Recent Readings

Let's start with The Historian, Mini recommended it to me and since it was about Dracula I was on board, plus she has a way of getting you all fired up about anything she's interested in. Her passion is super infectious, one of her many wonderful qualities. Anyway, this book is about the connection between Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. You follow a couple of historians on their journey to find the truth behind this theory. I was consumed by the idea and the way the story unfolded was so interesting. I had just finished the first two books in the Friday Night Knitting Club series and the writing was so poor that I was eating up every word, sentence and paragraph in this book. Unfortunately after about 2/3 of the way through my interest peaked when I hit quite a slow section, it was tethered in again but ultimately met it's fate in the end. I wasn't as pleased with the ending as I was the beginning and middle but I do feel like I got a better picture of the Balkans, as this is where the majority of the book is set. At least there was quite a feeling of accomplishment after I closed this 642 beast.

Next up we have the Last Song. I was going on a trip and I wanted an easy book that I could get caught up in and I knew I would find that in Nicholas Sparks. I figured after an intense book, jam packed with intrigue and history, I deserved a break. I definitely found solace in the Last Song. I was hooked at once, getting attached to the characters right away. I love Sparks' character development, you just want be a part of these people's lives. His love affairs consume you and he always seems to have someone that you gain a soft spot for, this time around it was the dad. It becomes a bit tragic but not before learning the lesson of unconditional love. I feel like Christianity always has a way of peaking into his books and even though it's not the main point, I still feel like I can gain something out of it. This book left me in tears, seriously, I was balling like a small child who just found out Santa isn't real but I had a smile on my face in the end. Great book overall. :)


Have you heard of The Hunger Games Trilogy yet? It's supposed to be the new teen craze. They are making movies so naturally I had to get on board. I consumed these! The first two books are fantastic and the last one left me wanting but it wasn't entirely bad, just not as good as the first two. It's about a post-apocalyptic life where 13 districts are run by a capital who keeps a majority of the populace in poverty. When district 13 organized a rebellion they were destroyed by the capital and as a warning/punishment to the other districts they created the Hunger Games, this is where one girl and one boy tribute, between the ages of 12-18, from each district are chosen to fight to the death. Pretty intense huh? I thought oh, it's a teen series it won't get that gruesome, I was wrong. There were times when my jaw would drop, I mean it's not super gory or anything but just not something I would expect to read in this genre. That being said, it was fascinating. Very original and clever. I have already lent the book out and my husband is in the process of reading them as well, at my request of course. ;)

I was really loving how the last couple books sucked me in so I decided to go for it again with another Nicholas Sparks, Nights In Rodanthe. My mom said she loved this and has been asking me to read it, so I did. It helped that Brooke happened to be giving it away for free. This book, only being a couple hundred pages, went really quick. Another love story with loss but a lesson to be learned. I wasn't a huge fan of this one, it was good, great writing but since it was so short I didn't really connect to the characters like I do in most of his other books. I would recommend it to someone for a plane trip or a pool side venture but it's not high on my list.

Now I am working on Talent Is Overrated. Dom asked me to read it, it's been hard transitioning from fiction to this........management genre book? I am not exactly sure what genre it is but Dom got a lot out of it so I thought it might be worth a looksy. I really like Colvin's writing style, he is able to keep my attention by giving relevant examples to the point he is trying to make, even though I don't agree with his thesis which is, "That the greatest achievers succeed through endless 'deliberate practice,'" as opposed to talent ever being a definitive factor. I definitely agree that practice makes perfect and that those who don't show a talent for whatever they are trying to accomplish can achieve just as much as a "natural" through hard work but I still think talent plays a part in some people's success. Dom believed this too but I think this book opened up his thinking a little which is why he wants me to read it. I let you know how it turns out.

Phew, that's quite a bit of reading. I wish that I can get more out of my books, I mean, "The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it." ~James Brycewhen. I think in order to do this I need to learn more about literature and how to break it down so that I can retain more from what I read. I should start keeping some notes on my thoughts as well. Maybe you'll benefit from this in the future. What are you reading lately? Please share. :)