Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want to Re-read

Re-reading, while not my normal thing to do, is fun if the circumstances are right. Here's a few books that wouldn't take much to get me to read them again.

1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley... I just made this comment on Ang's blog the other day and yes, I think this would make a great re-read. I need to remember if my feelings are the same!

2. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell... Kami and I have been talking about a read along. Maybe in January? It would be my third time through on this book, but she has not read it yet, even though she has watched RA in the movie version over and over and over again!

3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins... now that I've been to Paris, I'd love to re-read this one.

4. The whole Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner,  but especially the first two. Sigh.

5 and 6. I'm always up for a re-read of Great Expectations and Wuthering Heights. Anyone?

7. I will re-read any Markus Zusak book....wherever....whenever. Especially if someone who's reading it for the first time reads along with me.

8.  The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss... I would totally be happy to revisit this world and these characters.

9. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'dell.... why do I always forget about this book? I've re-read a few times and hope to re-read it a few more!

10.  The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye.... loved this book the first time around and I wonder if I'd love it as much upon re-reading it. Hmmm....

What's on your re-reading list? Come let us know over at The Broke and the Bookish!

Book Review Discussion: The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

Book: The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Genre: YA Contemporary
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: The Beehive books
From: The library

Short Synopsis: Hayley has been on the road with her truck driving dad for years. Now he wants to settle down and have her go to actual school for her senior year. She is finding it a bit hard to "settle down." Her dad has issues (he's a war vet and suffers nightmares and drinking problems and all of it) and she has to take care of him. She doesn't have time for school. But a guy comes along (who has his own issues of course) and he manages to help her... to a point. Things come crashing down anyway.

My Response: Like most LHA books, this one deals with some pretty deep and hard stuff. It was a little hard for me to get into at first and I was fighting the fact that I'd chosen to read this heavy story. But then I was hooked and had to keep reading to see what happened. Hayley is not a likable narrator, but she grew on me. I did enjoy Finn though. He is a much nicer character than she is! Anyway, beware the hard stuff and the language. But as most of these books do, it ends with a feeling of hope and happiness. :)

Bottom Line: Another great thinking book by this author. If you liked the others, you'll like this one.

Let's Talk About: Dysfunctional parents! Wow, there's a lot in these YA books these days! Do you sometimes get tired of them? Or is it truly mirroring reality? I don't know. I do know that some kids DO have fairly normal and nurturing parents, but those types don't make a very good story, sadly.

Other Reviews:

I’ve never read a book about PTSD before and it was very eyeopening for me. From Good Books and Good Wine

Laurie Halse Anderson has written a powerful, unforgettable look at the after effects of war on families, the strength of friendship, and the importance of never giving up hope. From Beth Fish Reads

More guys need to learn from Finn if they want to handle a 'tough, hard to get' girl and ask her out on a date. From I Prefer Reading

This book is deep, dark and haunting. From Waking Brain Cells

NaNoWriMo 2014: Day One!

First sentence: Physics is going to kill me, but I'll die happy. 

Day one was awesome! Guys, I was lucky to have a whole Saturday with pretty much NOTHING on the schedule. It was a perfect day one for Nano!

I did get on the computer at the crack of midnight last night and wrote my first 700 words. Just enough to participate in that initial rush of excitement for all the online peeps and to get the feel for what I wanted to do. And then, after a major sleep-in this morning, I got up and have pretty much been on the computer the rest of the day. (I did run an errand or two and have been up and down here and there.)

So my word count for Day One is just over 4,000. I needed to do at least two days worth of writing because tomorrow will be a whole different story. We have a family event and I'll have zero writing time. ZERO. So today I planned to get ahead. Thankfully, that worked out.

But can I just say, wow, it doesn't take long for a story to get in your head and take up residence! Know what I mean? I had my characters ready to go and an idea of what might happen, but nothing really set and then I start writing and it suddenly, it starts to feel like a real story. I love that.

Granted, my story is a really simple one. I have no idea how people do it who have these massive huge complicated plots going on. Impressive. But still, even with a simple story, I'm finding that there's going to be more going on and more to keep track of than I thought! And my characters are already morphing into something just a little different from what I'd imagined them to be. It's almost creepy how they do that!

And all this means I can't wait to keep going. But for now, I think I'll read a bit.

How's all my Wrimo friends doing so far? Want to share your first sentence? Please? :)

October 2014 Reading Recap

A kitty GIF!

