books

While I absolutely love having an iPad to read books on I really miss buying books. Whenever I’m at Target I always seem to find myself walking down the book aisle admiring all the pretty book covers. If I had the storage space and money I would buy new books all the time. It’s my dream to redo my office and have Ken build floor to ceiling books shelves on the longest wall available. Although I would then need to buy some more books to fill the shelves…darn!

It’s hard to shop for new Kindle or iBooks to download at times because I really do like to judge books buy their cover. I tend to browse the Top 100 lists and such, but there you find the same authors over and over again. Sometimes I like to find a new author or a unique book that may not be on a most popular list. I find it really helpful to take photos of books when visiting a store and that’s exactly what I did during my last visit to Target. Look at all these beautiful books? Do you recognize any of them? Any recommendations?

Karli loves books as much as me, but I try not too buy too many books for her. We mostly go to the library, usually twice a month to pick out some new books. She constantly picks out books that are a little too hard for her to read. Well she can read them, but it takes forever to finish a book and she likes to read out loud to me. By the time she finishes a 200 page book I am bored to death of the book. I try to make it a rule that the book has to be under 100 pages and if it has a few illustrations here and there even better. I feel like she went from reading fun picture books to these huge chapter books leaving out so many good books in the middle. There are some really cute series of books like Ivy & Bean and Judy Moody that are age appropriate and fun to read.

She picked out some fun books, including some new series of books where we tried to check out just the first book of the series to see if we like it. One thing we like to do (that I did with all my kids when they were younger) is she reads a page and then I read a page. I feel like this really helps with reading fluency and it’s a fun way to spend time together.

The library had a display where you were to answer – What Do You Geek? Karli wrote puppies and of course I wrote Twilight!

I am completely obsessed with all these celebrity cookbooks. Gwyneth Paltrow, Eva Longoria, Sheryl Crow… I want them all. I’ve fallen into the trap of buying cookbooks that end up not having much in them that I would actually cook despite the gorgeous photos. Example: The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Maybe I should give it another run through, but I didn’t find much the first time I leafed through it.

I have a feeling I wouldn’t like Gwyneth’s book – My Father’s Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness as much as I would like to. The reviews are all pretty good so far, but from the looks of it I don’t see my kids liking any of the types of recipes she has to offer.

Eva’s cookbook – Eva’s Kitchen: Cooking with Love for Family and Friends, looks more like my taste. It appears to be more of a family cookbook with everyday simple recipes. I seen her on a talk show and she said her Tortilla soup recipe is her favorite. I finally tried Tortilla soup the other day and it was so yummy! I would love to try to make it myself.

I’m not really a fan of Sheryl Crow, I couldn’t stand her when she was on Cougar Town, but this cookbook – If It Makes You Healthy: More Than 100 Delicious Recipes Inspired by the Seasons, looks pretty yummy! I figure she is cooking for her kids so it must offer some kid friendly meals.

I have a list of some new recipes that Ken found online that he wants me to try. We always have the same meals and end up eating out way to much because of it. We already spend a lot at the grocery store to begin with, but I still think that cooking at home is cheaper than a family of 6 going out to eat. So I am about to embark on a trip to the grocery store to make some of these new meals for my family this week. I’ll be sure to share any recipes that we love and that I manage to get the kids to eat.

I could write another entire post about cooking blogs because boy oh boy are there are ton out there. I find myself clicking on Jessica Seinfeld’s cooking blog- Do It Delicious. I love her sense of humor and her husband Jerry makes some appearances in her videos as well (too funny!!) What I love most about her blog is the amazing list of links to offers in her sidebar to other cooking blogs. They are the best of the best in my opinion. Jessica’s latest post is an interview (video) with Gwyneth Paltrow discussing her new cookbook. You can also see some of the foods in her cookbook, hence the reason why I don’t see my kids liking them too much.

I got a phone call the other day reminding me to play the lottery since I could really use 350 MILLION DOLLARS! Seriously, what would one do with that kind of money? I was thinking about this last night, how nice it would be to have the kids college paid for and to travel and of course paying someone to sneak me into the filming of Breaking Dawn every day! I found myself thinking more about the simple things that would be so nice. Like no longer using a $9 box of hair dye because I feel too guilty spending $100 every 6 weeks to color my hair. Or spending an hour making a grocery list and clipping coupons to try and keep our grocery budget lower than our monthly mortgage! And having more time to read books….there would be lots and lots of reading!!!

