Harry Potter!

Hey all!

So before I go too far, I’m not using blogger to post this blog as I usually do, I’m trying out Windows Live Writer. I have no idea how this is going to turn out, but hopefully it turns out okay. If it looks really different, that’s why. I’m already loving this though, mainly because there are many more fonts to choose from. Blogger only has about 5 fonts to choose from, and that gets kind of dull!

Moving right along!

As you will guess by the title, this post will have at least something to do with Harry Potter. I have been a Harry Potter fan since I read the first book when it was first released. Most of my friends have been very late in reading Harry Potter (most of them just started last year). Some of their parents wouldn’t allow their children to read Harry Potter when they were kids, so I can’t really say much to that. Everyone else who is just starting though has no excuse : ).

Anywho, in anticipation for the final movie in theatres this summer, I decided to read all the books a second time before going to see the movie. Seeing how as the summer is almost over, I’m just going to say that it took me the entire 4 months to get through the 7 books. Which is kind of embarrassing, but I do other things beside read you know!

I’ve never read anything twice, so this was actually an interesting experience for me. I have to say, the first 3 books were pretty boring, the third one was probably the most painful to get through ; however books four and on were just as incredible as I remembered them being.

All of this being said, I’m not going to say “everyone should read these!” because they won’t be for everyone. What I will say, however, is if you’re interested in reading them, and are 19 or over, I would suggest watching the first three movies, and then reading the books four and on. The movies do a pretty good job of staying as close to the book as possible, so you won’t miss out too much by not reading the first three books. However, the bigger the books get, the harder it becomes to follow the plot really closely, so I would definitely recommend reading the last few to get a really good feel of the story as it grows.

 

 

Book #9, #10, #11, #12, and #13 Reviews

Oh hi!

So I am sooo behind on this whole blogging thing. And especially on the book reviews. Oooops! Things have been a bit crazy, I've been feeling a bit discouraged with this whole blogging thing, but I'm going to carry on! Maybe I'll talk about everything in a post soon. 

Anywhooo on to some reviews!

I finished the trilogy by Stieg Larsson, the final book being called The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Yet again, the book was so incredible that I really can't describe it! Just read the trilogy. Honestly, you won't regret it!

The next book I read I was disappointed with. It was written by Dean Koontz, who I usually LOVE, but he failed to deliver with Prodigal Son. He's usually a really suspenseful writer, but Prodigal Son was really just a very dull science fiction book; and science fiction isn't really my schtick anyway. It's essentially about a man who kills people for their internal organs, and makes "robot" type people to fit his mold of the perfect person. He essentially wants to wipe out the entire human population and replace them with "robots". I use the term "robots", because they aren't the typical robots in the fact that they aren't metal, and you really can't tell that they are "robots", but they can't think for themselves. That's how they're robots. Anyway, two detectives are trying to get to the bottom of all these murders, and by the end of the book, they start to figure out something funny's going on. There's a whole trilogy I think. I won't read any more of them though.

Book #11 was a book called Rescue by Anita Shreve. This was an incredible book. It was full of heartbreak, but it was just one of those books that grabbed you. It starts out as a love story. The main character works as a paramedic, and he falls in love with a woman he rescues one night. They eventually get together and have a child together, but things start to fall apart from there. It's a big roller coaster, but it's just one of those stories where you wonder why the main character makes the decisions he does. It makes for a pretty good story, but a light read. I'll definitely be reading more of her books.

Book #12 is actually a last book in a series. It's an English mystery that is also a T.V. show, which is how I was introduced to the characters. It follows Inspector Morse, who I watched on T.V. as a kid with my family.  I didn't love the T.V show, but the book was incredible. Basically, it's Inspector Morse's last case. The book is called The Remorseful Day by Colin Dexter. If you're going to read this one (which I recommend you do), read a few of the others before you read the last one, because you'll get a sense of who he is. I watched the T.V. show so I was a bit ahead of the game, but I will definitely be reading more of the books, and I think they're more enjoyable if you know the Inspector at least a little beforehand.

