I can’t tell you how happy I am to be using my library card again. We’ve been heading to our local one at least thrice a week, leaving with a bulging bag of books and DVDs. What a wonder, such a thrill…to have new written works at our disposal without paying a dime. Gotta love the US of A.
Here are a few recent favorite reads.
The Help was well-written and worthwhile. It was a nice reminder about how the courage of a few determined individuals can transform a community.
The Hunger Games trilogy kept me on the edge of my seat, but I wouldn’t necessarily qualify it as great lit. It’s creative and addictive, but also disturbing. I’m curious to see how the upcoming movie will portray Collins’ imaginative dystopian world.
Last week, I finished One Thousand Gifts (late to the party, I know). If I were an English professor, I’d use her first chapter as a prime example of exceptional storytelling. Her word pictures are profound and glorious. Parts of the text are a bit laborious, but I was inspired by the overall message. I plan to partake in the tracking of my own 1000 gifts as a result.
As far as blogs go, I stopped using an RSS reader awhile back (huge sigh of relief). Now I let Twitter and Facebook lead me to unexpected treasures. Of course, I also do my utmost to stay up with old and new favorites (examples: Emerging Mummy, Such the Spot, Mommying Grace, and Apartment Therapy).
What books and blogs have been capturing your time and attention lately?
I love hearing your voice out hear…always!! Thanks for the great recommends! Your opinion means a lot to me.
The Hunger Games….you have me intrigued!
I’ve been afraid to try “The Hunger Games” (I don’t do well with kids in dangerous situations) but my mom and sisters insist I read it. Maybe I will now.
Thanks to you, I’ve become an avid reader of Emerging Mummy too! And thanks to her, I’m discovering Rachel Held Evans (and loving it!) and Laura Ziesel’s stuff.
Also- I love that you said “thrice a week.” That made my day. :)
I really need to put The Help on my list! :)
I’m getting kind of sick of my reader too. I want to pare it down, but there are some friends I just can’t give up on… hard. I find I’m spending less time with it though and more time following links on twitter and facebook like you. I’m always amazed with the things people are sharing and I love the wide range of topics!
I started 1000 gifts and then couldn’t quite keep up… I’m just not a non-fiction kind of girl. Unless it’s a short story length. I like her blog for that reason! ;)
I am so hesitant to read The Hunger Games. I have no idea why it would be so addicting when it seems so sad? But then I wonder if I should check it out because apparently it must be pretty good? I tried that with the Twilight books and didn’t get past the 1st chapter! Also, 1000 gifts is on my Christmas list! I haven’t read it yet either.
I really like memoirs, so I loved Tina Fey’s Bossypants and Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me, and Mishna Wolff’s I’m Down. Loved! And of course Amy Wilson’s When Did I Get Like This.
Steph
I was the same way with Twilight. Blah. But Hunger Games is addictive because the story is engrossing & unpredictable; the pace is incredible. The first one was the best but once you start, you burn through the trilogy in a weekend, unable to put it down because you honestly can’t know what’s going to happen. And memoirs are my one weakness, especially conversion memoirs.
I agree with Sarah! I too put off reading Twilight and quickly got sucked into the story. Not great literature (AT ALL), but a fun read, but I was ready to be done with them. And The Hunger Games…oye….I put that off too but once I started the first book I couldn’t stop. Read them all in just a few days! I am in the process of reading Moloka’i. I don’t cry often in books, but this one had me in tears in the first few chapters. Unbroken is next on my list as I have only heard great things. I mentioned it to Markus and he got it from iTunes and is almost done with it already. I have also heard the Glass Castle is good…the list goes on….
Oh, The Glass Castle is one of my favorite books! If you like that, you may also like Liz Murray’s book called Breaking Night. It’s very inspiring.
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls took place when she lived in or near the town of Welch, WV. This is about 35 miles from where I live. I am a MOPS mentor and one of my moms knew the family personally. It is heart wrenching, but like many other books that are mentioned it grabs one’s attention from the beginning.
I am also a library user, but usually go only once a week.
A Merry Christmas to all of you.
Wilma in West Virginia
Nini – we have similar tastes! “Unbroken” and “The Glass Castle” are BOTH on my to-read list.
The story is definitely sad…and ends sad too. That said, the author does a commendable job of building suspense and creating an imaginative world. Again, not great lit…but it does keep you on the edge of your seat!
