Category: Books

This was a really interesting book. Chuck had read it and told me I should read it. I have always had fears about trying new things and thinking that I wasn't good at them. This book really emphasized that you can do anything…it just takes a long time and hard work to become excellent at it.

There were many studies done on various types of people and in different careers. It took a look at how many hours a master spent on their given trade and how that compared to that of the average person. It was astounding. Most of these “masters” (i.e. Tiger Woods, chess players, sports players) started at very young ages and spent many hours perfecting their trade. And it wasn't just the “easy” stuff they practiced. They focused the majority of their time on things they weren't exceptional at so they would get better at it.

It was just a fascinating book to read. If you've ever wondered about the nature vs. nurture debate, check out this book. Basically, it says you aren't born with something, but you may be born into a family that helps you excel at something. But there is also something possibly born in you that gives you the ability to work this hard on a given task.

I liked this book. It was a little text-book-y at times, but the overall idea kept me interested until the end.

Happy reading.

This was a very interesting book. I hadn't read anything by Bill Bryson until this book. Bryson write about his travels. He has a very consistent writing style thrown in with some humor. There's also a lot of history mixed in….at least in this book.

This was all about his journey on the Appalachian Trail. So there was a lot of history about the trail itself, the mountains, the animals, and hikers on the trail. It was kind of like reading a history book, but MUCH more enjoyable! 🙂

I have a couple more of his books on hand to read and I am looking forward to them. I have a feeling that they will be equally enjoyable.

If you are looking for something that is laid back, but might also teach you a little something, I would definitely recommend reading this book!

Happy reading.

I was really excited about this book. It was written by someone I went to high school with and I thought it was so cool to know the author of a book.

The one word I can use for this would be dense. Dense being that each sentence was packed full of unnecessary words. It came off as trying too hard. I got the point three words ago. But that seemed to mellow out a bit as the story went on.

Since the book took place over the course of 9 days, I thought there was a lot packed in and I would have liked a little more background to each of the four characters. It was hard to get into and feel any sort of connection with the characters.

I think I would have enjoyed it more if the characters had been more connected in some way. Or they helped each other find their way accidentally.

Eh.

That is my initial reaction to this book. I borrowed it from a friend who liked it. So I was sure I would like it, too.

It wasn't that I didn't like the book, I just couldn't get into it.

It was about a Moroccan family who was held prisoner for 20 years after her father arranged a coup against the king. It was about her life growing up, her life before imprisonment, her life during and then a small part of her life after.

Now don't think that I am heartless to what they went through. I thought it was a terrible tragedy and a wonderful story of determination and strength. I think it was the writing that I found hard to read. It was (I assumed) translated from her original language. So it felt very elementary. And it was a bit jumbled…like she thought of things sporadically and decided to toss those thoughts in. At one point it was we're in this jail….14 years later….and that was about the extent. (Yes there was a tad more in there, but not much).

If you are into true stories/memoirs, you will probably enjoy this.

I did like that there were a few pages in the center of pictures of the author and her family. It made it more real and more heartbreaking to see them.

Happy reading.

I borrowed this book from a friend. Funny side story about this. I gave the book back to my friend, who then promptly sent me an email asking if I might have borrowed this book from someone else because she's never read it. HA! Whoops. Thankfully, I knew who else I had borrowed books from and this other friend did confirm that it was hers. No harm done.

Ok. So that had nothing to do with the book and really no particular relevance. I just wanted the world to know! 🙂

The book was really cute. Similar to the other Sophie Kinsella books I have read. The main character always gets herself into a big jam and you get to laugh at the foibles that happen along the way and wonder how she's ever going to get herself out of this one.

Even I read this book pretty quickly. It was a cute story and I always enjoy reading these silly, mindless stories. If you have read other Sophie Kinsella books and liked them, I would definitely check this one out.

Anyone ever read “Remember Me?” by Sophie Kinsella? I haven't read it, but would like to. If you let me borrow it from you, I promise I'll remember it was yours and not try to give it away to other friends. This was a one-time incident! 🙂

A while back, our neighbor lent us a book that she said was one of her favorites. Chuck read it and then left it for me to read. This was MONTHS ago! Well, I finally got around to reading it. It's called “Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality” by Donald Miller.