Last but not least, is book #13, which is called Still Alice, and it's by Lisa Genova. This is a story that follows a Harvard Professor who gets diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers. It's a hard story to read, and it really gave me an education on how Alzheimers affects the people who have it. Alzheimers is one of those diseases where I knew what it did, but I didn't fully understand it. I really appreciate fiction stories that also provide at least a little bit of an education, and this one did it for me. It's an unbelievable story that I would recommend to anyone.    

Bliss Moment #1

Welcome to Bliss Moment #1! 


I'm writing this and not feeling very "blissfull." Oh well. C'est la vie! 


If you have no idea what I'm talking about, see the previous post. There it will explain what the idea is behind "Bliss Moments". 


So, getting on with it; the first bliss moment is....

Noticing a piece of gum on the ground before stepping on it. 
(I told you they were going to be basic...) 


This piece of good fortune and totally awesome thing happened to me about a week ago, (yeah yeah it's taken me a while okay? Don't judge.) My mom and I went shopping, and as I was getting out of the car, I happened to notice a piece of gum a couple of inches away from where I was going to place my foot. I was very happy to be paying attention, otherwise I would've suffered the misfortune on stepping on the sticky, gooey substance! 


I don't know about you, but one of the most annoying things in the world is stepping in a piece of gum. I hate that feeling of your foot sticking to the pavement, even if it's only for milliseconds! 




And that was my moment of bliss! 

Introducing...Bliss Moments.

So I want to just write a short introductory post to a new thing I'll be doing. 

So basically, whenever the urge strikes me, I'll be writing of things that make me happy, or are just generally awesome. It was actually suggested that I do this a long time ago, but I really didn't know what that would mean for me until just recently. 

If you've ever heard of "The Book of Awesome", it'll be something similar to that. The Book of Awesome is also a blog, which I highly encourage you to check out. It's absolutely fantastic, and it'll give you a glimpse of what I will be trying to accomplish with "Bliss Moments". 

Look forward to a Bliss Moment soon! (Maybe even today, we'll see what happens!) 

xo

Book #7 & #8 Reviews

Hey all!


I've been getting behind on the book updates, and I haven't actually blogged in forever, but here I am with a couple book reviews! I'm trying to get myself back into actually blogging, so hopefully I'll get on that and put one up soon! 


So, on to books!

Book #7 is a book called The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. It's a very depressing story, and it's a book I would not recommend reading right after reading The Flying Troutmans; which is what I did. It started to become too much, and I actually found myself having to read The Almost Moon in parts. I have actually tried to read this book before, but couldn't get past the first few pages. 


The first chapter of this story tells the gruesome tale of a woman killing her mother. It's a disturbing way to start a story, and it made me wonder if I should bother reading it to the end. I decided to give it a chance though, and I ended up being disappointed. 


The next chapters follow her life after the murder. You'd think to start a book with such a disturbing beginning would be bad enough, but the story just gets even more disheartening as it continues on. 


There are some authors that can write dark and disturbing stories and make them bearable, and Sebold succeeded in that with The Lovely Bones, but she failed to accomplish this with The Almost Moon. I can't even imagine thinking of a plot like that. 


If you like dark, bland tales, then this is for you. If not, steer clear. Choose The Lovely Bones instead. The Lovely Bones is another dark tale, but it's a really well written book that I thoroughly enjoyed sinking my teeth into. 

The next book is #2 in a trilogy by Stieg Larsson. It's called The Girl Who Played With Fire. I read the first book (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) before I decided to start the 100 books in 1 year challenge, and also while I was in school. Which was a big mistake. These books are incredibly addicting, once you get into them. It takes about 200 pages or so to get really addicting, but once you get there, it's hard to put them down.


It's hard to even describe what this book is about. The novels are very suspensful, and very complex. I'm currently on the third one (the second one ends with a cliffhanger, so I went RIGHT into the third one!) and I would definitely recommend them for summer reading. 


