A Million Little Ways, Me Before You, and The List

This week's (and last week's, because apparently my goal of two books per week was a little too lofty after all) books are:

taken from Goodreads.com

This was actually my first Emily Freeman book (love her on Hopewriters and love her sister The Nester) and I really liked it. Her encouragement to make art within and throughout all of our daily tasks was so beautiful and unique. She stresses the importance of figuring out how we are meant to create art for our Savior by living our lives, and how that might not mean literal, traditional art but maybe in a more discreet and less obvious way instead. Since I was just diving back into writing when I read this, I found it to be particularly encouraging.

taken from Goodreads.com

So this book has just been turned into a movie and all the [Christian] reviews seem to be pretty condemning (as well as full of spoilers...like, IN THE TITLE of the review, effectively ruining the ending of the book for the person who is in the middle of reading said book and avoiding reviews for the purpose of not having the end spoiled). The reviews are, truthfully, about the movie and not the book, and I have not yet seen the movie so my brief review will only be about the book. That being said, my honest opinion (SPOILER ALERT, because I'm a nice person) is that this was a really good book that didn't glorify euthanasia at all. It explored it as a topic, it did explain the specific character's point of view and all the reasons why he wanted to go that route, but I honestly do not think it glorified it. Every single character in the entire book, other than the character in question, was devastated by his decision. Every single character fought against it till the end, argued with him about the merits of making a different decision, tried their hardest to show him the value of living rather than giving up, and, in the end, were completely and utterly destroyed by his decision. I can't speak for the movie, but this "happy ending" all the reviewers keep talking about doesn't happen in the book. Yeah, she gets a lot of money. But she also loses the love of her life. If you want to discuss other reasons why I think it doesn't glorify it, and why I also think there's value in reading books that make us think and consider another point of view (even if we don't agree with it at all), I would love to discuss it more. But for the sake of time, I'll move on. Honestly, I just liked the book. I loved the characters and I loved her writing style. I was inspired by this book; it was most of the reason I decided to temporarily abandon nonfiction reading and focus on fiction while I try to write my novel. The characters and the writing and the voice in this novel inspired me and pushed me and got my creativity flowing in new and exciting ways with my own novel. It took me from a place where I had been stuck for two years and pushed me into a whole new arena with my writing. I'll always be grateful to this book for that, and I can't wait to read more by Ms. Moyes because of it.

taken from Goodreads.com

This was the second book I added to my Goodreads account. It was probably six or seven years ago. I almost deleted it recently because I figured if I hadn't read it by now I never would. But I did, and I loved it. I got transported back to high school, but I still loved it. A high school that has a list posted every fall of the ugliest and prettiest girl in each grade? Yeah...it makes for an interesting plot. I do think the author got a little overextended with following eight different girls throughout the book; after the first half or so she loses the plots of a couple and focuses more on the same few over and over, but it was still really good. I'd definitely recommend it.

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.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before: a brief review

taken from Goodreads.com

This was one of the Green Valley Book Fair buys that made it onto my 2016 reading goals list. But I was always tentative about it because I didn't love the only other Jenny Han book I've read, The Summer I Turned Pretty. That book was very simple and very predictable and somewhat boring, really. This one started out that way and I thought I was doomed to 300+ pages of uninteresting teen romance, but THEN there were a couple little twists and I got sucked right in. To be honest...it might in reality still be dumb teen romance, but I really enjoyed it and wanted to keep reading. And when it ended on a cliffhanger, I REALLY wanted to buy the next one right away. I didn't...I did the right thing and got a library book instead. But the next book I read after the library book will most likely be the sequel to this.

Liar & Spy: a brief review

taken from Goodreads.com

Yeah, so remember in the last post when I said it was book #50, but I never actually wrote a review for book #49? I'm sure you were all paying suuuuper close attention and picked up on that. Well anyway, I finished Liar & Spy before I read Ghosts of Tupelo Landing, and it's a perfectly fine and cute Young Adult book. I've kind of been half and half with whether I like Stead's books or not, and this one was probably my favorite of hers so far. It was grounded in reality (which her others have not been, which has bugged me), and the characters are genuine and very likable. It's a short, easy read and I liked it a lot.