I must say, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast read even for me. It's written a bit differently than some of the other books I have read. It's almost like the author is talking to you, having a conversation with you. It's a little strange at first. But, once you get used to it, it's quite nice to read something written that way.

It's all about God, but in a non-pressuring, realistic way. Here is a summary from Amazon about it:

Miller is a young writer, speaker and campus ministry leader. An earnest evangelical who nearly lost his faith, he went on a spiritual journey, found some progressive politics and most importantly, discovered Jesus' relevance for everyday life. This book, in its own elliptical way, tells the tale of that journey. But the narrative is episodic rather than linear, Miller's style evocative rather than rational and his analysis personally revealing rather than profoundly insightful. As such, it offers a postmodern riff on the classic evangelical presentation of the Gospel, complete with a concluding call to commitment. Written as a series of short essays on vaguely theological topics (faith, grace, belief, confession, church), and disguised theological topics (magic, romance, shifts, money), it is at times plodding or simplistic (how to go to church and not get angry? “pray… and go to the church God shows you”), and sometimes falls into merely self-indulgent musing. But more often Miller is enjoyably clever, and his story is telling and beautiful, even poignant. (The story of the reverse confession booth is worth the price of the book.) The title is meant to be evocative, and the subtitle-“Non-Religious” thoughts about “Christian Spirituality”-indicates Miller's distrust of the institutional church and his desire to appeal to those experimenting with other flavors of spirituality.

So I recommend you give this book a shot. It's just a different way to look at things and it's very insightful. I can't wait to recommend it to more friends.

Have you read it? What did you think? Have you read any other good books lately that I should read?

I recently finished this book. I have been borrowing Jodi Picoult books from people as often as I get the chance.

There's something so captivating about her books. I have only read a few, but I know I want to read more. I think that is the sign of a good author.

This one was about a family who has secrets and has some traumatic events occur. There's a little twist at the end, too.

This book had a bunch of drawings throughout the book. The father in the story draws comics and the mother teaches a course about Dante and Hell. The drawings sketch out another (mirroring) story before each chapter portraying the different levels of Hell. I thought it added a very interesting aspect to the book. I have read some criticism of these drawings on various websites, but I thought it was a good twist I hadn't seen in a book before.

Picoult really has a way of writing about topics that may be considered taboo to talk about. I think it's one of the things draws me to them so much. I don't want to say too much about the story. (You can read a synopsis online if you are interested…but it does give a lot away.)

So far, the books I have read by Picoult are easy reading (maybe because I don't want to put them down). If you haven't read anything by her before, I suggest that you do!

I recently finished this book and really enjoyed it. I find that I really like books by this author. The only downside is that I feel like they are a bit depressing. I think the author wants you to get sucked in and get connected to the characters and then shock the crap out of you. She has succeeded in this book as well as in “My Sister's Keeper”.

Basically, it was a really good book and I had a hard time putting it down. She has a way of getting you sucked in from the beginning. If you want some good reads, check out Jodi Piccoult!

I recently read “My Sister's Keeper” by Jodi Picoult. This is the first book I have read from her and I could not put it down. I didn't know much about the story and hadn't seen the movie.

Jodi Picoult does a fabulous job of writing. One of the most amazing things is the way she writes chapters. They are each written by one of the characters in the book. Men, women, children….it was fascinating. It was easy to follow and I was so intrigued by this style of writing. I hadn't read anything like it before.

I am certainly going to read more books by this author and I immediately gave my copy to someone to read. If you can, pick this up!

Oh, and a little side note. I am told that the ending of the book is very different than the ending in the movie. And the author wasn't incredibly happy about the way the movie ended. Just a little tidbit of info for you!

I recently read Julie & Julia and thought it was a really cute book. I wanted to see the movie, so I thought I should read the book first. Books are always better.

This book wasn't life changing for me and I didn't immediately put it down and tell the person next to me that they had to read it like I did the other book I will be writing about soon. The story was easy to follow, but I was a little disappointed that it didn't talk about Julia more. I just expected there to be more about her. Some parts of the book went off on tangents I didn't understand, but I think that is the way real life is. And I think that was what the author was trying to get across. This was her life. And this is how life happens. It's not always perfect. So in that sense, I liked it.

Overall, a cute book. I will be interested to see what the movie is like.