favorite reads of 2012

Well, hello there!

Long time no blog.

These past few weeks I've been busy getting back into our normal work/school routine after the holidays.

And then last week I cam down with either a bad head cold or severe allergies. 

Not sure which.

Whatever it was it had me dragging BAD.

I'm talking about knocking myself out with meds right after the kids went to bed and sneaking in naps wherever I could, bad.

But have no fear, I am BACK!!

Today I want to talk a bit about some of my favorite reads of last year.

In 2012 I read 69 books.

The more I think about it, that was a bit too much.

Yes, there is something to be said about reading a ton (and reading more than a lot of people you know), but honestly as I'm looking back through the list of books that I read last year, I see that, sadly, books were forgotten about.

There was more than a couple moments of, "I forgot I read that!", and that makes me a bit sad.

So, this year I have my goal set at 60 books.

Although, I might lower it to 52.

Anyway, here are a few of the books that I read last year that I loved.

A Game of Thrones

by George R.R. Martin

5 stars :: Such a great fantasy novel. Very wordy though. As a matter of fact, this is why I have yet to read the next book. They are so long and full of detail that I feel I need to read them alone, and I have yet to find a chunk of time where I don't want to be reading some other book as well.

The Dead Tossed Waves

by Carrie Ryan

5 stars :: This was the book that caused me to FINALLY get a library card (at 28 years old). This is the second in a trilogy of zombie books. The first book, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, was great as well, but this book can stand alone from it, in my opinion, and is WAY more engaging. 

I highly recommend this series.

If I Stay/Where She Went

by Gayle Forman

5 stars to both :: These books are heartwrenching, to say the least. Death and its aftermath are the focus and the books are written from two different character's perspectives. Expect lots of tears and beautiful words.

Divergent/Insurgent

by Veronica Roth

5 stars to both :: YA dystopia at its best. These books kept me engaged and yearning for more the whole time.

Ender's Game

by Orson Scott Card

5 stars :: Written from a genius child's point of view. This is definitely a sci-fi classic. I will most definitely be reading the following books in the seies (and it's spin-off) at some point in the future.

Tuck Everlasting

by Natalie Babbitt

5 stars :: A short, easy, middle grade read. It begs the question, "What would you do if you were in this situation?".

The Glass Swallow

by Julia Golding

5 stars :: I read another Julia Golding book, Dragonfly, based on the fact that it was the book my local library's Adults who read YA Book Club was reading (I'm not a part of the book club, but thought it might be an intriguing read, regardless). I really enjoyed Dragonfly and was excited to learn that this book was a companion book set 15 or so years in the future. So good.

I am Number Four/The Power of Six/The Rise of Nine

by Pittacus Lore

4 stars to all three :: While these books didn't WOW me enough to warrant 5 stars, I think that the story was unique enough and the writing engaging enough to want to keep reading and readng. If yu love sci-fi/alien stories, this is a good series for you. I'm pretty bummed at this point that I have to wait 7 or so more months until the next book comes out. The first book pretty much follows one main character and his story, but as they progress, other characters and their view points are added in as well. Good solid series.

Pandemonium

by Lauren Oliver

5 stars :: This was the second book in what is set to be a trilogy (the third book comes out in March!).

The first book, Delirium, was obviously great enough to warrant me reading this one. And I'm so glad I did. This is another YA Dystopian book, but was definitely a gripping tale in its own right. Be aware that Pandemonium ends with the cliff hanger of all cliff hangers and will leave you a bit flustered that the third book is not yet available.

I will definitely be working on my book review prowess more in the future and hope to make said reviews a normal part of my posting this year.

What would you include in your favorite reads of 2012? 

Do you have a goal for reading this year?

peace, love, and all things sparkly.

book review :: happier at home

Quick book review for you.

As part of my 30 by 30 list, I wanted to read 12 nonfiction books this year.

The main reason is to broaden my horizons.

More often than not (like 90% of the time), I'm going to choose something fictional to read.

The first nonfiction book of my 29th year was Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin.

I read her previous book, The Happiness Project, a few months back, and while I thought it was good overall, I have to admit that it was very slow going to get through it.

I felt that Happier at Home was MUCH easier to get through.

It didn't feel as much like an essay to me.

In it she does a shorter and more focused version of her first Happiness Project.

Every resolution in this book is based off of being happier at home, but I bet you guessed that just by the title. ;)

There are definitely some physical attributes in her resolutions, such as, in the 'Possessions' section of the book she resolves to 'go shelf by shelf' and also to 'read the manual' to better learn how to operate her belongings.

But I feel like this had more to do with cultivating relationships.

Of course there's a month where she focused on parenting and one where her marriage was front and center, but there was also plenty of resolutions where learning about herself was key.

Over and over we hear her top personal commandment, to 'Be Gretchen'. 

I personally found this interesting because, so often, we resolve to do things or become people that  just don't interest us.

We should all resolve to be ourselves and cultivate ourselves in a realistic manner that betters who we actually are.

All in all I was really pleased with this book, rated it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads and would definitely recommend it to people to read.

peace, love, and all things sparkly.

mini book review :: the passage by justin cronin

4 out of 5 stars.

Well, actually it would probably be more like 3.75 stars.

The actual story/writing itself was great. 

Government experiment gone awry leads to a devastated human race.

I really enjoyed the book as a whole.

The Passage is the first book in a trilogy.

It was published in 2010, #2 will be published this year, and I think #3 is slated for 2014.

What I didn't like was that in the 766 pages of book one, you could easily have gotten several books.

There were multiple story climaxes and, to me, the way it was written almost warranted multiple books.

And seeing as the books are being  published every other year, I think I would have preferred smaller books and faster publication dates.

All in all I give it two thumbs up.

xo

book review - room

This book has been on my 'to-read' list for awhile. Although, I have been kind of apprehensive to read it. A co-worker of the hubs let me borrow it, and let me tell you I was captivated from page one.

Room is the story of Jack and his mother, as told by Jack, who is 5 years old.
Jack's "Ma" (who's real name is never mentioned) was kidnapped when she was 19 years old and has been held captive in a room for the past 7 years. She has been and is continued to be repeatedly raped by her captor, whom Jack calls Old Nick. Jack is a result of these rapes.

There are definitely times when this book is hard to stomach. Everything is done from his point of view and when he is scared or confused you can just imagine what he's going through. As the mother of a 5 year old, this book straight out broke my heart at times. All Jack has ever known is this room. It houses the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc. He has never once been outside it's walls. But his mother makes the best possible life that she can for him inside those four walls.

Room chronicles some time inside the room, as well as Jack and his mother's escape and their life immediately after. During the escape and after, there are times when I felt like screaming at his mother, but I had to remind myself that 7 years in confinement would do a lot to a person's psyche.

There might be a few times that you have to reread sentences to really understand what Jack is saying (unless you're used to be around little kids and their broken English). Not only is he only 5, but his lack of knowledge of "the Outside", as he calls it, can make for some confusing moments on the reader's part.

I have to say this book is unique. Not only for the plot line, but also for the way it is written. I found that I had a hard time putting it down.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.