February Reads

One book ahead for my yearly reading goal!

Austenland
by Shannon Hale

A few weeks ago, Delicious Reads posted this article on their blog about clean romances, and I dove right in.  I love romance novels, but it's hard to find ones that aren't well,... that don't make me blush and feel like I'm reading something that I should hide from Matt.  SO, I was really excited about this list and started with Austenland.  Jane is a 30-something-year-old single woman who is secretly obsessed with finding her own Mr. Darcy.  When her great-aunt finds out and later passes away, she leaves Jane tickets to experience "Austenland"-- basically a theme park for Regency-obsessed woman that guarantees a regal romance with a fine gentleman.  And I mean, this place is the real deal-- no electronics, the actors all speak, dress, and act in time-period manner.  Jane has a hard time realizing when she is acting and when she is being herself.  Are all of the others acting all the time as well?  Things get confusing when she starts to have feelings for one of the gentleman.  Could this be her Mr. Darcy or is it all just a game?  This book definitely won't change your life, but it's a feel-good 200 page read.  And there is a movie!  Has anyone seen it?

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2), Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3)
by Marissa Meyer

Ok, to say that I'm obsessed with this serious would be an understatement.  I cannot say enough good things.  These book are so clever-- I mean, not quite Harry Potter clever, but definitely up there.  The stories weave together so seamlessly and I love the characters and the plot and just everything about them.  I've been listening to all of them on audio book, and like I said before, I really, really love the reader.  She does such a great job with the accents and different characters.  I don't want to give too much of the plot away for those who haven't read the first one, and I have to be honest, it sounds silly if I try to explain it.  I was telling my mom about them today and she looked at me like, "These sound weird... Why are you reading them?"  So, you'll just have to take my word for it and go and read them.  I promise you won't regret it... even if you're up reading into the early hours of the morning!

Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5)
by Marissa Meyer

This is the backstory of the evil Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles.  I have to admit, I didn't really like this book.  It was just... evil.  I don't know-- I didn't like the relationship between Levana and her sister.  And Levana is seriously psycho and possessive and the book just kind of gave me the creeps.  I felt that this book gave me a better understanding of Levana a person, but it isn't necessary to the plot of the other books.

January Reads

I made a goal to read 36 books this year-- so 3 books a month with room to fall behind and catch up if I need to.  Well, January is over and I'm right on track!

Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--The World's Most Dangerous Weapon
by Steve Sheinkin

I loved this book.  I loved this book.  I loved this book.  Sheinkin makes this history play out like an action movie!  He gives plenty of background information about the discovery of Uranium and the making of the atomic bomb itself without going overboard into unnecessary details like a lot of documentary style books do.  This account includes stories of Russians and Americans spying for the Soviet Union as well as US efforts to gain information about the German and Soviet Union plans.  This book was fascinating and one that I would recommend to everyone.  

Saint Anything
by Sarah Dessen

This is a story about a girl who lived in the shadow of her brother's fame and good looks.  Then, after a series of destructive behavior lands him in jail, Sydney decides to move to a new school and start over.  She makes new friends that help her overcome the challenges and guilt from her brother's choices that no one else in her family seems to care about.  A feel-good book about self-discovery, family, and learning to deal with the consequences of our own choices and the choices of those whom we love.

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1)
by Marissa Meyer

I listened to this book on CD-- I like to have something on when I'm home all day and Adam watches the TV if I turn it on, and that's not a habit I really want him to start-- and I finished it in like 3 days.  I'm pretty picky when it comes to readers, but this girl nailed it.  She did the voices of the different characters perfectly and I thoroughly enjoyed that.  Now, the book itself was so good!  I have to admit, I struggled in the beginning because it was set in "New Bejing" after World War 4 and there and hover crafts and ID chips and all that stuff which, after reading The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Divergent books, I was pretty much done with this whole futuristic society thing, BUT I stuck with it and had a lot of fun listening to this book!  It's a play on the Cinderella story and is so clever-- I'm not going to go into more details because I'm afraid I'll make it sound stupid haha.  Just trust me-- you will like it.  I've already checked out the second one and have been listening to it in the car!

