April reading

These are the books I've read in April:

"Nothing to Lose" by Lee Child- Another Jack Reacher novel. I liked this one. It was kind of tame compared to some of the other Reacher novels I've read, but I think I needed that this month.

"A Map of Days" by Ransom Riggs- This is the 4th book of the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series. It wasn't my favorite of the series. Maybe it's just been too long since I've read the other books, but it kept feeling like Jacob was too old or mature. I liked seeing his friends in his time period and how they adjusted to the current times. :)

 "One Deadly Night" by John Glatt- This is a true crime novel passed to me by my former upstairs neighbor. I don't read true crime usually, so I thought I would give it a try to see if I liked it. I don't. Ha ha. It's kind of told in a "This is the way things seem" or "From so and so's perspective..." but I don't think there's any way around that when you're writing about something like a crime. The book itself probably wasn't bad, just not my cup of tea. This book completed my Keyword Reading challenge for April with the word "Night."

"Plain Truth" by Jodi Picoult-  I have only read two Picoult books but I have heard the endings can sometimes make you mad. This one did (for me). Basically, this is a story about an Amish woman who has been accused of murdering her baby. An attorney agrees to help out a relative by taking this case since the girl is a distant relative and the attorney is concerned she might not be able to handle the "English" court system.   As a condition of her client's bail, the attorney agrees to live on the Amish farm to guarantee that the girl will not flee.
     This book was interesting to me. I liked learning more about the Amish traditions, viewpoints and culture (though I'm not sure if they are all 100% accurate since I don't have much experience.) The story included history, romance, faith, friendship, ethics. In general, it was a good read.

"Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Nora Zeale Hurston- This was the last book of my Book Hive Book Club.   This was yet another book that I probably wouldn't have chosen on my own. It is considered a classic, and that surprised me since I had never heard of it before. I enjoyed this book, written by a black, female author in 1937. It also features a black, female protagonist, which I imagine might have been rare in the 1930s. This speech in this book is written in dialect, which some members of our group struggled with. One woman said that she listened to the audiobook and it was super helpful to her. I would recommend the book, but I know that some of my friends would consider this a tough read.

 

"The Good Neighbor" by Maxwell King       I did not know a lot about Fred Rogers, other than the fact that I watched his show as a  young child. As an educator, a child who grew up watching, a musician and a mom, I found this book very interesting. He and I actually have quite a bit in common. It seems like Fred Rogers was "the real deal." It's not often you find celebrities whose public persona are the same as their personal lives. 

 

"Braver Than You Think" by Maggie Downs-   Where do you dream of visiting if you could?  After her mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis (and downward spiral due to the disease), Maggie decides to take a year traveling to all of those places she and her mother had talked about visiting, but never got the opportunity to visit. In the COVID-19 era we're living in, this book brought me places I hadn't really thought of visiting before. It definitely satiated some of my current wanderlust. This book was good. There were some chapters that I just felt were a little "this giant thing happened, now this is happening, then I did this amazing thing," but I think that that might be hard to avoid after traveling to so many new places in the span of a year. I don't know if I would be brave enough to take the trip she took, though some of the places she visited sounded fascinating. 

 

"The Good Wife" by Clint Richmond- Ironically, after complaining about the last true crime story, guess what popped up in my "to read" pile? The good news is that this wasn't as bad as the last one. I still wouldn't say I enjoyed this book, but I thought it was well written and way more impartial than the last true crime novel I wrote about. 

 

"Crossings" by Alex Landragin- I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley. This book is pretty cool. It's written as 3 short stories that can be read one after the other or in an alternate order (kind of like a Choose Your Own Adventure but with 1 choice of where to go) that jumps between all of the short stories. I'm going to admit that, at the moment, I've only read it in the traditional beginning -> end order, being the rule follower that I am. Each of the short stories has other stories within it. It can be a little hard to follow if you're not paying attention, but I really enjoyed it. I am NOT a re-reader at all, but I do plan to go back and re-read this in the alternate order because I can see how the stories would be interpreted very differently that way. Cool book.

