20 books in 2015- #'s 4 - 7

Well, 2015 is halfway over and I am less than halfway to my goal of reading 20 books this year.   The math teacher in me reasons that I should have been to 10 by now, and at this rate, my goal will not be reached.  A new baby on the way in September also adds a variable that may effect the outcome- BUT- I could still argue that there is plenty of time left to read 13 books if I can average 2.6 books or so for the remaining months.  I'm optimistic.

I'm doing some catching up by posting about books 4 - 7 in one post.  I have been lazy with my writing....again. I'll try to be brief:)

Book #4 was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  I have been a fan of Disney's Alice in Wonderland for a long time but have never read the novel by Lewis Carroll.  The book is delightfully stranger than the film and includes stories and characters that you won't find in the Disney movie.   I admire how Alice can go through this land accepting it as it is.  I think it's always good for us to remind ourselves to never lose our childhood curiosity, or try to hard to be "normal".


Book #5 was STAR WARS: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn.   I have always been a big fan of STAR WARS, but the thought of reading anything from the expanded universe was climbing too high on the geek scale for my taste.  There was a lull a couple months ago where I didn't have any books from my list at home or from the library.  In a moment of weakness, with an assist from Jordan, I took this one up.
This is the first book in a three volume series that takes place after the events of Return of the Jedi.   It took me a couple days to get into the book and get used to the language.  It's much more enjoyable to watch Star Destroyers and Tie Fighters battle X-wings on film than it is to read in a book. (Seriously, listen to this nerd talk!)
  All the characters I love are back and new characters are introduced. Here is the gist of it: There is a new Grand Admiral that is slowly rebuilding the Imperial Empire.  Darth Vader and the Emperor are dead, but the new admiral has help from an evil Jedi that wants to get his hands on Luke and Leia.  Leia and Han are married and expecting twins.  Luke is a more confident Jedi Knight. Lando is still a gambler and Chewbacca is still a wookie. The rebels try to stop the imperials from creating a new war, but are delayed by a group of rogue smugglers that can't decide if they want to help the Rebels or take favor with the new admiral.

Favorite Quote: "A Jedi can't get so caught up in matters of galactic importance that it interferes with his concern for individual people."

Book #6 - The Maze Runner by James Dashner.  After reading The Hunger Games and Divergent series I felt that this book lacked some originality, but it was still entertaining.  Right away you meet Thomas as he enters an area called "The Glade" that is surrounded by four walls and full of  young boys of various ages.  Thomas is about 16. He has no memory of his life before that, but he has a gut feeling that he is supposed to be beyond the walls.  Thomas quickly learns the social structure of his new home and tries out several jobs to find his place in the community, but it is the job of a runner that he desires most.  It is the runners responsibility to navigate the mazes that surround the four walls of the glade and find a way to escape.  They must return before the walls to the glade close at night or they most likely will not survive-for various reasons. It's a dangerous and tedious job because the walls of the maze change everyday, it's like starting new.  Then the first girl arrives in the glade and everything goes crazy.  Her memory is gone as well, except for the fact that she knows Thomas.

Book #7- Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.  What a perfect book to cure my Gone Girl hangover.  Gillian Flynn is quickly becoming my favorite mystery/thriller writer. I hope she writes more books soon.  Sharp Objects is about a young reporter, Camille, that travels back to her small hometown in Missouri to investigate the murders of two young girls. Camille hasn't been home in years and isn't on the best of terms with her strict mother, or her teenage half-sister.  The more Camille tries to investigate the murders, the more haunted she becomes with her own past and vices.  She begins to identify with the victims and a horrible reality about her family soon comes to light.  It's hard to describe the book with out giving too much away.  If you liked Gone Girl I recommend this one.  The graphic language makes it a little hard to read at times, but you can't resist trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

Favorite Quote: " It is impossible to compete with the dead. I wished I could stop trying." -Camille

20 books in 2015- #3 The Devil in the White City

I actually finished this book about a month ago but have been delayed in writing about it.  Maybe that's because I'm not really sure what to say about it.  I liked it, and I didn't.  It was good, but wordy. Triumphant, yet dark.  The Devil in the White City had been on my list for about a year.  I was thinking it was a work of fiction but once I got my hands on it I saw it is actually a true story.  So I guess I was expecting something different and this is why I'm not sure how I feel about it. 

The Devil in the White City is about 2 people during the Chicago World's Fair.  One being the chief architect behind the Worlds Fair of 1893, Daniel Burnham.  The other being a young doctor named H.H. Holmes that killed several women visiting the city at that time. 

The entire time I was reading I was expecting these two to meet, but they never did.  Several chapters go into GREAT detail about the construction and planning of the World's Fair (Chicago residents called it the White City).  I was very impressed with this on the one hand and I learned a lot, but on the other, I was exhausted by all the people you had to learn and the terms and locations-it was too much.  I remember going to Chicago for a day trip when I was in the 9th grade.  Unfortunately, the only things my group wanted to do was shop and get dinner at Hooters (yes, quite unfortunately).  I would love to go back now and see some of these places now that I know the architect behind them.

The other chapters go into GREAT detail about this Dr. Holmes and his "murder castle." Dr. Holmes presented himself as a gentlemen.  He was handsome, personable ,and obviously very manipulative.  He had bought a property that rented rooms out to people that were in Chicago for the fair.  He made sure the apartments on the top floor couldn't hear anything coming from the basement which was well equipped with gas chambers and dissection tables.  Most of his tenants were young girls coming to the city in search of adventure. I hate to think about all the girls that lost their life to this psycho, and their families that never realized they wouldn't see their daughter or sister ever again.