Okay for Now: a brief, passionate review

taken from Goodreads.com

I read this book for the first time a handful of years ago, and I absolutely feel completely in love with Gary Schmidt. Really and truly fell in love. And this is my favorite of all his books. I love this book. I love this book. I love the characters, I love the dialogue, I love the writing style, I love the tears it makes me cry....I love this book. It is literally and concretely my favorite of all books. My favorite of all time. That's a big deal. So read this book, and then read the rest of this books in this order: Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, Trouble, The Wednesday Wars, and then don't under any circumstances read What Came From the Stars. He was apparently on LSD when he wrote that book.

He doesn't have the popularity or public awareness of a John Green or whoever, but I think that's a shame. Because, like I've said now lots of times, this is my favorite book. And he is an incredible writer.

Rapidfire book reviews

As promised, here are the single paragraph book reviews of the last several books I've read, since they haven't made it onto the blog yet. Moving forward, I may stick to this style for time's sake.

taken from Goodreads.com

I grew up hearing about this book, Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl, from my mother and many of her friends who studied it and adopted it as their lifestyle. Now that I've read it myself, I can say with confidence that I agree wholeheartedly with about 95% of this incredibly conservative and biblical description of God's design for wives. My only wish - apart from the minor details I disagree with her on - that she had written the book with a little less harshness and a little more grace.

taken from Goodreads.com

This one, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, had been on my list for years, and I finally listened to it on audiobook. This YA book about a middle school boy with severe birth defects and facial deformities is heartbreaking, hilarious, and deeply heartwarming. I loved the way the author explores both the very worst and the very best about the middle school-aged population. I definitely recommend it and I am excited to read the companion books.

taken from Goodreads.com

To Kill a Mockingbird was a reread, half in honor of the release of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman and half because I claim it's one of my favorite books and yet I have never reread it. (I never ever reread books anymore, always in the pursuit of the ever growing "list." That's something I'm determined to change in the future.) This particular reread was well worth it: I still love it and it's still wonderful. And I am equal parts giddy and terrified of the sequel.

taken from Goodreads.com

Elie Wiesel's Night is one of the books that I am shocked I'd never read until now. I hadn't realized before listening to the audiobook that this book is actually the author's story of imprisonment in various concentration camps during the Holocaust. The tale is horrifying, heartbreaking, sickening, and shocking; there are so many stories about the Holocaust that it's almost easy to become hardened to it, in one ear and out the other. But some of the specific details of this story were too disgusting and horrifying to grasp, and when I tried to tell JT about them later on the words literally wouldn't come out of my mouth because I knew I'd start crying. This is both a terrible and special book, and if you haven't read it I do recommend it.

taken from Goodreads.com

I read Jeannette Walls' first book The Glass Castle, which is her own personal memoir, when I was in college. It made a huge impression on me and whenever I've seen her other two books for sale or on friends' shelves I have made a note to read them someday. Someday came in the form of an audiobook for Half Broke Horses, which is the hilarious and thought-provoking story of her grandmother's life. This story becomes especially interesting when Walls' grandmother's daughter Rosemary is born, and you learn of so many of the reasons and life events that turn her into the future mother and wife that raises Walls. (Super confusing sentence...I couldn't figure out how to make it more clear so just reread it a couple times till you see what I mean.) This overlapping of the two books and three generations makes me really want to reread The Glass Castle.


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So there you have it. You're caught up on the reading I've been doing since the blog went quiet. I'm up to 33 books this year, which is already one more than last year's 32, and I'm pretty stoked about that.

Crash and Monster: two brief reviews

Since I finished two books at the same time (one on Kindle and one on audiobook), I'm just going to write their reviews in the same post.

taken from goodreads.com

I picked this audiobook up from the library because Jerry Spinelli is a big deal and I thought I'd probably heard of the book before. I'd somehow only ever read Spinelli's Stargirl, and although I didn't hate it, I also didn't necessarily love it. Crash, though, I really loved. A lot. It was a really cute book, and the fact that the person reading the audiobook was incredible. Loved it.

Crash is your typical middle school bully/star of the football team. Pen is your typical middle school nerd/free spirit/star male on the cheerleading team. Crash makes it his life mission to make Pen's life miserable for years, but Pen's spunky, carefree attitude simply cannot be broken.

