Coming Soon: Jan 30

Kristin Hannah's newest book is an emotional journey. Home Front follows a family and a struggling marriage. Michael and Jolene have been married for twelve years. They have two daughters, bills, chores and jobs just like any family. All marriages have a breaking point and theirs is in trouble. Unexpectedly Jolene is deployed. She is on the front lines of a war and is in danger. She knew as a solider that this could happen, but it still pains her to leave her family. Michael is now a single father at home taking care of their girls alone, something he isn't used to. Jolene shields her family from the truth about being on the front lines, but the experience will change her forever. When tragedy strikes Michael must face his worst fear.









Are you looking for a simple romantic book? This next book by Catherine Anderson sounds like a relaxing read by the pool (if your going on a vacation anytime soon)

To support her niece, Brianna O'keefe takes a job at a Colorado ranch. To stop any unwanted attention she creates the lie that she is married to the Denver gold miner David Paxton. But when he suddenly shows up, Brianna isn't surprised by her desire towards her "husband".

The Five People you Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

The Five People you Meet in Heaven is a short book, but a sweet book.
When Eddie, an old maintenance man at a amusement park dies, he is sent to heaven to meet five people. Each of them have a story to tell him about how he affected their lives. Their stories explain to Eddie the meaning in his life.

I loved this book and could not stop reading it. It takes what appears to be a grumpy old man, and shows you his life from his point of view. When all his life's most important moments are laded out, you start to understand his love, his hate, his pain, and his loneliness. The part that touched me the most, is that while you are learning all about him, Eddie is learning about himself. With a long life filled with an inner bitterness Eddie finally gets to see all those moments he missed. With each revelation he better understands his emotions and is able to let go of all his pain.

I felt sorry for Eddie while he was finding that he didn't really know as much as he thought he did. What seemed like little things to him at the time, ended up making huge impacts in his life that he could never have guessed. This book teaches us to think of the effects our actions can have, and also that sometimes what does happen is not our fault at all. That sounds confusing doesn't it? That you can be the cause of something, but at the same time it's not your fault since you didn't know the results your actions were going to have. Perhaps the main lesson is to forgive yourself and others for their mistakes. We all make some, after all.

Everyone wants to feel peace, and the thought that one day everything will be explained is something we all wish for. If heaven means no more what if's and why me's? then I think everyone will welcome it.

I think you should read this book. I give it 5/5

Coming Soon: Jan 23

There are not many books coming out next week that interested me, but there is one that looks like it could be good. The author used to write scrips for television before he decided to follow his dream and become a novelist.

Taken, is a kidnapping story. When the son of a wealthy industrialist is kidnapped police tell his mother that it was all a fake. Her son faked his own kidnapping in order to get money so him and his girlfriend could get married.
The mother of his girlfriend reads an ad in a magazine about Cole and Pike and hires them to look into the kidnapping and find her daughter. They soon discover it was not fake and the two have been taken by human traffickers. Cole goes undercover into the dangerous world to find them, but is also taken prisoner by the deadly bajadore, a group of criminals, and into the hands of a killer known as The Syrian. Now it is up to Pike to retrace Cole's steps to rescue the two kids and his partner.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Here it is. I finally finished the book. I am not relieved because it was a bad book; I actually enjoyed it a lot. Usually when I read books this long I get bored of the story and find myself wondering how much more is left. In 1Q84 I noticed that the book was long when reading it, but I was not in a rush to finish it. The story stays interesting throughout the entire novel and I never bored of the characters.The storyline flowed easily, each character had a purpose, and their story felt important. While I was reading I kept sensing that there was some deep meaning behind everything that was happening. It makes you think, what am I missing here and what does all this mean?

I noticed that there were some sexual themes in this book. I don't know why they popped out at me, they are not inappropriately sexual or misplaced in the storyline. I would describe them as honest. All adults think and experience sex, and this book is not afraid of it and chooses to include it in the thoughts and actions of its characters. Maybe I noticed it because it was not the same as  the romance books we are used to where the scenes are designed to be romantic, these scenes are just a natural part of the story. I think the author uses them well to get her point across, although it can be a little unsettling at times. Only because they are so unashamed by it. Sometimes I find talking about sex has become a little foe paux in our society. Of course we joke about it all the time, I am referring to serious discussions, everyone is a little uncomfortable giving their kids that talk.

