Book Review: Doomed by Tracy Deebs (no spoilers)

Book: Doomed
Author: Tracy Deebs
Series: Standalone
Publication: January 8th, 2013
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Rating: 5/5 stars












Summary (from book jacket) The summary from Goodreads has several errors. 

Beat the game. Save the world.

Pandora has always believed herself to be a pretty normal teen - glued to her cell phone and laptop and constantly surfing Facebook for the latest gossip. But when her long-lost father sends her a birthday greeting with a link to twelve childhood photographs, Pandora unwittingly unleashes a computer virus that shuts down the global power grid, instantly plunging the world into panic.

No Internet. No cell phones. No lights, traffic signals, 911, or first responders. Only Pandora's Box, a virtual-reality game created by Pandora's father, remains up and running. Together with her neighbors, gorgeous stepbrothers Eli and Theo, Pandora realizes that her childhood memories are the key to cracking her father's computer code in time to same the from complete annihilation.

In this masterful technological thriller, author Tracy Deebs leaves readers question their own potential action in the face of an instant global catastrophe. 

Background thanks to feed me books now. 

My Thoughts:
Hooray for the first book published in 2013 that I read. I actually didn't know this was a 2013 book until I was about 100 pages in. My sister borrowed this book from a friend after he said it was good. Then my sister also said it was good and I had to read it. This book is not my normal read, but as I have said before I'm willing to try anything when it comes to new books. Doomed is set in the Dystopian U.S. where Pandora's dad has set off this horrific worm that has wiped out all technology. Pandora is the only one who knows all the secrets to beat the game and save the world. This book really made me think What would we do if all our technology stopped working? What did people use to do without technology? Would our world goes as crazy as this world did without technology? Those are answers I do not know. I personally know I couldn't live without technology, but I could live without it for a few days. The simple things in the life that we take advantage of. They were gone. You couldn't go to gas station and just swipe your credit card. The credit card machines aren't working. So few people carry around cash anymore that this just makes people go crazy. Pandora finds out that her next door neighbors are these really cute guys Theo and Eli. They are step brothers that hate each other. Probably my only complaint about the book is that the author mentioned that these two don't get along, but they rarely fought throughout the book. Then it begs the question in me Who would you be willing to team up with if your life was at stake? Theo is a computer genius and he starts to help Pandora crack the game as they drive all over the United States to find secrets from Pandora's childhood. On the way they suffer every horrific obstacle that a human can enduring. It makes me wonder if things are really as bad as they were in this novel What would I be willing to do to save my own life and the lives of other? What illegal acts would I be willing to commit in order to safe the world? Obviously I don't want to be in Pandora's shoes, but I spent a lot of time during this book thinking about What if this really happened? What are some choices I would making given these horrific circumstances?

There was also a sense of mystery to this book. Is the world going to end? Are they going to find Pandora's father. Another thing I liked about this book is the hint of romance the author puts in the end. The authors talks a lot in this book about how you can't change the past, you can only move forward. Pandora, Theo, and Eli had to do some horrible things in this book that I never hope to have to do, but they did it under extreme circumstances that I hope this world will never have to endure.

In the end I really enjoyed this book. It made me think a lot and I enjoyed the action, the adventure, the mystery, and the touch of romance. This was a great book and I hope you will read it. I have to admit I'm just in love with the cover. I love the simplisty and I think of how we press power buttons every day, but What if that power button didn't lead to a phone turning on or a computer?


Thanks for reading.


Rachael

This Week in Book (2) February 24th, 2013

This week in books is going to be a new feature I'm going to be doing on my blog. This week in books is in no way my original idea. It is a combination of Friday reads, its Monday what are you reading, weekly wraps up, and any thing else you can think of. The basic idea is I will be telling you what I read last week and what I would like to read this week which is always subject to change.

Read Last Week

Review. I finished Beautiful Darkness early on Tuesday morning. I loved it.

Review I finished The Fault in Our Stars late on Wednesday night. I really enjoyed this book. Hazel and Augustus's love story was amazing.









Currently Reading

At this point I'm 279 pages in and really enjoying this book. It has a bit of a love triangle going on, but it isn't over bearing on the book. It is more suspense and seeing if they are going to be able to save the world.

