Time Traveling...

I'm currently reading The Time Traveler's Wife... and really enjoying it. I'm one of those people who finds every single thing wrong with time traveling... I mean really, it's just. not. possible. SO, leaving that aside and trying not to analyze that whole aspect of it and just enjoy the book, I really do like it. I'm only about half way through but when I'm reading it I can't put it down. What can I say, I love a good love story. Oh and that whole part where his 15 yr. old self is um...spending...time...with his other 15 yr. old self... yeah... um... could have done without that mental image. Thanks.

Can't wait to finish it! (But I'm busy as a stinkin bee right now!) *sigh*

so. me.

Book Nerd (bo͝ok nûrd): A person with inordinate emotional involvement in the books they read. May suffer from crushes on fictional characters, feeling empty after finishing books, and severe bouts of rage and joy over fictional events. Often spends too much time talking about books with people who don't care as much as they do.

So Long, See You Tomorrow

I had to read this depressing little novella for English this summer... it's only 134 pages, which in itself I think is pretty lame. It's basically an old man constantly droning about how horrible his childhood was. Really, it should be called "Why My Life Sucks" or "The Events Leading Up To My Suicide"...much better titles. 

This has left me craving a good book... so I'm off to my bookshelf of unread books to pluck one out and enjoy.

World Without End

 

I finally finished it! Studying being my number one priority, the last 300 pages or so took about 4 weeks to get through, instead of the expected few days. Throughout the book I couldn’t help but to compare it to Pillars… constantly cogitating which one would turn out to be my favorite. After 1,014 pages of debate, I have made my decision.

Pillars wins.

There isn’t a word to describe my love for that book, and well, there is for WWE… love. Just love… not, well, speechless, just want to hold the book and smell it, love. I know…I’m a little strange. I did love it, but not without a few complaints...

 A little letter to the author regarding my debate:

Dear Ken Follet,

If you hadn’t used the specific phrase “cramp his style” to describe a 14^th century man’s opinion on his mother moving in with him, and had perhaps used a more period-appropriate phrase… my debate as to which was my favorite would have gone on much longer.

Your fan,

Lo

Not Entirely Book Related...

...But a little book related.

We recently got four little baby chicks... and here's the book-related part... We've named them after my top four favorite books! ;)

I would like you to meet:  Amparo, Katniss, Bella and Aliena (pronounced Allie-enna, not Elain-a --I recently learned).

For those of you who don't know those characters...
Amparo = The Religion
Katniss = Hunger Games/Catching Fire --She'll be the only red chicken (the others will be "buff" or blond) which is quite fitting for "the girl on fire" if I do say so myself hehe.
And last but certainly not least...
Aliena = Pillars of the Earth

Bella and Aliena are quite the little snugglers, Amparo has her moments and Katniss is just plain fiesty. It's pretty entertaining :)

A delicious sequel

Just got the delicious sequel to my all time favorite book (Pillars of the Earth) in the mail a few days ago. Gotta love Amazon, the price of this 1,014 page book is what kept me from reading it originally, not wanting to spend $22 on one book (what can I say, I'm cheap :P ) I finally ventured into the land of Amazon for a gently used copy... and got it for a whopping $5.77. Amazon should be called Amaz-ing.

I'm about 150 pages in, and my goal is to finish it before the intensity of 6 weeks of summer school sets in next Monday. Luckily I'm going to my parents for the week, so plane rides and relax time are my friends!

So far it is a lot like Pillars... which I kinda, sorta, really...love. It's two centuries later but same town, same sort of people, and utter despair followed by (I'm assuming) complete triumph. You have the unfortunate peasants, the good monks, the not so good monks, the naughty bishop and the upper class family that intermixes with said unfortunate peasants and of course the arrogant prick of an Earl-of-Shirring prancing about. And yet... it's not too similar to not be interesting, kind of a perfect mixture. Very excited to see how this one unfolds!

World Without End

P.S. Speaking of Pillars...just found out about this and almost peed my pants. Yep. My favorite book, soon to become my favorite TV mini-series. BAM.

http://www.the-pillars-of-the-earth.tv/

To make a prairie it takes a clover

and one bee, -

One clover, and a bee,

And reverie.

The reverie alone will do

If bees are few.

-Emily Dickinson

my favorite word is reverie... and she used it twice. love.

(although she actually spelled it "revery"... which isn't a word.) still love.

