recent reads

Things have been slow on the reading front, but I have managed to read a few books.

First up, The All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.  We're attempting our first garden this summer and we knew that raised beds were the direction we wanted to go.  This book really helped me figure

out where to put stuff in the beds and how much to plant.  I've got a little plan worked up and I'm excited to get to start planting in a few weeks.



The second book I finished was Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond.  I really loved this series on the Pioneer Woman's blog so I figured I would enjoy the book too.  It's such a great love story and I really enjoy her style of writing.

The third book I finished was Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck.  No, I'm not pregnant, but my friend Jen recommended I read this book.  I was really fascinated by the section on eating for fertility and how important certain vitamins are.  She mentions cod liver oil several times, which I've been taking (not every day) for the last month because I kept reading about it.

My favorite part of the whole book was when she talked about what to do if you're sick in the 1st trimester.  I was worried that this book would make me feel bad about not being able to eat, but I liked her philosophy.  A lot of the preggo diets out there are so much food.  She said that if you can't eat much due to morning sickness, just make sure what you do eat is a real food.  I'm sure I'll still consume a large amount of Gatorade with the next pregnancy (it's already stockpiled in the basement) but I'm going to try to get some good food in there too when I can.  I did kind of skim the section on breastfeeding and what to feed your kid since we've already figured that out for the most part.

oh, anne

I've been stuck in the car a lot this week while Hudson is napping.  I've got to work on my timing a bit more with running errands.  Anyway, I had put my copy of Anne of Green Gables in the car for those exact times when I'm stuck in a parking lot or my own driveway.  This week I finished not only Anne of Green Gables but also Anne of Avonlea.  They were as delightful as they were back in 6th grade.  Oh how I love these books.  I've seen the movies** I don't know how many times so I was picturing certain scenes as I read. 
Confession time: When I read them for the first time, I became mildly obsessed with Lucy Maud Montgomery (author for those of you who don't know).  For Halloween, Miranda and I sewed our own dresses and were Anne and Diana.  Miranda was Anne because her hair was a bit lighter and slightly more red than mine.  At recess, we would bring out notebooks filled with character's names and personalities because we both wanted to be authors.  When I was in college, my dad gave me an Anne of Green Gables figurine that he got in Canada on a business trip because it reminded him of me.  It's my favorite present my dad has ever given me.  5th and 6th grade was rough for me, but these books were my way of escaping.  I'm so glad that I still love them today.

**already reserved them at the library.  I'm hoping they come soon.

safe haven

I've read a bunch of Nicolas Sparks' books before and I usually enjoy them.  I like that they're quick reads and have a good love story without being too smutty.  I just finished reading Safe Haven and loved it.  It has a great love story but also quite the dramatic ending.  I loved that he wove some suspense into this novel.  I had to make myself put it down last night at midnight and as soon as Hudson went down for his nap this morning, I finished reading it.  If they make this one into a movie, I may actually see it.

a surprising read

I started reading Indivisible by Kristen Heitzmann with a bit of hesitation.  I knew it was a Christian suspense novel so I had no idea what to expect.  The beginning started out a bit flowery for me, but once the plot got going, I was intrigued.  The mysteries are developed pretty well, although she gives away too much as I had figured it out about half way through.  I think the best part was the lack of a "come to Jesus" moment that many Christian novels have that are so cheesy.  It really was just a suspenseful book with out the language, sex or gore that many mainstream novels have.  I will probably pick up another one of her novels to see if I like it a little bit better.  Overall, this was a good mystery that kept me intrigued but not awake all night.

Thank you to Waterbrook Multnomah for providing me with a copy of this book to review.

finished the series, now what

I finished reading Catching Fire and Mockingjay this week.  They were both really good.  I think the first book in the series was probably my favorite but I did enjoy reading the other two.  I'm excited that they are making the first book into a movie.  I'm curious who they will end up casting as the main characters.  I did think the love triangle was a little bit like Twilight but not too bad.  Now I have to figure out what to read next since these were so good.

books i've been reading

I've been reading a bunch in the last few weeks.  Not because I've had a ton of extra time (super needy teething boy in the house) but because I didn't start reading my book club book until 1 week before and it was over 400 pages.  I didn't get it finished in time for the meeting, but finished that night.
Our book club book was Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  She is the author of Seabiscuit.  This certainly was not a book I would have normally picked up but I really enjoyed it.  It seemed more like a "boy" book or something my dad would read.  It's about Olympian Louis Zamperini and what happens when his plane is shot down during WWII and his struggles in a Japanese POW camp.  Parts of it were really hard to read but it is such a story of triumph. 