Next Books to Read

Two of my friends are reading the Redemption Series right now and have been bothering me to read it. I'm going to start the first set of five books. The books kind of sound like the Love Comes Softly series which I loved so I hope I like it. There is about 20 books which is kind of why I'm nervous to start it because I know it is really going to back up my TBR list, but I'm excited to anyways. Across the Rolling River is a tricky book for when I'm going to read it because I'm taking this class called independent reading and we are not allowed to read children's books, but then I know if I bring Redemption to class to pretend like I'm reading it my friend is going to freak out on me. I will probably be reading both books at the same time this week. I will Redemption at school and Across the Rolling River at home. My goal is that by the time I graduate I will have finished all the Little House on the Prairie books. I have 3 more left counting Across the Rolling River and I started the series back in sixth grade when I was really interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

Thanks for Reading

Rachael 

Under the Never Sky/Through the Ever Night Read Along Sign Up

Hosted by Amanda @ On a Book Bender

I plan out my March TBR yesterday and I was planning on starting my first book on my TBR list on March 8th when the fairy tale read-a-thon starts up. Just when I thought I had March all planned out I find this read-along and well I have this book on my TBR shelf and it is more fun to read it with other people so I decided that I'm going to join. My rules for myself will be that if I don't like Under the Never Sky I do not have to read Through the Ever Night, but I would like to finish Under the Never Sky so I can add it to monthly mix up mania. Head on over there and sign up. 

16 Lighthouse Road (Cedar Cove #1) Character Follow Along (Spoilers Included)

Olivia Lockhart was the main character this first novel was focused on. Olivia is a judge in family court. She has been divorced from her husband Stan many years ago after her son Jordan drowned and died. Olivia has a tough relationship with her daughter, Justine because she is dating Warren Saget who is much older than Justine and very full of himself. Olivia's youngest son James also gets married to his wife Selina and they had her first grandchild Isabella Delores. Olivia was a prominent figure in this novel. She began to date Jack Griffin, who is the new newspaper writer who wrote a article on Olivia after she denied the divorce of Celicia and Ian Randall. Olivia and Jack have an up and down relationship throughout the novel and there weren't many answers as to where they were going by the end.

Justine Lockhart has been dating an older man Warren Saget for a number of years. Justine has decided that she doesn't want to get married and she does not want a family. She likes that Warren doesnt' pressure her in to those things because he has already has been married three times and his kids are already grown. As the novel moves on Justine renutities with a guy she knew in high school Seth Gunderson, they start a relationship, Warren finds out, Warren proposes, Justine refuses Warren's proposal, She tells Seth she wants to be with him, and by the end of the novel Justine has changed her view on life and is married to Seth Gunderson.

Olivia's friend Grace is married to Dan Sherman. They have been married for a long time and are having a hard time in their marriage. Dan refuses to engage in conversation with Grace preferring to sit in front of the TV. Things seem to be shaping up when their daughter Kelly and her husband Paul Jordan announce they are pregnant. That is when Dan disappears. The first time he comes back, but the next time he is has been impossible to find. Maryellen is Grace's other daughter she is divorced and doesn't want a family. Kelly has the baby towards the end of the novel. They name him Tyler Daniel. Dan is still nowhere to be found by the end.

Charlotte Jefferson is Olivia's mom. She spends her time visiting patience at the hospital where she meets Tom Harding. Tom Harding is a ward of the state who had a stroke several years ago and can't speak. He was recently moved to Cedar Cove at his request when Charlotte meets him. They share a few nice conversation before Tom Harding dies. Tom Harding gave Charlotte the key to his storage unit where she finds out he is really a tv cowboy named Tom Houston. Charlotte commits a criminal acts and steals the tv memorabilia from the unit. She ends up finding out that Tom has a living grandson Cliff Harding and calls him up to see if he wants his grandfather's stuff. Cliff admits to not wanting anything to do with his grandfather that he has never met and his own father only saw his dad three times. Charlotte is persistent and Cliff ends up taking Tom's things home with him. Charlotte was probably my favorite character of this novel.

The final character is Cecilia Randall who is seeking a divorce from her husband Ian Randall after their daughter Alison Marie dies. Olivia Lockhart denies their divorce. Although both are stubborn at first they slowly rekindle their romance through letters and email while Ian is away at sea. He is in the army. Cecilia begins to attend college, she makes friends with two other navy wives Cathy and Carol, and she begins to work through her feelings about Alison's death. By the end of the novel Cecilia has decided that she wants another baby and Ian and her are back together.

