2013 READING SUMMARY

It is interesting to me how similar my reading patterns are.

In preparation for this post, I re-read this post HERE that summarizes my 2012 reading.

In 2012 I recorded 126 books.  This year, I recorded 127 books.
Out of the 127 books, 8 were re-reads from other years.
A whopping 27 of them (21%) were dystopian.  I do pick this type of book because I like them, but there are a LOT of this type of book out right now... which makes it really loverly for me.  

What is NEW this year is that 58% of the books I read were electronic. (I honestly thought it would be higher than that).

I continued my trend of being a pretty tough grader.  Nearly 25% of the books I read only received a 3 out of 5.  If you read my ranking chart below, you can see why.  A three is just an average good book.  It has to be pretty awesome to get a four and not only awesome but one that I want to read again and again to get a five.

 This year only ONE book got a five ranking from me:  "Pictures of Hollis Woods" by Patricia Reilly Giff.  

Four books received a 4.5 ranking:
Wool 2 by Hugh Howey
Wool 3 by Hugh Howey
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I'm kinda surprised by this list.  These really were not my FAVORITE books of the year.  They were well written and I enjoyed them immensely, but I probably won't read any of them again except "Esperanza Rising".  

Many of the "four" books are ones that I loved, but maybe didn't give a five as the writing wasn't amazing even though the story was.  This category holds my favorite books of the year.

BEST BOOK I READ THIS YEAR:  The Paris Wife by by Paula McLain or WOOL by Hugh Howey
WORST BOOK I READ THIS YEAR:  Ryann by Paul Dorset
MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK I READ THIS YEAR:  The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Other honorable mentions:
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
  

20th ANNIVERSARY TRIP - DAY ONE

We had the opportunity last October to take an extended vacation.

Darren and I had decided to take a cruise for our 20th Anniversary and had originally planned to go to Bermuda.  We were really close to booking the trip when I happened to stumble across a cruise that was over UEA.  We found that for the cost of a 7 day trip to Bermuda for two, we could take an 11 day trip for five to the Caribbean.  We took the plunge and booked the trip.  A few weeks later, my parents decided to go with us and booked the cabin next door.

E1 had to be a grown-up and stay home to work and go to school. She was mad at us before we left and I thought us being home for two months would have helped the situation but nope... she is still furious.

Her anger is the only bad thing about our trip.  I love to travel and this was a trip I really enjoyed and really loved.  Part of the reason I love to travel is that it gives me something to look forward too. I'm not trying to sound like a big whiner, but a lot of people, even those the closest to me, have no idea how hard it is to be a working mom in a stressful, often thankless job.  I almost always have a trip booked in the future as it selfishly gives me something to look forward to. I'm not saying I'm not worldly or shallow... I'm just saying I know what keeps me motivated.

This trip was nice because we booked it a full year in advance so I had a lot of time to get ready and to dream and plan... which for me is a lot of the fun.

So anyway, after months of waiting the day was finally here.

We left Richfield Friday night after work and drove to Las Vegas. After literally hours of searching I had found a nice, clean Hilton Inn that allowed us to park our cars for sixteen days for free AND provide a shuttle to the airport.  I was feeling like the total power traveler.

Saturday morning we got up earlier than we would have liked and headed to Burger King next door for breakfast. The kids were KEYED UP. They had never flown before and could NOT wait.  It made it a lot easier to get them up and moving and out the door.

E2, N, E3, Darren in Burger King

 We checked into the Las Vegas airport and boarded our direct flight on Southwest to Fort Lauderdale.  We were able to get family boarding, so I sat by E3 and N, with Darren and E2 behind us.  The kids were like jumping beans in their seats.

It took FOREVER to get on our way as there was some type of problem with the boarding computers.  The cabin crew counted 121 people on board but there should have only been 120 people.  They counted again... and again.... checked everyone's names.... looked confused... counted again... all as we sat there for over an hour.  I am embarrassed about how people act.  It makes me crazy.  But we finally got on our way.