This book reminded me a little bit of a middle school version of something Laurie Halse Anderson would write. Reading a book from the perspective of a bully was really uncomfortable at times, but it also made a huge impact. I loved the characters, loved the dialogue, loved the little plot twists, and loved the heartwarming lessons learned. Plus, it's a very short book. I knocked out the audiobook in a day. That's always nice.

taken from goodreads.com

In contrast to the low expectations I went into Crash with, I went into Monster with super high expectations. Also in contrast to how much I loved Crash, I did not love Monster. It had been on my radar for years and I always thought it looked like such a crazy plot that I would love getting into. When it came time to read it though...eh. It wasn't. It wasn't a very crazy plot and I didn't love it. In fact, it was hard to get into at all.

Steve Harmon is a 16-year-old boy on trial for his involvement in an armed robbery that also resulted in the murder of the shop owner. He and two other boys were supposedly working together, and are all on trial. The book follows Steve through the trial, both in and out of the courtroom.

I love law and order-type shows and I think the ones that focus on younger people are especially interesting. Since the book is called Monster, I thought that this was going to be about a deeply troubled young man who had done some unthinkably awful things that have landed him on trial. I expected to be wowed by the horror of it all as I followed his trial through his eyes. This isn't at all what the book is about, though. It's also not the opposite of that, which would be a book about an innocent boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time because he has some of the wrong friends and is now just thrown into the system without thought because he's black and from the projects. That book would have also been an interesting read. It wasn't either of those things, though; it was a book about a boy who did in fact grow up in a loving family on the poorer side of town who definitely seems to be innocent but never actually explains what his involvement/lack of involvement was in the robbery, who does question how on earth he got into this mess but also calls himself a monster and wonders if everyone knows something about himself that he doesn't know.

This was really confusing, to be honest. I'm reading a book from this kid's own perspective, and I don't even know if he did it or not. I don't even know if he was minimally involved or if he was plucked off the street and put on trial despite the fact that he was nowhere near the store at the time of the robbery. I have a hard time with books like that, that don't just say what they mean and mean what they say. He certainly seems innocent based on how scared and confused he is by everything that's happening around him, but why on earth is he calling himself a monster and questioning himself so deeply? Why would anyone question their own moral standing if they knew they were innocent? I get that he's a kid, but...still. I would have been fine reading a social commentary on the injustices of life for black teenage boys, and I would have been fine reading a shocking and grim look inside the mind of a teenage sociopath, but this wishy washy, weird middle ground was boring and hard to get excited about.

Also, fun fact: it's written in the style of a movie screenplay, because Steve is interested in making films and is using his time in jail and at trial to document everything for a movie. Interesting approach...super sucked to read. Following stage directions and screenplay shorthand required much more effort than I wanted to give, and since I didn't know it was going to be written that way it kind of annoyed me.

When You Reach Me: a brief review

taken from goodreads.com

This is one of those books that I've seen around for several years, and it's always been associated with a lot of praise. I saw it at the library on audiobook and snatched it up. And truthfully...it is good. It's also a little weird, and there were moments when I thought it was confusing and a little too far out there for me, but in the end I enjoyed it.

Miranda lives with her single mother in their small apartment in the 1970s. She has a fairly normal middle school life (her childhood best friend has suddenly stopped talking to her and she doesn't know why, she starts spending time with some new girls who she has more in common with than she originally thought, there's a weird boy at school who she keeps bumping into, etc. etc.) until mysterious notes start showing up addressed to her. She has no idea where they're coming from or what any of them mean, until something horrible happens and she realizes what all the puzzle pieces look like together.

Like I said, there were times when I was a little annoyed with the book because I didn't think it was any good, and there were other times when I liked it a lot and thought it was super cute. Thankfully, it ended with me thinking it was super cute, and I therefore can say that overall I liked it. It's not my new favorite, but I definitely did like it. And since the only other book I've read by this author might as well have been written in a foreign language I hated it so much...we will see if I read any more of hers. I'm feeling like maybe it's a hit or miss with Ms. Stead. 

Half-Blood Prince: a brief review

taken from goodreads.com

With the second-to-last Harry Potter book crossed off my list, I can see the finish line. I am so close, guys. So close to being done shushing people who try to casually mention some otherwise well-known fact about the series or its characters. So close to being one of the cool kids. So close to being able to actually check something off my 2015 goals list (because even though I've been "checking" each individual book, "finish Harry Potter" is what was actually on my goals list and I haven't been able to cross it off despite the incredible amount of hours I've had Harry playing on audiobook throughout my house). It's been driving me crazy.

