Week 2

Well, it's week 2 of my summer goal to read two nonaudiobook books every week, and it didn't happen. I blame my sister, who moved in Friday night and declared it the weekend of fun. Basically, we ate a lot of ice cream and watched a lot of Bloodline on Netflix. But thankfully we live in a world where grace exists and goals you make for yourself are not the law of the land. So I am getting back on the horse this week and aiming for that 2 book goal again. I was able to read one and listen to one on audiobook though, so here are their reviews.

taken from Goodreads.com

I finished the last of the four Snicket All the Wrong Questions books (you can see the other reviews here, here, and here) and it did not disappoint. I'm not going to lie, the first 80% or so of the book was such a strange whirlwind of weird that I had no idea what was going on. But once he brought it all home and tied all those weird details up in a nice bow, I was kind of blown away. Blown away...and yet also furious. Because once again, the man didn't answer my questions. I have just OH SO MANY questions (stretching back to the original 13 books in the Series of Unfortunate Events series) and he just refuses to answer them and I am mad. So is my brother. But...oh well. He will keep writing and I will keep reading and fingers crossed maybe one day I'll understand it all. Despite that little rant, I still highly recommend his books. All of them. Read his books and join the club of angry Snicket fans.

taken from Goodreads.com

This one was a reread, and was listened to via audiobook. It's been ages and ages since I've read sweet Anne, and I never ventured into the rest of the series (unless you count the classic Canadian movies starring Megan Follows). But my sister loves them and I found the series on audiobook at the library; I figured it was the best way to read a couple more. Oh sweet Anne. You are wonderful and you are loved. And Montgomery's writing is incredible. I spent most of the time I listened wishing I had a pen and paper to write down so many lines that were just amazing. If you somehow made it through your childhood without reading this wonderful and funny and heartwarming and adorable book, drop everything and read it now.

Catching up on book reviews

I think I've read six books since the last time I updated my reviews, so I thought I'd crank out some super short reviews and let you know what I've been reading.

taken from Goodreads.com

I heard about this book on the Relevant podcast and decided to look into it recently in an effort to learn a little bit more about myself. The concept of the Ennegram, which is essentially a personality spectrum, is not unique to this particular book at all but I chose this one to have the added bonus of learning about my personality/strengths/weaknesses through a Godly and Biblical perspective. It was really interesting and I've learned a lot...now comes the hard part of actually implementing it. If you're curious about learning more about yourself and why you may respond to things the way you do, I'd definitely recommend it.

taken from Goodreads.com

I mentioned recently that I reread the first book in this particular Lemony Snicket All the Wrong Questions series, and here's the second one. It was just as good as the first, and I loved every sentence. I have to say, again, that I am just so incredibly impressed with Snicket's (or, Daniel Handler, which is his real name) writing style. The man is a wordsmith, and if you haven't read any of his books I strongly recommend them. Just pick one and start reading. You won't regret it.

taken from Goodreads.com

Since I was able to listen to All the Light We Cannot See via audiobook a couple months ago, I thought I'd give Seabiscuit a try too. I'm glad I listened to it, but I just did not enjoy it that much. There were parts that were really interesting - particularly the descriptions of how the jockeys lived - but overall I just didn't really like it. I don't think that was Hillenbrand's fault as much as it was my fault for thinking I'd be interested in the topic. Oh well. Now I know.

taken from Goodreads.com

My mom's been recommending that I read this book for years, and I finally snagged a copy and read it recently. It is very very good; it's actually less about anxiety than it is about contentment, and learning how to trust God with everything that your life is in order to be fully content and let all the fears, stresses, and anxieties go. It's rooted in scripture as well as lots of personal testimonies, and I really enjoyed it. It will be one that gets revisited every year or so to remind myself.

taken from Goodreads.com

This was on my reading goal list for the year; it's one of the ones I grabbed from the Green Valley Book Fair and thought looked interesting. It's about a 17 year boy whose family was on a reality TV show when he was five, and everyone knows him as the problem toddler who wreaked havoc on his family for years on national television. The plot was super interesting and unique, but I feel like about halfway through the book King lost me a little. Maybe it was too long, or maybe I didn't really feel like I understood the main character anymore...I don't know what it was. But I didn't love it. It was interesting, but I didn't love it.

taken from Goodreads.com

And the third book of Snicket's new series was finished last night. I got a couple of questions answered which was nice, but still have lots of questions that I hope get answered in Book 4 (the last one). It's also really cool how in this book he's starting to reveal some similar plots and characters from the Series of Unfortunate Events, which is what we all really want, am I right?