Goodreads Reading Challenge:29/60

Keyword Reading Challenge: 4/12

Burn by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

 

        I live in a 2 family house and our upstairs neighbor, a woman in her 60/70s will occasionally send me the books she finishes. This is how I've gotten most of my James Patterson books (and perhaps how she reads anything by anyone other than James Patterson..lol). This is part of the Michael Bennett series.I enjoyed this one a lot. I don't think I've read any of the previous Michael Bennett books, but I might go find some after reading this. The story lines were simple and there was a lot of humor in the dialogue. There was some violence, but compared to other books that I have read the violence was not super descriptive or gratuitous.

    I've mentioned before that I really like how short Patterson's chapters are because I can devote a few minutes to reading- or, like today, a bunch of hours while I'm hiding from the heat outside. Seriously, I hid inside all day. At lunch time I decided that I would treat the boys to Panera just to get out of the house. However, when I got back in my car after Panera:

 

Gross. I was not designed to live in hot, humid weather. So, we went back home and hid from the sun read a lot. 

      Next up is an advanced reader copy that is set in the Victorian Era. I'm happy to be catching up on my reading challenges:

Goodreads: 24/60

Mount TBR 14/36

Keyword Reading 7/12 

    Now I just need to catch up with cleaning and writing. :/

Something in the Water

 

      I had heard lots of good things about this book so I was excited to get an e-galley from NetGalley. This is the debut book from authot Catherine Steadman, who is also an actress from Downton Abby.  This book was just okay for me. I didn't dislike the whole book but I read a lot of thrillers and found this one to be slightly predictable. 

     The book is about a couple, Erin and Mark, who discover something life-changing on their honeymoon. From reading the cover, I assumed they would find that "something" in the water. I was a little frustrated that the book starts with the main character, Erin, burying a body. I just wanted to get to what they discovered I guess. Coming back to that burial later in the book, I see why she may have put it first, but I think that's what gave most of the book away for me. There were parts of the story I would've liked to go more in depth with. I found myself a little aggravated with the personalities of the couple a few times. 

      This book fulfills my Keyword Reading Challenge for July. (Water)

    Next up. another James Patterson hand me down from my neighbor.

Keyword Reading Challenge- Into Thin Air

    

 I just read this book as part of my Keyword Reading Challenge. It was recommended to me by my school librarian. It's about May 10, 1996- the day that there were the most fatalities on Mount Everest. It follows the experiences of journalist and climber, Jon Krakauer  and his team as they reached the summit and then confronted a storm on his way down. This book was very interesting since I know virtually nothing about high altitude climbing. At points it was heartbreaking to imagine what a lot of these people were going through at the time- and, honestly, some of the survivors are still going through or processing. I also was unaware of the preparation and risks associated with climbing Everest. I would recommend this if you like biographies or non-fiction.

Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan

Our state has school vacation this week. So, what do I do? Finish the book I'm reading on the first free night. Finish my next book the next morning. I love having time to read. I've also gotten 1 letter written. I have a goal to write 2 more tonight.

       I received this book from NetGalley so I was a little surprised to see that it had been published in 2011. It won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Children (2012). It is about a boy who lives in Chang'An China but decides that he'd like to join a caravan on the Silk Road in an effort to learn more about his father, who had been killed by bandits before his birth. Along the way, he helps take care of the animals in the caravan and is charged to help care for a princess that the caravan has been assigned to deliver to her new husband. 

     To be 100% honest, I don't have a lot of experience with Asia or Asian culture. I really enjoyed learning more about the silk road, different cultures and nomadic life. I am definitely passing this book to both of my sons to read. I will also ask our school librarian if she knows this book yet. I would highly recommend it.  Thanks to NetGalley.

     I am using this book as my Keyword Reading Challenge for February. The keyword I used for this book is "and." I'm going to go search my tbr pile to see if I have any other ones that might fulfill the February keywords.

