I realized that I left my last blog saying that I was going to be better at this blogging thing again… and I haven't really held up my end of the bargain. Also our friends are having a boy! It was revealed in the best of ways and we are very happy for them. Back to the matter at hand…

Of course you know what really got in my way - Christmas. Yes, Christmas has derailed my blogging but I'm back and going to fill you in on the books I read recently-ish (within the last 4 months or so). 

So to be clear, I read these four books just before we moved, four months ago. I borrowed them from a friend and had to finish them before we left. 

I first have to say that John Green is wonderful. I have loved the video blogs that him and his brother Hank Green have (check them out here) and knew the books would be good. And they were! The Fault in Our Stars is a heart-breaking love story and recently lost out to the Harry Potter Series in Entertainment Weekly's "Best Young Adult Novel of All Time" bracket game (see more here). The people have spoken.

Paper Towns was also a heart wrenching novel… I feel like possibly all Green's novels might be but I'd like to read them all so I guess if I feel wrecked at the end of reading them, I knew what I was getting myself into.

I was always tempted to read The Year of Living Biblically because I thought. "A man who takes the all the law in the Old Testament seriously is up for quite a time." And he was. And it was hilarious. And lovely. And a million other adjectives that would also fit nicely here. Mostly, I laughed out loud at the situations he found himself in.

One of the things I love about books is their covers. You know the saying, "Never judge a book by it's cover?" Well, I do. I do it all the time. I will be walking in the library or a book store and stop to pick up a book just because of its cover. I'll then read what the book is about before I take it home with me but a good cover is everything. The Thirteenth Tale has such a cover. Every time I saw it, I knew I needed to read it and I was so glad when my friend lent it to me (She's wonderful, by the way). It was intriguing, mysterious, and was written in such a spectacular way. You just need to read it.

I'm sorry that these aren't full blown reviews but I need to move on to the present day readings. These books are wonderful and I recommend picking them up for yourself if you haven't already. 

Christmas is right around the corner and I don't know if I'll be able to do any more blogging before then - see above - but until next time: Merry Christmas!

The Wakeful Dreamer
 

Stating that tomorrow is the apocalypse is only true if you happen to know that apocalypse means revelation and if you happen to be attending a party where friends of yours are "revealing" the gender of their baby…

Okay, I know it is supposed to be "double hitter" but I'm mixing is around a little bit. It's summer time - a time to be a little crazy. It's also a time where I've found that I'm back on the reading train. 

I started it off with The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, where I was drawn into the life of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley. I heard a lot about this book from my book club, so much so that I had to read it so that I could at least understand what they were referencing - mostly how much they hated Ernest Hemingway by the end of the book because of the way he treated his wife. 

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is the first book in a trilogy, apparently. I say apparently because I just learned this when I was looking for a picture for this blog post. Which is a little disappointing because one of the things I liked about the book was that I felt like it ended well.  Another thing I liked about it is that it has more of a Russian influence as opposed to being more North American. Reading it made me want a beautiful fur coat (and I don't even like fur coats). 

Getting free books is always wonderful and this is how I got my hands on The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. I have two feelings when dealing with Atwood: curiosity and avoidance. The curiosity comes from the fact that she does write great books that make me think a lot. The avoidance comes from the fact that 99% of time I end up in a funk after reading any book of hers because I've been thinking too much. Needless-to-say, it happened again. 

Right now I'm trying to get over The Year of the Flood by reading another book but we will have to see how it goes...

The Wakeful Dreamer

Officially on holidays, seven minutes ago! Here is to a week of rest and relaxation. Right now I'm listening to new music and drinking lemon water slowly and thoughtfully. Which maybe doesn't sound that exciting but it's better then getting a few quick sips while I'm working. I'm starting slow okay? 

And speaking of slow, I've been a bad blogger but I've also been a bad reader as of late. I've been have a hard time getting into anything but I think I've solved my problem... I'll tell you more about that later.

For the other book club I'm apart of we read The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society by Darien Gee. The book is about a group of women who get together, share their lives and memories, through scrapbooking. There are several characters that you follow around through their good and bad times. Each challenge is unique but all of them need each other to work it out. 