It's been another awesome reading month. Here's my list of books read:

 Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw: A memoir about the author's experience living and coping with a debilitating disease by using humor and positive thinking.

 All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill: Our characters travel back in time to stop the creation of the time machine which has messed up the world.

 Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand: The life of Olympic runner Louis Zamperini and his experience as a POW in Japan during World War II.

 Maus II y Art Speigelman: The second part of the story of this author's father who survived the Holocaust.

 The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey: The sequel to The 5th Wave wherein our heroes are trying to find a safe place to hideout from the alien invasion.

 Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney: Gregory has yet more adventures in middle school, including the Valentines Dance.

 Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater: Blue and her wonderful boys are still trying to find the dead king and they end up doing a lot of cave exploring.

 The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson: Hayley has settled down with her dad to live a normal life and go to her senior year of high school, only things still aren't quite normal.

Favorites of the month: Unbroken and All Our Yesterdays. Such awesome books!!

Plans for November:

• re-read Catcher in the Rye for book club
• read A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
• read Alantia by Ally Condie
• read The Unhappening of Genesis Lee by Shallee McArthur
• finished the skinwalker book and Save the Cat
• and if I get that much done I'll be doing great since I'll also be spending a lot of time writing!

How about you? What was your favorite book of the month? And what plans do you have for November?

The Walking Dead Discussion: S5E3 Four Walls and a Roof (Spoilers!)

And this week's episode... MASSACRE!

Oh my word, but people are getting ruthless! But wasn't it deserved? Yes? Or should he have let him go?

And by he I mean Rick and by him I mean Gareth. "I have a promise to keep." So sinister! And by the way, I say to the above question.

Yes, in this episode, Bob comes back with his leg missing and also admitting to a walker bite. I knew it! And he is a goner but before that happens, the gang is off to find the Termites. As they go around one corner, the bad guys come around the other to find and get (ie. eat) our heroes. However, Rick has thought it out and BAM, he's there to the rescue! Let the slaughter begin! And close your eyes!

Then we watch Bob die, which was sad sad sad. We also learn about the priest and how he kept the doors locked while all his congregation was zombie-fied. Which makes him not so likable.

Bye bye Bob.

And then suddenly, our group is breaking up again as a few of them head off without the others because a certain couple have disappeared.

And then... suddenly, there's a noise in the trees. Michonne goes to investigate. We are all scared! But... sigh... it's Daryl. Michonne says... "Where's Carol?" and he says... gesturing to the trees..."Come on out."

Sheesh! WHO IS IT!???

Stay tuned for next week. Finally, we'll get a Beth episode and find out what's going on with her.

And did you watch Talking Dead after the episode? What did you think of the real life Gareth? Hmmm??? Oh my word.

The real life Gareth....

Okay.. discuss in comments....

Book Review Discussion: Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney

Book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney
Genre: MG Graphic Novel
Rating:★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
For: Readathon
From: Bought from... somewhere

Short Synopsis: How to summarize these books?! It's more of Gregory and his life... this time with stories about his bum of an uncle coming to live with them, getting paired up for dancing in PE, finding a date to the school dance, going on a date with two boys and one girl, chicken pox, and I can't remember what else.

My Response: Fun as always, but I maintain that they are not as funny as the first ones. Silly silly fun though and perfect for the readathon!

Bottom Line: Kids will keep loving them. Adults might start getting tired of them! Did you know there's another coming out? :)

Let's Talk About: I seriously don't really know what to discuss regarding this book! I think middle school/junior high is crazy, but not as bad as these books make them out to be. That being said, they also strike at the truth so much! It's an interesting line between exaggeration and truth, don't' you think?

Other Reviews:

I don’t know if I’ve never really grown up or if I’m going through my second childhood, but I just love these books. From BermudaOnion's Weblog

These books never get old. From ReadingJunky's Reading Roost

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween-y Books

Here's some books I think would get you in the Halloween spirit! Some of my favorite, while maybe not scary books exactly, but books with a really nice dark and creepy atmosphere.

Top Ten Good Halloween Books

1. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
2. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
3. something by Stephen King... obviously!
4. Dracula by Bram Stoker
4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
5. Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice
6. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
8. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
9. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
10. Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

Have you read these books? Do you agree with my atmosphere assessment?
What would be on your list? Link up over at The Broke and the Bookish!