E3 was really nervous.  The picture below ended up being out of focus, but it is still one of my favorite pictures of the day as she totally GRABBED onto N's hand and would not let go which was totally ADORABLE. 

 Below is a short video I took of our take-off from Las Vegas.

Our flight was about five hours.  We took turns gazing out the window and wondering what part of the United States we were flying over.  The kids played my kindle and worked on homework while E2 talked Darren's ear off about ideas for a book she wants to write.

  I started sewing these cute little Halloween stuffed dolls I'm going to use as ornaments on a Halloween tree.

 The kids thought the snack service was AWESOME.  They had darling graham crackers shaped liked planes.

We finally reached Fort Lauderdale. The air was so warm and humid!  We took the shuttle to the train station and caught the last evening train north to West Palm Beach. The kids were troopers as we had a million suitcases and bags.

Mom, Dad, E3, N, Sonja, N at the Ft Lauderdale Tri-Rail station

 We rode the second story of the train.  We were totally starving as we had to rush to get to the train due to the delay of our flight from Las Vegas and didn't have time to stop and eat.  But if you know me you know I totally packed SNACKS :).

N and E3 on the Tri-Rail. We love Public Transportation and use it whenever possible. We get to meet so many interesting people!

Finally, we reached West Palm Beach.
My brother-in-law Frankie was there with his dad Frank Sr and his brother Jaz.  I love that whenever we see them we get big hugs and kisses on our cheeks.  They made us feel so welcome. They loaded all of our luggage into several vehicles and took us to Kellee and Frank's home. 

It was 8 o'clock there which meant it was only six at home but were were WIPED OUT.  Dad and Kellee went and got pizza and we enjoyed eating it by their darling pool under the warm skies.  Roman and N played so cute together. He remembered N from August when we went to Yellowstone with them. Roman calls N "Ethan". It is pretty funny.

Anyway, leg one of our trip was DONE.

Final Book List of the year

 

November continued:

Everneath by Ashton, Brodi / YA / ***

It's hard to describe this book without it sounding absolutely ridiculous.  It is a cute story based on the Greek Persephone myth.  Nikki Beckett is a teen that disappeared without a trace six months ago.  Who would guess that she's been in the Underworld, her soul being sucked dry by an immortal named Cole.  The story tells of her trying to reconnect with those she left behind, while working to figure out how to not get taken again. It has a delicious love triangle between the boyfriend she left behind who provided an "anchor" that enabled her to find her way back in the first place, and the steamy Cole who wants to make her his queen. I told you it sounded crazy. But is a cute clean story that provided some nice light reading.  

Humbug Mountain by Fleischman, Sid / JF / **

Wiley and his sister are being forced to move yet again, as their traveling newspaperman of a  father has once again got them run out of town.  They travel down the Mississippi, hoping to find a new start living with Wiley's grandpa.  What ensues is a story with lots of twists, turns, interesting characters, and crazy shenanigans that have a very "Tom Sawyer" feel to them.

The Skinny Rules: The Simple, Nonnegotiable Principles for Getting to Thin by Harper, Bob  / A / **

Same old, same old. 

Dark Places: A Novel by Flynn, Gillian / A / **1/2

This writer is fascinating. The first few paragraphs of this book are are amazingly well written.  This story was not near as dark and twisted as the other two I've read by this author, but they are definitely not for children. It tells the story of a 7 year old girl that was the only witness to her family being violently murdered. At the time, she testified the act was done by her 15 year old brother as part of a Satanic ritual. Now, 25 years later, she has done absolutely nothing with her life, living off the donations made by strangers at the time of the event.  The money has run out and her life is a dead-end.  

She is hired by a club intent on finding out the real story... accepting their money as she reconnects with people from her past.  The story flashes back to that fateful day and the true story emerges.

This story is well written but crude, and the ending is so implausible I really had to roll my eyes.