It's Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, and he spends his time impressing the new Potions professor (Snape finally got his dream job of Defense Against the Dark Arts) with the help of his used textbook's handwritten notes. The Half-Blood Prince, as the book's previous owner calls himself, has all kinds of shortcuts, fool-proof solutions, and original potions that Harry benefits from greatly. Meanwhile, Ron likes Hermione but gets his feelings hurt and dates other girls, Hermione likes Ron but gets her feelings hurt and refuses to be in the same room as him, Harry is obsessed with proving that Draco is up to no good, and Dumbledore spends a considerable amount of time teaching Harry all about the tragic history of Voldemort's life.

I just finished this one about a half hour ago probably, and I have some mixed feelings. (And every single one of those mixed feelings contains spoilers, so be warned just in case.) Also, it goes without saying, that I still have the final book of the series to read and these are my thoughts based on where I am right now. AKA: if you try to point out why my feelings are wrong because you know what happens in book 7, I will probably cause you physical harm.

• Snape is the worst. Just the living worst. I've never liked him, I've always thought he was a whiny baby, and now he's proven that he's the worst. (Also, I'm still like 90% sure that he will turn out to be good in the end - and good all along - because Dumbledore isn't an idiot, I just have no idea how.)
• Ron and Hermione are sooooo teenagers. They belong right smack dab in the middle of a sitcom. Just get on the same page at the same time and spend the rest of your lives together, already. 
• Actually, copy and paste that last bullet point into this one, but use Harry and Ginny's names instead. Good grief. 
• Along those lines, I cannot even talk about how annoyed I am with Harry. So you're going to go travel the world in search of Voldemort so you can kill him. Why do you need to be single to do that? You've just spent all this time swooning over Ginny and then you finally get her and now you have this big light bulb go off that you can't be tied down by her when you've got this quest to carry out? Even though you've known for six years now that you're going to have to go on this quest at some point? Even though for this entire book, people have been referring to you as the "chosen one" because you're going to have to kill Voldemort? Come. On. You don't have to dump her, for crying out loud. Ginny's a smart girl. She's kind of known all of this about you since day 1. How much of a distraction is she going to be, really?
• Also along those lines, but worthy of its own bullet point I think: why do all superheroes tell the women in their lives that they have to break up with them so they'll be safe? The bad guys always come for the people in our lives that are our weaknesses, they say. First of all, again, I think Ginny realizes this is a risk. I'm pretty sure she's known it was a risk since she fell in love with you at age 12 or whatever. Let her make that choice for herself. Second of all, said bad guys aren't complete dummies. If you're dating a girl and then break up with her, Voldemort probably isn't going to be tricked into thinking you no longer care if she lives or dies. She's still probably a significant weakness of yours whether she's officially your girlfriend or not. So date the girl, for crying out loud. 
• I'm still waiting for Dumbledore to show up alive. I know they buried him and the painting is hung in his office and all that, but I just want to go on record as saying that I will not be surprised when he shows up alive (and dressed in white, most likely) in book 7. Snape forgot to double-tap, I'm sure of it.  
• The parts in which we learned about Voldemort/Tom Riddle's childhood and upbringing were heartbreaking and also terrifying. I actually got kind of scared listening to the scene where Dumbledore meets him for the first time...I've watched more than enough Law and Order SVU to know he had all the classic signs of being a sociopath and future serial killer. It's some pretty heavy content for its intended young adult audience...but read with a parent might be okay.

I think that's pretty much it. I really enjoyed this one and it went really fast (mostly because it was way more interesting than its predecessor, I think). I'm excited to listen to the final installment...if not mostly because then I can cross this series off the stinking list. 

Here's where I am with my 2015 reading goals list:

• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
• Monster, by Walter Dean Myers
• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
• The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
• Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, by Mindy Kaling
• Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
• A Long Way Down, by Nick Hornby (currently reading)
• This is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper
• Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
• Serena, by Ron Rash
• Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling
• Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling
• Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling
• Half Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling
• Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling (currently listening on audiobook)

Eleanor & Park: a brief review

taken from goodreads.com

Last January, my book club's very first book choice was Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell. I didn't hate it, but I also didn't love it. The main plot of the story was well written and enjoyable, but there was a whole second subplot that I just didn't enjoy. Because it was the first book I'd read of Rowell's, it would have been easy to put the rest of her books a little lower on the list of priorities. So many friends love her other books, though, so I decided to give Eleanor & Park a try.