Recent Reads

I love, love, love to read, and now that I'm not working full-time, I have had a lot of time to catch up on my mile long list of books to read before I die.  So, here is a list of recent reads:

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
You have to read this book.  If you've seen the movie, you still have to read this book.  Louis Zamperini's story is unreal.  How can one person experience all of those things in one life time-- Olympian, ship wrecked for months, POW-- and then still come out a kind and loving person?  This book will change your life.

Frankenstein by Marry Shelley
If there was ever a book written that is totally different from what people's perceptions are about the book, then this is it.  Take everything you know about Frankenstein and throw it out the window, especially because Frankenstein isn't even the monster's name, it's the name of the man who created the monster.  See, told you.  This is a beautiful story about being misunderstood and the effects that a loveless life can have.  Really sad, but really beautiful at the same time.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
I liked this book until the ending.  I hated the ending.  And then I was mad that I wasted time reading the book.  Basically, it about a girl who gets jealous of her boyfriends VIP all-guys secret society, so she finds a way to go undercover and mastermind all of the pranks that the society does.  Sounds good, but be warned, the ending is anti-climactic.

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
This book had me laughing out loud.  Poppy, the main character, is hilarious and winds up in the most outrageous situations.  She loses her new engagement ring at a hotel (a family heirloom) and after she gives her phone number to every worker at the hotel in hopes that the ring will be found, her phone gets stolen.  Miraculously enough, she finds an abandoned cell phone in a garbage can and claims it as her own.  Little does she know the adventure that picking up this phone would get her in.  Again, hilarious book, but be advised-- there is a lot of language.

The Selection Series (The Selection, The Elite, and The One) by Kiera Cass
I blew through these books in like a week.  They are really entertaining, but very predictable and pretty repetitive.  The story is basically The Bachelor in a YA novel.  I've never watched The Bachelor, but I've heard enough about it to get the gist.  If you like that show, then you'll love these books.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The classics are my favorites.  Seriously, it just doesn't get better than The Count of Monte Cristo or Jane Eyre.  One of my mission companions told me about this book, and I was intrigued: a man has a picture painted of him and then he stays young while the picture grows old.  Interesting.  I listened to this on audio book (I don't think I could have lasted any other way)-- there is a lot of on and on and on dialogue.  Anyway, this book really got me thinking about what real beauty is and what my portrait would look like if it reflected what I looked like on the inside as a result of my deeds.

Zorro by Isabel Allende
The drive to visit Matt's family takes about 9 hours.  I stopped by the library and picked up this audio book on a whim before our last road trip.  We loved it!  Totally different from the movies in a good way.  The story basically is the life of Diego de la Vega and how he becomes Zorro.  Super good!

My Story by Elizabeth Smart
I had this book on my "To-Read" list for a long time, then I heard her speak at UVU this last year and went to the library to pick it up straight away.  I was not disappointed.  I mean, I can't believe that Elizabeth Smart is able to even get out of bed in the mornings after everything that she's been through.  This is an incredible story about survival, healing, and forgiveness.

My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak
I really loved this book--read it in a day.  After her family is killed in a car accident, Jackie moves from NYC to Colorado to stay with her mom's college friend and her family, a family of 12 boys.  There is a lot of learning, teasing, and other fun surprises as Jackie adjusts to living in the country with the Walter boys.

The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister
I just finished this book, and it was another one that left me feeling like I had wasted my time reading it.  It's about a girl who is threatened and stalked by her cousin.  She runs away and becomes a famous magician, and then she is the top suspect in a murder.  She tells her story from the jail house to the police man in hopes that he will set her free.  This book was a little dark for me, and I guess I was hoping for a better ending.