That is the story plot line for each character introduced and focused on during 16 Lighthouse Road. I'm going to try to do this for each Cedar Cove book for my own sake and people that have read the book.

Thanks for reading


Rachael

Book Review:16 Lighthouse Road (Cedar Cove #1) by Debbie Macomber

Book: 16 Lighthouse Road

Author: Debbie Macomber

Series: Cedar Cove #1

Publication: January 1st, 2001

Source: Digital Library

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads)

Dear Reader,

You don't know me yet, but in a few hours that's going to change. I'm inviting you to my town of Cedar Cove because I want you to meet my family, friends and neighbors. Come hear their stories--maybe even their secrets!

My secrets are pretty open. My marriage failed years ago, and I have a rather...difficult relationship with my daughter. Then there's my mother, Charlotte, who has plenty of opinions and is always willing to share them.

I'm a family court judge and she likes to drop in on my courtroom. Recently I was hearing a divorce petition. In Charlotte's view, Cecilia and Ian Randall hadn't tried hard enough to make their marriage work--and I agreed. I rendered my judgment: Divorce Denied.

You wouldn't believe the reaction! Thanks to an article by Jack Griffin, the editor of our local paper (a man I wouldn't mind seeing more of!), everyone's talking.

Cedar Cove--people love it and sometimes they leave it, but they never forget it!

Olivia Lockhart

My Thoughts: 

I orginally wanted to read this book because A) I liked Debbie Macomber books and B) they are making a series out of these books on hallmark channel. Then the dilema came of how I was going to read the cedar cove series while reading all the other books I wanted to read in January/February. The library has a relatively new feature of letting you check out ebook and audiobooks from their website for a limited period of time. I said to myself I will just listen to the audiobook. 

Then I started the audiobook. I believe you just don't get the same experience listening to a book as you get when you read it. I found myself not picturing the characters, not remembering their names, and not remembering what was going on. Altogether I wasn't overly enjoying the book. This was a book I wanted to enjoy so I checked out the ebook and I follow along with the words while listening to the audiobook. This experience was much better. 

The part I liked about the audiobook is the narrator's unique voices for each character. The part I didn't like was how slow the narrator talked sometimes. 

This first book in the series follows Olivia Lockhart who lives at 16 Lighthouse Road. I found this first book a great introduction to the series. Debbie Macomber makes you feel like you are part of the town. It reminds me of my own town in many ways because as it states in the summary people in small towns love to talk. In this first novel we meet Olivia's daughter Justine who is dating Warren Saget, Seth Gunderson (somebody Justine went to high school with), Olivia's ex-husband Stan, and Olivia's mother Charlotte. We also meet Celia Randall who is going through a divorce from her husband Ian. Olivia denies the divorce and starts an uproar around town thanks to the newspaper writer, Jack Griffin. Then there is Olivia's friend Grace Sherman who is married to Dan who is a bit of a mute. They have two daughters Maryellen and Kelly. My favorite character had to be Olivia's mother Charlotte. She sounded like a sweet lady, but one that wasn't afraid to speak her mind. This novel is not life altering or anything like that. It was a great relaxing read. I think the reason it took me so long to complete is the fact that it was an easy book to understand. I could not read anything for a couple of days and still know what happened. I thought this was a great book and I'm glad I read it. 

I'm going to do a post later about the casting for the show and what I think about them and I'm going to do a character follow along post where I talk about the characters and their journeys through this first novel. There will be spoilers, but if you read the book you should check it out. I also think it will help me keep track  since there is 12 novels and a lot of characters. 

Thanks for reading

Rachael 

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (no spoilers)

Book: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Series: Standalone
Publication: January 10th, 2012
Source: Local Library
Rating: 5/5 stars












Summary (from Goodreads)
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumors in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumors tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.


My Thoughts
The Fault in Our Stars deserves every kind word that is said about this book. This book puts together Tragedy and Humor in a unique way.  I fell in love with Hazel and Augustus relationship. They both knew that they would never get to spend a lifetime together, but they wanted to live their best life today. The thing about cancer is you never know which day will be your last and I think John Green did a great job conveying that through the book. Augustus and Hazel both had an intense love for books. I love to talk about books so I related to them in that way. Hazel introduces Augustus to a particular book, An Imperial Infliction and it is the book that this novel mostly centers around. I had heard that this ending was sad, but I have to admit it still wasn't the ending I suspected. I have heard many of people say they cried, but I didn't because I have a hard time crying over a book. It was still very sad. John Green created an amazing novel that was insightful, clever, and tragic. I was moved from sadness back to laughing within minutes. It takes a truly amazing author to make you feel everything this book did. I would have read this book for the beautiful writing alone. 

