLOWN AWAY. This series is incredible.

Hunger Games starts off introducing Katniss and her family who live in District 12. Each year, 2 children from each of the 12 districts are chosen to participate in the Hunger Games in which the children battle to the death until only one is living. Prim, Katniss' little sister, is chosen for the Games but Katniss volunteers to take her place. The rest of book one is her journey on the Games.

Catching Fire picks up right where Hunger Games leaves off and it had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Mockingjay picks up right where Catching Fire leaves off, and totally just blows you away. There were parts where I cried, parts where I was SO angry that I couldn't hardly see straight.

***SPOILER ALERT***

So in Hunger Games, the underlying love story is between Katniss and Peeta. Peeta announces to the Capital that he has been in love with Katniss for almost his whole life. Katniss is taken back by this because she never wanted to fall in love, and plays on the sympathies of the nation and acts like she too is in love with Peeta. When they come home, Gale, Katniss' childhood friend, expresses interest in her, leaving her completely torn. The decision on whom she wants to be with and who she can't survive without lies in Mockingjay. There is a part in Mockingjay where Katniss is in between sleep and awake and she hears Peeta and Gale talking about her and wondering which one of them she will choose ::coughEclipsecough:: but it was a nice underlying story

***SPOILER ALERT OVER***

I just want to say that there are some truly terrifying sad and depressing parts in this book. There are some truly wonderful and jump up from your seat to shout HURRAY parts. There was one part towards the end of Mockingjay that literally made me sob like a little girl. It was so devastating, I really don't know how the author could leave it in.

But regardless, this series was flat out INCREDIBLE. You would be doing yourself a horrific disservice if you passed it up.

The Thirteenth Tale

The Thirteenth Tale

By Diane Setterfield

432 pages

15 hours and 40 minutes

Grade A+

I had to start this book twice on audio because it was just a slow start. And the book in general is just a slow start, but if you can get into it, STICK WITH IT! This book is amazing, incredible, intriguing, suspenseful, everything that I look for in a book! Plus it's a book about a book, so that makes it even better. The writing is beautiful, the story is captivating....How many more adjectives can I use to describe this book?

So a quick overview, Margaret Lea is hired to write the biography of Vida Winter a reclusive author whom is also incredibly famous for her books. Many have tried to write the biography before, but she gives them false stories. Margaret has wonder if Vida is giving her the real story. As the interviews continue, Vida's health weakens, and Margaret is also forced to become a detective trying to find out if what Vida has told her to be true.

That is as simplistic overview as I can give, without giving away too much. Once you get into the story, there really is no turning back. The characters are so well developed, and captivating. The story had me holding my breath at times, something that only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows and The Book Thief has been able to do. There were times when I simply could not do anything but listen to the narrators voice on my iPod willing her to speak faster so that I could know what was going to happen next. I will also say, that the narrator was incredible. There are two female narrators, and at first I didn't like it, but after I got used to it, I really liked it. The voice of Margaret....there was a certain sadness, even desperation in her voice that completely added to her character, and the voice of Vida was firm, definite, and cocky, but perfect for her.

I am disappointed in myself for putting this book off for so long. I really wished I would have read it sooner. However, I was also in such a book slump it was nice to stick this in the middle.

I will read this book again, and I will probably buy it in paperback too, just to have around. This book will also be placed in my top 5 favorite books this year, possibly bumping The Book Thief down to #2.

There is simply not enough I can say about this book other than just read it. If it's been on your To Be Read list, just pick it up, you will not be disappointed.

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

By Lewis Carroll

2 hours and 57 minutes listening time

Grade C-

If you haven't read this book, then you need to. Mainly because it's one of those classics that just needs to be read. I don't have a lot to say about this book because everyone knows the story, seen the movie, or heard the references.

So if you haven't read it, pick it up and read it. It's a really quick easy read. It does seem a little outdated, but really, all real classics are. You just have to get passed that and on to the real story.

Alright, listen up....

First of all, I am still trying to get through Sookie. I have an hour left of the 7th book, and honestly, I don't know if I can bring myself to get through the last three. However, I think once I get through this one, I am going to take a break, read the four books I need to for my book clubs (I am a little behind) and then go back to Sookie. I just need it to end. I know most of my bookish friends say life is to short to read bad books, but I don't think I have turned off a book yet without some intent of finishing it later.

So after my hour of Sookie #7 is over, I am going to read, Alice in Wonderland, The Thirteenth Tale, The Council of Dads, and Hunger Games.