Park is an awkward middle-class kid who just tries to keep his head down and suffer through the dumb kids he's surrounded by. Eleanor's selfish, abusive step-dad has made her life hell; the wacky thrift store wardrobe and stand-offish attitude make her seem less than approachable. When they are forced to share the only available bus seat on Eleanor's first day of school, an extremely unlikely friendship - and ultimately, romance - begins.

I really enjoyed this book, so much more than Fangirl. I loved the characters (for the most part), and I loved the writing. Like, really loved the writing. I also liked the story a lot; there were multiple little twists along the way that were fun and/or surprising. I feel like I need to say that, even though I really loved the book, I'm just so tired of the f-word being acceptable for teen lit, but oh well. I guess I'm more conservative than most in that regard. That being said, I'm excited to read some more of Rowell's work in the future.

Drum roll, please, here's my status on my 2015 reading goals:

• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
• Monster, by Walter Dean Myers
• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
• The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
• Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, by Mindy Kaling
• Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
• A Long Way Down, by Nick Hornby
• This is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper
• Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
• Serena, by Ron Rash
• Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling
• Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling
• Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling
• Half Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling
• Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

Guys, I'm like 90% done with Wild (mildly angry review to come soon), and I started A Long Way Down last night. The last two Harry installments are loaded and ready to go on audiobook as soon as I'm down with Wild, and those last three will fly by, I'm sure of it. I know that I've commented in each post recently that I'm almost done with my goals for the year already, but...I'm almost done with my goals for the year already. It's incredible. I'm getting more books crossed off my list with an infant than I was without an infant. Definitely didn't see this coming.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?: a brief review

taken from goodreads.com

Thanks to a free trial to Audible.com (which I shamelessly cancelled immediately after getting my two free downloads...because apparently I'm too cheap to pay for audiobooks), I knocked this gem out and off my 2015 reading list in a day. And I loved it. I know that what I'm about to say is probably ridiculous even before I say it, but I could be friends with Mindy Kaling. I really could. There were multiple times throughout the whole book where it easily could have been me writing, and I just listened to Mindy tell it like it is while nodding my head and saying out loud "yes, Mindy. You are so right." This girl just gets me. Plus, she's hilarious and down-to-earth and so...aware of herself. That was one of the biggest takeaways that I got from listening to her: she knows who she is. I don't think she's under any illusion that she's perfect, but she's happy with the changes she's made and the growth she's committed to while also fully embracing the parts of herself that some may see as weaknesses. I love this girl, and I had so much fun listening to her on audiobook. I highly recommend it.

Here's where I stand on my shrinking 2015 reading goals list:

• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
• Monster, by Walter Dean Myers
• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
• The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
• Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, by Mindy Kaling
• Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
• A Long Way Down, by Nick Hornby
• This is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper
• Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
• Serena, by Ron Rash
• Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling
• Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling
• Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling
• Half Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling
• Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

I said in my last post that when I finish the rest of this list here in the next couple weeks, I'm going to make a whole new list (also small and reasonable) for the rest of the year. At the beginning of the year, I had no idea how much I would be able to read but I knew I wanted to get these read. It's been so surprising and exciting to see how much I've been able to cruise through already, thanks in large part to audiobooks. I'm excited to make my new list, and I'm already plotting and thinking of what needs to be included. It can be done, guys! You can have an infant and a husband and still get books read! 

Order of the Phoenix: a brief review

taken from goodreads.com

Another Harry Potter book gets crossed off the list and I'm well on my way to completing the whole series. If I'm totally and 100% honest, I'm getting a little tired of Hogwarts and Company, and I'm ready to be done with the whole thing. I'm told, though, that this book is the worst/most boring of them all and that the last two are "incredible," so I press ahead. I am taking a break and listening to Mindy Kaling's book first before powering through the rest of this series, and I'm super stoked about it. I'm only on chapter 3 of 59 and I'm already in love.

Harry returns to Hogwarts yet again, this time for his fifth year at school. Before making it to school, though, he gets brought to Sirius Black's childhood home which is currently serving as the home base of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret alliance of witches and wizards working to defeat the uprising of Voldemort. Harry and his friends go back to school without their dear friend Hagrid who is mysteriously missing, and instead find that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is calculatingly evil. Things are tense at school, things get crazy with Voldemort, and there's a sort-of good ending that sets the stage for book 6.