So this last book makes #17 for the year so far. I couldn't really tell whether I should be happy with that or feel like I'm slacking, so I decided to crunch some numbers. This time last year, I had read 20 books, which is obviously more than 17 but not by a ton. It's also significant to note that of those 20 last year, 12 of them were audiobooks and only 8 were on my Kindle; this year only 2 of the 17 I've read are audiobooks and 15 were either on my Kindle or in real flesh-and-blood books. So on the one hand, I completed more books last year by this time but I have devoted more time to actually reading this year (since I listen to audiobooks by way of multitasking, while cleaning and washing dishes and driving, etc.). So I'm happy with those numbers, and I'm also excited for the opportunities for reading this summer will provide. I've still got quite the stack of books staring at me waiting to be read.

Catching up on book reviews

Hey friends. It's been approximately one million years and 5 books since I've updated you all on what I've read. Some of that was unintentional (finished a couple at once and just forgot to update the blog) and some of it, I'll confess, was intentional ("eh...I'll wait till I have more and just do a big post"). At any rate, I'm back. Here's some very brief thoughts about what I've been reading.

taken from Goodreads.com

I really loved Gayle Forman's original two-part story, If I Stay and Where She Went. Like, really really loved them. So I always kind of had this two-part story, Just One Day and Just One Year, at the back of my mind. Here's the short version of my opinions about this first book: I hated the first 30%, enjoyed the next 50ish%, and then grumbled and rolled my eyes dramatically throughout the last 20%. My sister was visiting me for a long weekend while I read it and I would update her on all the obnoxious, teenagery things that I was reading. She left to go back home before I finished and I called her and left a ten minute voicemail telling her the end in great detail. Her response? "As soon as I heard how it ended I thought 'Oh crap, now she has to read the second one.'" YUP. Gayle, darn you and your cliffhangers. So, yeah. It was fine. Whatever. But I have to read the second one now.

taken from Goodreads.com

I have listened to Shauna on the Relevant podcast for years but really hadn't read much of her stuff until recently. I read Cold Tangerines last year and now I've finished Bittersweet...Bread & Wine will be read soon and JT and I are working our way through Savor together. I've already preordered her new book, Present over Perfect, though, and cannot wait. That being said: I really really love her books and love the depth at which she writes and the things that she's willing to explore and wrestle with...but I also have found that in both this one and Cold Tangerines, there's always a moment about 75% through where I just kind of get bored. Maybe I feel like she's already reached that point where she's said what she needs to say and she's just kind of repeating herself. Regardless of that, I really did love this book. A lot of the subject matter really hit close to home; she spends much of the book describing the pain and emotional journey she and her husband went on in the wake of a miscarriage. I obviously cried a lot of tears over this book as I was forced to remember our own similar journey and recovery. She covers some really hard subject matter with a whole lot of beauty, grace, and encouragement.

taken from Goodreads.com

So you remember Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events from back in the day? There were 13 books that were made into a movie and is now being made into a Netflix television show? Well my brother and I LOVED that series - and read a lot of them together, taking turns reading aloud - and we now officially love this series. It's a prequel to the Series of Unfortunate Events, explaining Lemony's childhood and how he ends up in a position where he's writing about the Baudelaire family. I'd actually already read this one about 4 years ago when it came out, but then time and life got away from me and I'd never read the rest. They're all out now - there are only 4 in this series, which is much easier to handle than 13 - and they're ridiculously easy and quick reads. Also, they're HILARIOUS. So so so funny. I highly recommend them.

taken from Goodreads.com

I read this one because it felt like everyone was reading it, and everyone was loving it. I'm not sure how much I really loved it, to be honest. I liked it a lot, and I fully appreciated the master storytelling and the beautiful writing. Beautiful. But I also didn't miss it when I wasn't reading. I wanted to finish it, but I didn't have this burning desire to see it through. I just kind of liked it, that's all. That being said, it is a really and truly beautiful story with complex and beautiful characters and a fresh perspective on a time in history that is so thoroughly covered in so many ways.