I am soooooooooo freaking tired of seeing all the blogs that I follow post about Hunger Games because I haven't read it yet, and can't comment on any of them yet. I was saving Hunger Games to do a buddy read with one of my co-workers but she is trying to read Sookie and the House of Night books, so she can't, but thankfully, my local library hosts monthly book clubs, and October is Hunger Games. So there. That's my excuse.

So I should be back to my regular blog posts soon.

PS, my lack of getting through Sookie might also have to do with the fact that Netflix is now available on iPhones, and The Office happens to be on view now....all 5 seasons, and seeing how I never have seen it before, I am spending my days listening to The Office instead of Sookie. Which in my opinion is a much better choice ;)

Adios, Nirvana

Adios, Nirvana

By Conrad Wselhoeft

Release date 10/25/10

240 pages

unavailable on audio at this time

Grade B+

This is the third advanced reader that I have finished, and it was also on my kindle making it just that much more fun to read.

So Jonathan, the main character, is a struggling teenage boy, whom recently had to deal with his twin brother dying. After his brother Telly died, he won a contest for his poetry, and became somewhat infamous because of it. The story around all this was great. Now I give this book a B+ because I don't think the author really dug in deep with the characters. Other than Jonathan, you don't get a lot of emotion. I really liked how Jonathan grew though.

Jonathan was probably one of the more interesting characters, and he was very much grieved with the loss of his brother. I didn't really like the relationship that he had with his mother, and I didn't much care for his mother in general to be perfectly honest. I did however, totally love the author's reading style.

Following Jonathan on his journey, and meeting David and Katie, I really think he turned into a great guy. I also really enjoyed the musical references and the guitar references. I was reminded of my brother during some parts of this book, so I kinda was able to make a reference.

All in all, when it eventually comes out, it is worth the read. I finished it on the plane ride home today, so if you don't like it, you won't have a huge amount of time invested.

A whole week huh?

Oh geez, I can't believe that I haven't updated in over a week. Wanna know why??? Because Miss Sookie Stackhouse has consumed my life. I am currently on book #5 of the series. I am still totally indifferent about it. I don't love this series, but I do want to finish it.

I haven't read a paper book or anything on my kindle for almost two weeks, but it was because I had an eye infection or something and couldn't wear my contacts and could only wear my glasses. I don't like to read with my glasses because I get headaches.

However, now that I am back to normal, I can't wait to get caught up. I have like 8 books to finish for ARC that are about to expire. Yikes! Maybe I should have participated in this challenge over at Book Crazy. Ah well. I will finish them. I am sure of it.

On a side note, I am going to surpass my original goal of 100 books. Hell I am pretty sure I am going to meet this goal by Labor Day. So I am hereby increasing my goal to 125. And so there you go.

Book Blogger Hop

I thought I would give this a try today. Book Blogger Hop is hosted over at Crazy-For-Books.com. You enter your link and then check out all the other book blogs that are listed so that you can find new and fun blogs to follow. I always like new followers so I thought I would check it out this time.

Each week there is a fun question too, and this week it is:

How many blogs do you follow?

According to my Google Reader, I follow 69 blogs. I do try to read every post as well, but if the book doesn't look to interesting to me I tend to skip that post. However I do follow some friends, mommy blogs, and gardening blogs which I tend to read every post they do.

Well there you go, my first blogger hop! Let's see what happens!

Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu

Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu (ARC)

By Charise Mericle Harper

176 pages

Not on audio at this time

**Second Kindle book :)

Grade B

So listen, I totally get that this is a kids book, but remember this is an advanced reader copy, and it was not only an honor reading this book, it was complete fun! I loved how the author TOTALLY caught the thought pattern and the spirit of a 10 year old. Several times I had to remind myself that I was not reading the diary of a 10 year old.

I also didn't know prior to reading this book that there is a whole series of Just Grace books. And now that I know, and after reading this one, I simply cannot wait to get the rest of the series to read to my daughter. Because frankly, I totally think that little girls can relate to Grace. I know that thinking back, there were so many situations in this book, that take me back to my own childhood. The fact that the author was able to put my childhood thoughts into words, and into actual feelings, caught me, and will always have me as a reader.

Thank you again to the publisher, Houghton Miffin Books for Children. They opened me up to a whole new series of books, and not just me, but my family too. And that my friends, is the heart of everything.

The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

By Steig Larsson

576 pages

20 hours and 20 minutes listening time

Grade B+

Here is the thing, I have been sitting on this review for a month or so now. A MONTH! And you would think that I would come up with WAY more to say about it than what I am going to. So I am sad to disappoint.

