Friday, January 18, 2013

Wait For Me

Wait For MeWait For Me by Elisabeth Naughton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really, really good book...and free on Kindle too! The story line was great and main characters were all fabulous. There were a few continuity and grammatical errors that could be fixed though. I wasn't a huge fan of all swearing and how many times, "son of a bitch" was (over) used. If a really good editor got their hands on this book, it could definitely be a five star read.

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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Swim

SwimSwim by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Um, okay. Short? Yes. Good enough to draw me into reading, The Next Best Thing? Uh, maybe. Not in a rush though.

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Short-Straw Bride

Short-Straw BrideShort-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cute and clean Christian romance set in the late 1800's Texas. Fun, sweet story with cowboys, love, and faith in the Almighty.

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Friday, January 4, 2013

Fall of Giants (Century Trilogy #1)

Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy #1)Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holy cow. By far the best book I have ever read and I hear it’s not his best!! I am hooked on this guys writing. It's a 985 page, hard back book...very heave to carry around.

The main characters are from Wales, Russia, Germany, and The United States of America. They come from different classes in life, from always hungry thieves to overindulgent earls. Most of their paths cross at some point or another, either before World War 1 starts or during the war itself. Each person is very passionate about the war whether for or against it. In common they all have a fear of what the war will bring them, or worse, take away from them.

The main characters are fictional but they interact with real historical figures, like Woodrow Wilson, Josef Lenin, and Winston Churchill to name a few. The author explains at the end of the book that the interaction may have been fictional, but what the real historical figures said was in fact something they actually did speak or write about.

I can see how this book could anger some people. I don't know whether the book was biased in any way, I will admit I am not as well informed about worldly topics such as World War 1. But the author seemed to have a stereotype for each of the character's home country. Like Russians as alcoholics, thieves, and communists. Germans as hard headed louts, English as pompous aristocrats, and Americans as self ascribed domineering world police. I think there is a bit of truth to each of the descriptions, but there are truly a lot of well intentioned people in the book too.

I learned so much from this book. What I mean is that I found myself putting the book down and looking up more information on my iPad about World War 1. I had no idea what started WW1. I had no idea that Germany and Austria-Hungary were diminished to mere blips on the map after the peace treaty. I feel a bit ashamed that I knew so little about it, but I do know a lot more now. The very basics at least.

His next book, Winter of the World, takes place with the children of the main characters of this book. It sounds like the lead up to World War II. I really look forward to reading it but I need a light reading break in between. It's a huge book; my little wrists need a break!


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Thursday, January 3, 2013

Bible Verse...

A new type of post for me, but I think it's high time. Some Bible verses just hit me in the gut at the right time, really affecting my attitude when it seriously needs some affecting. So here is the verse I want to remember for today:


Wednesday, January 2, 2013

My Favorite Books in 2012...

I read some really, really good books this year. Out of the past four years I've been on Goodreads, I have rated more five star books this year than any other. I read four less books in 2012 than in 2011, but only 62 pages less. I was going to pick five of my favorite books this year, but once I started listing them, I came up with seven that I just had to pick!

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson was by far the best romance I have read, maybe ever. I loved it because it was sweet, it was clean, it was proper, and was so romantic. I could easily read this book again which I never do! Here is my full review here.

The word that comes to mind when I think of The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani, is epic. That is probably the wrong us of the word , but it was such an amazing, thrilling, perfectly written book. Starting from the early 1900's in Italy to mid-century America, it was an incredible journey of a couples life. While I think the cover is pretty, I don't think it fits the book well. Anyway, here is my full review.

Night Road by Kristin Hannah. I still get goosebumps thinking of this story. It is haunting, it is sad, it is about the most heartsick I have ever felt reading a book. I think it is so moving because it could happen to you. Being the child or the parent, it's a worst nightmare. I loved her writing and I couldn't have suggested anything different about this story if I tried. It is perfection. Full review here.

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris is another bit of a history lesson on Japanese Internment camps in the United States. This is the second novel I've read about this huge blemish on the United States past. I shall never be tired of hearing of it though. It amazes me and this book was told with beautiful and powerful writing. Review here.

Divergent by Veronica Roth was the first book in the Divergent series. I have read the second book but didn't like it as much. I found this dystopian themed book to be fascinating and creative. These books are all the rage now, but this one stood out the most to me. Very cool book. Full review can be found here.

I just love MaryLu Tyndall. I have had a few personal words with her via email, she is a cool and as genuine as they come. Veil of Pearls was simply amazing. I love reading early American history, especially her swashbuckling sea adventures. While this book didn't take to sea as much as her others, it was no less amazing. Tackling slavery can be tricky, but she mastered this with perfect insertions of Christianity and romance. Here is my full review. (Oops, it appears I forgot to post this review when I wrote in on Goodreads in November. On here it has a 2013 posting.)

The Fault in our Stars was very hard to read. It was such a mixed bag of literature and a mixed bag of emotions. Some describe this book as far fetched claiming the two main characters, teenagers with cancer, talk way above their maturity level. I noticed that too, but I didn't care. It was a great book with a great story and take note: have tissues handy. Full review here.

NOTE: These books weren't all published in 2012, I simply just read them in 2012. My favorite books that I read. That's all it is!

Here are the honorable mentions, all very, very good, all of these were five star books to me as well:















Veil of Pearls

Veil of PearlsVeil of Pearls by M.L. Tyndall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been wanting to read this for so long and it was worth the wait. This was an excellent book! Taking place in 1800's Charleston, SC, it had a lot to do with slavery. A hard subject to tackle but Ms. Tyndall handled and delivered it with grace.

As with most, if not all, of her books, many lessons were learned and souls were changed by accepting the Lord as their savior. Of course there was an incredibly sweet romance plot that I think may be one of my favorites. It was a hard one to read, thinking about how the southern culture existed before slavery was abolished, but like I said, she did a great job with this book!

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