Something Blue.

You know what I hate? Local news. Not only do the weather people lie to me, but all the news is so scary/depressing. Every time I'm over at my Mom's house or click it on at the gym it makes me feel horrible. If someone is getting killed then someone was robbed and stabbed... or a kid who is training for his first iron man was hit by a car. I seriously can't watch the stuff. The other day I heard a story about a toddler who held its baby sibling under water in the tub because it wouldn't stop crying. That topped the list of things I didn't need to hear about ever. When I watch this stuff it makes me nervous to be out in the world. I'm not naive, I know bad stuff happens, but I guess I don't see the use in watching all the bad stuff that happens. It just creeps into my sugar dreams and makes them sugar nightmares.

How about enough ramblings and I give ya some book updates?!

011. Dead Reckoning- Charlaine Harris

Do you watch 'True Blood,' on HBO? You should. It is like a grown up 'Twilight.' It is still silly, but oh so addictive. The next best thing would be to read the books that the show is based on. But I will warn you, after about book 6 things start to feel a little stale. The weird fantasy aspect gets a little too weird even for someone like me who read the first 6 in about a week. I guess I'm just kind of bored with this series, but I will probably keep on reading them because they are so easy to get through and I have to know who Sookie is meant to be with!

012. Something Blue- Emily Giffin

I really really enjoy Giffin's writing. 'Something Borrowed,' 'The Heart of the Matter,' and 'Love the One You're With" are near the top of my chick-flick-best-ever-book-list. They are the type of books that get you hooked, make you stay up way too late at night, then make you cry while your reading them during your lunch break. Giffin sometimes weaves characters from past books into other novels, 'Something Blue' is the only one that is a direct sequel. I have had this book on my shelf for years because when I finished reading 'Something Borrowed,' I couldn't fathom reading a book based on the character of Darcy. After a few years I finally took the plunge and I am oh so glad that I did. I like this book. Not as much as the first three of Giffin's novels that I've read, but definitely a page turner.

013. Baby Proof-Emily Giffin

After I finished 'Something Blue,' I knew there was one last Giffin book I had to check out. Sadly, 'Baby Proof,' just wasn't as good as her other books. I felt like it was rolling right along until the end when things get wrapped up in much too tidy of a bow. The major issues of the book seem to get swept under the rug to preserve a happy ending. I was disappointed with this one.

014. The Engine 2 Diet- Rip Esselstyn  

I picked up this book because I had the secret idea that after I read it (and it was good) I would maybe be able to sneak it into my Dad or Brother's book pile and turn them into vegetarians like the firemen of engine 2. But my Dad saw me reading it on our camping trip, asked what it was and immediately acted uninterested. I know I wouldn't be able to turn him into a plant only eater, but maybe make him see why I am. This book was really interesting, but totally preaching to the choir. Rip is basically an elite athlete (iron man triathlons) and found he performs better with a plant based diet. He gives advice on exercise and meal plans. He also goes into detail about medical evidence. It is a quick read with some interesting stories, but Rip is an athlete and fireman, not a writer so at times I felt like he was trying a bit hard with his stories. Still a good resource (especially for men) to get a jump start on a plant based diet.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to take a cycling class... I wanted to go today after work, but my body is seriously in pain from that interval workout class I did yesterday. I think I need to do it at least every week, those are some muscles that don't get a lot of attention. I still haven't ran. Sort of freaking out, but I have started to put together my newest 1/2 marathon training plan. I felt like I did a pretty good job of it last time but I want to be even smarter this time around. More meal planning, rest days, stretching, strength training, hill work, mental prep, and more listening to my body!

Since I don't do well with goals unless I've invested some money or have publicly announced it... I've done both...Oh! look what I just registered for:  

Just the Half-Marathon! September 25th! It will be sort of like going back to school in the Fall! Time to get serious again

Sugar dreams await me.... 