(I know a weird subject change…winning the lottery to books, but this is what is happening to me as I age. I can’t keep a straight thought for more than a few minutes!)

I’ve always loved reading. Even when I was a young girl I used to hide under my comforter with a flashlight at night when I was supposed to be sleeping. Typically I don’t read until I am going to bed and then it makes me tired, so I am lucky if I read 30 minutes a day. Unless I find a really awesome book then I will read every spare minute, like I read the first 3 Twilight books in less than a week. Since that series I have yet to run into too many books that I haven’t been able to put down. However I may have found that with a book I started reading yesterday. I was taking a bath and was in there so long reading Ken had to come check on me to make sure I was okay!

I am excited to share that I FINALLY started reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It’s the first book in a Trilogy. For whatever reason I didn’t know that the books were a Young Adult series. Doesn’t say much for my intelligence that my favorite books are written for a younger reader does it? Honestly I think it has more to do with reading books that are REAL fiction, rather than the typical story about a couple getting married, someone cheating, someone getting pregnant, someone has a disease, etc, etc. I won’t get into what the book is about (you can read the many reviews at Amazon), but it is really really good so far!

Prior to starting The Hunger Games, the last book that I read, that I swear took me like 3 months to finish because it was SO boring, was Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner. I was quite surprised that it was so dull because her last book, Best Friends Forever wasn’t too bad. Not one of my favorites, but worth reading. After reading (or should I say- skimming the last several chapters) Fly Away Home, I don’t think I will spend money on another one of her books again.

I was going to read Water for Elephants next since Rob Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon with be releasing the movie soon. But again…it’s one of those books that I know every one raves about, but I as soon as I read the reviews and they started mentioning words like “post-depression era”, my brain checks out because the last thing I want to read is something that resembles a history lesson. And something to do with a circus?? That just doesn’t sound interesting to me. BUT due to Rob, I will be reading this book eventually.

Don’t laugh, but I am also reading the third book by Lauren Conrad (the chic from The Hills), Sugar and Spice: An L.A. Candy Novel. I am about half way through and it’s just like the others, all about back stabbing girls, cheating boyfriends, hanging out in bars and filming their reality show. I think a lot of the material is taken from Lauren’s experiences filming The Hills, which I wasn’t even a fan of! I guess I feel some sort of commitment when I start a book that is part of a series. Gotta keep reading to see what happens.

Other books that I would like to read this year…

Full Dark, No Stars – Stephen King
Caught – Harlan Coben
The Island – Elin Hilderbrand
Seven Year Switch – Claire Cook
Under the Dome – Stephen King
Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls) – Maggie Stiefvater (another young adult series)

Any recommendations or comments on the books I have listed?
What books are on your reading list for this year?

Sliding Into Home by Kendra Wilkinson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kendra’s memoir is the best I have read ever. She writes straight from her heart. It’s almost like sitting down with an old friend and hearing all her dirty little secrets. She leaves nothing to the imagination spilling pretty much everything you’ve probably wondered about in regards to the Playboy mansion and Hugh Hefner. My only complaint would be it seemed she wrote more fine details about her life early on, like teen years and such…but once she got to the more recent years, like after she met Hank- I felt some of the chapters were rushed. I wanted to know more details about their dating and when she found out she was pregnant, stuff like that. Overall though, great entertaining book!

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella by Stephenie Meyer

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Not really worth reading unless you are bored and have nothing else to read. I am obsessed with the Twilight series, but I can’t say I took away too much from this book. Save your money and pick something else.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I seen this book on the top sellers list so many times and I never wanted to read it. I was judging the book by the cover and the title, both which do not do this book justice in my opinion. Also, I had read a blurb about the book being set back in the 1960’s and I just don’t enjoy books set back in time. I instantly think that it is going to be like history class and I hated history class!
I finally decided to give it a try and I was hooked immediately. It is about black maids working for white families back before the Civil Rights movement. Several different maids share their stories of abuse and mistreatment that they have gone through with their various employers. I laughed and cried and really really enjoyed this book.