taken from Goodreads.com

Guys, I LOVED this book. I have now read all of Rainbow's work (not counting her brand new book that I have no interest in), and every one of her books I've liked so much more than the last. I kind of liked parts of Fangirl, I liked Eleanor & Park a lot, I loved Landline, and I LOVED Attachments. Very quirky and realistic characters living in a pre-Y2K world where the rules of the internet are fuzzy at best? So. Good. I laughed (a whole lot, sometimes out loud), and I cried. And I super duper loved these characters. Rainbow's gift is dialogue, which I appreciate because I feel like I suck at it. Read this one. All the gold stars and thumbs up.

Every You, Every Me: a brief review

taken from Goodreads.com

My first book of the new year is one to cross off the 2016 list. I'm glad I can cross it off the list because goodNESS this book stunk. The plot was okay enough, but the way Levithan chose to wrote it just about made me insane. It was very experimental; his friend would send him a picture and he would write some of a book based on the picture, and then his friend would send him another picture and he would write some more. His friend didn't read any of what he was writing and he would never know what pictures were coming next. Kind of a cool concept, except that it just really didn't work out too well. It was infuriatingly ambiguous and vague, and gave no information to the reader until about 90% through. Also, most annoying of all, was his use of the strikethrough, which he used entirely too much and throughout the whole book, and I for one never did really figure out what his intended purpose was for it. I'm a little bummed this was my first ever Levithan book, because I've heard good things about him but this one makes me want to take a while to read another.

Here's my updated 2016 reading goals list now:

• For the Love, by Jen Hatmaker
• Good News for Weary Women, by Elyse Fitzpatrick
• Bittersweet, by Shauna Niequist
• Bread & Wine, by Shauna Niequist
• Parenting with Scripture, by Kara Durbin
• Love and Respect, by Emerson Eggerichs
• The Excellent Wife, by Martha Peace
• The Underdogs, by Markus Zusak
• Every You, Every Me, by David Levithan
• Every Day, by David Levithan
• We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart
• Reality Boy, by AS King
• Forgive me Leonard Peacock, by Matthew Quick
• Lindsey Lost, by Suzanne Marie Phillips 
• Belle Porter series
• To All the Boys I've Loved Before, by Jenny Han
• Odds of Getting Even, by Sheila Turnage
• Attachments, by Rainbow Rowell

Catching up on book reviews

Whew. Once again, it's been a while since I've blogged. I haven't done a ton of reading in that time, but I have finished a handful and am going to catch up on the reviews in one post. (I just looked back at my last post and am noticing a theme.)

taken from Goodreads.com

I've read quite a bit of Sharon Draper's books before (here, here, and three others I read before I blogged), and always have mixed feelings about them. This one was probably in my top two. It's about a young girl with cerebral palsy so severe she cannot walk or talk. Everyone around her thinks she is also mentally retarded as well, and she spends most of her life unable to defend or explain herself. This one was good, and also genuinely hard to read at times because of the content; I can't imagine being in her place. It's a good YA choice, especially for teaching about people who are different than us.

taken from Goodreads.com

I can't really say much about this one without giving a lot away, but I will say that I definitely recommend it. Zusak, also the author of The Book Thief, is one of my new favorites. The writing is beautiful, the dialogue is hilarious, and the characters are incredibly endearing. He also keeps you guessing and confused as you try to figure things out, which is fun. I can't wait to read the rest of his books.

taken from Goodreads.com

I'm really bummed to have to write what I'm about to write, but I just didn't love this book. I love Gary Schmidt...my favorite ever book in the whole world is Okay for Now, and some others that are very high on the list are Trouble and Lizzie Bright. This man is everything I want to be in a writer. This book was pretty much "eh" though. Oh well. I guess everyone's allowed a couple of bummers in their career.

