I don't know anyone that does not enjoy a good clean romance. Some of my girl friends growing up (who were really more boyish than girl, myself included) pretended to not get swept away by romantic stories, but as soon as we got together and started talking about the latest book or movie our tomboy side disappeared and we'd all sigh and talk about how great the story was. Well that's what the book "White Chocolate Moments", by Lori Wick, did to me, only no one I know has read it so I don't have anyone to sigh with. This book has a great story to it which I will give to you in a nutshell.
The main character grows up with her uber rich grandpa after her parents die, decides to venture out on her on when she turns 18, finds a job doing manual labor and has some pretty humbling experiences, also has to overcome some emotional issues from losing her parents at a young age, and through it all she manages to get an amazing guy to fall for her even before he knows that she is the granddaughter of one of the richest guys around. I really enjoyed this book because Arcineh, the main character, chooses to leave the comforts and riches of her previous life behind to prove to herself that she can make it on her own. She's not a spoiled brat like I expected her to be, she's actually a character that I kind of look up to because she refuses to use her relation to her grandfather to help get her ahead, especially when it could have helped her a lot when she was looking for a job.
This is good clean romance at it's finest and I highly recommend that you read it. It's about 350 pages, but it's a fairly easy read, so you'll only get to enjoy it for a few days. If you do read it, let me know so we can talk about it and sigh together. :)
Divergent has become a very popular motion picture, and in my opinion it is a movie that sticks fairly close to the book. Which I appreciate. The Divergent Series, by Veronica Roth, takes you in to a post world war 4 society that has been separated into 'factions' to help control the peace. Someone who doesn't fit into these factions is considered 'divergent' and is a threat to society. The main character, well two main characters really, show the reader what it means to truly be brave and selfless. Honestly before reading these books I thought that being brave meant that you weren't afraid of anything, but I have learned that it really means that you can face what you're afraid of and not crumble in fear. This story will suck you in with it's perfect mixture of trials and triumphs, battles, and romance. I also felt like it had this underlying message telling the reader, "you can do hard things".
The characters dedication and determination is inspiring, yet almost annoying at times. I wanted to yell into the pages, "You don't have to do that! It's okay to be selfish and just walk away!". You'll have to read the books to see what I mean. The series consists of three decent sized books, which may take a couple of weeks to get through. I read the whole series in less than a week, but that's because I was on maternity leave and had loads of free time. If you enjoyed reading "The Hunger Games" or the Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie, then I would highly suggest you read this series. Be sure to let me know what you think when you are done!
I'm going to share a secret with you, and if you are like me and you enjoy books that depict what the world will be like after everything goes kaput, then you are going to like this secret. My secret is a book called "Lightland", by Kenny Kemp. Ever heard of it? Neither had I until my mom brought it home from Costco one day. She said there was a guy sitting at a table all by himself and she didn't know what he was doing until she got closer and realized that he was an author doing a book signing for the book "Lightland". She felt bad for him because all these people were just walking by so she stopped and purchased a copy. I am so glad she did that! This book is about how a disease overtakes the world and the only hope society has is in a 6,000 year old skeleton and the canopic jar buried with it. "Lightland" will take you on an intense adventure, with some unpredictable twists, as the main characters battle to protect and use K'tanu (the skeleton) to save what's left of the humankind.
It will definitely hold your interest from start to finish. It also has a touch of romance and there were a few parts, I must admit, that made me cry. It's a book that you could easily get through in just a few days, (I suggest planning to read it on days where you won't be very busy because you won't want to put it down!). If you have already read "Lightland" or anything else by this author please let me know! I'd love to hear what you thought about the book!
This is going to let my geekier side show through, and I'm not even sure if this book really counts because it was a movie before it was a book, but I just have to put it on here. Everyone should have at least a basic knowledge of the Star Wars story, this particular book is the first three movies that came out which means they are the last three if you are going in numerical order. Maybe it's just the fan in me....but I really enjoyed reading this. It takes what I loved about the movies and made it even better by adding the extra details that books always have. You know like..."Yes Lord Vader", he said trembling in fear. The kind of stuff that you just don't get out a movie. Which satisfied my book worm side and my Star Wars fan side. The book is kind of thick, because it covers content from three movies, but it's what I would consider an 'easy read' so don't be intimidated by the size. I would definitely recommend this book whether you are a Star Wars fan or not. Who knows, maybe reading the book will persuade you to become a fan. ;)
Looking for a book that tells you ALL about what's going on inside that pregnant belly? And when I say all I mean ALL. The book "A Child Is Born", by Lennart Nilsson, is an all inclusive book that focuses solely on the baby. It starts with the decision to have a baby, then describes how a baby is conceived, then has week by week descriptions and pictures of how a baby grows and develops inside the womb and ends with the delivery. Now, for first time moms this book is probably not for you. It is full of pictures (of real live people) that illustrate what the author is discussing.
I personally was not prepared to see some of the stuff that is in this book. Not that anything about it is inappropriate, it's just that I couldn't really appreciate the beauty of pregnancy and birth until I actually went through it myself. Looking back through this book now doesn't really affect me like it did before. However, if the pictures don't bother you and you genuinely want to know everything about that little life that's growing inside you, then I would highly recommend this book. It's not very long and is mostly pictures, I loved having so many photos of the developing baby because then I knew exactly what this little thing kicking inside of me looked like. So go ahead and pick this book up, it will definitely satisfy your curiosity.