So like I said, it wasn't my favorite. But it was there and I suppose it had to be there to continue the plot, and I do have faith that the next two will be good. I'll get to them, but first, Mindy.

Here's my progress so far on my 2015 reading goals:

• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
• Monster, by Walter Dean Myers
• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
• The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
• Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, by Mindy Kaling
• Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
• A Long Way Down, by Nick Hornby
• This is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper
• Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
• Serena, by Ron Rash
• Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling
• Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling
• Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling
• Half Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling
• Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

Since it's only March and I'm almost done with this list (I've finished Dash and Lily's Book of Dares and am currently reading both Eleanor and Park and Mindy's book) I'm pretty excited to reevaluate my goals for the year. I think once I finish the rest of these I'll make a new goals list for the rest of the year. Yay for making reading happen, one way or another.

Goblet of Fire: a brief review

taken from jkrowling.com

Another Harry Potter book down for this girl! Which means that I'm one book closer to being part of the worldwide clique that is Harry Potter fans. One book closer to knowing the facts and plot points that everyone else already knows. And one book closer to finishing my 2015 reading goals. (37% through them, guys. And it's not even March. Self-high five.)

Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts brings a surprise: an Olympic-type competition where students from other magic schools in other countries come to Hogwarts and try to win the Triwizard Tournament Cup. Despite the fact that Harry is not old enough to compete, his name is entered and he is doesn't have a choice but to compete. Meanwhile, Ron gets jealous of all the attention Harry receives, Hermione is obsessed with freeing the house elves at Hogwarts, Sirius keeps in touch with Harry from a hiding place in the mountains, and a truth-stretching gossip columnist keeps reporting on private information she has no way of knowing.

I really liked this one. Maybe it was because of the audiobook format, but I didn't mind the Triwizard Tournament scenes at all, and didn't have a hard time keeping up with the details like I sometimes do in heavy action scenes. I enjoyed the progression of characterization a lot in this book; I developed a new level of interest and appreciation for characters who had always been around, like Fred and George Weasley, because of how Rowling bulked up their story lines, dialogue, and personalities this time. And, WHOA SURPRISE ENDING. Didn't see that whole Mad Eye Moody thing happening at all. (That's not technically a spoiler. I didn't give any details. Also, I'm sure not too many people are worried about me spoiling anything.) One more thing to discuss...listening to the scene where Crouch's son is screaming about not wanting to go to Azkaban was horrifying. Bone chilling, and horrifying.

Order of the Phoenix, you're next.

The Rosie Project: a brief review

taken from amazon.com

This was one of those books that I kept hearing about from all kinds of people, so I put it on my 2015 reading list to make sure I would get to it. And then last month I tricked my book club into reading it for February so I was able to knock it out pretty early into the year.

The Rosie Project is told from the perspective of Don Tillman, a genetics professor with (an undiagnosed case of) Asperger's who has decided it's time to find a wife. In order to properly weed out women who are a waste of time, Don creates a questionnaire that he widely distributes on dating sites, in speed dating circles, and through the help of friends' word of mouth with the hopes of finding the perfect woman. When he meets a woman named Rosie who doesn't even come close to qualifying as the perfect woman according to Don, he realizes that he may have to reevaluate some things.

I really liked this book. Lots of people at book club said that Don reminded them of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory; I couldn't get the image of a grown-up Max Braverman from Parenthood out of my head instead. I realized about three-quarters of the way through that I was reading other characters' responses and actions through Don's eyes, and that I could actually use the emotions and empathy that I possess to understand beyond what Don can see. This was the kind of book where you love some characters and hate others, which I think is a genuinely cool thing to be able to say about a book; the author created real and believable people. I had fun reading it, and when it ended (which, by the way, I loved the ending) I was very interested in reading the sequel so I could know what happens next with these characters.

Just for fun, here's my progress on my 2015 reading goals:

• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
• Monster, by Walter Dean Myers
• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
• The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
• Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, by Mindy Kaling
• Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
• A Long Way Down, by Nick Hornby
• This is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper
• Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
• Serena, by Ron Rash
• Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling
• Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling
• Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling
• Half Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling
• Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

In case you're unable to total those numbers yourself, that's 5 down, 11 to go. And it's only the end of February. AND I started Dash and Lily's last night on the Kindle and Goblet of Fire today on the audiobook. The way this is looking, I may actually get to read all of these AND some others this year!