Twofer: two brief reviews

I slacked on writing a review again, so I have two different book reviews to write tonight. One I loved loved loved, and one I super duper didn't like at all.

taken from Goodreads.com

Oh my goodness. I loved this book. I loved this book so much I put it in my top 5 books ever. I loved the characters - the sweet, sweet, lovable characters - and I loved the twists and turns, and I loved the commentary on books and book people and I loved the whole thing. Not to be too dramatic (unless I've already crossed that threshold), but this was the kind of book for me that buries itself down deep in my heart and that I know I'll read many more times in the future. Sigh...so good. Also, as a small sidenote: something that I really appreciate is when a book or movie that is about a certain thing does a good job with that thing (translation: Jack Black's character in the The Holiday is a composer for movies, and the score for The Holiday is fantastic). Well this is a book about really good books, and it's indeed a really good book. I know I've given you absolutely nothing about plot or any information, and that's kind of on purpose. I don't want to spoil any of the surprises for you, and it's hard to give you much of a plot synopsis without doing that. So I'll just say this: read this book. Please read this book. Good golly, I'll probably buy it for you for Christmas to make sure you read this book.

taken from Goodreads.com

In contrast...eh. This book was surprisingly bad. I feel like I'm not allowed to really say that, because it's a classic. And it's Ray Bradbury. But goodness. I was bored out of my mind and when I wasn't bored out of my mind I was confused. There were good moments and good points made, and definitely some great commentaries on what the world could (and probably already has) easily become...but aside from that, whew. It was 4 CDs of pure effort for me. Sorry if that makes me a terrible former Language Arts teacher, but I'm just telling you the truth. But hey. I feel more well rounded, I suppose.

Ghosts of Tupelo Landing: a brief review

taken from Goodreads.com

Ghosts of Tupelo Landing is the sequel to Sheila Turnage's book Three Times Lucky, which I listened to and loved a couple months ago. I really liked this book as well - which picks up the story of rising sixth graders Mo and Dale right where the last story ended - but the audiobook was unbearably terrible. Just awful. And it's such a bummer because the first audiobook was great. This one had a different reader (why?) and the sound quality was just awful. So I definitely don't recommend the audiobook, but I do very much recommend this series (a third book is due to come out in the beginning of October).  The characters are super adorable and original, the dialogue is hilarious and clever, and the plots have enough mild twists and turns that you genuinely want to keep reading to find out what happens. I really do love these books, and even though I kind of sort of like the first one better, I blame the crappy audiobook. These are great, and I definitely recommend them.

Friends, a brief extension to the post is needed to acknowledge that this is my 50th book so far this year! I can't believe it. My goal for last year was to get to 40 books and I only made it to 32. Granted, I did have a baby in that year, but I had a rolling, crawling, climbing baby in this year and I've already far surpassed last year's goal. I will admit, though, that 33 of the 50 books so far have been audiobooks. I cannot stress enough the way audiobooks have changed my reading game. I'm already bummed about how I'll have to change things up again a couple years from now when Charlotte will be able to hear and understand the things I'm listening to...but I'll figure something else out then. For now, audiobooks are incredibly helpful. It is so much fun for me to get to read and cross books off my list and feel productive. It's been really great, and I'm enjoying it a lot. I also highly recommend audiobooks :)

Three Times Lucky: a brief review

taken from Goodreads.com

I heard about this one several years ago, back when I was still reading a lot of YA book review blogs. I spotted both it and its sequel a couple weeks ago at the Green Valley Book Fair, and I'm so glad I did because this one is fantastic. I actually listened to the audiobook - which I recommend if you can get your hands on it - and it's one of my new favorites. This adorable detective/murder mystery/comedy is told by "rising sixth grader" Mo, whose attitude and spunk remind me of both Scout Finch and Tom Sawyer. I definitely recommend this one, with two thumbs and five stars. And I can't wait for the sequel.

The Girl on the Train: a brief review

taken from goodreads.com

The subtitle of this post should actually be: a super brief review because this is a book club book and I'm saving all my talking for book club because OHMYGOSH do I have a whole lot of talking to do about this book and actually talking about it would spoil the plot for you so just read it.

That should be the subtitle. But I figured maybe that's a little too long.