Memorable Quotes
“You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.” 
“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.” 


Thanks for reading


Rachael 

The Book Chat (3) (Books to Movies)

I have to admit I have been excited about this one since I heard that it was going to be on the book chat this week. I love book to movies transitions although the novel is always better. I can watch movies over and over again where it is hard to read a novel over and over again. Movies are the way I have discovered most of my favorite authors so I'm thankful to the movie industry for making me read new books and new authors. I wouldn't have found Jodi Picoult or Emily Giffin if there wasn't a movie for one of their books.

I have decided to pick 4 books that I would like to see as movies. They are in no specific order just randomized as I saw them on my read shelf.

1. 

I know Nicholas Spark's 8th movie, Safe Haven, just came out, but Nicholas Sparks books just make awesome movies. The Rescue just melts my heart. I think Hollywood would have fun with the beginning of the novel as they try to find Kyle. 

2. 

I really liked this Sarah Dessen book. Ruby really grew as a character as she made new friends and found her place in their small town. Not a whole lot of action just an awesome romance.

3. 

Jodi Picoult's first YA Novel she wrote with her daughter Samantha Van Leer. This was about Deliah who couldn't stop reading this fairytale and then she noticed that the story changed. Oliver is tired of being trapped in the fairytale. He starts talking to Deliah to find a way out. The whole idea just sounds like it would make a great movie. This book was different from any other book I have read and I simply loved it. 

Book Review: Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (no spoilers)

Book: Beautiful Darkness

Authors: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Series: Caster Chronicles #2

Publication: September 19, 2011

Source: Borrowed from a friend

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

My Thoughts

First off I would like to apologize if I fail to form coherent sentences about this book. I'm in awe of the wonderment of this book. After I finished reading it all I could think was wow this book is absolutely amazing. I think the characters and the setting are what totally drive these novels. My only complaint about this book is that there wasn't enough Lena and when Lena was in there she was really weird. Basically the premise of this book is that Lena runs off to this magical caster place, The Great Barrier with a new character, John Breed. Ethan, Link, and Keeper-in-training Liv set out to find Lena through the never ending passageways. Ethan's dad although he is mentioned in the beginning isn't a very big part of this novel whereas we learn some very interesting facts about Ethan's mom Lila Evers Wate. Even in death Macon is still very much included in this novel. I'm so happy my prediction with Macon was correct although I can't tell you what my predication was. I wish there was a bit more Marian and Amma in this novel, but the authors did a great job with those characters. I just love them. There are also a few new characters introduced to us such as Twlya, Arelia (Macon's mom), Liv, and John Breed. We also learn more about Macon's great, great grandfather Abraham, Macon's brother Hunting, and Lena's mother Sarafine. Ethan and Link were great characters as usual, but my favorite character was still Ridley. Ridley goes through some major changes in this novel that I'm still not entirely sure that I'm okay with, but she was still an amazing character. The setting and the pictures I got in my head while reading this novel were amazing. The great barrier was just described beautifully. I also liked the concept of the tunnels being never ending and super confusing.  Like in the first novel Ethan continues to get visions to see into the Ravenwood family past and we continue to put together the pieces of the puzzle. I just wish I could tell you all the wonderful things about this book. It was so amazing. The ending was Wow, just amazing. I couldn't believe what they brought down and I totally didn't see it coming. I was thinking with this novel we weren't going to get as amazing of an ending as the first, but we totally did. I'm so excited to read the next book in the series Beautiful Choas. 


Memorable Quote
"Sometimes if is hard to imagine a place like that really exists. People have been judging me my whole life." (Lena)

Thanks for reading and please do yourself a favor and read this series.

Rachael

Reading At Night Challenge Updated.

You may remember I challenged myself at the beginning of February to read a half an hour every night before I go to bed. I have really been enjoying this challenge and I have been reading more and more thanks to it. Reading at night has just become a habit now. I look at the clock and see it is near time to go to bed and get my book out and read. I promised I would updated in the middle of the month, but that didn't really happen so I'm updating now and I will update again at the end of the month.