This book did not live up to my expectations. I was expecting SO much more. So much more in depth umph that I got with the first, and mildly with the second books in the series. But I just didn't. Ok now I LOVE Lisbeth Salander; she has got to be the most bad assed female character in any book I have ever read EVER. And I like Mikael Blomkvist. I enjoyed the rest of the characters. But it still just lacked umph.

The thing is, I spent the whole book wishing that what I thought wasn't what was going to happen, because as much as I like being right, with this series, I wanted to be surprised and with the first two books I never knew what the heck was going on. With this one, I always knew what was going to happen next.

So here is the deal, you need this book to finish the series. But this series is just like Back to the Future. The first is the best, the second only bridges the first and the third, and the third is just an oddball, but you need closure. Jumping jiggawatts, I am glad this review is over!

PS, I HATED the ending. Period. There could have been a million and one ways to end it, and the lamest way was picked.

PPS, I also know that Mr. Larsson died before this book was complete. Maybe that is the problem, but either way.....Just think Back to the Future....

A special post, just for my dad

What is it like to read a book on a Kindle?

So far I have probably 18 books on my Kindle. I have been going CRAZY downloading books from the Amazon website, however most of my books have been free. I did click on the wrong book once and had to pay $8 for a book that I didn't mean to, but what ever.

I love that it will fit in my purse. I can take half my library with me everywhere. You can also play on the internet with it, but that is pointless for me because I can do that on my phone.

However, I really like the screen, and I like how easy it is to hold. I thought when I first bought it that I might have made a mistake, but really, I love it. It's crazy light, and like I said, it FITS IN MY PURSE. I take this think everywhere with me. I really do need to get a cover for it though, in case anyone that is reading my blog wants to buy me a present. I am afraid that I am going to scratch the screen soon without one. But I am searching for the perfect one ;)

So my point is, the new Kindle is only like $139 now. Of course they wait until two weeks after I buy mine, and three days after I throw away the box to come out with the new one, and the next model. But it is so freaking worth it. And books are way cheaper on the Kindle. And did I mention, you can carry it in your PURSE. But, dad, since you don't carry a purse you can carry it in your satchel, cause, you know, Indiana Jones carries one ;)

The Twilight Series

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn

By Stephenie Meyer

a bunch of pages

days worth of audio

Grade.........I have a hard time saying because sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it....so yeah.

Ugh....I don't really know where to start. I have read/listened to this series about 100 times. Probably more. And here is the thing. The first time I listened to Twilight, I was like huh? A 100 year old man is sneaking into this 17 year old girls bedroom and spends the night every night? WTF. And what gets me about this book, is that they talk like twice in school got out ONCE which wasn't even a real date, and BAM! they are in love. It really reminds me of the Disney movie Enchanted, where Giselle is in the park with Robert and Robert says "You are going to marry someone after only knowing them one day?" to which Giselle replies, "And tomorrow will be TWO days!" Only in Disney movies and Twilight do the characters fall in love with each other in a matter of hours and with little to no character building.

Then you have New Moon, and surprisingly I TOTALLY related to it. To this day, New Moon is my favorite of the series, which is strange because I am totally Team Edward.

Then you move on to Eclipse and well, hmmm it's well, the fork in the road of the series because Bella has to make the BIG choice...Edward or Jacob. And if you are any girl, duh you would pick Edward. Yes, Jacob is a great guy and in the movie, he is totally hot, but really? Bella was made for Edward.

Finally comes Breaking Dawn which is like the Titanic of the series....Half way through you can see the boat starting to sink, but you just can't get off because you are waaaay to optimistic and keep hoping that the boat won't really sink, but then at the end, well you are gasping for air and hoping a life boat sees you. Breaking Dawn is the ONLY book I have ever read that introduces 900 million new characters all with ridiculous talents and then have it go NO WHERE.

But in the long run, I guess you just have to give it to Stephenie Meyer. She found a way to write a character with no personality willing to destroy her WHOLE eternity to a vamp guy and throw everything else away for him. As we find from New Moon, her entire existence depends on Edward. And then even though Jacob is willing to give her a normal life, she turns that all away, for Edward. And not only does her non-personality written characters attract anything with ovaries, her books are addictive, like completely addictive.

So props to Stephenie Meyer for finding the million dollar recipe.

Lock and Key

Lock and Key

By Sarah Dessen

432 pages

11 hour 14 minutes listening time

Grade B

Dear Ms Dessen, I love you. Sincerely, Randi.