Hunger Games

Well folks, I'm moving into the future. I finally am in possession of a smart phone. Since Verizon lacks the iphone, I went with the Droid. If you would have asked me a week ago if I needed anything besides the text and phone function, I would have said "Heck no!" Ask me today and I will tell you that I don't know how to live without it! One of this things I'm most excited about is that I was able to sync my google calendar with my phone. I'm excited to get organized, something I've attempted and failed to make resolutions about all year long.

Update Book 66: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

There is something very sad about finishing a series. No matter how many times I do it, I still feel like I'm saying goodbye to a friend. After three books, the story kind of becomes a part of your life. Spending so much time with the characters, it is very sad when you realize you wont read anything new about them.

This is the third and final book in the series, 'The Hunger Games." These books take place in a post apocalyptic America, now known as Panem. Panem is divided into 13 districts which are ruled by the Capitol. About 75 years ago the districts tried to rebel against the Capitol and lost, so to punish the districts the Capitol created The Hunger Games. Every year two children aged about 12-17 are picked from each district, sent into some crazy landscape (the arena) and forced to fight until only one remains. Sounds brutal and terrible, but it makes for a great story! This series has an excellent main character in Katniss Everdeen. These books are categorized as young adult, but I think this is another instance where adults may get more out of it then the kids it was written for. There is a definite underlying political message going on, but feel free to get lost in the adventure and love triangle.

The first half of this "Mockingjay" was Hunger Games business as usual. The last half I felt rushed. Instead of experiencing everything first hand with the narrator, she just explains everything real quick and sticks a pretty little bow on top. It all ends the way I want it to, but not in the way I wanted it to. The whole point of reading a book, for me at least, isn't about knowing how it ends, but the journey you take. I really felt that Collins took that away from me. I understand that if she had written everything out it would have been twice the size and I probably would have complained about its excessive detailing. But after devoting my time to the series I wanted the conclusion to thorough, not rushed. I still recommend the series to everyone, young and old, but can't hide my dissatisfaction with the conclusion. I just wanted more.

*I just reread my review of this book and realized I should clarify. I sometimes rant about something small in a book that bugs me and it makes it seem like I didn't like the entire book, but I did. I did the same thing with 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." One detail about the translation bugged me and it made it seem that I didn't like the book, when I really did. I try to finish everything off with an "I recommend" if I liked it. Trust that more than my picky ramblings.

It's Been Awhile....

I feel like I've really been neglecting my blog lately! It has been more than two weeks! Geeze! Well the one thing I can promise is that for the next few weeks it wont be improving any! The good news in all of this is that I am still reading! Even if it is at a turtle's pace (slow and steady wins the race right?) Anyways... I'm a little short on time, but wanted to update the last three books I've read!

Update Book 60: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosney

Yes, another World War Two book.... But not JUST another Word War Two book. This was written in a very creative and compelling way. Sometimes I dislike book that change narrators from chapter to chapter, but that wasn't so in "Sarah's Key." The author or editor or publisher did something brilliant that I just loved! The chapter's written from the two narrator's perspectives were in different fonts. Not crazy different, the effect was actually quite subtle, I don't think most readers would even notice, but to me it added a little something. This book is heartbreaking in ways that only a novel about war can be. Recommend by both my mom and one of my favorite coffeeshop ladies, this is a book that everyone will enjoy.

Update Book 61: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

I guess I lied about hitting my teen fiction quota. Lets be honest, I'm a sucker for anything vampire/werewolf/supernatural teenybopperness. Lately I haven't been read very many that I could even reluctantly recommend. But this is a series I do! The first in the series is, "Shiver." I think it's successor, "Linger," is even better. They are quick reads that are smart, feeling, absorbing. A must read for anyone who looking for a teen fiction fix.

Update Book 62: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

I think I used to use just about anything that was handy as a bookmark. Rereading some of my favorite books has brought this to light. Inside of "Into the Wild," I find a North Kitsap High School Hall Pass. Signed by Mrs. Beauchamp.