It's true. This is indeed a book club book and our meeting isn't for several weeks so I'm going to respect that and keep any specific opinions and OHMYGOSHs to myself. Here's the basic plot though, told in a super choppy way in an attempt to leave all spoilers out:

Rachel rides the same train to and from London every day. On her ride she sees the same couple outside their home and has a little made up version of who they are that plays in her head as she passes them every day. In her fantasy they're Jess and Jason, but in real life they're Megan and Scott; when Megan shows up everywhere on the news because she's disappeared, Rachel becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened. Meanwhile, Rachel's ex-husband Tom and his new wife Anna are bugged that Rachel keeps drunkenly calling and harassing them...but it also quickly becomes a little more complicated than that.

The short story: I freaking loved this book. Ate it up. Did all kinds of guessing and trying to figure it all out. In the end, I did kind of figure it out but I didn't even care because it was still super good. I'm not the first person to make this comparison at all, but it's a little Gone Girlish, but as Shauna Niequist said, "in a good way." Translation: it has all the crazy (well, slightly less crazy actually, because Gone Girl is just straight up bananas) and all the mystery and thrills and sociopaths but I wouldn't feel bad recommending it to someone. If you want the long version of my thoughts...read it and then grab coffee with me sometime. I've got lots to say. (But in all honesty it's mostly just a bunch of "OHMYGOSHTHISPART".)

Oh and P.S., they're already starting to work on the movie and I have several casting suggestions. I'm waiting for the phone call.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: a brief review

taken from harrypottershop.com

Well folks, it's been a short while since I've been on this thing. Newborns take up a lot of time and - even more so - mental energy. Yep that's right: our beautiful baby girl was born October 4 at about 11 pm after an extremely long day (full and probably way too long birth story coming very soon). Blogging hasn't been high on the priority list these last couple weeks, and neither has reading. I did manage to pick away at good ol' HP #2 in between feedings and naps, though, and it seems that a couple pages at a time does eventually equal an entire book, and I finally finished it yesterday.

Harry goes back to Hogwarts for his second year, despite the warnings of a tiny house elf that appears at Harry's aunt and uncle's house telling him not to. It soon becomes obvious that maybe the strange elf was onto something, though, when Harry starts hearing threatening voices in his head and when classmates start falling victim to some unseen monster haunting the hallways. Harry, Ron, and Hermione dive into trying to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, the fabled source of the school's monster.

I enjoyed this book, just like I enjoyed the first one, but I will say that I found it to be a little bit more flat. Maybe it was just how little I was able to read at a time, but the plot felt a little simplistic and slow to me. And in the end - I'll try not to give any spoilers - Harry's interactions with who ended up being the bad guy were not even close to scary or even intimidating. I felt like that scene was a chance for J.K. to continue to set a foundation for why this bad guy is terrifying and enduring and super crafty and instead it all came off seeming like a bad joke. Granted...I am a grown woman reading these books for the first time instead of a small child. So maybe I'm being a little harsh. Regardless of the less than scary bad guy, though, I'm still interested in the series and continuing to find out about Harry and all his future adventures. He really does seem to be quite the helpful little guy, doesn't he?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: a brief review

Well folks, it has finally happened. When I finished the last book I read, Labor Day, I looked at my 2014 reading goals and saw that I was still pretty behind on my 94-book challenge reading. So I took a gander at my bookshelves and young Harry Potter jumped out at me. Having the Harry Potter series on my 94-book list for the last year has felt a little bit like Mitch Hedburg trying to decide whether he should put a beret on in the morning: is today the time? Is this the day when I finally jump in and join the ranks of many who have gone before me and experienced what I haven't? Well last week was that time. I started reading Harry Potter, ya'll.

I'll spare you a lengthy plot summary, but here's the basic premise: 11-year-old Harry has been living with his awful aunt, uncle, and cousin for the majority of his life since his parents died tragically. A strange giant man shows up one night, though, with some interesting information for young Harry that changes his life. Harry's parents did not die in a car accident all those years ago but instead at the hands of an evil wizard who may or may not still be roaming the countryside...and Harry is also a wizard destined for an education at the prestigious Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry follows his new friend Hagrid (who is really just the best, isn't he?) to Hogwarts, where he spends his first year making wonderful new friends, annoying new enemies, and solving a mystery or two.