Yes, it is a feel-good book and I'm even going to go out and say that everything does work out in the end, maybe not exactly perfectly but it brings a smile to your face. There are also a few funny incidents which made me laugh out loud. 


So embrace summer and read a feel-good book. Outside and in the sun...


The Wakeful Dreamer

I love long weekends and I especially love when I take the Friday off to make it an extra long weekend. It is the simple things in life, my friends, that can make it all worth while. 

I'm not sure if you have have noticed but society these days has an appreciation for "fails" - what is this, you ask? Anything that someone is trying to do right but ultimately fails at it and getting it caught on camera makes it even better. Believe it or not, Cake Wrecks by Jen Yates was part of the Mother's Day display (clearly someone has my sense of humor). 

I'm sure you can guess that this book is filled with well wrecked cakes and you would be right. These are cakes that people have made and there are some cakes that are down right disturbing but most of them are hilarious because the whole time you are thinking "What would made a person do that!?!" Also the spelling and grammar mistakes are priceless. 

This book is based on Yates' blog where people continue to send in their pictures of wrecked cakes. If you'd like to smile, laugh, and even give a little gasp of horror please visit it here: http://www.cakewrecks.com/

The ladies in my book club have been talking a lot about the book we have to read for June, A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy. Apparently, Mrs. Binchy has written a lot of books but she has also recently passed away so reading this book, her last book, is of great significance... but only if you enjoyed any of her other works which I had not. 

I didn't know what to expect. Every one seemed to have read more then two of her books and when they raved I just looked at my shoes because I had no idea who they were talking about. But now I do. And now I know why they raved because she was an excellent writer. 

I was picked up and carried along in the story of the opening of a new bed and breakfast where all the characters have something important to be worked out during the week they stay at the new house. 

Every chapter in the book is someone's life and Mrs. Binchy weaves their tales dramatically, and with a little humor, through time and through the other characters lives. 

I was a really great read. Both books were and I'm glad to have had such a positive read week to share with you...

The Wakeful Dreamer

You know it's been a long time since you blogged last because you can't recognize the main website to get to your said blog. 

I know. It's my fault. But let's move on, shall we? Personally, I'd like to blame the incredible and partly-still-hovering-around-the-edges winter we are having. Though I'm fighting the good fight by wearing shorts today... with slippers... 

I've read a few books since I last blogged. I may have slacked on the blogging but not on the reading! 

I've been trying to get my hands on the Artemis Fowl Series for a long time, because some people don't feel like they need to return library books back on time. I guess late is better than never and I'm glad I waited because they are good books. I've only been able to read the first two: Artemis Fowl and Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident but they are about the main character, Artemis Fowl, who is a mastermind criminal and only a teenager! He is trying to regain his family's fortune and find his father while getting into some very magical areas. It's a good juvenile fiction read. 

Castle has to be one of my favorite television shows. It's a crime drama where a writer tags along with a homicide detective because she is the muse for his new crime novels. And just what did ABC do? They made the fictitious novel into real fiction (try to say that three times fast)! Heat Wave is the first book of four books that the broadcasting company has released along side the show. I liked it because there are a lot of parts that coincide with the show. Other than that it is not the best written book out there but there is enough going on that you do have to think about who the murderer is.

Indian Horse is a book that I had to read for my book club and I actually liked it. I felt like it had good pace and was well written. It is about an aboriginal boy who started out by growing up with his family but was later placed in a residential school. To escape the horrors of what happened at the school, he pours himself into being a great hockey player. It actually has a hopeful ending which I was not expecting having read similar Canadian books and I think that is what made me like it more.

Looking back now I see the wide range of books that I've read in the past month. A little bit for everyone, I think. Until next time...

The Wakeful Dreamer 

Spring is here! ... well sort of. At least the snow is trying to melt. I'll give it some credit. 

It seems like right now I'm mostly reading books for book clubs but right now that feels like all I have time for, so without further ado: I read The Purchase for this month (April) for a book club. 

