Bookworm! Winter/Spring 2012

Whew,  it's been a few months since I've done one of these. I'm reviewing them in the order I read them. Hopefully I have enough books (and variety) that you may be able to find something for your summer reading!


One Day David Nicholls
     For the record, I wanted to read this book long before it became a movie (which I still haven't seen). I really liked the concept: you read about two people on the same exact day over a span of twenty years. For some reason though, it didn't completely work for me. The characters seemed authentic, but maybe too much so. At times, their flaws were exasperating. The book ended up being really depressing, so I don't know if you'd want this one for a fun summer read!

Bossypants Tina Fey
      After that downer, I needed something to bring back happiness, and this book was just that. I was lucky enough to get this for Christmas and couldn't wait to get started. Tina Fey is one of the funniest people on the planet, in my opinion. Her voice completely comes through in her writing, and her humor translates really well to the page. Now, just as a warning, there is definitely some language in this book at times, but it is hilarious. I would definitely recommend this one!

Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
     This is the other book I got for Christmas. It is my mom's all time favorite book and I'd always promised her I'd read it, so this was my chance to make good on it. It took me SO LONG to get through this book, which you know if you follow my 'Friday Four' blogs. Almost the entire first half of the book could have been condensed into half of that length. I will tell you what I liked in a minute, but first let me rant for a moment. A good part of this book takes place in Jane's head, with many of her thoughts on the page. As she goes from place to place, she repeats her story to each new group, and it's repeated in the text. Guess what Charlotte Bronte? We already know what happened to her; we read it 100 pages ago! That was incredibly frustrating, as was the fact that literally nothing "happened" for the whole first half of the book. Once something did happen, it was actually fairly good, suspenseful even. It just took so long to get there.
     I won't completely say that I wouldn't recommend this book, I just don't think it resonates with "today's woman" as it may have resonated with those in the past. To get the gist of the story, I would say just watch the movie (haven't seen it though), because the narrative is probably much more condensed, and therefore flows better.    

13 Little Blue Envelopes Maureen Johnson
     I think I could have read anything following Jane Eyre and would have enjoyed it. However, this was definitely a fun read. A teenage girl receives a package from her aunt, that has passed away, with 13 envelopes. She can only open one at a time and has to do what each one says before she opens the next one. The journey takes her all over Europe and she meets interesting people and does cool things along the way. Anyway, this was a super easy read, and perfect for the summer!

The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold
     I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. I'm glad I read it, and it was interesting. It's a very difficult subject, so I respect the author for even tackling it. Two things bothered me though. First, the portrayal of heaven was quite ridiculous. There was no mention of God whatsoever. Second, the ending was anti-climatic and there was not enough resolution for me. I have seen this movie, and I liked it okay. I think you'll just have to make up your own mind about this one!

Delirium Lauren Oliver
     I'm not going to write much about this one because I want everyone to go read it RIGHT. NOW. This is my favorite book of the past few months. It's a young adult dystopian novel and the first of a trilogy. When the book ended, I wanted to immediately know what happened next! 


What have you read  lately?

Friday Four

What I Watched: I would like to take this opportunity to talk about the finale of The Voice. HOW IN THE WORLD DID JERMAINE PAUL WIN THAT?!! I have nothing against him, as he is a good singer, but how he beat Juliet and Tony, I will never know. Out of the top 4, I feel that he will have the least success from here. Speaking of Tony, the vendetta that Christina Aguilera has against him is insane. I used to looooooove Xtina, from day one, through her 'dirrty' days and beyond. However, over the course of this season, I have increasingly lost respect for her. She clearly had it out for Tony, as was unnecessarily brutal. This may be a reason why: I'm just sayin' (click it)  So, for your enjoyment, here is Tony's blind audition.

Oh, and I also watched the movie Gran Torino this week and was very disappointed. Don't understand the hype! Horrible ending.