I would classify this as a science fiction novel as well as a drama and a mystery. In order to enjoy this book you have to appreciate the unexplained and unusual. Keep an open mind, some of the ideas are hard to understand and I was often confused with what exactly was happening. The book starts with a simple question of what happened to Aomame when she climbed down from the highway. Instead of having this question answered each chapter opens up new questions. I was constantly hoping for answers, and each time something was revealed it seemed that several more questions took its place. Tengo's story started a little slow but since the books layout has you switching from Aomame to Tengo every chapter, I got threw his chapters quick because I was trying to get to the next chapter to see what was happening to Aomame.Tengo's story does pick up later. The constant cliffhangers at the end of each chapter, kept me wanting to read on. For example, if I was left hanging at the end of a chapter involving Tengo, I would have to read through a chapter with Aomame (or perhaps another character) before I could find out what happened. This was a good strategy to keeping the reader always looking towards the future of the book. It disguises its length a little.

There is also small romantic part to the book, between the two characters Tengo and Aomame. It is not the main theme but it is an important part of the decisions and actions of the two characters. The characters are both very interesting and I kept wanting the learn more about their lives. The author made them both very believable by slowly giving information about their past. In each of Tengo's flashbacks, you learn a little more about him, which explains his actions and who he has become in the present day. Each dip into the past made me more curious about what weird event was happening to them both, and if their experiences were in any way related.

I would recommend this book, to anyone who is not afraid of a long novel. The author has created a very unique world, that asks questions about cults, religion, and our perception of the world around us. It is a very smart book that made me think about fate and if our paths are pre-chosen.

Coming Soon: Jan 9

This book sold me by its cover. It's a biography of Queen Elizabeth II. I'm not going to read this book, but I do find the monarchy interesting. This book claims to cover interviews and never before seen documents to tell the story of the real Queen. If there is any one out there who loves the monarch or know someone who does, this might be a good present for them.

This sounds like it could be a really cute heartfelt story, the kind of book that make you want to smile and cry at the same time.

This YA book is about a girl named Hazel who is a terminal cancer patient. She got a treatment that shrunk her tumor, it bought a few years, but she is still terminal. Hazel's story is about to change when Augustus Waters comes to her Cancer Kid Support Group. This book is described as following the funny, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

This last book actually was released in March last year, but I didn't have a blog then. Now it is being released in paperback so I have a chance to tell you about it.

 The Peach Keeper takes place in North Caroline, in the town of Walls of Water. This is a town full of gossip, secrets, socialites, and good old Southern families. Willa Jackson is from one of these families, an old southern family that met with financial ruin. It is hard living in a town where there is a line between the haves and have-nots.

Willa is hopeful when a former classmate, and do-gooder from a prominent family, decides to turn her grandmother once grand house into a top flight inn. The house has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune so Willa is hoping its renovation will finally put her families troubled past to rest. Instead a body is found buried under the peach tree. Secrets are coming to light along with strange occurrences around town. Willa must join forces with her classmate Paxton and confront that past and uncover the truth. A past where passion and betrayal once bound their families together.
Doesn't that sound juicy?

Happy New Year

Cheers everyone!

I never make new year resolutions. They work well for a month or more, but then your ambition wear off as real life sets in after the holidays are over and the excitement over the new year fades. I think if you really want to get something done you shouldn't need the changing of the calender to motivate you.

Despite that, this year I have given myself a challenge; I want to read 40 books in 2012. That almost doubles my average last year of 2 books a month. I don't think I will meet this challenge, but unlike failing a diet I wont get depressed and undo all my hard work by eating a box of cookies. It's just something to work towards and no matter what I will achieve something.  This is something I do anyways, so no stress.

I already have a pile of books stacking up to read. I have Robopocalypse, Five People you meet in Heaven, Hotel Vendome, The Birth House, and 77 Shadow Street. That is real range of genres: Science Fiction, Drama, Romance, and Suspense. Sounds like fun!