        

Reading Challenges 2018

     I finished all of my reading goals in 2017! Unfortunately, I got absolutely no input on my reading challenges for 2018. So, I'm playing it safe and just going with what I enjoyed. I have other goals for myself in 2018 but might take it month by month instead of making crazy year long lists for myself. Here are the 3 reading challenges I would like to complete in 2018.

Mount TBR Challenge:


   Last year, I challenged myself to get to the top of Mount Blanc- reading 24 books from my TBR pile. This year I will attempt to climb Vancouver, which has 36 books.

The Monthly Keyword Challenge:

   You may remember that I attempted this challenge last year, but the person who hosted the challenge gave up her blog. (Thank Claudia for all the hard work you did if you are reading this.) Luckily, Bev at My Reader's Block decided to host this challenge this year. So, I'm in again. Here's the list of words I have to work around.
 
You'd be surprised how difficult this is sometimes, especially if I'm trying to pick from my TBR pile.

I'm upping my Goodreads challenge by 10 books this year. So, in 2018, I'd like to read a minimum of 60 books. I would also love to make some new friends on Goodreads, so if you are a member and would like to meet some new people, send me a message and I will add you as a friend.

   How did you do on your 2017 goals? Do you have any books that you've recently read that you are excited about? How about any book releases coming up that you can't wait for? 

My Brilliant Idea (and How it Caused my Downfall)

 

     This is another book that has been on my TBR shelf for too long. I'm reading it for my Mount TBR challenge as well as my Keyword Reading Challenge (My).  I actually felt badly when I picked it up to read because I saw that Goodreads had sent it to me as an advanced reader copy, but the book was published June 2016. So, I apologize for the delay.    This book is about a boy named Jack Dawson, nicknamed Jackdaw, who comes up with an idea to create an app that would prevent you from getting in trouble for daydreaming at school. The only problem is that he doesn't know how to program an app, and the only person who knows at his school is a strange girl named Elsie. In order to get what he wants, Jackdaw makes a series of deals and comes up with schemes to get each deal to work. Unfortunately, many of his plans are hindered by outside forces and don't go exactly how he planned. 

      I gave this book 3/5 stars on Goodreads. This book is geared towards teens but I could tell right away that it was not written by an American author, so I'm not sure if teens here would immediately connect with the book. I think if my son read this book, he wouldn't know what some of the slang meant.  Also, one of the ideas that Jack has is to trick a boy into getting naked in front of a girl, which isn't the most edifying thing for me to pass on to my kids. It fits in with Elsie's weirdness, but wasn't an idea I liked in a book younger kids might be reading. There were some sections that were pretty humorous. As a person who works with teens, I liked Jackdaw's convictions that his "good ideas" are brilliant and his sense of humor.

Life Without Limits

 

     Like some of the other reviews I've read, I really wanted to like this book a little more than I did. I have heard about Nick Vujicic and was really wanted to learn about his story and life. He is a man who was born without any limbs. He does have a small left foot and a very tiny right foot. The book tells about his life but is more focused on motivating people and explaining the power of God in his life. I am a Christian, so this message is incredibly important to me as well, but I just expecting something different in this book. This book could be a powerful giver of hope to someone going through trials or people who would like to learn more about faith in God.  

A Field Guide to Awkward Silences by Alexandra Petri

   

      Although I am not most original person in the world, I really appreciate how odd and quirky some people are. Maybe this is one of the reasons I became a middle school teacher? I can handle and appreciate awkward sometimes; most times in fact.  This book made me laugh a lot. This is a collection of essays written by Alexandra Petri- whom I think I would have a lot of laughs with. (Provably with me smiling and laughing while not being brave enough to go along with her weirdness- or vice versa.)
       Occasionally, when someone finds out that I penpal, they will say something like, "Oh, you penpal? Like in writing letters with paper and stuff? That's weird cool." Then they run. Ha ha. No, they just smile and look at me strangely. I think Petri has gotten that look many times too. The book tells many awkward moments or times that she has just realized that things were different for her than for some other people. I enjoyed reading her adventures. (Timmy REALLY enjoyed some of her puns.)
   I would recommend this to anyone who might want a laugh. Definitely some great nerd material in there too- Jeopardy, Star Wars, puns, etc. 
     This book was also great for my reading challenges- It was in my to be read pile and the Monthly Keyword for March (Sillence).

