Category: Books

A couple months ago I wrote about my reading rut. It has gotten a little better, but I still have a few books started that I would like to finish. The first one I picked up that I figured I could get through quickly was The Death Cure.

This is the third book in The Maze Runner trilogy. (The second book was The Scorch Trials.) There is also a prequel in this series, but after struggling to get through the third book, I don’t have much desire to read the prequel.

First, here’s a summary of this book.

It’s the end of the line.

Will anyone survive?

What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.

The truth will be terrifying.

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all.

The time for lies is over.

Ok, So I didn’t like this book. I think I borrowed this from the library three or four times. It just wasn’t exciting anymore. The first one was good, the second one was ok, this one was just boring. Not my favorite. When I read a trilogy, I want there to be an ending. I didn’t feel like there was an ending to this one at all. Just 200+ pages of blabbing by the characters. A little more happened in the last chapter, but by the end, my first thought was “that was it?” Not really a good sign.

A few other friends that have read this one have said the same thing. When I told them I hadn’t finished it yet, they told me not to bother and that I wouldn’t be missing much. It’s too bad. There was potential for a good ending and it was just lacking.

That being said…maybe read the first one and then just move on. Hunger Games was much better. I want to read the Divergent series and Legend series one day, too. So hopefully I‘ll get around to them one day.

What book have you read recently that was kind of a downer and not as good as you were hoping it would be?

I got a few new books at the library recently and came across a couple books I wanted to share. It made me think of a few others I like. If you’ll recall, these were the last books I wrote about.

The first one is called Bugs Galore. I love love love this book. I am definitely going to buy it and any others by this author (I know there’s at least one about cars). They use a huge array of words for the kids to learn new vocabulary. The pictures are colorful and fun. I highly recommend this even as a gift for kids!

Next up is one both of my girls adore Pout Pout Fish. Dannie likes to make fish faces and there’s a part that says “blub blub blub” and she loves saying it. She will bring me the book and sit in my lap and give me a fish face. Love it. On top of that cuteness, the book itself is adorable. More great words, lots of rhyming and fun repetition. And the pictures are, again, colorful and really fun.

Soup Day is one of Maddie’s favorites right now. We got it from the library and it’s the first book she picks out for me to read to her. When I make vegetable soup, Maddie likes to help. We talk about all the vegetables that go into it. So when we are reading, she names all of the vegetables in the book. Granted, the girl will hardly look at vegetables when it comes to eating them, but at least she recognizes them.

Next up is Doggone Feet. This isn’t my favorite, but Maddie definitely loves it. She wants me to read it almost as much as the soup book! Cute story, not the best pictures, but if the girls love it, it goes on the list!

I came across this book while I was at Good Times Park one day. I think I was sold by the googly eyes. Smile-a-Saurus is so cute. It talks about all different feelings that the dinosaurs have. It’s fairly short and the girls both love the eyes. Really, the girls LOVE any book that have the little plastic popout features (ladybugs, eyes, strawberries, stars…). This book was a little hard to find. It’s not a very recent one, but I was glad I found a copy.

For Maddie’s birthday, we got her some Doc McStuffins gear. So I got her a couple Doc McStuffins books. Chilly Catches A Cold is her current favorite. All of the Doc books have a really cute story and Maddie loves naming all the characters and seeing what needs to be fixed in each story. And Doc isn’t a princess, so YAY!

My mom brought over the book Parts. Maddie thinks this book is really funny. I think she will appreciate more when she is older. But I get a kick out of it. This poor boy thinks he’s falling apart and imagines the things happening to his body. It’s really cute. There are a couple follow-up books…More Parts and Even More Parts. More Parts is funny. Even More Parts, not that great. But again, I think if your kids were a little older, they would really like these.

These next two I haven’t read yet, but I have read really good reviews about them.

Charlie’s Snow Day is part of the Charlie the Dog series.  These books are by Ree Drummond, better known as The Pioneer Woman. If you don’t know who she is, you should. She is hilarious and makes some of the most delicious looking food, she homeschools her kids and lives on a cattle ranch. Charlie is one of her dogs and I love that Charlie has gotten to become a series of books. Such a cute idea. I picked this one only because it is STILL winter here. But there are others, too.

And finally, I Had A Favorite Dress. This reminds me of something Maddie will do…ask her grandma to make her favorite dress last longer. Again, I haven’t read this, but it caught my eye and I would love to find it at the library to see if Maddie likes it and read the story. But if you have a daughter (or granddaughter or niece or sister or friend) that has a favorite outfit, this might be a good book for her.

There you have it. Another list of books. I’m hoping to keep doing this as I come across more books I love and the girls love, too. If you have any books you want me to add to this list let me know.

And I think at some point I’ll make a list of books to stay away from. Do you have any suggestions for that list?

On the recommendation of a friend, I read this book. She said it was similar to Shades of Grey, but she liked it better. Since it was available through the library, I thought I would give it a try.

Here’s a link to the book on Amazon and here is a synopsis.