What I Read: I finally finished Jane Eyre yesterday! Onto other books after three months :-)

What I Listened to: I know this CD is at least a year old, but I'm really digging Selena Gomez and the Scene's When the Sun Goes Down. It's a good pop record without all the trash/electronic/auto-tune mess that is so popular these days. I am also still more than slightly obsessed with Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe." I found out yesterday that she is opening for Hanson on tour, so she just shot way up in my book :-)  Also, she is only a few months younger than me, but has that (mis)fortune of looking way younger than that. Check her out:

What I Ate: Only ate at Moe's this week after church. Hopefully will eat out more this weekend, as we have lots to celebrate!

Friday Four

What I Watched: Most of our shows are new right now because May sweeps is starting, so lots of good stuff to be had! I've continued with my Veronica Mars watching and it has had so many cameos by actors known for other things: the actor that plays Schmidt on New Girl, Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl), Alyson Hannigan, Kristen Ritter (Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23), and even Jonathan Taylor Thomas :-) Speaking of old favorites (JTT), a dog on Suburgatory this week was dubbed "Hanson."

I also made a poor choice this week and watched Stomp the Yard... pretty much the time waster I thought it would be!

What I Read: I have actually made a LOT of headway this week on Jane Eyre, so hopefully I will be done in the next couple of weeks so I can move on to something easier!

What I Listened to: Just have had Kelly Clarkson in my car all week :-)  Here's one of my favorites:

What I Ate: We ate out quite a bit last weekend and I had some deliciousness: a tostada tapatia at Monterrey's, Oreo blizzard from Dairy Queen, California rolls from Inakaya, and a turkey sub from Beezers! Inakaya might have the best sushi, just fyi.

Friday Four

What I Watched: Mostly my regular shows this week. I checked out the new ABC show Scandal. It seems pretty decent so far-- kept my attention at least. We'll see how it does!

What I Read: yep... still Jane Eyre!

What I Listened to: Jamie made an Easter Mix a couple of weeks ago, full of great Christian modern music. If you want a copy, let us know!

What I Ate: We picked up some pasta from The Villa last weekend. It's always fun to get take out from there because we each get two meals out of it! Our after church meal this week was at Jamie's grandparents house for Easter dinner. 


Sorry I was so boring this week, I'll try to do better next time :-)

Friday Four

What I Watched: I've watched several movies the past couple of weeks in addition to our normal tv shows. Most recently I saw My Sister's Keeper. I thought the topic was really interesting, and now I wonder if that really happens. Do couples have additional children to help sick older siblings? Has anyone ever heard of this in real life?

What I Read: I'm still working on Jane Eyre. I also have a backlog of about five or six Entertainment Weeklys that I'm working through!

What I Listened to: Lots of new stuff this week added to my Spotify playlist. Some highlights:
                                  Alex Clare "Too Close"
                                  Taylor Swift & The Civil Wars "Safe and Sound"
                                  Carly Rae Jepson "Call Me Maybe"
                                  Andy Grammer "Fine by Me"
                                  Jason Mraz "I Won't Give Up"

What I Ate: Last Saturday we our Living Social deal for Chicago Uno Grill. I had a Harvest Vegetable pizza, which was decent, but I'm not a huge fan of cheese on top of my toppings, especially when it's thick! Sunday after church we went to Moe's, where I got my usual Joey Jr. burrito... yum!

Friday Four

What I Watched (TV):  The Voice came back this week in all its glory! I can't express how much better this show is than American Idol and The X Factor. I'm also super excited that Tony Lucca is on the show (MMC used to be my favorite show!); he's already my favorite to win :-)

What I Read: I read the first four chapters of Jane Eyre and a free issue I got of "Better Homes and Gardens."

What I Listened to: Pentatonix released a cover this week of Gotye (feat. Kimbra)'s "Somebody That I Used to Know." I'm still letting the original version grow on me, but I immediately fell in love with PTX's version. They are really putting a cappella on the map!!

What I Watched (movies): I watched quite a few movies in the early part of this week. Jamie and I watched Jurassic Park last weekend, and it was the first time I'd ever seen it! I also watched Monsters vs. Aliens and Marley and Me. I wasn't super impressed with any of them, but none were terrible.