So during the school year I barely ever have time to read. Instead I collect books in my mind that I MUST read over the summer. I always keep a list going, because well, having it in writing makes me feel more accomplished and helps me to go faster. I will update this entry as I go with my finished/unfinished lists. This year I have been continuing my list whenever I have time to actually read for pleasure (mostly on school holidays). I'm always looking for a new thick book to curl up with in front of the fire, so recommendations are more than welcome.

x108 finished since May 2008
x03 finished in 2014
( My ListsCollapse )

My friend just showed me this challenge to read 250 books that Rory mentioned on Gilmore Girls. I know I can never possibly finish it, but it is just so cool that I have to give it a try!

( What's in your purse? A book.Collapse )

Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball: Grade A


I have been a huge fan of Lucille Ball since I was about…4 years old. For as far back as I can remember I wanted to be her—one of the best things we can do for others is to share a smile, and Lucy quite literally wrote the book. To this day when I need a quick pick me up I pop in one of my I Love Lucy dvds and let the good times roll. My close friend, knowing my lifelong obsession…errr adoration, came across this book and instantly thought of me. I had mixed expectations. I knew it could be epic, but I don’t normally read biographies so I wasn’t sure how well I could get into the book. Oh was I wrong. I read it in two sittings, only because I was interrupted by trivial things such as work and sleep. The book was so inspiring that I found myself once again yearning for Lucy’s career. I’ve said it several times; I was born in the wrong decade. I would LOVE to be a comedienne, but I don’t think any love of my work could lure me into the crazy paparazzi driven world that Hollywood is today. Lucy had her fair share of intrusions, no doubt about that, from the gossip over her husband's indiscretions to the birth of her son being considered one of the biggest events of 1953. Can you think what she would face today? Why can’t we just be satisfied with observing the talents of performers instead of stalking them around the supermarket? But I digress.

I wholeheartedly loved this book and would recommend it to any fan of Lucy’s. She actually dictated the book in the 60’s at the height of her career, but was afraid to publish for fear of hurting her ex-husband Desi. It wasn’t until after her death that her children discovered and printed the manuscript. Personally, I thought her testimony was the most forgiving of any I have heard. She addressed the romance, the fights, the happy family times and the end without specifically mentioning the wrongs done. For me, the highlights of the book were actually at the very beginning, long before the TV show, when she was a young woman with grand aspirations—so inspiring.

My father noticed what I was reading, and commented to me that his grandmother had actually been Lucille's babysitter when she was young. How cool is that? Six degrees of separation--or in this case fewer.

Recommendation: Very inspiring and worth it for any fans of Lucille or old Hollywood in general.
Up Next: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Keep up with everything I am reading here.

Ahhhh Pottermore is FINALLY coming out of Beta!!! *dances*

2nd installment in my book review series. I have two more all set and ready to post but am staggering them because I don't know when I will have time for a new one. I've been sick all week and haven't gotten any reading done. My head is still not quite up to focusing on much right now, but hey I've moved up from 24/7 napping through cartoons up to actually taking care of stuff online! It is so almost nap time though...

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard: Grade C

I have been hooked on the television series since the beginning so I thought it only natural that I give the books a try since they did come first, and its always nice to have a go-to quick read series when you have little time but need a book to escape. I had heard of the books when they first came out, but I decided to stay away because they seemed geared for a younger audience—I was in high school at the time. I should have gone with my gut. While the TV show is oddly intriguing and packs in an hours worth of drama that seems appropriate for the high school-college crowd, the books are written for 12 year olds and contain extremely adult themes. In the show, four 16 year old girls are faced with resuming their lives after their friend Alison’s disappearance one year prior. In the book, however, Alison disappeared way back when the girls were 12. This does not mean that their experiences were any different—they still spent their last summer together drinking, smoking and going way too far with boys who were way too old for them. I wanted to scream out “child rape!” and “what-the-hell-do-you-think-you-are-doing?” at the turn of every page. The book itself read as if it was written by a 12 year old—full of typos, bad grammar, and choppy writing. I will say there were some parts that definitely interested me, but these were scenes that were the same as the pilot episode of the show, so it really wasn't anything new.


Recommendation: Stick to the TV series.
Up Next: Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball
Keep up with everything I am reading here.

Ape House by Sara Gruen: Grade B+

I love Sara Gruen. In a world of mediocre authors who have no sense of the English language she does an excellent job of spinning an interesting and unique tale that is simply unputdownable. I read Water for Elephants a few months ago and was completely blown away, and this addition to Gruen’s repertoire was no exception. Normally I completely stay away from animal centered fiction (and I am still shying away from Gruen’s horse racing series), but for some reason this book really struck a chord with me. All that said, there were parts of the book that bothered me. Most notably was the character of Amanda--the wife of one of the main characters, John. I could never tell if Gruen truly wanted us to sympathize with Amanda or if she was leading up to her complete downfall so that John would leave her for the other main character, Isabel. I won’t reveal which direction she did end up taking, but it was confusing nonetheless. Normally I complain about predictability in fiction, but I think it is important to at least be able to know the characters themselves and how they might react to various situations.

Recommendation: Definitely worth a try!
Up Next: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
Keep up with everything I am reading here.

Just a little TV meme snagged from amaranthine3.

I know I promised book reviews, and they ARE on the way. In fact I have already finished two books this week. I just don't really have the time to write anything good at the moment. I will try to get at least one posted before Christmas, but if I don't:

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and just in case...Happy New Year.

( Okay, that's it. I'm putting a collar with a little bell on that guyCollapse )

I'm thinking of starting to write some book reviews and posting them here. Any interest?
For now, here's a little related meme that I snagged from amaranthine3.

( this was fun...and took longer than I thoughtCollapse )

Hey Friends! I just wanted to do a little promotion.
jjverse is a great challenge community and we are just starting up round 4 so if you are a fan of Star Trek, Lost, Fringe or Alias *cough* or just JJ Abrams in general then you should totally join!


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