Ape House

I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

I loved the plot and learning about the circus. However, due to a few scenes with prostituting circus women with tassels, it falls in my "kind of embarrassed that I finished this book" category.

There you go.

So of course, I was intrigued by her next novel, learning about more animals, but nervous about the content. The apes are definitely the ones getting the most action in this book though, which is easier to handle. The plot definitely wasn't as good, but I did enjoy learning about this species that shares so much DNA with us.

Book Club

I am finally in a book club!

It's kind of been a dream of mine. I love to read. I love to get new ideas of what to read. I love to talk with people who love to read and hear what they're reading.

When we moved down South, I tried to join the local group of Mormon women who had a book club but it was always the same night as W's classes and my church meetings. (Ironic, huh? But most of the women went to the other area congregation) Anyway.

It's been two years and several of us started up a book club.

I love that it's just a bunch of women. It isn't under the auspices of the church. That sounds horrible, but it makes it a bit easier to read books that may have some romance (gasp!) or intrigue (gasp again!). And it makes us feel less obligated to read books published by Deseret Book or written about church history.

The first month we made it easy and discussed the book most of us were already reading-the third installment of the Hunger Games, the Mockingjay.

While I am in the camp of Hunger Game lovers, I must say that the third book disappointed me a bit. It felt like she jumped from one action scene to the next just trying to squeeze it all in and tie up all the loose ends. I like neatly wrapped packages but I also like to imagine for myself what the future of the characters will be like. Either way still a page turner and one I would recommend.

The second month our group read The Help.

I really enjoyed this book but I already blogged about it during the summer when I read it visiting my hubby in DC. I highly recommend this book. Our discussion was VERY enlightening when I discovered there were people who think prejudice no longer exists!!! What???

Our third month, I chose the book.

I tossed and turned over my choice! I had no idead it would be so much pressure to recommend a book to people. I chose one of my favorites though-wanting a light, fun read for during the busy holiday months-and I think I nailed it! If you haven't read the Sugar Queen, do it! And then read all of the rest of Sarah Addison Allen's books!!

This month, the book is the Island. I actually had to read this month! I had read all the other books before-now I had almost 500 pages of work to do! Plus, I was the first one to request the SOLE copy in all of Central Arkansas and so I had to read like the wind so I could pass along the library copy!

What's funny to me is that apparently there are several "Island" books because when people hear that's what I was reading, they ask about the movie. Yeah, not that one. This is a book I am sure I would never have found on my own which is why I love book clubs!!

I would give this book 3.5/5 stars. I really liked it. There were a few predictable parts in the romance, but it was a fascinating story and definitely kept me wanting to know how all the pieces were going to fit together! Here are the things I loved.

First, it's set in Greece. I want to go to Greece now. I love Mama Mia (don't judge me!) and I kept placing it in the beautiful scenery and yes, humming the lovely Abba songs (even though it was definitely the wrong era!) Strangely, I also kept channeling the people and scenery of "A Walk in the Clouds". Remember that movie? With Keanu Reeves? Again, don't judge me!

Second, it's set in the WWII era. I love books about this era. I love the history, the way people lived, everything.

Third, it's about leprosy. Yes, that's right, leprosy. I learned a LOT about leprosy from this book. Did you know there are two kinds? A slower, life long kind and a faster-progressing kind that is what most of us think of? Did you know that there was a leper colony in Greece where lepers were sent to live during WWII with its own government, economy and life? Did you know when leprosy was cured?

It was a fascinating story.

I'll try to keep up from now on. Maria Mae is choosing our next book, so I have a few guesses as to what it will be!

Happy Reading!

My Sister's Keeper

My eyes are still puffy from reading and crying! I have been wrapped up in Jodi Picoult's, My Sister's Keeper, for a week or so. It was recommended to me by several blogging friends and I found a copy at my Grandma's house a month ago. However, needless to say, I haven't gotten to it right away! Been a little busy!

It was a wonderful book! Fascinating and thought-provoking and with a major twist at the end that I didn't see coming. It's about a girl who was conceived so that she could donate cord blood to her older sister who has Leukemia. However, she has spent her life as a donor for her sister without ever being a part in the decision-making so she sues her parents for medical emancipation. The author swore more in her book than I was expecting, but otherwise, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed seeing the issue from so many different perspectives and understanding where each one of them was coming from. I loved that while, it wasn't a happy ending in the traditional sense, it was the perfect resolution and brought peace to an awful situation! Read it!!

The Word on My Street

I recently read Eat Pray Love. I liked it for the most part. There was some swearing in the beginning and then I thought it was gone and a few more things reappeared in the end. I enjoyed her writing style and I liked the idea of her journey. One of my favorite parts was when she was in Rome and talked about "the word on the street". Her friend described it as every city and every person having "a word on the street". I've been thinking ever since what the word on MY street is. I'm still not sure.

Today it is FRAZZLED! That's the word today. We have the realtor coming on Wednesday to take pictures of the inside of the house and I'm NOT ready!!!! I'll get there though! Wish me luck! (but my visits to blogdom may be less frequent)

The Thirteenth Tale

This was a compelling, suspenseful, engrossing book that anyone who loves to read will be wrapped up in. It was exciting, sometimes grotesque, fascinating, surprising, and I really enjoyed it. It was about the true life story of a mysterious author who had kept her life beginnings secret for years. It was full of twists and turns. Some of them predictable, some of them not. In the movie that played in my mind of what I was reading, I kept imagining a Tim Burton-esque, Edward Scissorhands, Series of Unfortunate Events-type setting with dark colors and strange characters. But very interesting!!

Eclipse Book Review

I just finished! I had to patiently wait for a month until my birthday to get my own copy of Eclipse ! I loved it! My favorite book in the trio so far is still Twilight, but I love all of Stephenie Meyer's books. I love the love story, I loved the unlikely alliance, I can't wait for more! I love how they have given a whole new twist on vampires and werewolves and I love how she keeps it clean by inventing "obstacles" so that I don't have to worry about reading them. It's a "quick" (for 600 pages) read but clever, suspenseful, fun and deep. I like how she's developing her characters. They're growing up, even the immortal, ageless ones! The second book, New Moon, spent a lot of time with everyone depressed, so it was a nice change to still have conflict but with everyone still in love. Once again, I hope there are more!!!

Book Review: Twilight

I just finished Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I had read some good reviews on it and found out she graduated from BYU which usually ensures a clean read. Then I stumbled on a blog of a lady who is, well, an obsessed fan and thought it was at least worth a library rental. So I ordered it from the library. But I didn't get around to reading it and it's a thick book! I got the reminder that it was due in two days and realized I needed to get crackin'!

Well, two days later, I can say I really enjoyed it! It is about a girl who falls in love with a vampire. Seriously. And it's a whole new take on vampires that I really enjoyed. It's convincing and suspensful and exciting without being too scary (I've had many sleepless nights thanks to Mary Higgins Clark and Law & Order). I've already ordered the sequel from the library. While the little one has been sick, I devoured that book and over 500 pages of Harry Potter 5! Anyway, it's a fun read!