For Closure's Sake

I've been debating whether or not I like this book for quite a while. I think I've finally decided that yes, I do like it, and yes, you should read it. I read it a couple months ago and despite it not being one of those books that you can't put down, I think it has a good story. Just don't expect any life-altering, gut wrenching moments. But, sometimes you just have to talk a book out with someone before you can make up your mind, (Unless of course it's one of those that you can't put down, in which case, no dialog necessary- it's great!) so, thanks Mom...  ;)

Dusty Bookshelf...Nifty Phone

I haven't had much time for reading lately... however! I was able to get Pride and Prejudice on my phone, so whenever I'm somewhere like, say, waiting in a long line, I can pull out my phone and read! Yay! So far I am on chapter 8. It's taken a little getting used to reading on a screen instead of holding those wonderful pages, but it's really great to be able to read anywhere, anytime... no hefty book required. No, this does not mean I'm going to end up getting a Kindle... not my thing. I love love love the smell, feel, look, and well, everything about books. Kindle is a thief of those things. ;)

I really want to get back to reading at least 1 book a week........ we shall see!

Oh, Edward...

For all the fellow Twilight series fans out there...

I am experiencing a dilemma.

To read, or not to read...

Midnight Sun

 I really, really, really want to read it. BUT, I know it's not finished... and the agony of only getting to read part of it, and then be left hanging, could very well be worse than the agony of waiting to read the completed novel. So far my plan has been to hold off as long as possible knowing it is inevitable that I will cave and read it before it's finished... especially since there is no end in sight. :\  But I don't know how much longer the holding off can last... I'm such a junkie.

(This is only ONE of the FOUR books I'm waiting to be completed and released... it's all torture. So much torture. Series are brutal.)


---for those of you who have no idea what Midnight Sun is: 
If you haven't read Twilight, then you probably could care less. If you have... and you still don't know what it's about... oh man. It is Twilight but written from Edward's perspective, not Bella's. Intense. Delicious. However, it is not a complete novel... one of the author's cohorts leaked the book when she was about 200-ish pages into writing it. NOT cool. But Stephenie IS cool... she put her own copy of it on her website so that her fans would not have the moral dilemma of whether or not to search for and read the "bootleg" copy. Still, it is unfinished, and will most certainly leave you wanting more- which you can't have. Any time soon.

Living Vicariously

Ok, so all I've been reading lately are textbooks. If you would like for me to review McKinley and O'Loughlin's descriptions of the 1000's of bone features in the human body, or the classifications, functions, structures and locations of all the different types of Connective Tissues... well, you should probably just read it yourself. It is gnarly. BUT... if you're looking for some interesting feedback about a recent delicious novel, I am empty handed. Sad.

However, I have very recently learned the joy of passing on magnificent reads to others! Hearing that they love the book as much as you did and getting to dissect all of the wonderful parts together is, well, better than Christmas. hah.

For anyone who's read The Fountainhead, I was previously similar to Dominique Francon. For those of you who haven't... Dominique has this thing where when she finds something (like artwork) that she absolutely loves, she buys it and then destroys it. Of course you're thinking, WHY would she do that?! BUT, I can (rather, could) relate to her reasoning. She destroys the things she loves because she feels they are so magnificent that if someone else saw it and didn't think it was as magnificent as she thought it was, that would be unbearable. If she destroys the artwork no one can ever say- yikes that is ugly. To her, the piece is safe forever, away from critical eyes. Make sense? Maybe not... but that's how I felt about Pillars of the Earth. I love that book so much that passing it on to someone and hearing them say, "yeah, it was okay I guess" would be blasphemy. Silly, I know. Love does crazy things lol. ANYWAY... I have overcome this, and to my greatest happiness, success was achieved.

So I did it... I passed on Pillars. My mom, who luckily had a long vacation to read the extensive novel, enjoyed it immensely. Me= Happy Camper! Then... my sister called with news that she had just finished reading The 19th Wife and loved it. Yay! Sharing the novel lovin'. haha. She currently has my copy of Pillars, and despite my separation anxiety, (I almost bought a 2nd copy just to have on hand...several times...) I am excited to see what she thinks of it. Oh yes, and I can't forget, I have also passed on Twilight (how could I not, really?) to my sister-in-law. I'm eager to get her into the next 3, seeing how #4 is the best. ever. She is enjoying #1 despite having the lame movies in her head to compare-- she has no idea what's coming... so good. Ok, I'll stop being a Twilight junkie now. (But if you haven't read the series... [sigh]... you must)

SO... Who wants a good book recommendation?! I'm living vicariously through you since I don't have time to read my favorite books over again ;) (much less any new ones...boohoo)

Slow Boat to China

Ok, so I just started classes at SBCC, and my reading time has been greatly reduced. Thus, I have started Shadow of the Wind, but am only about half way through it.

So far, I really like it. At first it was a little hard to get into, but I'm like that with a lot of books, so that really doesn't say much. It's a really fun, kind of mysterious read, and the characters are greatly enjoyable. My favorite is Fermìn Romero de Torres. He's the perfect... sidekick, if that's what you'd call him, and you really never know what he's going to come up with next! I won't give it the official two-thumbs-up until I actually finish it, but I think it's safe to say that you should read it. ;)


*****Finally finished it... LOVED it... best word to describe it... SATISFYING. very. definitely read this one.*****