Old Fox Deceiv'd by Martha Grimes

 

   Well, I have found the first book of the year that I didn't like.  Why didn't I like it? Here are a few reasons:

1) The murder in the book happens in the first chapter. I found that I still didn't care who the murderer was by about 200 pages in. I think I need some more of an emotional investment in the victim.

2) I wasn't too invested in any of the characters. 

3) Maybe I'm just not up to date with my British names/vocabulary? 

  

    There was just something about this book I could not get into. Originally, I wondered if it might have been because the book was the 2nd book in a series, but the book didn't seem to reference too much about any previous cases.

     This book also fulfilled another book for the February Keyword Reading Challenge (Deception). Up Next: A Field Guide to Awkward Silences (Silence) by Alexandra Petri

Reading Challenges:

Monthly Keyword Reading Challenge: 2/12

Goodreads Challenge-11 /50

Mount TBR- 7/24

Sparks and Shadows by Kendrick von Schiller

 

     I won this autographed book from Goodreads a while back.(In addition to that, the author was super sweet and included a little note to me in the package.) This beautiful cover has been calling to me from my "to be read" shelf for a while. I wasn't sure what I would think of the book since I don't really read too much fantasy. I really enjoyed it.

    Sparks and Shadows is about a girl, Fura Feier, who finds herself homeless after an explosion takes the life of her family. She is taken in by Apallo and a group of people she works with at a local Renaissance festival, she finds herself in a whole new world- literally.  She finds herself questioning where she belongs and who she really is as she finds herself on the run with Kiyani, a man who is many ways her opposite, but seemingly her only "friend." She discovers that the tale of the Sect of Seven, telling of 7 lords of elemental magic who rule the world together in harmony, has been thrown out of balance when the Nyte Fyre prophecy, declaring that one will rule over all seems to be beginning.

     I liked this book a lot. I really enjoyed the world of Izandüre. As a person who doesn't read a lot of fantasy, I enjoyed the creativity of each realm and letting my imagination picture each place.  There were a few interactions between Kiyani and Fura that got a little repetitive, but I think that those recurrences helped develop some character traits of both.  There were also a few characters I would've liked to learn more about, like Rhyne, but I'm wondering if I will see more of him in book 2.  I would like to read the second book of this series when it comes out. Thanks for the giveaway.

Reading Challenge Updates:

Keyword Reading Challenge: 2/12

Mount TBR: 5/24

Goodreads Challenge: 7/50

    

The Land of Stories

The Land of Stories- The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

  

    On a recent trip to Barnes & Noble, Timmy and I saw this book.  I immediately recognized Chris Colfer's name as the author and realized that he was the actor who played Kurt on Glee. I didn't know that he was an author as well. Tim ended up buying the book and when he was done with it, he told me I should read it.So, you'll get a 2 for 1 deal- Tim's thoughts and my own. 

     Timmy's review- "The Land of Stories is about 2 children who fall into The Land of Stories. They have to find a certain spell to get back to their world. I liked it a lot because it was exciting and suspenseful. I would recommend it to 12-14 year olds."

     My thoughts- Overall, I enjoyed the book. If you have seen Into the Woods, it is very much like that. The Wishing Spell, is a spell that will grant any wish.  In order to do the spell, certain items must be collected. The items are found throughout the kingdoms in the Land of Stories. The 2 kids in the tale- Alex and Conner- are twins who are very different from each other. (I often chuckled at Conner's sarcastic comments.) In addition to the challenge of the quest to find each item, they are also under pressure since the spell can only be used twice and this would be the second time. Oh, I forgot to mention that the Evil Queen is also seeking to perform the Wishing Spell.

