Best Friends Forever

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was a bit uncertain how I would like this book, most of the reviews were bad and I have liked JW's other books. This wasn't an amazing book, or even emotionally deep, it was an entertaining read. This book was a great escape, easy to fall into, with wacky characters which made for some great humor. I ranked this book high even though the plot didn't pan out and the romance was flimsy at best, I really enjoyed the writing and was thoroughly entertained.

Synopsis:  Following the ups and downs of a long-time friendship between two young girls who grow up to be two very different women: Addie Downs and Valerie Adler were eight when they first met and decided to be best friends forever. But, in the wake of tragedy and betrayal during their teenage years, everything changed. Val went on to fame and fortune. Addie stayed behind in their small Midwestern town. Destiny, however, had more in store for these two. And when, twenty-five years later, Val shows up at Addie’s front door with blood on her coat and terror on her face, it is the beginning of a wild adventure for two women joined by love and history who find strength together that they could not find alone.


Recommended Reading:
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
South of Broad by Pat Conroy
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
On Folly Beach by Karen White

Inkspell

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What is this?? I finally finished a book!

This was an easier read than the first book of the trilogy. The story moved at a faster pace and there were some twists I didn't expect. Some parts of the story weren't as developed as I would have liked them to be. Characters stayed true to the first story - although Dustfinger seemed to be more softhearted and not as mysterious. I wasn't quite sure what the point of Elinor and Darius in the story was, so that was a struggle to read through. Very well written for being told from so many point of views.

Synopsis: Although a year has passed, not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of INKHEART, the book whose characters became real. But for Dustfinger, the fire-eater brought into being from words, the need to return to the tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller with the ability to read him back, Dustfinger leaves behind his young apprentice Farid and plunges into the medieval world of his past. Distraught, Farid goes in search of Meggie, and before long, both are caught inside the book, too. But the story is threatening to evolve in ways neither of them could ever have imagined.


Recommended Reading:
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Firestar by Chris d'Lacey
The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau
Flyte by Angie Sage
Magyk by Angie Sage

A Bone in the Throat

\Bone in the Throat by Anthony Bourdain
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

couldn't get into it. really wanted to read more "real life" stories by this author. didn't finish.

Synopsis: A wildly funny, irreverent tale of murder, mayhem, and the mob.

When up-and-coming chef Tommy Pagana settles for a less than glamorous stint at his uncle's restaurant in Manhattan's Little Italy, he unwittingly finds himself a partner in big-time crime. And when the mob decides to use the kitchen for a murder, nothing Tommy learned in cooking school has prepared him for what happens next. With the FBI on one side, and his eccentric wise guy superiors on the other, Tommy has to struggle to do right by his conscience, and to avoid getting killed in the meantime.

2014 Resolutions

One of these is book related, I promise! I spent a lot of time thinking and I came up with a list of 6. I think they're challenging and do-able. So here goes...

1. Read the Bible. The ENTIRE Bible. Accountable on book blog, FB & Twitter.

Read 25% of TBR books: current is 103 books, so goal is 27 books, plus Bible.

TBR shelf cannot exceed 105, year end goal is 80.

 

2. Run a 5k.

Get back into Yoga once a week during non-running season.

Run 2-3x each week starting May 1, gradually increasing distance and improving time.

3. Get my finances under control so that I can spend my bonus checks on FUN!

No-Spend January, April, July, and October.

Create a workable budget.

Create goals for bonus checks.

4. Finish projects: laundry room, Tink’s room, and dining room.
5. Travel: NYC is at the top of my list.
6. Journaling and writing.

Journal once a week.

Work on manuscript / creative writing once a week.

Looking Back and Figuring Out What's Ahead

Welcome to the 2013 Edition of Things I Failed To Do!

When it came to books this year, I was a big loser. Big, fat, hairy, hand in my pants loser. I set a goal of 50 books - just under a book a week - and I ended with 31. I blame the internet and life. But mostly the internet.

So, I'm trying to find my Year of Happiness - because 2013 was NOT it (So.NOT.it.) - and thinking about what I want to do in 2014, what I have to do, and what I will probably end up doing. I don't want my goals to be too easy, but yet I don't want them to be too hard or too varied. But that's the problem with having a high I.Q. - my interests and abilities to learn are endless. I could be all over the board trying to conquer my physical, spiritual, educational, and career. I'd be exhausted by the end of the day. So, here's what I already have going on for sure in 2014:

• Church Secretary (requires approx. 2 hours/week)
• Committee Chair (time requirement unknown)
• Youth Group (10 hours/week, including 1 hour class + baking)
• Full-time job (including at least one trip to China in 2014)
• Home Business Pangea Organics (time requirement unknown)
• Two weekly newspaper columns (time requirement unknown)

So, add in mommy duty, my meager housekeeping skills, and sleeping... Not to mention that I have (FINALLY!!) found The One and he has three beautiful children. Four more people to give love, attention, and time to. I'm tired already. Albeit a happy tired.

Here's the "Extras" I'd like to accomplish in 2014:

1. Read the Bible. The ENTIRE Bible.
2. Read some books.
3. Run a 5k.
4. Get back into Yoga once a week.
5. Finish an Engineering class.
6. Take a Language class.
7. Get my finances under control.
8. Projects.
9. No-Spend January, April, July, and October.
10. Travel: NYC is at the top of my list.

Obviously not all of this is going to happen. It just can't. So if I narrowed the list down to half... that would still be too much. Four? Does four seem reasonable? And which four? And what's the plan? And accountability?

Sometimes, I'm really good at making things harder than they need to be. I'll get back to you on what I figure out in the next few days. If you have any suggestions, please post them!

Inkheart

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book took for.ever. to get moving. I'm glad I stuck with it because it really was a beautiful story. Very creative plot, interesting characters, and humor. A nice bit of fantasy for bookish nerds.

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.      


Recommended Reading:
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
The Golum's Eye by Jonathan Stroud
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau
Magyk by Angie Sage               

October and November

I'm not quite sticking to the plan... but it's an improvement! Unless by some miracle I no longer require sleep, I won't even get close to the 50 book goal this year. I'm kind of sad. I mean emotionally sad. Not pathetic sad. So I've bumped the number from 23 to 28 books read, and only one month left in the year.

So what is taking up my time? Let's see...
              work
              still rocking the single parent gig
              Youth group leader
              Trying really hard to pretend I'm not in pain every day
              Church secretary
              Stripping the dining room wallpaper
              Not cleaning my house (mostly it's just cleaning the same three rooms and telling people to close their eyes when they go through the other rooms)
              Attempting to get a Pangea Organics business off the ground
              Trying to keep my sanity

We won't even discuss my obsession with Farm Heroes Saga right now.

Right.

Back to talking about books... On the plus side of all this, I am managing to hold the TBR list under 100. I feel there will be a purging before year end. Hopefully I will finish Inkheart before year end...