I'm not going to put what books I was reading because you will see them all again in my February wrap up. I will just put the time reading and how many pages I read.

Feb 1
11:40 to 12:10 pg 139 to pg 150

Feb 2
10:26 to 11:05 pg 204 to pg 219

Feb 3
10:08 to 10:52 pg 251 to pg 270

Feb 4
9:36 to 10:35 pg 290 to pg 309

Feb 5
9:45 to 10:15 pg 139 to pg 156

Feb 6
9:21 to 9:51 pg 144 to pg 154

Feb 7
9:00 to 9:31 pg 66 to pg 86

Feb 8
10:20 to 10:50 pg 159 to pg 165

Feb 9
10:30 to 11:00 pg 61 to pg 72

Feb 10
10:15 to 11:17 pg 150 to pg 184

Feb 11
9:25 to 11:21 pg 189 to pg 239

Feb 12
8:38 to 9:13 pg 0 to pg 18

Feb 13
9:26 to 10:00 pg 74 to pg 88

Feb 14
10:50 to 11:20 pg 166 to pg 176

Feb 15
10:30 to 11:00 pg 193 to pg 209

Feb 16
10:30 to 11:00 pg 235 to pg 243

Feb 17
10:30 to 12:00 pg 296 to pg 334

Cumulative number of pages read: 316 pages
Cumulative time read: 745 minutes 12 hours and 25 minutes

The times done lie. I know that sounds like a lot of time, but the hours add up quickly when you are doing it every day. As you can see some days I just did the bare minimum of 30 minutes other times I was reading for over an hour so it all depends. Of course this is just the pages number I read at night. I still read a lot during the day also. This challenge has helped me to finish more books and read more in February and I have been enjoying myself quite a bit.

Thanks for reading

Rachael

March Read-A-Thon sign ups

That's right I got two more readathons to participate in during the month of March. I love participating in readathons and seeing how much I can read in the period of days. This will be the first time I'm participating in a readathon that dictates what books you can read. 

Fairy Tale Read-a-thon hosted by Debz Bookshelf. 8 days to read as many fairytales as possible. I'm going to plan to read Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer.  If I have time for more there is plenty on my to-read list thanks to Project Fairytale.

Take Control of your TBR Pile 4 day read-a-thon is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  The requirement for this one is that the books much be published before March 2013 so that isn't that hard. I will try to pick books that have been on my Goodreads to-read shelf for a while. 

This Week in Books (1) February 17th, 2013

This week in books is going to be a new feature I'm going to be doing on my blog. This week in books is in no way my original idea. It is a combination of Friday reads, its Monday what are you reading, weekly wraps up, and any thing else you can think of. The basic idea is I will be telling you what I read last week and what I would like to read this week which is always subject to change.


Read Last Week

Review
I finished Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks on Monday.

Review
I finished Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas and Micah Sparks on Tuesday. I started this book before Nights in Rodanthe, but took a break to read Nights in Rodanthe.








Currently Reading

There will be a review up after I finish Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I'm 257 pages in. I started this book on Wednesday. I have really been enjoying the second novel in the Caster Chronicles I just wish there was more Lena.







Next Books to Read
February has been a hard month to balance between reading books that need to be returned to the library and books my friends want returned to them.

I don't know how many books I will end up reading this week so these books may be back on my read for next week list, but those are the next three books I plan to read. February is shaping up to be a record break month for me borrowing books from other people besides the library.

Emily Giffin. How I started reading her novels?

The author I will be talking about today is Emily Giffin. I would say that right now Emily Giffin is my most recommended author. When friends and teachers ask me for book recommendations I'm always asking if they have reading Something Borrowed/Something Blue. Not a single person has not like the books after they read them.