      There were some parts of the books that I found a little predictable but I enjoyed the backstories of many of the fairy tale characters. There were a few unexpected twists too.It was entertaining throughout most of the book but I enjoyed the end chapters the best.  I think many people who enjoy fairy tales would like this book. 

Reading Challenge updates:

Keyword Reading Challenge 1/12 (2 books for January-)

Goodreads Challenge 3/50

Mount TBR challenge 2/24

January Keyword Challenge Book Review- The Death of Sweet Mister

    In January, the keywords for the 2017 Keyword Reading Challenge were: Court, Fall, Of, Way Deep, and Thousand. I took all books with any of those words out of my "to read" pile" and ended up reading The Death of Sweet Mister by Daniel Woodrell.

  

 The Death of Sweet Mister is about a 13 year old boy named Morris Akins, nicknamed Shug by his mother and names like "Fat boy" by his mother's boyfriend.  It tells what life was like for Shug, growing up in the Ozarks surrounded by adults who are bad moral influences on him. Glenda, his mother, is an alcoholic who is in an abusive relationship with a man named Red,  who may or may not be Shug's father. Red is a career criminal with an addiction to anything that can seem to give him a high- booze, prescription pills, gambling, drugs, etc.    Shug is often brought along on these criminal escapades and witness to many events that he shouldn't have been, "Men stuff."  Life is bad, but changes when a man named Jimmy Vin Pearce shows up in a green Thunderbird and develops an interest in Glenda. 

     This book is hard to say that I "liked" because of the subject matter. I thought the writing was good and I know that it has been read in many book clubs. I just found it to be bleak and depressing. I Not the cheeriest way to start 2017. I gave it 3/5 stars on Goodreads because I thought it was written well, despite the story.  I'm not sure I would recommend it to anyone.   American author, Dennis Lehane, wrote a foreword in this edition of the book and he says:

     "Most of us remember parts of ourselves that didn't survive adolescence. At some point, to make our way in the world, we did as the Good Book suggested and put away childish things. And so it is in   The Death of Sweet Mister, where the death in question is not physical. In some ways, though, it's worse. It's the death of the "sweet," the death of the soul, the end of anything approximating childhood or innocence." (xi) 

Progress in The Monthly Keyword Reading Challenge: 1/12 months completed 

Progress in MOUNT TBR Challenge 1/24 books

    

2017 Reading Challenges

     I have decided on the reading challenges that I'm going to take part in next year. I'm going to do a few of them.


1. Keyword Reading Challenge hosted by My Soul Called Life     

 

 For this challenge, I need to read at least 1 book per month with the following words in the title:

---

Here Are Your 2017 Keywords 

JAN- Court, Fall, Of, Way, Deep, Thousand
FEB- And, Rose, Promise, Every, Deception, Blazing
MAR- Shall, Go, By, Silence, Her, Saga
APR- From, Trigger, Tale, His, Crown, Mist

MAY- Four, Wind, All, Fury, Days, Shade
JUN- Without, Know, Good, Watch, One, Have
JUL- Before, Final, All, Freedom, Life, Dream
AUG- Sun, Infinite, Big, My, Wherever, Most

SEP- Sand, From, Between, Ever, Reasons, Clash
OCT- Darker, You, Ashes, Out, House, Sea
NOV- Place, War, Heart, Why, Give, Meet
DEC- Forget, Twilight, Only, Crystal, On, Will

---

    This will definitely make me choose my books from my to-be-read pile rather than randomly pick one. (I'm a little OCD about this. I have my quirky methods, which is why my books are always so random. Matt has made fun of me for years about this.)

2. Mount TBR Reading Challenge hosted by MY READER'S BLOCK

My personal goal is: Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s

   In this challenge, I am supposed to choose books from my "To be read" pile, which is currently a bookshelf... plus a really tall pile on my bedroom floor. I would estimate that I have 100 books in there currently. I think 24 is a noble number considering I'm going to be tackling a few challenges at once. 

 

3. My personal Goodreads challenge will be to read 50 books over the course of the year.