May was a pretty strong Month in terms of number of books listed! Although I will admit it was also a month of shorter books so that was pretty helpful in getting through half of them really fast.
First book of May was Looking for Alaska by John Green. I admit I read it because it was selected for my book club. I had read another Green book earlier in the year, but honestly it wasn't my favorite. It didn't capture my attention and interest too much. Looking for Alaska was much more captivating to me though! I really enjoyed it from the first page to the last. I liked the plot, the characters, and the development of the story. It takes place on a boarding school campus and delves into lives of the kids that aren't the jocks or preppy kids you stereotype for boarding schools. Granted the characters talk a little above their age using words and phrases that regular teenagers wouldn't use (reminded me of Dawson's Creek type of dialogue), but I could get past that since I'm also well past being a teenager.
Next up was When Life Comes Undone by TJ Addington. This was a book that was given out at my church after TJ came and gave the sermon on Sunday. I read the entire book in about 6 hours and admit that I skimmed a little more than I normally do. But it was a cool thing to have heard from the author on this very topic and then read the book he wrote on it. Kindof like getting the cliff notes before diving into the real book. I think it's a good book to read when you are dealing with some crazy times in life and it seems like you keep getting knocked down and question why. Was it something I needed that particular day? Not exactly, but it was still something I'll keep in mind for when those times may come.
Apparently it was the month of reading a book in less than a day. Granted this next book is written at about a 4th grade level so it took all of an hour and a half (and that may be with me stopping for a break in the middle). Number the Stars by Lois Lowery is probably one of my FAVORITE books from when I was a kid. I was buying some books for an elementary school my church is associated with and this was one I picked up. I couldn't help but read it again myself! I still think it introduces some pretty serious topics to kids in a way that doesn't scare them to much. I still really enjoyed this book and while saying it was an easy read at this point in my life is an understatement, it still makes the reading list for sure!
On a more age appropriate level, I also read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I was pretty captivated by this book although, like The DaVinci Code is does push some of the religious boundaries a bit. Similar to DaVinci Code there is a lot of reference to historically true information as well as a lot of fictional freedom. I was surprised that the entire story takes place within a 24 hour period. You don't see many books like that. I feel like the tiny bit of romance at the end was completely unnecessary, but if I had stopped before the last 5 pages it would have been absolutely fantastic!
Second to last full "book", and I use quotations because technically it was a short story. Jodi Picoult's Where There's Smoke is a prequel to her new book, Leaving Time, that comes out in October. Picoult is one of my favorite authors and I always really enjoy her writing. This short story was no different. It centers around a psychic named Serenity who will play a part Picoult's new book. It's just a glimpse since it's only about 35 pages, but you really get to know this character in a short amount of time!
Lastly I barely finished A Passage to India by E.M. Forster in May (I'm talking finished it literally at 10:27pm on May 31 barely finished). Not gonna lie-I didn't really enjoy it. I heard it was supposed to be great and tell of racial struggles between the English and Indians in India, but really to me only the middle about 60 pages were really good. Probably not one I'm going to read again.
Books Read in 2014:
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Burned by Ellen Hopkins
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
A Grief Observed by CS Lewis
The Monument Men by Robert Edsel
The Nazi Officer's Wife by Edith Beer
Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass Isak Dinesen
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Looking for Alaska by John Green
When Life Comes Undone by TJ Addington
Number the Stars by Lois Lowery
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Where There's Smoke by Jodi Picoult
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
First book of May was Looking for Alaska by John Green. I admit I read it because it was selected for my book club. I had read another Green book earlier in the year, but honestly it wasn't my favorite. It didn't capture my attention and interest too much. Looking for Alaska was much more captivating to me though! I really enjoyed it from the first page to the last. I liked the plot, the characters, and the development of the story. It takes place on a boarding school campus and delves into lives of the kids that aren't the jocks or preppy kids you stereotype for boarding schools. Granted the characters talk a little above their age using words and phrases that regular teenagers wouldn't use (reminded me of Dawson's Creek type of dialogue), but I could get past that since I'm also well past being a teenager.
Next up was When Life Comes Undone by TJ Addington. This was a book that was given out at my church after TJ came and gave the sermon on Sunday. I read the entire book in about 6 hours and admit that I skimmed a little more than I normally do. But it was a cool thing to have heard from the author on this very topic and then read the book he wrote on it. Kindof like getting the cliff notes before diving into the real book. I think it's a good book to read when you are dealing with some crazy times in life and it seems like you keep getting knocked down and question why. Was it something I needed that particular day? Not exactly, but it was still something I'll keep in mind for when those times may come.
Apparently it was the month of reading a book in less than a day. Granted this next book is written at about a 4th grade level so it took all of an hour and a half (and that may be with me stopping for a break in the middle). Number the Stars by Lois Lowery is probably one of my FAVORITE books from when I was a kid. I was buying some books for an elementary school my church is associated with and this was one I picked up. I couldn't help but read it again myself! I still think it introduces some pretty serious topics to kids in a way that doesn't scare them to much. I still really enjoyed this book and while saying it was an easy read at this point in my life is an understatement, it still makes the reading list for sure!
On a more age appropriate level, I also read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I was pretty captivated by this book although, like The DaVinci Code is does push some of the religious boundaries a bit. Similar to DaVinci Code there is a lot of reference to historically true information as well as a lot of fictional freedom. I was surprised that the entire story takes place within a 24 hour period. You don't see many books like that. I feel like the tiny bit of romance at the end was completely unnecessary, but if I had stopped before the last 5 pages it would have been absolutely fantastic!
Second to last full "book", and I use quotations because technically it was a short story. Jodi Picoult's Where There's Smoke is a prequel to her new book, Leaving Time, that comes out in October. Picoult is one of my favorite authors and I always really enjoy her writing. This short story was no different. It centers around a psychic named Serenity who will play a part Picoult's new book. It's just a glimpse since it's only about 35 pages, but you really get to know this character in a short amount of time!
Lastly I barely finished A Passage to India by E.M. Forster in May (I'm talking finished it literally at 10:27pm on May 31 barely finished). Not gonna lie-I didn't really enjoy it. I heard it was supposed to be great and tell of racial struggles between the English and Indians in India, but really to me only the middle about 60 pages were really good. Probably not one I'm going to read again.
Books Read in 2014:
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Burned by Ellen Hopkins
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
A Grief Observed by CS Lewis
The Monument Men by Robert Edsel
The Nazi Officer's Wife by Edith Beer
Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass Isak Dinesen
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Looking for Alaska by John Green
When Life Comes Undone by TJ Addington
Number the Stars by Lois Lowery
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Where There's Smoke by Jodi Picoult
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