I started reading Emily Giffin in 2011 after seeing the movie trailer for Something Borrowed staring Kate Hudson and Jenifer Goodwin. The movie was already out in theathers, but my sister and I decided we were going to read the books before seeing the movie. We waited for it to come out on DVD while we read the book. I was orginally sceptical if I was going to like Something Borrowed or not because I didn't know if I would be able to get over the fact that Rachel (Jennifer Goodwin) was cheating with Darcy (Kate Hudson) fiance, Dex. The author totally made me want to cheer for Rachel. Then in Something Blue she turns it all around and has you cheering for Darcy. I loved both of them and I reccommend them to everybody because they deserve the praise. I finished those two novels and I was kind of like okay I'm done with Emily Giffin. I don't care about her other novels. Until my sister read them and told me that they were amazing. My sister told me to read them in order because like Sarah Dessen, Emily Giffin creates references to past characters in future novels. Although she doesn't do it as extensively as Sarah Dessen it is still fun to find old characters in brand new novels. Her last one I think has the most past references so I would suggest if you can to read them in order.  I read Baby Proof in August (Probably my least favorite of Emily Giffin's work, but still amazing), Love the One You're With and Heart of the Matter in September, and Emily Giffin's newest novel Where We Belong in December. 

I just simply love Emily Giffin's story. Her characters are stellar and I love the story she creates. The great thing is she doesn't have one bad novel. I can't wait for her to release more.  My favorite has to be her newest one Where We Belong. I loved the story of how Kirby went to meet her long lost birth mother and I fell in love with the story of how a character can grow and change over the course of a novel. I don't think Marian was even the same person as what she started out as. I love all of her books so much and I wish I could just read Emily Giffin books for an entire year. I just love them. So you should go check them out.

I also must say I love Emily Giffin's cover. I'm a sucker for simple covers and her's just fit that profile well. She changes the colors and adds a little design, but overall she has pretty simple covers that I love. 

Thanks for reading

Rachael 

Books Read:

Wicked Valentine's Read-A-Thon Wrap Up

Thank you to  April, Bex, and Tabitha @ my shelf confessions for hosting this readathon.

This was by far one of my best readathon I have participated in. I did not participate in any minichallenges although some seemed interesting I mostly just wanted to focus on reading.

This week I read a total of 768 pages which is an average of 96 pages per day. 

Book Finished:

Books Started:

I enjoyed my time participating in this reading challenge and I was able to get a lot of reading done because of it.

Thanks for reading.


Rachael 

The Book Chat (2) Romance Novels

Today's Book Chat is Romance Novels. I love romance novels that aren't all romance, but I love books that have a touch of romance in them.

What are your favorite romance novels?

Yep I'm going there. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. Who doesn't want to sit around and just watch or read Nicholas Sparks books or movies today. They always have an amazing love story that you know you are never going to have. Each time I finish a Nicholas Sparks book the ending is suberb and leaves me wondering what just happened. The Last Song is no different. I loved the book and I loved the movie. Ronnie and Will's relationship just makes me melt. 

The Time Traveler's Wife is probably one of my most favorite books. I just reread it in 2013 so it is very fresh in my mind. The Time Traveler's Wife is an uncovential romance to be sure of, but Henry and Clare had something special. They may fight and get frustrated about Henry's time traveling, but they stuck through it all with each other. Clare is willing to be there for Henry and Henry will go to the ends of the earth for Clare. I love their story. 

Thanks for Reading Next's Weeks topic is books that you would like to see as movies. 

Rachael 

What is your reading pace?

Everybody reads at a different speed and even if you read two books with the same number of pages you read them at a different pace. I find that some bloggers can read 15 books a month where other bloggers can only read 4 to 5. Both is totally okay.


I find that if I really enjoy the book I will spend a lot more time reading it and finish it faster. Where if it is a slow book that I don't like as much I will only read a few pages before putting it down. I heard a person say the other day that they liked audiobooks because they knew it was going to take them this amount of hours to finish the book. I will talk about my experience with audiobooks in another post.

On Average a long book 500 to 600 pages will take me anywhere from 2 weeks to a month. A medium book 300 to 400 pages will take me to 5 to 7 days depending on how much time I have. A short book will usually take me two days.

I also have noticed that if I have school off I have a lot more time to read so I will finish more books over that period of time. My English teacher thinks I'm a speed reader because I tell her about the many books I read, but if I was to catergorize myself I would say that I'm average. I'm not a slow reader by any means, but I'm not incredibly fast either.

I think at whatever rate you finished the book is the rate you finished the book. To me it doesn't matter how long it took to read a book. What matters to me is the story and how much I enjoyed the book. Of course for some books such as books to movies I do set a timeline for myself when I need to finish the book so I will have it finished at least a few days before I see the movie.

What do you think? Do you set a timeline for how fast you finish books? What is your reading pace? Does it matter to you if you don't finish the book in a pacific amount of time?