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...).

Someone Like You: a brief review

I've really enjoyed getting back into the habit of reading again, and after I finished Boy 21 a handful of days ago I realized that I had been neglecting my 94 book challenge quite a bit. So I grabbed one off the shelves that would work for the challenge but also give me a pretty easy and quick read. Guys, I'm gonna be honest with you: some of the books on the 94 book challenge just aren't really all that great. I've picked them up from the Green Valley Book Fair and impulse sale purchases that seemed like fun reads, and now in hindsight I'm kind of annoyed that they're on my shelves. Not because I'm above fun beach reads, but because I just have SO. MANY. books that I want to read that are better quality, better writing, and have better messages than some of these. So even though they're convenient because I can zoom through them in a relatively shorter time, they're just not that exciting for me. I'm obviously saying all of this because the Sarah Dessen books on my shelves fit into this category for me...but all of that being said, this one was a slight grade above the only other one of Dessen's books I've read, That Summer.

Halley and Scarlett have been best friends since middle school when Scarlett moved in across the street. They both experience the hardest time of their lives when Scarlett's summer boyfriend dies in a motorcycle accident right before junior year starts. Things become much more complicated, though, when Scarlett finds out she's pregnant. The girls form a deeper bond while working together through morning sickness, heartburn, and food cravings...but Halley is also discovering a whole new and different life with a boy from P.E. class, Macon. Macon is mysterious and dangerous and has a trail of rumors following him. Halley has never rebelled against her parents or her own personal morals, but she finds herself very easily swayed by Macon's charms.

I mentioned that this book was slightly better quality than my only other Dessen experience; that's really just because of the plot. The writing is simplistic and fairly obvious, but at least some of the content of this one gets deeper. Both Scarlett's pregnancy and Halley's relationship with Macon provide a wealth of lessons learned and great conversations for teenage readers. There's still a fair amount of details that aren't quite completely realistic (at least not for your typical teen) but for the most part, Dessen manages to stay within the realm of easy to relate to: far too many girls really do get pregnant in high school after a relatively short relationship, and far too many girls really do fall for the whims and charms of a dangerous "bad boy" who leads them down all kinds of tempting paths. I would say that many high school girls (especially girls who don't love reading more dense and complicated books) would really enjoy this book and would even get some good morals out of it. For me personally, though, it was a moderately okay read.

Boy21: a brief review

This book was recommended to me by a friend, and it got written down on all my various lists to remember for a different day. When I saw it at the Green Valley Book Fair in July I snatched it up for a mere $3.75. It's been a rough couple of months for my reading interests (between vacation in Florida and then the babe's motorcycle accident and recovery), but cruising through Baby Wise last week helped me remember a little bit about what it was like to actually read a book and I snatched this one up figuring a shorter, easier read would be even more helpful in getting me back into the habit. (A quick thought: isn't it crazy how easy it is to get out of the habit of reading? I have found that how I spend my free minutes cycles between TV and books; when I'm in the habit of filling dead time with Netflix or an SVU marathon on the TV it's what I fill all my free time with and forget that books exist. But when I get in the habit of keeping my book by my side and grabbing it to fill free time, I discover how much free time I have to read little snippets at a time and the TV or iPad or even my phone don't seem as tempting. So this is me trying to get back into that mindset, because books will probably always be more healthy than the TV. Even really good TV.)

Matthew Quick's Boy 21 is a little strange. I'm not going to lie to you. I enjoyed it a lot, but the basic plot is pretty odd and takes a while to really get into. Finley (or White Rabbit, as his friends and teammates call him) is about to start his senior year of high school in a very racially divided, rundown city that there seems to be no escape from. His only source of happiness and satisfaction come from his basketball skills, and he spends all his time in the off-season preparing to be the best. When his coach shows up at his house the night before school starts and asks him to befriend a new kid in school who has gone through a hard time, Finley does what is asked of him. Little could prepare him, though, for the friendship that would be formed with this new kid who preferred to be called Boy21 and who claims to be an alien from a different planet, sent to study Earthlings. In many ways, Finley and Boy21 are the perfect pair, and learn a lot from each other over the course of the basketball season.