Uncharted TerriTORI by Tori Spelling

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sadly I have to say that this book was the worst out of all 3 of Tori Spelling’s memoirs. After reading her other books and watching her reality show there wasn’t much in this book that I didn’t already know. I did enjoy the chapter written about how she made amends with her mother..that was touching.
I had bookmarked a page in her book (on my iPad- love the bookmark feature!)about her visit to a Reiki practitioner who helped her deal with her fear of flying among other things. I could relate to what she was told so much that I found myself in tears and thinking- That’s me! That’s me! Tori wrote about how she fears so many things in life, the whole “what if” problem. I have always been this way…so bad that I can not truly imagine what my life will be like 10 years from now. Like I can’t picture it in my mind at all. It causes me to think all kinds of crazy things like does that mean I won’t be here in 10 years? I probably shouldn’t give away what she was told by the practitioner, but it was a light bulb moment for me because what she said is so true! And in result, one of these days I need to write out my “happy ending”.
(sorry, didn’t mean for the review to turn into a therapy session!)

Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first book I have read of Emily Giffin’s and it did not disappoint. The great storyline and characters told a story of two different women and how their lives cross due to a tragic accident. The book flips back and forth from one woman’s point of view to the other, I loved that it was written that way. One of those books that make you think…what would you do?
I just might have check out some of Emily’s other books now.

View all my reviews >>

Should I be shocked that Stephenie Meyer is publishing yet another Twilight book? I just commented the other day how she is milking this series for every last cent. The official announcement was made at her website that a novella named The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner will be released in June of this year. What cracks me up is she basically admits that she never thought she would publish it and that it had been written back in the early days of Twilight. I totally picture her sitting on her couch, feet propped, hands behind her head, thinking…hmmm, I think I’m running low on money and publicity, let me check my dusty old computer files and see what I can dig up. She says it’s her publisher who pushed for the release, which again comes back to making money. Show me the money!!

Come on already Stephenie…how about something NEW!

Although I will admit the fact that the book will be offered as a free download at BreeTanner.com for one month makes me feel a little better. I suppose it does appear as though she isn’t really trying to get more rich off the book. Most people have computers and will be able to download the book for free. Oh and look, she is donating $1 to the Red Cross for each book sold. How sweet. I bet there are still many many Twihard fans that will buy the book as a keepsake to add to their Twilight collections. I will not be one of those people. (Why am I sounding so cynical today? Could be because I am tired, sorry.)

Basically I am complaining and looking forward to reading the free book all at the same time.

For those who may not know Ken and the kids got me a Kindle for Mother’s Day this year. I absolutely love everything about it. I think Amazon.com dropped the price recently too, so for those who love to read it would be a great item to put on your Christmas list! If I had to think of something that I don’t like about it, I would have to say that it bothers me that I don’t know how far I have to go until I am finished with the book. The Kindle will say, 20% completed or whatever, but it’s not the same as holding the book in your hands and knowing how much further you have to go before the book is over or that particular chapter.

I had recently downloaded a few books and I have to admit that they just can’t keep my interest. Let me know if you have read this and if I should keep reading!

1. Mercury in Retrograde by Paula Froelich – boring….

2. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah – just can’t get hooked, although everyone swears this book is amazing

3. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris – what happened to this series?

I was about to give up or at least go back and read New Moon for the 3rd time since the movie is coming out in 31 days!!! Instead, something made me go back through my Kindle to see what else I had to read. I noticed that the last book I read that I really enjoyed was Afraid by Jack Kilborn. I had mentioned that I was reading it after I had downloaded a free e-book by him and Blake Crouch that was truly one of the most disturbing short stories I ever read. I ended up checking out some other books written by Jack Kilborn and I found this digital download for only $1.99 that has 55 short stories – 55 Proof – Jack Daniels and Other Thriller Stories.

It is divided up into sections; Jack Daniels and Friends, Crime Stories, Horror Stories, and Funny Stuff. I skipped ahead to the Horror Stories. Some of these stories are SO disgusting. For example a guy that is trying to break the world record for the number of pull ups he can do. He ends up paying this plastic surgeon who previously lost his medical license to cut off his legs so he would weigh less. When that didn’t work he goes even further with getting rid of body parts….yuck! Another story is about a mother and son who end up feeding off of one another to stay alive. Pretty gross and graphic, but perfect timing for Halloween right? Ken keeps saying he wants to take me to a haunted house because he thinks it’s hilarious how scared I get. I’m a screamer! Anyways, if you have a Kindle or a Sony reader (they sell them at the stores now, like Best Buy and Target) and like scary books – it is totally worth the $1.99!

What the scariest book you’ve ever read?