Thanks for reading


Rachael

Book Review: Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas and Micah Sparks (no spoilers)

Book: Three Weeks with my Brother 

Authors: Nicholas and Micah Sparks

Series: Standalone

Publication: January 3rd, 2006

Source: Local Library

Rating: 5/5 stars   

Summary (from Goodreads):

The day the brochure came was a typical one. With a wife and five small children, a hectic schedule, and a new book due to his publishers, Nicholas Sparks was busy with his usual routine. The colorful mailer, however, described something very different: a tour to some of the most exotic places on Earth. Slowly, an idea took hold in Nicholas's mind and heart. In January 2003, Nicholas Sparks and his brother, Micah, set off on a three-week trip around the globe. It was to mark a milestone in their lives, for at thirty-seven and thirty-eight respectively, they were now the only surviving members of their family. And as they voyaged to the lost city of Machu Picchu high in the Andes. . . to mysterious Easter Island. . . to Ayers Rock in the Australian outback. . . and across the vast Indian subcontinent, the ultimate story of their lives would unfold. Against the backdrop of the wonders of the world and often overtaken by their feelings, daredevil Micah and the more serious, introspective Nicholas recalled their rambunctious childhood adventures and the tragedies that tested their faith. And in the process, they discovered startling truths about loss, love and hope. Narrated with irrepressible humor and rare candor, and including personal photographs, Three Weeks with my Brother reminds us to embrace life with all its uncertainties. . . and most of all, to cherish the joyful times, both small and momentous, and the wonderful people who make them possible.


My Thoughts:

This book has quickly become one of my favorite non-fiction books. In saying that I have not read nearly as much non-fiction books as I probably should have so saying this is my favorite doesn't overly mean much. I loved this book. It was a quick read and the pictures were so interesting. I learned about Nicholas Sparks as a person instead of just an amazing writer. I learned that his life wasn't easy, but he has an incredibly close relationship with his brother. They went through a lot together as children and adults, but through it all they remained close. I have to say I could not imagine spending three weeks with just my brother traveling the world, but I could imagine traveling around the world with my sister. I think in some ways the relationship between Nicholas and Micah is somewhat like the relationship between my sister and myself. It was also very interesting to learn how he started writing all his novels even during the hardest times in his life. He also mentions who the characters are named after or which person in his life the novel is about. Like most authors he plays off his actual life for novel ideas.The most important thing this book taught me is that even when times are hard you must go on for the people you love. Take every day one day at a time and cherish every moment you have. I would defiantly recommend this book to everybody especially Nicholas Sparks fan. 


Thanks for reading


Rachael 

Is There a Balance When It Comes to Reading?

I was looking through my Goodreads to read list to see how many authors were on my to read shelf that I had never read before. I entered two new to you author challenges this year so I need to read new authors. I got to think if there is ever a balance when it comes to reading.

How do you keep the balance between the authors you love and new authors?

February I read lots of authors I love, but I would like to read new authors in March. It is easier for me to pick up an author I love because I know I'm going to love the book. With new authors I have to take a chance so I end up reading authors I love more often.

How do you balance between short books and long books?

Sure long books are great you can start and be done with them in a couple of days. If you read short books you read more books, but are short book better than long books. Guilty as charged long books usually take me longer to get to because there is a bigger time commitment. Bigger books have something to offer that little books don't. More recently I read Beautiful Creatures and I loved it. It wouldn't have been the same story if it was a shorter book.

So is there a balance when it comes to reading? We all know we are never going to get through our to read shelves, but we hope to. In my opinion reading is a jumbled mess, but as long as you enjoy the books you are reading you have accomplished something today.

Thanks for reading and leave your opinion below.

Rachael

Book Review: Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks (no spoilers)

Book: Nights in Rodanthe
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Publication: June 2003
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Rating 5/5 stars


My friend bought the movie cover as you can see in the picture above, but as with all books I prefer the original cover. I love book to movie transitions, but I believe the original artwork always captures the essence of the book better than the movie covers could ever do.


Summary (from goodreads):
 At forty-five, Adrienne Willis must rethink her entire life when her husband abandons her for a younger woman. Reeling with heartache and in search of a respite, she flees to the small coastal town of Rodanthe, North Carolina to tend to a friend's inn for the weekend. But when a major storm starts moving in, it appears that Adrienne's perfect getaway will be ruined -- until a guest named Paul Flanner arrives. At fifty-four, Paul has just sold his medical practice and come to Rodanthe to escape his own shattered past. Now, with the storm closing in, two wounded people will turn to each other for comfort -- and in one weekend set in motion feelings that will resonate throughout the rest of their lives.


