Well once again, I have done it. I fell off the wagon and having been
publishing my books. Ooops…here’s
another omnibus of my reading.
Sandman
Slim (Sandman Slim#1) (Listened 4/14/17 to 5/9/17) – 3 star
I really liked the book, the problem is that it was an
audiobook it at some point I lost track of where I was and who with who because
it was audio and I had to restart it. I think that if I had read it rather than
listen to it probably would've given it a higher rating. At the same time the
narrator is really good and I do want to finish the series.
When Things Fall
Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron (Read 4/30/17 – 5/17/17)
– 3 Star
This is another Buddhist teachings based book, about how to
find happiness and peace when suffering from our current lives situation. This had some passages that spoke deeply to
me, that I used as a jumping off point for some posts on my other blog. She doesn’t speak to me as deeply as Thich Nhat
Hahn does, but I still found plenty of insight in the message she was telling.
The Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo (Listened 5/26/17 -5/28/17) – 0 Stars
This was an audiobook the kids and I listened to on a road
trip. It was light and fun, and it
really kept my son’s attention. We had
seen the movie, but as usual the book made far more sense and explained what
was happening way better than the movie did.
Love and Gravity by Samantha Sotto (Read
5/24/17 to 5/28/17) – 4 Stars
This was from my subscription box Once
Upon A Book Club Box. I read the back,
and I was thinking it would be a meh book.
Time travel, romance, and Issac Newton.
I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. The time hopping aspect had a chance of being
very confusing and hard to follow, but Soto did a really good job of keeping
the reader engaged and able to follow.
The presents that came along at various points were lots of fun too.
Escape
from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein (Listened 6/11/17) – 4 Star
This was an audio book that I checked
out at the same time as The Tale of Despereaux but we didn’t listen
to on the trip, so I listened to it while doing chores. It was a fun light read that has a puzzle
solving aspect that I enjoyed, it is aimed at younger readers, but was still a
lot of fun.
The
Five Love Languages for Singles by Gary Chapman (Read 6/15/17) – 4 Stars
I had read the original 5 love
languages while still married, and I had this one to see if there was any new
insights for being back in the dating world.
There wasn’t. There was the same
info I had before. The reason it
received a 4 star instead of a 2 star though is because it had a lot of great
insight on how to interact with others in your life, such as parents and
co-workers that I found extremely helpful and applicable. The premise is the same for love languages
across the board, but the practical application in day to day life I found very
valuable.
Sense
and Sensibility by Jane Austen (Read/Listened 4/4/17 -6/16/17) – 2 Stars
This was a BOTM book club read. I was bored out of my mind, as you can tell
by how long it took me to finish. It was
just more Jane Austen dribble about finding a husband, and miscommunication in
the process because how could anyone ever actually talk to anybody, they just go
by rumors and gossip blah blah blah. I
find Austen completely unromantic and dull.
Mating
in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic by Esther Perel (Listened
6/4/17 – 6/19/17) – 2 Star
This was a recommendation by a
co-worker. It was talking about how the
domesticity kills lust, but that there is a way to keep it alive. It just didn’t seem to strike a chord with
me, it was all stuff I felt like I already knew, there was no revelations
here. It felt like common sense to
me. I was a little bored.
American
Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes, and Trial of Patty Hearst
(Read 6/4/17 to 6/19/17) – Not Rated
I knew nothing about Patty Hearst going
into this book. I found her story
interesting. However the writing of the
book itself left a lot to be desired.
There were far too many tangents to keep track of what was
happening. I would often get lost
because the author would go off on a side story for 5-10 pages before coming
back to Patty and I rarely saw the point of the side story.
The
Experiment of Dreams by Brandon Zenner (Read 6/5/17 – 6/26/17) - No Rating
BOTM reading. It was a quick read, it was a mystery
thriller sort of. Printing things from
your memories, but there a twist of a dark and dangerous past. It didn’t really stick with me, and I had
practically nothing to comment on during the read itself.
A
Strange Companion by Lisa Manterfield (Read 6/26/17 – 6/27/17) – 4 Stars
Another Once Upon a Book Club Box
read. This one was still ok, I liked it
the least so far. I think on this one,
the gifts really helped keep me engaged, it was about reincarnation and lost
loves.
The
Forever Watch by David B. Ramirez (Read 3/1//17 – 7/5/17) – 3 Stars
This was from a book box I received in
2015, I believe it was a Star Wars Box. Obviously,
this book didn’t grab me. I had to
restart and finish it mostly because I was tired of seeing it on my Current
Reading list. I would say that the last
quarter was good, the storyline started moving and it had a great ending, but
sadly the 1st 3 quarters were hard to get through. Very slow and just didn’t peak my interest.
My
Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman (Read 7/5/17 –
7/21/17) – 4 Star
This was a NNCC read. I really enjoyed it, the writing was humorous
and the characters were very engaging if not likable. The author did a great job of keeping me
guessing as to who was the bad guy and what the secret was.
The
Painter by Peter Heller (Read 7/21/17 to 7/25/17) – 1 Star
This was my last BOTM club book I
read this year, it was after this one that I decided I needed a break. I HATED this book. I couldn’t stand the characters, the story
line left nothing to be guessed, the ending pissed me off. There was too much fishing talk and it added
nothing to story. The main character was
an asshole and I didn’t feel sorry for him.
The tragedy of his daughters death was stupid, the author made it seem
like it was a big EVENT, which yeah she died but the method was idiotic.
The
Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey (Read 7/26/17 – 7/30/17) – 4 Star
This was a really fun Once Upon a
Book Club Box read. It is set in the 40’s
and follows a group of friends through an importan year in their lives, they
all had different backgrounds and dreams and it was just a fun “Chick Lit”
book. The writing was good, the
storyline flowed really well and I enjoyed it.
My
Story by Elizabeth Smart (Listened 7/26/17 – 8/7/17) – 2 Star
I checked out this audio book for a
drive and I regretted it. It was
boring. I felt like the entire book was Elizabeth
saying, no I never was brainwashed and defending herself. Which maybe she felt the need to do, but it
got a bit redundant. Also her timeline
was hard to follow.
The
5 Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman (Read 7/30/17 – 8/20/17) – 3 Star
I think besides the 5 Love Languages
for Men, I have read them all now. This
was more of the same from the other books, and it was a lot of the same
info. There were some insights for kids,
but nothing that was as revolutionary as I had hoped. It was a still a good read, and hopefully it
can help me reach my kids better.
Sense
and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters (Read/Listened 4/5/17 -8/23/17)
– 2 Stars
So same story as original, in fact a
lot of original text was used. But now
there is a sea monster element. It was
still just as dull and hard to get through though.
Number the Stars by
Lois Lowry (Read 8/24/17) – 4 Star
This was nice light
read about WWII and thwarting the Nazi’s.
I enjoyed it, WWII escape/survivor stories are a genre I really
enjoy. The stories that encompass the
human resilience gives me hope. The lengths
some ordinary people went to, to help the Jews and other persecuted ones, amazes
me and fills me with hope for humanity.
We are not all as selfish as we appear, or at least we are capable of
not being so.
The Lightkeeper’s
Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol (Read 8/27/17 – 9/1/17) – 3 Star
This reminded me a lot of the Orphan Train, felt like almost
the same story just I a different setting in fact. I feel like if I hadn’t read orphan train, I
would have enjoyed this much more. But
it felt like a re-read instead of a new read.