I realize I'm just shy of ten years too late and pretty much everyone knows this already, but this book is good. It's real good. It's an introduction, and it has the unfortunate task of laying the foundation of the plot for the entire series, but it's still good. J.K. Rowling does such a great job introducing all the characters, describing the school, and even providing one heck of a surprise ending. I legitimately enjoyed this book, even knowing that it was really just the introduction and that all the really good stuff was to come. I should also do my due diligence and mention that, as a huge Percy Jackson fan, there's a whole lot of the first Percy book that sounds just like this first Harry Potter book. Like...a lot. And even though I read Percy first, I acknowledge that Harry came much, much sooner. And therefore wins. Shame on you, Rick Riordan.

The one bummer in all of this, though, is that part of why I chose good ol' Harry to start reading is because I had only read 12 out of the 20 books I'd wanted to read this year on my 94-book list, and I figured knocking 7 out back to back would be helpful. But then I remembered, when I was about halfway through Sorcerer's Stone, that I only actually own the first three books in the series. Only the first three books are on my 94-book list, guys. What a bummer. But three is better than none, and the other four will bump me over my non-94-book list goal, so I guess it all works out. (Might all be irrelevant anyway, since who on earth knows whether I'll pick up a book the rest of the year after Baby is born...).

Paper Towns: a brief review

taken from johngreenbooks.com

When I reread John Green's masterpiece The Fault in Our Stars a couple weeks ago, I decided it was time to finally get the two Green books I haven't read yet crossed off the list. I've wanted to read Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherines for a long time, but it just hasn't happened. At $5 each on the Kindle, it was kind of a summer read no brainer.

Quentin Jacobsen has lived next door to Margo Roth Spiegelman, his childhood best friend and current object of his love from afar. As they grew up they also grew apart; Quentin now spends his time with the other band and gamer geeks while Margo comfortably resides at the top of the social food chain as Queen Bee. When she suddenly appears in his bedroom window one night in the spring of their senior year and asks him for a favor, he happily obliges. Quentin expects their relationship to be back to their childhood version of normal the next day at school, but instead finds out that Margo is inexplicably missing. He launches himself - and his friends - into a full fledged investigation into the mystery of Margo Roth Spiegelman.

So here's the thing: I really love The Fault in Our Stars and I really love Looking for Alaska. I really love John Green. I think he's an incredible writer and I've made that pretty well known. Love him, love his style, love the way he writes characters, love his wit, etc. etc. But I was a little disappointed in this one. For the majority of the book, all I could think about was that Quentin and Margo were basically exactly the same as the main characters in Looking for Alaska, which was a bummer because of how great Green is at writing characters. I also felt like, even though I was interested in pushing through and finding out the answer to the mystery, the majority of the book was kind of treading water. It didn't seem like much was progressing in the plot, and every time Quentin would get excited about a new lead it would actually be a false alarm. That might be realistic, but it's a little frustrating in a book.

All of that being said...the last 30% of the book was pretty great. I really loved the portrayal of friendship and adventure that's depicted, and it's the funniest part of the book by far (in my opinion). Overall, I would definitely say that I liked it, I just didn't love it as much as I expected. I'm still excited to get Katharines read soon, though!

Gone Girl: a brief review

taken from Goodreads.com

Holy crap, this book.

I literally just finished the last page and my eyes are still bugging out of my head a little and my brain is still saying "what the heeeeck...?" and "holy crap, this book" seems like the only logical thing for me to say, but that's probably not enough. So I'll say more. 

Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl is one of those that's been on my radar for a while, just because it's been really popular and seems to be everywhere. I mentioned in my Books-to-Movies Challenge post back at the start of the new year that I wanted to read it sooner rather than later because it's being turned into a movie this fall. (A little bit more on that in a minute.) It's forever on the waiting list from the library but when stumbled across it available last week on the library's website I snatched it. And then proceeded to absolutely devour it.

Nick and Amy Dunne are celebrating their five-year anniversary in their newish home in their newish zip code in Missouri, having relocated from a posh and carefree life in New York City. Stories from their early relationship paint a picture of a genuinely happy couple, playful and excited, but perhaps things aren't still quite so perfect. When Nick comes home from work and finds the front door open, the house a mess and Amy gone without a trace, the town - and soon, the country - becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened. Where is Amy? What happened in their home? Who is responsible?