I’m finally reading Gone With The Wind, for no other reason than I thought I should :), the latest “light” reading I did was a Clive Cussler book – action/adventure genre, my Dad enjoys those books and got me hooked on them too. My husband likes Ted Dekker so we just listened to a book of his. Not quite my thing, but I’ll listen to them with Hubby. I have a Redwall (Brian Jacques) book on my nightstand, Run to Glory – the story of Eric Liddell to pre-read before giving to my nephew, the 100 Dresses by Eleanor Estes also to pre-read before giving to a niece, and I’ve been slowly reading through “bringing up boys” by Dr. James Dobson. 1000 gifts is on my Christmas list, so is A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans, by Michael Farquhar. We love the library! Unfortunately I despise driving in the weather this time of year out here in ice country so about this time of year I return all the books and we don’t go back to the library for about 3 months. Fortunately we can read books from the library digitally now and listen to them digitally so we do that all year long!
As for the RSS feed… I still have mine, but I don’t stress over it! I definitely use it to keep up with a few long-time favorites while enjoying all the nuggets I see on Twitter – whenever I’m there, which isn’t overly often!
I’ve never read “Gone With The Wind” either – which is pretty surprising since I took Honors English classes through high school and majored in English in college! Is it a worthwhile read?
Also: I love that you pre-read books before you gift them to your nephews and nieces. I’m sure their parents appreciate that immensely.
Here’s the crazy thing :) I started Gone With The Wind about 3 days after Thanksgiving and it was good then life went haywire and I never could seem to get back to it, since I had those other books I had to read before Christmas and so now it’s been returned to the Library. I’ll pick it up again, because it definitely caught my attention, I just had more “to do” than I had day so it didn’t get read :(
If you haven’t read the 100 Dresses yet it is definitely a good book – I highly recommend it! I also recommend Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters. That was an incredibly fun book. So was Mr. Popper’s Penguins.
as an aside… I think everyone should pre-read before gifting a book to a child/younger teen – it’s just the responsible thing to do. Also… if I’ve pre-read a book before gifting it to my nieces or nephew (or even my sisters/mom/aunts…) then when they read it we can all talk about it intelligently together. And we do – over a cup of cocoa/tea/coffee – around the table playing games, on the phone just visiting… it’s good!
OK – I’m past the 1/2 way point in Gone With the Wind and I’d say it’s definitely a good read. The writing is descriptive and draws you in. I’m reading in 15 minute snatches here and there so it’s taking me awhile to get through the whole thing but I’m enjoying it and it’s definitely getting harder and harder to put it down now!
I had to chime in with a shout out for Clive Cussler. His Dirk Pitt books are enormously fun! My hubby and I read those together. :)
Have you read any of Cussler’s Oregon Files books or the Isaac Bell books? I just read my first Isaac Bell book and loved it! We enjoy the Oregon Files books too. Cussler is definitely a good writer in the action/adventure genre!
oh dear, I am late to the pary on 1000 Gifts too… I need to catch up! :) Have you read The Last Lecture? I read it a couple years ago – really good read and poignant.
I never did use an RSS reader… if I really like a blog and want to keep up, I sign up for their emails so I get it right in my inbox and can read it at my leisure… it’s a short list of about 20 blogs so not too hard to keep up with ! :) (you’re on it!).
So honored to be on your short list. Thank you!
I’m so far behind on my rss feed too. I read the Hunger Games and am looking forward to the movies, but really don’t know how they are going to do it with all the violence towards children. I also read the Help, loved it.
Some others that I’ve read recently, Room. An excellent book that I was scared to read for a while because of the premise, but it is well done and thought provoking.
I also read Bossypants and Mindy Kaling’s book, so fun!
i was just lamenting over how few books i read this year….2012 is the year for reading the written word!
Oh yes, I too have been sucked into the Hunger Games addiction!
I loved the Help too! I am in the middle of the last book of the Hunger Games, and (I’m scared to admit this since it’s so popular), I am having a hard time finishing it. I loved the first one, the second one was “pretty good”, but this one is difficult. Maybe I’m weird!
I loved Tina Fey’s book too but was kind of surprised at the language. At first I thought it would be a good graduation gift for a young woman entering the workforce, but because of the profanity, I would think twice. I still admire her though! Mindy Kaling’s book is next on my list. I love her on The Office.
Thanks for the Apartment Therapy recommendation. You recommended Emerging Mummy and I love her blog as much as I love yours (and that’s a lot!)