Like I said, a little bit of a goofy concept - he thinks he's a what?! - but it grows on you and it does all start to make more sense as the book progresses. The picture of friendship is pretty interesting as well, and even though Finley isn't a perfect character he does really shine in a lot of areas; his patience and understanding with Boy21 is impressive. I wouldn't say that this is the most profound or incredible book I've ever read, but it does have some twists and shocking moments, and it also shows a truly heartfelt picture of friendship even in less than ideal circumstances.

An Abundance of Katherines: a brief review

taken from amazon.com

This is the vacation edition of Book Reviews by Andrea, coming to you from mostly sunny and sometimes extremely stormy Florida, where I'm visiting the hubs while he's on a long business trip. I brought quite the stack of books with me (both on my kindle and off my bookshelves), thinking that I would just sit and read all day long while the hubs was at work. I did manage to do that the first day, but he's actually gotten a lot more time off than I anticipated since then and I'm not complaining at all because I obviously would rather spend time with him. I finished one book so far, though :)

The last of John Green's books for me to read (not counting the one he wrote with David Levithan), An Abundance of Katherines, is the story of child prodigy Colin Singleton and the 19 girlfriends he's had over the course of his life. The real kicker is that all 19 ex-girlfriends were named Katherine. It seems that at some point Colin decided (subconsciously or otherwise) that he could only date girls named Katherine. Meanwhile, he has been pursuing a future the proves his genius status rather than simply being a child prodigy with no real accomplishments. When he and his best friend Hassan decide to take a road trip following the traumatic break-up of Katherine XIX, they end up stopping in Gutshot, Tennessee, a very small rural town with all kinds of back-woods characters that end up leading them on a whole different kind of adventure than they'd planned.

So here's the thing. I've talked about my love of The Fault in Our Stars, and I've mentioned my love of Looking for Alaska despite my lack of an actual official review on here because I read it before I started blogging again. I loved both of them - loved his writing style, loved the way he writes and creates characters, love the way they rip my heartstrings right out of my chest - and told many people that I love his books because I just assumed I'd one day love the other half of them too. But then I read Paper Towns pretty recently and wasn't crazy in love with it. I actually bordered on not liking it, which really bummed me out. I went into this one a little bit more tentatively, just in case I didn't like this one either. As it turns out, my official opinion is as follows: I liked it more than Paper Towns but less than Looking for Alaska and much less than The Fault in Our Stars. (For the record, I'm not really someone who thinks you should compare a writer's work against each other instead of just taking them as unique pieces in his/her portfolio...it just sometimes ends up working out that way anyway.) I laughed quite a bit, I liked the characters but didn't love them as much as, say, Gus and Hazel, and I was appropriately surprised by a couple of minor twists. The heartache and just complete rip-your-guts-out effect I mentioned earlier were noticeably absent in this one, which I think I both appreciated and missed. My biggest issue/annoyance with this book, though, was Green's use of footnotes throughout the entire book; by the time I'd get to the end of the chapter and would see what the notes were I would almost always have forgotten what they were referencing, and since I read it on my Kindle I couldn't really flip back and forth too easily. Other than that, though, it's a cute story and I would recommend it. I'd just recommend The Fault in Our Stars more, that's all. 

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!

Born Confused: a brief (book club) review

taken from wikipedia.com

This was a book chosen for the book club I'm in, and since we don't meet for a couple weeks I'll be extra brief with my review.

Tanuja Desai Hidier's Born Confused tells the story of Dimple Lala's summer vacation following her junior year in high school. She enters the summer highly insecure, linked to only one good childhood friend, and very confused about who she really is. As a first generation American, she feels too American at home with her parents and too Indian at school with her peers. A busy, hectic summer takes place, launching both Dimple and her best friend Gwyn into unfamiliar and exciting new relationships, experiences, and identities. By the end of the summer a lot has changed for everyone in Dimple's life, but probably most of all for Dimple.

I liked this book; it's not my new favorite and I don't know that I'll read it again, but I definitely liked it. I thought it raised some really interesting sources of discussion, and even though some of the basic plot I had some real issues with - which I'll save for book club and/or if you want to discuss them with me since most of them would be spoilers - I really did enjoy the book. I recommend it...although I will have to warn you that it's a hefty 500 pages long. Eek.