The other book I just finished was Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  I wasn't sure I would like it and had heard a lot of hype about it, but I couldn't put it down the last two days.  It reminded me a lot of The Giver, which was one of my favorite books from elementary school.  It's just a little bit more twisted.  It is written so well that I was captivated from page one.  I haven't heard the best reviews of the next two books but I'm still going to read them to finish out the series.

reading frenzy

While we're traveling for Christmas, I've been able to get a lot of reading done.  I finished both The Virgin of Small Plains and Storm Warnings which are both by Nancy Pickard, who is my new favorite author.  The Virgin of Small Plains did not disappoint.  I just love her novels because they are filled with suspense but not to scary.  She also uses flashback so well in her novels.  Storm Warnings is a collection of her short stories, which I didn't know until I started reading it.  I enjoyed reading the short stories but it was hard to constantly switch characters.  I would love for her to develop some of the stories more.

november reading fail

I really failed at reading last month.  After I read such a good book, I always have a hard time finding something else to read.  I started another novel, but just couldn't get into it so I stopped reading it.  Luckily, I had to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett for a book club and loved it.  It helped that I knew I was going to discuss it so I really paid attention to the characters and plot.  I absolutely loved getting together with former colleagues and talking about the book.  It was the most adult conversation I've had in months.  Two whole hours without talking about diapers or breastfeeding or anything related to Hudson.  I was so refreshed afterward.  I can't wait to find out what we're reading next.

possibly my favorite book of the year

I could not put this book down.  It was so good.  I started reading it yesterday morning and I'm already done.  It had just enough mystery and suspense to keep me interested, but not too much to be scary.  It's set on a ranch in Kansas and tells the story of a devastating tragedy to the prominent family in a small town.  With bits of love stories woven in, it truly had me captivated.  I will definitely be reading some more books by this author with the hope that they will be as intriguing.  

little bee

When I picked up Little Bee to read, I was hoping it was going to be good since we gave it to my mother-in-law for her birthday this summer.  While not at all what I expected, it turned out to be a good book.  There really wasn't a summary of the book on the back cover, so I really had no idea what it was about.  It turned out to be about a couple that went to Nigeria on vacation and met a Nigerian girl.  They all witnessed something they shouldn't have.  A few years later, the girl shows up at the couples house on the day of the husbands funeral.  The story does a great job of blending flashback and the current story.  It certainly was not a lighthearted read, but it was a great story.  Completely different from what I normally read.

a good one

I just finished up The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard.  I read Labor Day by this same author last month so I thought I'd give this book a try.  Normally I don't enjoy books that span a great deal of time.  I'd rather authors focus in on one specific event, etc. (this is reminding me of a writing lesson I taught last year).  This book was interesting enough to keep me hooked, even though it spanned these two girls entire lives. 

I have this thing about books that take place in New England.  I love reading them.  Anything about Cape Cod or New Hampshire, etc.  I'm not sure what it is, since I haven't really traveled there.  Something about the way of life that seems appealing.

This book was great, and the ending, oh my.  Can't tell you what happened, but it's great.

labor day

Over Labor Day weekend, I read the book Labor Day by Joyce Maynard.  And then I forgot to blog about it.  So we'll see what I remember.  I really liked the story and it was a great coming of age tale.  There was enough drama to keep the plot moving, but it had that feel of the lazy days of summer.  I'll probably be looking for some more books by Joyce Maynard in the future.

so-so

Just finished reading Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. I almost put it down halfway through. I had a really hard time getting into this book. The voice seemed very harsh and detached from the story. I think that was actually the point. The story is told from the point of view of a woman who was abducted and escaped an is telling her story to her shrink. About half way through the book, it almost seemed like someone else started writing. The story became much more interesting and had more energy and life. I did manage to finish it, but I'm not sure I'll read anything else by this author.

be prepared to be scared

I just finished reading Deeper than the Dead by Tami Hoag for one of my August fiction books. I love Tami Hoag as an author & this book did not disappoint. I had no idea who the killer was until it was revealed in the book. It was one of those books I couldn't read before bed and certainly couldn't read it when Mike was gone last weekend. When I went to the library today, I picked up some less scary books so I can read them before bed.