Reading this book also reminded me why I like to read actual books.  I like to physically turn the pages and sometimes they smell really good.  I also came across this shopping list that was left by a previous reader.  A story within a story!  Who was this reader? Did they find their perfect Christmas tree? What pie were they going to make with the crust? Surely the peas weren't going into the pie.  Are they expecting company for the holidays? Is this why they need the aspirin?

I wasn't expecting a true story when I put this on my list, but it wasn't so bad.  It took me awhile to read though because some chapters were hard to get through-either because they were creepy or I got lost in all the architectural jargon.  But I was fascinated at the amount of time and dedication it took for Mr. Burnham and his team to make this fair a success.  I enjoyed learning the history of the fair and the people involved, but Dr. Holmes story distracted me from that a bit.  I found it hard to celebrate Mr. Burnham's achievement knowing Dr. Holmes was across town making his mark as one of America's first serial killers.  Let me leave you with this quote from Dr. Holmes.

"I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing — I was born with the "Evil One" standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered into the world, and he has been with me since."- H.H. Holmes

  

20 books in 2015- #2 Reconstructing Amelia

I finished Reconstructing Amelia in less than 48 hours.  I actually got up at 7am on a Saturday because I couldn’t wait to pick up where I left off.  I guess that either makes me a nerd or it makes this a really good book.  It’s a fairly easy read and I always love a good mystery.  It's a story about a mother and daughter that only have each other.  They are close and love one another dearly, but they are both hiding things from one another.

Kate is a single mother that is also a dedicated lawyer.  She works hard to provide the best for her daughter, Amelia, but this does sacrifice her time at home with her.  Amelia is smart, pretty, and kind.  She is involved in several school activities, volunteers consistently, and is proving to be a gifted writer.  Overall, she is a good kid.  Which is why Kate is taken aback when Amelia’s school calls her at work and requests that she come and pick Amelia up.  The administrator says that Amelia has been suspended for cheating.  

Kate leaves work and heads for the school, not knowing that what she will find there will be something more  heartbreaking than cheating.  Upon her arrival at Amelia’s school, she discovers that her daughter has jumped off of the roof, killing herself.  

Of course, this leaves Kate in shock and disbelief.  Amelia was happy.  Why would she do such a thing?  A few days after Amelia’s death Kate’s cell phone receives a text from a blocked number that says “Amelia didn’t jump.”

WHAT?!

Kate starts to go through Amelia’s texts, social media accounts, and emails and works to put the puzzle that was Amelia back together.   Slowly she begins to uncover secrets that will lead to the true cause of Amelia's death while Kate must face some of her own secrets too. 

The subject matter is sad and, being a mother, I couldn't help put myself in the story and think "What if this was Shadow?"  I wanted so badly to learn the truth about Amelia's death just like Kate did.  I couldn't sleep not knowing!  

After I finished this book I was sure of two things: 1.) I am so glad I went to high school before Twitter, Facebook, and iPhones.  Not because I had anything to keep secret from my parents, but because they are avenues that teenagers abuse these days to degrade and humiliate their peers. Something that comes up often in the book  2.)  I am so grateful for my Christian upbringing.  I’m NOT saying bad things like this won’t happen to Christians.   But I do think surrounding yourself with family and friends that value building you up  can help anyone overcome demons that try to steal your joy. 

 

20 books in 2015 - Unbroken

I haven't been on here in a long time. I couldn't even remember what my username and password was to get into this blog.  Shameful.  It's not that I haven't had anything to write about, or anything to say.  I've had several moments where I tell myself " hey I should write about that", and I guess I chose to take a bath, or sit on the couch, or eat a cookie instead. 

I could go on and write updates about what has been going on with the Smith's over the past year but I won't.  We are good and blessed. 

On New Year's Day I was reading on the couch with my blanket and my coffee and I decided that I would set a goal to read 20 books this year.  I thought I could get through 2 a month, but with school, and all the TV shows I like to watch, that is hard.  So 20 seemed like a good number.  When I told Jordan what I was going to do, he said "You should blog about that."

YES! I WILL!

So here it is.  Book number one- Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand

I have a huge soft spot in my heart for America's history and veterans (past, present, and future.) I'm pretty sure if you took a picture of my DNA-most of it would be red, white, and blue.  I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie.  I usually like to do this with all movies that are based off of books.  I wanted to know this man's story before I saw it through Hollywood's eyes.

I finished it in 3 days and can I just say, wow.  The book is about Louie Zamperini- an Italian-American, and former Olympic athlete, that served during WWII.  His plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean and he was stranded at sea for 47 days.  When he finally reached land he was captured by the Japanese and held prisoner for almost 2 1/2 years and once he was finally safe home, he was tortured by other demons.

The book is page after page of bad luck, dirty POW camps, brutal Japanese officers, death, destruction, blood thirsty sharks, horrible diseases, and I couldn't put it down.  Louie had a survivors spirit that literally could not broken.  But what makes his story truly remarkable is when he realizes that it was God's divine intervention that kept him alive-when he really had all the odds against him.  After all the nightmares about the war, with God's help, Louie was finally able to find peace and use his experience to bring others to know Jesus.

When I closed the book I had a few tears in my eyes.  I was so grateful for his sacrifice and rejoiced with him as he knew he belonged to Christ, just like all of us do.  His story reminded me how selfish and ignorant I, and all of us, can be at times.  In fact, today has been verrrrry cold.  If you know me you know I don't do well with cold.  But one of my first thoughts as I got out of the car was "at least you aren't in a shack away from your family, starving, with only newspaper to cover you like Louie was."