I honestly can't even tell you how swept away with this plot I was. It was basically from the first page; I couldn't put it down, and when I had to I thought about it almost constantly. I really can't remember the last time I felt that way about a book...that I was that obsessed with finding out what happens next. I've always wanted to be the person who could stay up super late at night reading, but I get tired and fall asleep. I'm human. This book, though, had the opposite effect on me in the middle of the night. Okay...have I painted the picture for you enough? I really and thoroughly enjoyed this crazy book. From an entertainment perspective, I really did devour it. Couldn't get enough, couldn't stop thinking about it, couldn't stop wondering what absolutely insane thing was going to happen next. Yeah, I think you get the picture.

That all being said: I do need to give a disclaimer. I read mostly Young Adult books, and therefore review mostly Young Adult books on this blog. That's not because I have anything against books written for adults; it comes from my background in teaching middle school Language Arts and I've gotten comfortable with the genre for lots of reasons. Gone Girl, let me be very clear, is not a Young Adult book. Not that anyone would think that, but I just needed to say it. There's quite a lot of vulgar and sexually descriptive language (although not much actual sex) throughout the book in its entirety, which wasn't my favorite and makes it harder for me to actually recommend, but the plot is mind blowing...which I think I've already covered.

As far as the movie goes, it's far away and coming out in October, so there's not even a trailer to get jazzed about yet. There is, however, a full cast list on its IMDB page, and I had a ton of fun with it while reading the book. Most of the time, I read the books well in advance and then get super annoying and vocal about how Hollywood cast the characters wrong because they're not how they look in my head. Sometimes, though, I read the book when there's already a Hollywood framework in place and I get to spend a lot of time flipping back to my IMDB app on my phone to see who they cast for this new character. And sometimes, that is super fun. I have to say, the cast list for the movie works really well for the characters in this book. Time will tell whether the movie will actually be good, but (in my opinion) Ben Affleck is a great choice for Nick, Neil Patrick Harris is a shockingly terrifying but excellent choice for Desi, and I even think Tyler Perry will do a good job with Tanner Bolt. The only one I'm slightly unsure of is the choice of Rosamund Pike for Amy, just because she will always always be sweet and wonderful and perfect Jane Bennet from Pride & Prejudice, but I'm sure she will be great.

So...those are my thoughts. I really do think, though, that I could have gotten away with only saying "holy crap, this book."

Who Could That Be at This Hour?: a brief review

Before I do my tiny little book review, I need to say that this book challenge has been a serious "duh" moment for me. I have the kind of personality that dives into things a little too aggressively/obsessively, and so when I got my Kindle about a year and a half ago I said goodbye to "real" books. I would buy them on my Kindle, read them on my Kindle, and then if I really liked them I would buy the real-life version to display on my shelves (much to the confusion of my husband). I forgot about libraries, I forgot about borrowing books from friends, and I forgot about reading the 91 perfectly good books I already had sitting on my shelves waiting to be read. Forcing myself to step away from the Kindle and read some actual hard-backed books for a change has been like removing a blindfold. I don't have to pay (twice) for a book just to read it. I have a whole world of free and already-paid for books available. Duh. And while that probably doesn't sound like rocket science...it's honestly been a little exciting for me to realize. Or...remember. Whatever. Here's my book review.

The first book in Lemony Snicket's new All the Wrong Questions series, is just as quirky and clever as I thought it would be. Who Could That Be at This Hour? starts to tell the story of Lemony Snicket's adolescence and rise to fame in the field of mystery-solving and secretive writing that we're familiar with in his Series of Unfortunate Events books. In this book, Snicket describes the beginning of his career as an apprentice to a somewhat worthless chaperone who is teaching him the ways of the secretive sleuthing society he becomes so involved with later on. In typical Snicket form, though, he leaves lots of holes in the plot and questions unanswered. You as the reader needs to do some thinking along the way to fill in some of the holes...but you should also be prepared to not ever get some questions answered. But there's not much new there.

It's super fun and a quick read, and it's everything you would want a Lemony Snicket book to be. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next book in the series.