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness…

He was beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I’d never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily…

Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other’s most private worlds…and desires.

The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn’t tear us apart…

It was, um, detailed. Since I haven’t read Shades of Grey, I can’t actually compare them. I’m a sucker for a series, so I’ll probably read the other two books. Then I’ll probably have to read Shades of Grey so I can compare them.

Have you read either of these series? What did you think of them?

I’ve been in a reading rut. I have about 6 books (maybe more) started on my Kindle right now. I keep starting them hoping I’ll be able to finish one. It appears that I get about 40% into a book and just stop. I don’t know if it’s boredom in reading, poor book choices or any list of other reasons.

No matter what it is, I am in a reading rut. Part of it stems from the fact that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. I have a list a mile long of things I want/need to get done. While some of them are being completed, reading gets pushed to the back burner. When I do read, it is right before bed. Which means I turn on the Kindle, pick one of my various started books, start reading, try to remember what the heck the book was about since I have been reading it for so long, read a page, then promptly fall asleep.

Do you have any suggestions for when you are in a reading rut? Do you read something you have already read? Start something new? Muster through and finish what you already have started?

I’m hoping to get some of these books finished and get some more reviews up/ Hope your reading has been more successful than mine!

This book was by the author of On The Island which I read for Book Club. I was excited when I remembered this book was out and quickly downloaded it. I couldn’t put it down. It was a fun story and it was nice to see the characters of the first book in their new lives. Here’s a little about the book.

When twenty-three-year-old dot-com millionaire Owen Sparks walked away from his charmed life, he had one goal in mind: get as far away as possible from the people who resented his success, or had their hand out for a piece of it. A remote uncharted island halfway around the world seemed like a perfectly logical place to get away from it all.

Calia Reed wasn’t part of Owen’s plans. The beautiful British girl—on holiday in the Maldives with her brother, James—made Owen wonder if getting away from it all might be a lot more enjoyable with a carefree girl who didn’t know anything about the life he left behind.

But Owen had no idea how much his carefully detailed plans would go awry. Nor did he realize that a decision he made would have such a catastrophic effect on two passengers who boarded a plane in Chicago.

And when Owen shows up at Anna and T.J.’s door with an incredible story to tell, everyone involved will learn just how much their lives are intertwined.

If you read the first book, you should definitely read this. If not, pick up the first one this summer (it’s a great “beachy” read) and then read this one. I think you’ll like the story, the likable characters and it’s just plain hard to put down!

Happy reading!

I just finished this book the other day. I had borrowed it from the library and it was set to expire at 7:30pm on Tuesday night. I knew it was going to expire and had to finish it or else I would be back on the 54 person waiting list. So I ignored the kids made them play by themselves and read like a mad person. I finished it with about 10 minutes to spare. And it’s been a while since I read a book that wasn’t for book club. But when it came available at the library, I jumped on the chance to read it.

Here’s a little about the book:

I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.

The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.

As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.

I loved Gone Girl and I am looking forward to reading her other book, Sharp Objects one day. This was such a twisted and engrossing book. There were times I was horrified by what I read, but, like a train wreck, I couldn’t stop reading. The characters were strange and lovable. I highly recommend picking this up or getting on the waiting list at your library.  Oh, and I read this will be turning into a movie, too (Gone Girl is being made into a movie with Ben Affleck).

Happy reading!

I read The Scorch Trials quite a while ago. This is the second book in The Maze Runner series, so feel free to look back at the first one if you don’t know what I am talking about. Here’s a little about this book.

The Scorch Trials picks up where The Maze Runner left off. The Gladers have escaped the Maze, but now they face an even more treacherous challenge on the open roads of a devastated planet.

And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Can Thomas survive in such a violent world?

I wasn’t very impressed with this book. There was some suspense, but it sort of dragged on. I had heard it wasn’t very good (or at least not as good as the first book), but when I start a series I feel the need to finish it. I started the third book in the series, but that has been very slow going. I have been reading it off and on for months now.

I still liked the first one, and read the whole series if you like, but this second one wasn’t my favorite. I have heard the last does a good job clearing up some loose ends. We shall see if I ever finish it.

Happy reading!

I read The Midwife’s Confession a while back and completely forgot to write about it. This wasn’t a book for book club, just one that a friend had recommended to me so when I was between books, I picked this one up. Here’s what it’s about.

Dear Anna,
What I have to tell you is difficult to write, but I know it will be far more difficult for you to hear, and I’m so sorry…

The unfinished letter is the only clue Tara and Emerson have to the reason behind their close friend Noelle’s suicide. Everything they knew about Noelle—her calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her friends and family—described a woman who embraced life.

Yet there was so much they didn’t know.

With the discovery of the letter and its heartbreaking secret, Noelle’s friends begin to uncover the truth about this complex woman who touched each of their lives—and the life of a desperate stranger—with love and betrayal, compassion and deceit.

I really liked this book. It was an easy read, but made you think about what the next secret and turn might be. If you’re looking for a good read, I recommend giving this one a try.

Happy reading!