I really enjoyed this book. I have always enjoy Krakauer as an author. He is a journalist, which I think helps to make the type of stories he writes better. They are jam packed with information that obviously took time to research. This book is the story of Chris McCandless, a young man who went to live in the wilderness of Alaska where he died after four months. This book came out of a magazine article Krakauer wrote for Outside. While reading the novel, you can feel how deeply connected the author is to his subject, it is obvious he sees himself in McCandless. The feeling I got was that Krakauer wants the world to understand McCandless.

Usually I don't want to know how a book ends before I read it, but Krakauer writes in a way that still allows for some surprises. I also enjoyed, "Into Thin Air," also by Krakauer.

"End of Book One"

I am not a hippie. That being said, I have many hippie tendencies. I'm a vegetarian, I attended a liberal university, I recycle all those Diet Dr. Pepper cans, drive a gas efficient car, and eat organic whenever I can afford it. Now that you know this about me, you should also know my two biggest anti-hippie traits. Long showers and habitual book buying.

After receiving a ridiculous Puget Sound Energy bill for this month I decided it was time to end the long showers. I don't know how it happened or when, but even on my busiest mornings, shower time had stretched close to twenty minutes. So this morning I took a drastic step. I set a timer with a ten minute limit. An amazing thing happened, I only needed eight. It wasn't relaxing, but neither is opening up that energy bill every month. One more thing to add to my life resolutions: shorter shower times.

Now a word about my habitual book buying.

Barnes and Noble, Liberty Bay Books, Eagle Harbor Book Company. They all call to me. I seem to feel the most at ease in a book store. After a long day at work nothing calms me like walking through a bookstore and making a new purchase. For some reason unknown to me, I love the feeling of opening up a book and being the first to read it. Like it was created just for me. This is the first reason why I don't like library books. And no, the second reason isn't because they give you a due date, although it would have been a valid reason. The second reason is because of wait lists. If I want to read a book, I don't want to wait for seventeen other people to have it, read it and return it before I have to go there, pick it up, read it, and return it. The third reason is this: if I fall in love with a book, I want to put THAT book, the book I read, on my bookshelf forever. Sort of like a trophy.

With all that being said, buying 100 books is kind of ridiculous. So of course when the opportunity presents itself I will be thrifty. One of the 'perks' of working in a coffeeshop is the bookshelf where people leave novels they want to pass on to fellow coffee/book lovers. Mostly this bookshelf seems to be full of Sci-fi novels that I have no interest it. But yesterday I noticed two new deposits to said bookshelf that I had seen on the New York Time's Bestseller list. They have now found a spot on my 'to be read shelf.' Although I don't particularly like the idea of wait lists and pre-read books, desperate times call for desperate measures, and who knows, maybe after this experience I will be a libraryaholic. B & N hopes not.

Now an update! Book 6 "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner (Not a Coffeeshop find)

The worst words you can read when you finish a book: 'End of Book One.' Unless you are expecting a series and have the second one ready to read, it is a pretty big let down to know you have to wait ten more months to get the second installation and then another year for the third.

It is easy to compare "The Maze Runner" to "The Hunger Games," another incomplete young adult series I read last year. They both take place in an almost post-apocalyptic world, where teenagers are put in a confined area and watched by outsiders. Where "Hunger Games" is a fight to the death situation for a group of boys and girls, "Maze Runner" is a couple dozen boys and one girl fighting for their lives to solve a giant maze. The end of "Maze Runner" was a cluster of confusion that I can only hope book two cleans up. "Hunger games" has better characters and a more developed and interesting story. Because both are only the beginning of their respective series, I will give you a post dated recommendation for "Maze Runner" and "Hunger Games'," read them in three years when there are more books completed. But read "Hunger Games" first (oh and love Peeta).

If you feel the need to read a series now, I will recommend the well established "Sookie Stackhouse," "Mortal Instruments" and "Outlander" Series.