Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

This book was amazing! It's 1000 pages that spans 30 years in the 12th century, following several different characters all based around the building of this one cathedral. The historical detail is like nothing I've ever read and being so long, it really gives you a sense of place and time from each character's point of view. I can't wait to read the sequel. If you like historical fiction, this is totally for you.

Ava's 1st Dance Class

The Accidental Tourist

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler.

I love Anne Tyler.

This is one of her older books and I've always wanted to read it, ever since I worked at a video store and saw it on one of the shelves.

From Amazon:

Scarred by grief after their 12-year-old son's senseless murder (he was shot by a holdup man in a Burger Bonanza), Macon and Sarah Leary are losing their marriage too. Macon is unable to cope when she leaves him, so he settles down ``safe among the people he'd started out with,'' moving back home with two divorced brothers and spinster sister Rose. Author of a series of guidebooks called ``Accidental Tourist'' for businessmen who hate to travel, Macon is Tyler's focus here, as she gently chronicles his journey from lonely self-absorption to an ``accidental'' new life with brassy Muriel, a dog trainer from the Meow Bow Animal Hospital, who renews and claims his heart. Not a character, including Macon's dog Edward, is untouched by delightful eccentricity in this charming story, full of surprises and wisdom. All of Tyler's novels are wonderful; this her tenth is the best yet."

The ending surprised me. And I was surprised by how I liked the ending! I really loved how she wrote each of the characters and how involved I became. A good read!

Now I'll have to rent the movie.

I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith

I loved this book! It had me laughing out loud and reading into the wee hours of the night (11:30 pm). It was first published in 1949 and is written by a British author, so there are words like "boot" instead of "trunk." It's a fun read.

Here is the synopsis from Amazon.com:

I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her journals candidly chronicle the great changes that take place within the castle's walls, and her own first descent into love. By the time she pens her final entry, she has "captured the castle"--and the heart of the reader--in one of literature's most enchanting entertainments.

Gravity vs. the Girl, by Riley Noehren

From Amazon.com:
Samantha Green has just spent an entire year in her pajamas, and she is beginning to regret it. What's more, she is haunted by four ghosts that are former versions of herself. First up is the overachieving and materialistic attorney, who is furious with Samantha for throwing away the career she worked so hard to build. Second is the lackadaisical college student who is high on life but low on responsibility. Next is the melodramatic teenager, who is consumed with her social standing, teal eyeliner and teased bangs. Finally, there is the scrappy six-year old, whose only objective is to overcome gravity so that she can fly. Samantha's ghosts alternate between fighting with each other, rallying around Samantha's budding sanity and falling in love with a string of good-for-nothing drummers. Despite her reluctance to do so, Samantha must rely on these spirits from the past to repair the present and ensure her future.

I really liked this book. It was a fun easy read..perfect to take along at the beach or the park. Enjoy!

Past Reads

I feel I should write about some good reads I've had in the past. I can't think of any new books I've read that aren't already on here.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. So Good! If you like memoirs, this is a must read.

I also just finished another book by Jeannette Walls. It is about her grandmother this time, called Half Broke Horse

Her Grandmother was born in 1901, it tells her story. It is not as good as The Glass Castle, but still worth a read.

A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel

Haven is an excellent story teller and this book is so fun. It is another memoir about her life in Indiana, she was born in 1965. Very FUNNY. If you like this book (which you will), then you'll also love the sequel.

She Got Up Off the Couch by Haven Kimmel

I liked this book just as much as the first, although it was more sad.

I love Amy Tan. Her older books especially.

My two favorites are:

The Kitchen God's Wife - Amy Tan

and The Joy Luck Club.

She writes well about mother daughter relationships.

What are some of your favorite past reads - or current?

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

This was a fascinating book that I completely loved. It's definitely for those who love history and can keep their attention with exclusive historic details. The fictional story wraps intricately around the legend of Dracula and portrays it from a completely different perspective. It takes you in and out of eastern European countries showing the ties they potentially had to the legend of Vlad Dracula.

It's far fetched, but keeps you interested to the very end. I highly reccommend it.

oldies but goodies

I never get sick of these two books by the Bronte sisters.
"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte and
"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Bronte

A Long Way Gone

At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. At sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at his rehabilitation center, he learned how to forgive himself, to regain his humanity, and, finally, to heal.

SOOOO good! Defintely must read. Let me know what you think of it.

the Help, by Kathryn Stockett

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, was an excellent read! I loved it and read it in about 2 days. It was one of those books I wish hadn't ended. Put it on your to-read list now!!

Book Review Bloggers

Check out my sidebar and click on Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers. It's a great way to get free books!

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

I was in kind of a reading slump for a while, starting lots of books but not finishing any. If I am not interested in the first few pages I have a tendency to skip ahead, sometimes read the ending, or sometimes not finish at all. I have no problem not finishing a book. Since I was in a reading slump, some friends suggested reading "The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins. I could not put it down...the book grabbed me from the beginning and I raced through it, finishing it in one day. It's kind of futuristic but not too Sci-Fi. It's the first in a series of three. Two thumbs up. Let me know if you read it and if you love it.