My Thoughts:
I did something strange with this book and never read the summary as I don't with most books by authors I love. When I truly fall in love with an author I know I'm going to like all their books and I don't need to know what they are about. It has been a long time since a book has made me feel like this book did. This book moved me in ways that I can't explain. The book begins by introducing Adrienne and gives a overview of her life. Then it jumps to here present where her daughter is going through a difficult time. She sits down with her daughter to tell her the story of Paul Flanner. Then the book jumps back into Adrienne's past of the stormy weekend she spent with Paul Flanner. I got a sense of peace I can't explain when Adrienne was talking about Paul. I think I enjoyed those parts the most. This book teaches you that it is never too late in life to find love and that there is always a second chance to correct mistakes you have made. The ending of this novel left me shaken. When you truly love a person as Paul and Adrienne did you have to make sacrifices for the one you love. They were the true meaning of that. This book is very short, but in the short span of pages Nicholas Sparks created an absouletly fantastic novel. I can't wait to watch the movie and see if it did this amazing book justice. 


Memorable Quotes 
"Entire years had slipped form her memory, washed away like sandy footprints near the water's edge" (Adrienne) pg 221 in my copy


Thanks for reading


Rachael

Weekend Library Reading (2) Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas Sparks

Weekend Library Reading is hosted by Reading in Winter.

Book: Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas Sparks.

Why I took out this book:  I have to read one nonfiction book every quarter for a class I'm taking called independent reading and I have been wanting to read this book for a number of years. It keeps getting put off so this is my chance.

Summary (from goodreads):

The day the brochure came was a typical one. With a wife and five small children, a hectic schedule, and a new book due to his publishers, Nicholas Sparks was busy with his usual routine. The colorful mailer, however, described something very different: a tour to some of the most exotic places on Earth. Slowly, an idea took hold in Nicholas's mind and heart. In January 2003, Nicholas Sparks and his brother, Micah, set off on a three-week trip around the globe. It was to mark a milestone in their lives, for at thirty-seven and thirty-eight respectively, they were now the only surviving members of their family. And as they voyaged to the lost city of Machu Picchu high in the Andes. . . to mysterious Easter Island. . . to Ayers Rock in the Australian outback. . . and across the vast Indian subcontinent, the ultimate story of their lives would unfold. Against the backdrop of the wonders of the world and often overtaken by their feelings, daredevil Micah and the more serious, introspective Nicholas recalled their rambunctious childhood adventures and the tragedies that tested their faith. And in the process, they discovered startling truths about loss, love and hope. Narrated with irrepressible humor and rare candor, and including personal photographs, Three Weeks with my Brother reminds us to embrace life with all its uncertainties. . . and most of all, to cherish the joyful times, both small and momentous, and the wonderful people who make them possible.

So far I'm 139 pages in and I'm loving this book. I love Nicholas Sparks as an author so reading this book is like seeing what Nicholas Sparks is like as a person and not just an author who writes amazing novels. There will be a book review up on this book soon.

Thanks for reading

Rachael 

Wicked Valentine's Read-A-Thon Progress

Wicked Valentine's Read-A-Thon is hosted by my shelf confessions.

Thursday February 7th

Pg 160 to Pg 268 in Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti (finished book)

Pg 0 to Pg 86 in Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas and Micah Sparks

Total: 176 pages

Friday February 8th

pg 86 to 165 in Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas and Micah Sparks

Total: 79 pages

Saturday February 9th

pg 0 to pg 72 in Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks. (I despise movie covers, but you have to deal with what you got)

Total: 72 pages

Sunday February 10th 

pg 72 to pg 183 in Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks

Total: 111 pages

Monday February 11th

pg 183 to pg 222 in Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks (finished book)



pg 165 to pg 239 in Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas and Micah Sparks

Total: 113 pages

February 12th

pg 239 to 356 in Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas and Micah Sparks

pg 0 to pg 18 in Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Total: 135 pages

February 13th

pg 18 to pg 99 in Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Total: 81 pages

February 14th

pg 99 to pg 179 in Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Total: 80 pages