If you enjoy books with complex plots and many characters, I would definitely recommend this for you! Give them a try, you won't be sorry. 


Happy Reading! 
~xox 

Book Review #6

Book #6 is by one of my favorite authors. I read Miriam Toew's book "A Complicated Kindess" a couple years ago when I was on vacation with my family and I couldn't put it down. I had the same experience with book #6 which is The Flying Troutmans. 

This book follows Hattie Troutman, who is the sister of Min Troutman. Min is a troubled woman with 2 kids; a daughter Thebes and a son Logan. While Hattie is living in Paris with her boyfriend, she gets a distress call from Thebes as Min is being admitted into the psychiatric ward. Hattie returns to her hometown to be with the kids, and decides to take the kids on a "road trip" of sorts to find their father, Cherkis. It's definitely not your typical "family bonding" story, because I'm not even sure that's what happens to the three of them. However, they have quite the adventure, and as dark as the story is, Toews manages to throw in a bit of humor every now and then. It's a book I would highly recommend. 

Miriam Toews touches me in a way I can't really describe. It's difficult for me to describe her writing as dark because the stories she tells are so bizarre and absurd they're hard to believe. And yet, as crazy the tales are, she writes them in a way that makes them slightly believable. If you read The Flying Troutmans and enjoy it, I would highly recommend A Complicated Kindness as well. It's quite a bit different and that story is definitely dark, but it's got that same Miriam Toews touch to it that makes it hard to put down. 



Happy reading!

Book #4 and #5 Reviews

Wow you guys, I'm so far behind on this whole blogging thing it's not even funny. 

Anyway, so I've finished 5/100 books. I've got a long way to go! 

So first things first, I jumped right into another Jodi Picoult book. Holy can that woman write! 

A couple weeks ago, I finished her newest (I think?) novel called Sing You Home. It's quite different from House Rules, but it had the same profound effect on me. 

As in House Rules, she writes the book in multiple perspectives, but the majority of the focus is on Zoe; who at the beginning of the story is trying to have a baby with her husband with no success, and as the stress becomes too much, they separate. Zoe isn't a woman with many girl friends, or many friends at all for that matter, but soon after her separation, she makes a new friend, and it takes a turn she doesn't expect. 

Another similarity to House Rules is that there's another court case in the story. I don't know if this is very common in Picoult's writing, but I enjoy it, and it fascinates me how she manages to incorporate law into her writing. 

I love how much Picoult puts into her writing. She doesn't just sit and make up a story and have it published; she does her research. She sits with people that are similar to the main character in the most important aspects (for example: Jodi Picoult worked closely with someone she knew who has Aspergers when writing House Rules). As a reader, it makes for a really good read when the author has put a lot of time and consideration into their writing.

It's quite controversial, but if you keep an open mind while reading it, it can really challenge your way of thinking, and perhaps allow you to be more open minded when faced with certain situations. 

Book #5 was a bit of a lighter and a heavier read all at once. 

Book #5 is Holloway Falls by Neil Cross. I picked this one up at the $5 table at Chapters. Let me tell you, it was good, but I wouldn't have paid more than $5 for it. 

I actually took quite a risk when buying this book, it didn't really have a description in the back, but I had read a couple of pages before purchasing it, so that was my 'justification' of sorts. 

It's written like an English Mystery, except it's a bit lighter. However, many parts left me confused. There are quite a few characters, and quite frankly, I'm still confused about some of them. 

One of the main characters is a cop by the name of William Holloway. Years ago, his wife cheated on him with another man, and Holloway is out to seek revenge on him. However, a woman that William slept with was murdered, and it's believed that he did it. However, another man enters the story who believes that he knows who did it, and it wasn't Holloway. 

If you're into thrillers and mysteries, definitely check it out. However, at the very end there is quite a bit of blood and gore described, so if you don't like that kind of stuff, just skim over it. 

Happy Reading!