How many Dessen books have a read so far? I don't even know. All I know, is that I am not done, and I cannot wait to start the next. With so many authors you get the same story, different characters. Like Nicholas Sparks, EVERY book I have read of NS has been the same 'lost love finds each other and loses it again, and then finds it again' story. Sophie Kinsella, same thing. So far with Sarah Dessen, she hasn't done that....at least how I take it.

This book didn't fail. 17 year old Ruby, the main character, lives with her mom, however one day, her mom disappears. And a month later, her landlord shows up and sees the terrible mess that she is living in, and calls social services. Her sister Cora, who is ten years older, comes and brings Ruby to live with her. The terribly heart wrenching story that goes on in this book is just completely incredible and beautiful. Sarah Dessen does such an amazing job with the emotions for each of the characters in this book. She really captures it all.

I was terribly impressed with this book, and like I said earlier, Sarah Dessen has a fan for life.

It Started with a Dare

It Started with a Dare (ARC)*

ByLindsay Faith Rech

312 pages

Not available on audio at this time

Grade C-

First off, I would like to announce that not only was this my first book I read on my new Kindle, but it was also my very first Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) that I was privileged to. So I would like to give a super huge wet slobbery thank you kiss to the publishers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Next on my agenda is to tell you about this book. CG is the new girl at school, again. She is trying to make a name for herself so she can be popular at this new school, and somehow manages it. After falsifying almost everything about her, dun dun dun, the truth comes out, and shortly, she has to try and redeem herself.

As much as I wanted to love it, and I REALLY wanted to love it, I didn't. I didn't not like it, I just didn't love it. There were cute parts, there were funny parts, but in a whole, it just didn't do it for me. I think the problem was, as much as I love YA, there are some YA that are just too YA (shocking right?) and for me, I think this book was just too YA. The girls featured in this book were Sophomores in high school, I deal better with Seniors.

This book however, would be a great read for my younger cousins, the ones that are either still in high school, or very shortly out. I think that way younger girls than me will really like it, maybe even relate to CG, as she struggles to fit in in high school, which really is a challenge to all young girls.

So many parts of this book made me think of the movie Mean Girls. I was TOTALLY waiting for one of the girls in the 'cool' group to say "On Wednesdays we were pink." Kind of a let down for me when that never happened.

In summary, if I was 18 and not 28, I would probably love this book. However, I sadly am no longer 18. Which really is difficult for me to say, because I would love to be 18 again. Ok, tangent over. If you are a die hard YA fan, this will be a book for you. Like I said, there were cute, funny and cutesy funny parts. But there were also terribly self absorption, bad influencing, and boring parts. And if you do read it, as an FYI, CG's parents let her off WAY to easy. If Lucy did any of the things CG does in this book, well let's just say, I might beat her.

The Undomestic Goddess

The Undomestic Goddess

By Sophie Kinsella

432 pages

12 hours and 5 minutes listening time

Grade C+

This is like the 100th Sophie Kinsella book I have read. As a matter of fact, other than the Shop-a-holic books that she has written (which I refuse to read), I think this puts me having read all her books, give or take one. What I like about them, is that her main character is always a goofy, smart, totally lost, but very strong mid twenties girl. The main characters are always easy to fall in love with, and they are even more loveable with their little quirks.

The Undomestic Goddess did not fail me in all of the above. I also have quickly learned that Sophie's main character will always fall in love, ruin it somehow, but always ends up with them in the end, some what like all Sandra Bullock romantic comedies. There, I have spoiled all her books for you in one shot, and most of Sandra Bullock's movies.

So in this book, Samantha, is a top lawyer at her firm and she is working on becoming a partner. She effs it up and ends up in a small town in the country. Due to a misunderstanding, she ends up a full time house keeper, however, she doesn't know how to iron, cook, clean, work a vacuume, or dust. Yadda, yadda, yadda, she ends up learning all that stuff.

It is actually a very cute book. I enjoyed it, I did. The ONLY problem that I had, was that it was the fourth Sophie book for me, in just a few short months, and actually I read three other ones within the last month.

So, great book, but I really should have spread them out, because I have learned that Sophie Kinsella books are somewhat like banana splits, you never think you can have too much until you are elbow deep in crushed pineapples and chocolate fudge and your tummy hurts.