I agree about the Hunger Games. The 1st book was undeniably the best…and the series kind of plummeted from there.
I still use my RSS reader but I try to keep it down to a manageable amount like 20-30 blogs max (and not all ones that update daily). I liked The Help and the Hunger Games a lot. Have you read any Kate Morton yet? Her Distant Hours and Forgotten Garden (not a series, both stand alones) were hard to put down, too. English gothic mysteries are addictive.
You should do a post that lists the 20-30 blogs in your RSS feed. I’m always looking for new/interesting reads – and I bet I would like your picks.
I felt the same way about the Hunger Games. The author captured me very quickly but then once I found out what the games actually were I was shocked. I didn’t want to read more but I just had to.
LOVED The Hunger Games and dystopic-type futuristic kind of sci-fi books are usually not in my realm of what I like to read. But I could not put that series down! Very dark and disturbing but a great read nonetheless! I also read Divergent by Veronica Roth which is the first book in a new dystopic series. Not as good as Hunger Games although not nearly as disturbing but still a great read! Also LOVED The Help, I am number 171 on the waiting list at the library to get the DVD, lol! I work at our local library 3 days a week and I LOVE IT! I come across interesting looks books for myself and my son all the time. I couldn’t pick a better place to work!
Tim & I just watched “The Help” a few weeks. It’s not nearly as good as the books, but it IS well-done. Let me know what you think.
I have “Divergent” on-hold at the library. Someone else recommended it to me several months ago.
I saw The Help awhile back and I totally agree – while a good book-to-movie transition, if you didn’t read the book itself, you probably wouldn’t be laughing and crying so much at all the “right” spots. When I went to the pre-screening, you could TELL that 99% of the audience had read the book, just because our reactions to certain scenes were so strong…
I adore Ann, but her book was just too much for me. It was so very wordy. I know that is her style, it really is a beautiful book, but I found if I didn’t read it out loud, I’d get lost in all the words. lol
I’m reading The Power of a Praying Wife and love it so far! And of course, the Bible.
Janelle
I understand. Her book is verbose (to say the least) – and not an easy, breezy read. That said, I do think of it often. Her message is a beautiful one: give thanks to God in all things.
The Power of a Praying Wife is a very inspirational read – I enjoyed that, should dig it out again… it’s been a few years since I read it.
If you want a nice long series…and like historical fiction…Outlander series and Into the Wilderness are both fantastic.
Hunger Games was great in the beginning but did not end up great for me. Disappointed. Loved The Help. I do not know One Thousand Gifts – that must be bad that I don’t? Checking it out now!
I don’t have a favorite way to follow blogs and still trying to figure it out. Facebook has gone so downhill for me and Twitter is hard to follow. I need a better system! :)
I agree about the Hunger Games. The series definitely declines after the 1st book. That said, I do think the conclusion was realistic – no happy endings in that very unhappy world.
I think what disappointed me about the ending of Hunger Games was how it just seem to fizzle out. Not that there should be an unrealistically cheery ending, but there seemed to be little “realization” or determination for the future on the parts of the characters. And ALMOST like the author MAY have set herself up for another book or a segue to another series?? I don’t mind if a book does not have a happy ending, but I like it to have a STRONG ending. :)
Well, as you know, I liked The Hunger Games and The Glass Castle and The Man From Beijing among others… I just got One Thousand Gifts for Christmas, so that’s on my list soon.
I’m currently working on wrapping up the rest of my “Best of 2011″ lists — and it’s SO hard. Guess that’s what happens when you read 120+ books in a year. :) But I can say for sure that First Family, Caleb’s Crossing, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and probably The Ionia Sanction will make my list.
I listened to Caleb’s Crossing back in October/November… that was definitely a good book! I find I have more time for Audio Books than for actual reading these days… it’s not quite as cozy as cuddling up with a book, but at least I’m getting some good fiction in :)
My son and husband both loved The Hunger Games. My son’s whole sixth grade class is addicted to it.
Someone mentioned The Glass Castle…I LOVED that book. I have The Power of a Praying Wife sitting at my bedside table now for more than a month without opening it, found it at a yard sale…I think its time to start reading it.
I hear so many good things about One Thousand Gifts, I must get this.
My current reads: Steve Jobs (on audiobook…he was such a character!) and Hungry Woman in Paris.
I read the Hunger games trilogy last year and also just finished the Help.
I think I’ll add One Thousand Gifts to my list to read this year. I have heard wonderful things about it.