"Your Pregnancy Week by Week" by Glade B. Curtis, is another helpful book recommended to me. I read this one basically cover to cover and also found it to be helpful. It goes into more depth on some specific issues, but I felt like it left a lot of other information out. It is shorter than "What to Expect When You're Expecting" so if you are intimidated by big books then this may be just for you. I often had this book and "What to Expect" open at the same time because they complement each other. "What to Expect When You're Expecting" has more information and "Your Pregnancy Week by Week" takes some of that information and explains it a little more. If you're not a big reader and just want one book to go by, then this one is probably not the one you want to pick. It does have valuable information though, so if you have the time and motivation, then this is another one I would recommend keeping on your nightstand.
Ok, so I recently had a baby (she's 2 months old!) and I had people left and right recommending material for me to read. So, I thought I would do a little segment on here for some of the books that are out there. "What to Expect When You're Expecting", by Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg and Sandee Hathaway, is probably the most well known pregnancy book out there, and for good reason. This book really breaks down what you can look forward to during your pregnancy. It lists how the baby grows and develops each month, how you grow and develop, the symptoms you can expect, and some of the things that your care provider will look for at your appointments. It also includes tips for how to handle some of the side effects of pregnancy and has valuable information for those carrying multiples. As well as going into what you can expect of your body right after delivery.
I found this book to be very helpful and there is even a website to go with it found here which has even more information than the book. I kept this book on my nightstand for a quick reference throughout my pregnancy. It's not the type of book you have to read cover to cover, you can just skim through to read what interests/applies to you. It's definitely something good to have around, especially if this is your first pregnancy.
One of today's problems is that it is so easy for us to live outside of our income. It's basically impossible to tell how much someone makes because you never know if they can really afford that new lifted truck or if they bought it with a loan that has a ridiculously high interest rate because their credit is maxed out. "The Millionaire Fastlane: crack the code to wealth and live rich for a lifetime", by MJ DeMarco, breaks it down and describes how to truly live a wealthy life. One of the authors keynotes is defining 'wealth' as having freedom. Yes you have a nice new truck, and you also have the freedom to drive it everyday because you don't have to worry about how much gas costs. He argues that to be truly free we have to be able to control every aspect of our own lives, (you will have to read it to understand what he means by that).
This book is very informative, although I thought he could have gotten his point across in probably half the amount of pages. It's not exactly an easy read because he does use some terms and analogies that can be hard to understand at first (I personally had to reread some pages because I didn't quite get it all the first time). However, if you would enjoy some fresh ideas on lifestyle changes and how to better your income then this book may be just right for you.
Plan on spending some time with this one. I chose to read a little each day (during my lunch breaks at work) instead of trying to binge read the whole thing, which helped me learn more from the book because I was able to take time to really consider the theories he was sharing. Anyways, would recommend for those who are into ideas on how to "make it big", and like I said previously, plan on spending a couple weeks with this one to really be able to soak it all in. If you do read it, let me know what you think! I love to discuss topics like this and the only person I have right now is my husband, so I would love to hear from you!
Looking for a cute and easy read? The book "What the Doctor Ordered", by Sierra St. James is light and fun with just the right mixture of romance and comedy. The author uses the characters to show that, in the right setting, young love is a beautiful thing. (And by 'young love' I mean one character is in college and the other just graduated from med school).
The leading lady has a hilarious aunt that tries to play match maker and of course everything that could go wrong does, which makes it funny while at the same time quite romantic. In a world where getting married at 21 is considered young and getting married at 19 is outright ludicrous, it's nice to have a book that is more realistic. It makes it easier to put yourself in the position of the main character and identify with her. After all, not many of us fall in love at the ripe age of 16 like many popular books show.
This book will only take a day or two to read (depending on how much free time you have to sit down and enjoy it). I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants a clean romance to sweep them away for a few hours.
This quote right here basically sums up the way that I feel about books. I'm sure that A LOT of other people can relate to it as well. Which is why I am so excited to be starting this blog, because I just want to talk about books! Books take us out of this world and dump us in an alternate reality where we can escape life and pretend to be living in the middle of an adventure, or comedy, or mystery, or (my favorite) a romance. I can't tell you how many times a book has taken me out of real life and given me a small sanctuary, where I can forget about everything going on and pretend to be Elizabeth Bennet, or Katniss Everdeen, or a number of my other favorite characters.
Books quite literally give us wings and fly us away to a better place. However, not all books "fly us away" or catch our interest enough for us to make it past the first chapter, which is sad and frustrating at the same time. Especially if other people have told you it's SO good. So here I am, starting this blog of book reviews to hopefully help my fellow readers find books that they know they will enjoy before they turn the first page. I'll start with a few of my favorites and then work my way from there! If you have any suggestions for books that you like, or books that you would like to read but aren't sure if they are worth the time, I would love to hear them! Hopefully I will be able to read them and write a post for each one.
Well, that's it for tonight I guess. I'll get my first real post on here tomorrow and that's where the fun will begin!
- Carli