The story is about a Quaker who moves his family to Virginia after his wife has died. His life is bond to a boy slave whom he purchases at an auction. The book goes on to show how the purchase of this one boy changes everyone's life for years to come. 

I initially like the idea of the story but I do not like the way in which it was written. Linda Spalding covers a lot of time in her book and several stories which I feel one book could have been on each relationship in the overall novel. There were also times where in a sentence an entire year was skipped so sometimes I wasn't really sure how someone got older and I'd have to go back and read it again. All in all, I wouldn't really recommend it. 


Now I just have to find the next thing to read...

The Wakeful Dreamer  

Right now I'm in love with the idea of baking. I just saw a recipe for a lemon cake that I wish would just magically appear in front of me. Or I wish someone would hurry up and invent a replicator, like in Star Trek, so that it can appear in front of me. Has no one ever wondered why no one in Star Trek is over weight because they can have whatever they want when they want it? It could be a bad scene for me...

Speaking From Among the Bones is the latest book in one of my favorite book series. I love the main character Flavia de Luce and how she rides around on her beloved Gladys (her bicycle) solving murders. In this book she is trying to solve the murder of the church organist and stumbles into much deeper mysteries. 

This book had me yelling "WHAT?!?" at the end because - well I don't want to say too much and give it away, so, just read it okay? 

The Wakeful Dreamer

I feel a little bit like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland - feeling like I've been running around thinking "I'm late, I'm late!" 

Mostly this feeling comes when I think about writing a blog or responding to emails. I know a response doesn't have to been within the next three seconds but sometime this year might be a good idea... so this post may be quick but then at least I'll get it all out.

The Story of English was a book my grandpa gave to me in the summer and I finished it before Christmas. I know that is a long time but I read other things in between and sometimes sitting down to just read history needs some breaks. I finished it and have a new knowledge about English - about how it has evolved and changed, influencing not just other cultures but letting itself be influenced as well. If you are interested in knowing more there is also a documentary...

I found out about Cloud Atlas when I first saw the trailer. When I saw it was based on a book I went to the library to check it out. I flipped through a few pages and decided it might be something I could get into. My wonderful husband bought it for me and I got sucked into a wonderful world of how lives can connect over years and centuries. Not sure how the movie will work everything out but the book is one I would read again. 

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is the pick of the month for March for the book club I'm in. It's the story of a man who starts walking to save an old friend who is dying from cancer and along the way comes face to face with the parts of his life that he has been ignoring. Though it is a book that I wouldn't recommend for everyone I did like it.

Confession time: I'm now apart of two book clubs. How much can one person handle? Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see... The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is for my new book club. It's one that I have heard lots about but never got around to reading (this is why book clubs are good). It's about a boy who has autism and while he tries to figure out who killed his neighbor's dog, he ends up discovering secrets surrounding his own life. This is an interesting read because it is written in first person from the mind of the autistic boy. 

Not sure what reading is next on the horizon for me but I'm sure I'll try to write another blog before I'm done with four books again! That or I may take a nap...

The Wakeful Dreamer

I know you will all think I'm from the 1800's if I say this but... I don't own a cellphone. Someday in the future maybe I will but until that point I remain not totally opposed but yes, I will be that person who watches as you walk into a pole while texting (okay, I'm not that malicious, I would try at last to warn you). 

I have watched people all day half bent over their cellphones while they wait for appointments and all looks very painful! I think my future occupation should be a chiropractor because someone is going to need to help all these poor souls. 

I've gotten off to a terrible start this year and have hardly read anything at all! I did manage to read Falling Backwards, Jann Arden's memoir for my book club and I have to admit that it took awhile. It was kind of a hard read because it was so... scattered. 

She wrote about her whole life, and there are some amazing stories in there, however she would start one story and then tell five more stories before finishing the original one. She does touch on sexual abuse and women in a really sensitive and open way that I found interesting but that part is minor compared to the craziness that was/is her life. 

I guess it was supposed to read somewhat like actually having a conversation with her but I found it too hard to read. Having a really conversation with her would be fine... I think. 

The Wakeful Dreamer