Twenties Girl

Twenties Girl

By Sophie Kinsella

448 pages

15 hours and 5 minutes listening time

Grade C-

Out of all the Sophie books I have read/listened too, I disliked this one the most. I really have no reason for disliking it, however I did. Maybe it was the un-probability of it? Or the shear strangeness of it? I don't know, either way, it was cute, but I just didn't fall in love with it. I LOVED Remember Me? and Can you keep a Secret? But I just liked this one.

See I think the part that just bothered me about this one is, the main character, Lara, goes to her great Aunt Sadie's funeral. While the funeral is going on, she sees the ghost of her Aunt Sadie, and the is haunted by the ghost throughout most the rest. I found her Aunt Sadie to be a very irritating character, I kinda felt Lara was too. I usually love the main characters in Sophie's books, but in this one, eh. Didn't feel it. at. all.

So my dear Sophie fans, skip this one....you will thank me later.

Sex Lives of Cannibals

The Sex Lives of Cannibals

By J. Maarten Troost

272 pages

8 hours and 35 minutes listening time

Grade C-

FINALLY! This book has been on my To Be Read list for AGES. And when I say ages, I mean AGES. Because I am one for covers, I picked this book up probably 4 years ago at the book store because of it's catchy title and it's interesting cover. I have moved this book from house to house, from room to room, and then eventually I succumbed to the truth that I was just never going to read it and donated it about 6 months ago. Well on one of my online book clubs, we did a buddy read, and this was one of the only books that my "buddy" and me had on our lists. So I went and found it on audio so I could finally do the almighty cross off the list.

As much as I wanted to like this book, because I really really really did want to like it, I struggled, and struggled. It took me a week and a half to finish an 8 hour audio book. After the first half, I started to get a little more into it. This couple, Maarten and Sylvia move to Tarawa, an island that seems to have been forgotten by the rest of the world. But their adventures are pretty neat.

The power is only on for parts of the day, there isn't hardly any water. The natives eat dogs and cats because there isn't any wildlife on the island. The islanders only listen to the Marcarena, and their customs are very strange. However the author's humor is very dry, which is usually something I really like. So I am not sure if it was the narrator that I wasn't 100% in love with or what. But it is a funny book, but I was kinda let down after all the years it took me to finally read it.

Big Boned

Big Boned

By Meg Cabot

280 pages

7 hours and 58 minutes listening time

Grade B+

Big Boned is the third book to the Heather Wells Mysteries), and this series, it's just plain silly. The whole murder mystery thing just got really really repetitive, seeing as Heather is once again mixed up in a sticky situation in "Death Dorm." As crazy unrealistic as this book is, I think that is the appeal is holds for me.

As much as I wanted Heather to annoy the crap out of me, as annoying as she was, I really couldn't not help but just love her. And I really really did. She was such a nice genuine person. And she handled really bad situations in the best way she could. It is also very strange how dedicated she was to her job at the dorm, I mean residence hall. But her dedication also kinda made me love her more.

So this book is quick, just like the other two. You don't really have to think. at. all. when you are reading this book. There aren't any "deep" parts, but it is a fun little series. Completely unrealistic, but fun.

Can you Keep a Secret?

Can you Keep a Secret?

By Sophie Kinsella

400 pages

10 hours and 38 minutes listening time

Grade B+

I need to take a brief moment and just say that I kinda really really love Sophie Kinsella. I first read Remember Me? a few months back and loved it, and then I found this one and fell in love with it too. I thought at first I might not like it because it sooooorta started off like Remember Me? but after about 30 minutes, I could see that it was headed in a different direction. And although there were similarities, like a flustered eccentric female Brit, it was so refreshing of a book. I literally laughed out loud listening to this book, which books that can do that automatically get a mark in my book.

Ok so maybe a little run down of what happens....

Emma, my flustered eccentric female Brit, takes a plane from Scotland back to London, when there is some serious turbulence. She FREAKS out thinking she is going to die, and then spills every. last. secret and detail to the man sitting next to her. Things like she doesn't like to wear thongs, she is not totally in love with her boyfriend, she puts OJ in her co-workers plant so it will die, etc. The secrets just keep getting crazier and crazier, and then, they land.

She gets off the plane and says good bye to this mystery man, and goes about her life. Shortly after, her company gets on high alert because the founder of the company is coming to check in and dun dun dun, the boss man, is the man from the plane.

Thats all you get from me regarding the plot, but I totally recommend this book to everyone because I personally think this author is amazing. I plan on reading everything else that she has written, with the exception of the Shopaholic books because I tried to listen to the first one about a year ago and got terribly depressed because I started thinking about my own bad shopping habits and debt like the main character had, and so I just turned it off.

This book, you won't want to turn off!