Can You Keep a Secret? by Kinsella, Sophie / A / ***1/2

After finishing the grisly "Dark Places", I needed something light and fun.  Sophie Kinsella never disappoints. She writes great characters that are delightfully flawed that get into fantastical scrapes that all end with a wonderful happy ever after.  This comedy of errors is a fun romp and a fun read.

Everbound: An Everneath Novel by Ashton, Brodi / YA / ***

This is the second in the series by Brodi Ashton.  The final book will be out in January.  It continues the story of Nikki as she works to break the bonds the Underworld has on her.  She makes several trips through the levels of the undead on a quest for freedom. In some ways this book was better than the first.

The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, Book 4) by Riordan, Rick / YA / ***

I don't know how I ended up reading two books involving the Underworld in a row, but it shows how fiction, especially teen fiction, tends to move in cycles.  For a while I saw a lot of magic based books (stemmed from the success of Harry Potter), to Vampire stories (Twilight) to dystopian books (from Hunger Games).  Lately I've seen books based on Greek mythology, and especially the Persephone myth.  

This book tells the story of Percy and Annabeth working their way through the Underworld towards the doors of death... trying to meet their friends on the other side. It took me a while to slog through this one... the story seemed to feel like it was tormenting me. Ha. No really the stories are getting a little bit monotonous... it is the same cycle of activity over and over again.

Enchantment by Card, Orson Scott / A / ***

I am too brain dead to write descriptions of these stories.  This is basically a story of a modern day man thrust into a Russian fairy tale. It is an imaginative take on how the Slavic myths of Baba Yaga and her house on chicken legs may have come about.  It was good reading but I wouldn't read it again.  I am in a real slump like that lately.

Midnight in Austenland by Hale, Shannon

Shannon Hale has an annoying tendency to keep beating a dead horse.  She had great success with "The Princess Academy" so after several years she spit out a sequel that dimished the story of the first book. She did the same thing here, writing this novel after the success of "Austenland".  It wasn't a BAD story, but it really dilutes the efficacy of the original story.  There really is nothing to miss here.

The Elite (Selection) by Kiera Cass 

Oh the brain-numbing weariness of it all. This book was so painfully shallow. I bet thirteen year olds LOVE it.  Which is what is wrong with America. Just sayin'.

Defiance (Courier's Daughter) by Redwine, C. J. / YA / ****

I LIKED this one.  It had great kingdom building. a good love story, a strong female lead, and an interesting story line. This has the feel of an old-world adventure set in a post-apocalyptic society.  

Rachel is the daughter of a Courier, someone that braves the Wastelands delivering messages, packages, and information between the walled citys of a devestated North America.  The story begins when her father fails to return from a mission and is declared dead.  Rachel is determined to find out what happened, requiring her to escape the protected city that really is more like a prison. She is captured which starts a whole series of events that end up changing her entire world.

The Four Corners of the Sky: A Novel by Malone, Michael./ A / **

Didn't love this one. 

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: After years of accompanying her con artist father on his exploits, seven-year-old Annie is left on the family's North Carolina farm with her aunt Sam. Annie relishes the stability, but still craves excitement as she grows up, learning to fly the single-engine plane her father left her and becoming a navy fighter pilot. When her father calls years later, he claims that he's dying and needs her help with one last escapade. She agrees—in exchange for the name of the mother she's never known. Annie travels to St. Louis, Mo.; Miami; and Cuba in the service of her elusive father, meeting quirky eccentrics along the way, including her one true love. Bizarre coincidences, caricatured criminals and characters who spurt groan-worthy puns, classic movie lines and Shakespeare quotes in place of meaningful dialogue keep the novel teetering toward the absurd. The novel's ambitious blend of humor, mystery, adventure and sentimentality can be as exhausting as Annie's fast-paced flights."

 

 

 

 

I Am Number Four Pittacus Lore / YA / ****

I LIKED this one.  Great characters, great story. It has an "alien" base but really is a great adventure story about what makes us human, what is family, and what ties our past has on us. Great story.