What I'm Reading Wednesday

I am going to try to bring this weekly post back because I know I am always looking for a new book (even though I own over 250 that I have yet to read)... yes I am a book hoarder. Lucky for my husband MOST of those 250+ books are on my ereader so I don't have to worry about how much space my books take up. However, our house did come with a little built in book shelf which made me so happy! I have wanted a built in shelf for as long as I can remember. And my husband actually thought I was going to use it for decorations... UM NO! The only time my books come down is Christmas because I have a LOT of decorations and they fit in the shelf perfectly. I mean, just looking at this makes me happy!

The shelf above holds only books that I have not read yet. Once I read a book it doesn't go back on that shelf because, well, I have a bad memory. I don't want to have to look at my goodreads account to see if I have read a book that I already own. I use goodreads to keep track of the books so I don't double buy (I have done it more than once).

I have read quite a bit recently (more so over summer than now) and I want to share the books with you. My goal has always been a book a week but some books are taking me longer due to all my other hobbies and such. But it's ok because I have plenty of books to share! I am definitely not going to be posting these in the order I read them because I never kept track of when I finished a book until this year.

So with all that said... the first book I want to share with you is...

(Clicking the image will take you to the book on amazon)

This is the first book I read by Jodi Picoult. The only book I have of hers on my wishlist is House Rules, and I have yet to read it. But there are a ton of books in our faculty room for us to borrow and I saw this one so I decided to give it a whirl.

Honesty- it took me over a week (maybe two) to really get into it. I read the first 30-40 pages 3 times I think. There are a lot of characters that get introduced right away and I was just not remembering them all and who each person was because I was reading for a short amount of time then taking a few days away due to exhaustion and being busy. But once I got into the book, I had to keep going. Now, I don't usually read "deep" books. I read fluff. I read brainless books. Books that make you laugh, smile, and saw aww.... chick lit. So when I finished this one, I had to take time away from the serious stuff. It is intense.

This book is about Sterling High School- a completely normal school, until one day there is a shooting that turns everyone's world upside down. Even the people in the town. Friendships are strained. Victims are plenty. And the one student who would be the best witness for the state, can't seem to remember anything from that day. And the shooter has issues of his own that we find out more and more about through the story.

This book makes you stop and think about what it is like to be different, what goes through the shooter's mind, what causes these events, and if anyone is really how they seem to be.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars, mainly because it took me a while to truly get into it. I did like reading it but it took too long for me to get going with it. It is very 'heavy' in terms of the types of books I read, but I did enjoy reading it and seeing the story develop and getting a look into each character's life and what events shaped them into the people they came to be at the time of the incident.

What I'm Reading Wednesday

I'm back with another book. So far I am doing pretty good with my plan to read one book a week! This week's book is

Charlie is about to be turning 30 and is single as single can be. Since she thinks she will never have her own children, let alone grandchildren, she is writing a guide for her future great niece with tips for girls (dating and life tips). Her big tip- never wait by the phone...which she is doing as this book starts. Waiting for Dave to call. And when he does...it is not the outcome she had hoped for. Charlie is an assistant to a movie star who calls her at all hours to do crazy things (like get his arm unstuck from the toilet!). He throws a dinner party and invites her as well as two potential men.... While spending time with Doug, deep down, it seems Charlie can't stop thinking about Jordan. Will she end up happily in love or just forever single (and wallowing in self pity as her younger sister is getting married and she is the MoH)?

I loved this book! It has been on my wishlist for a LONG time and I am so glad that I finally grabbed it and read it. There were points where I was literally laughing out loud. Yes- I am one of those people that laughs when they are reading. I react to books like people react to tv. I visualize the book from start to finish as if it is a movie. My husband has yet to get used to this and will often ask me what I am laughing at. Sometimes I try to explain... but most times, he really doesn't care once he realizes I am laughing at yet another book.

One of my favorite things in this book... some of the quotes were actually blog worthy! And why not share them?!

"Don't do anything in your life to get someone else's approval. Yours is the only one that matters." (This was one of Charlie's pieces of advice to her future great neice.)

"Don't be jealous of anyone. I guarantee you, if everyone walked into a room and dumped their problems onto the floor, when they saw what everyone else's problems were, they'd be scrambling to get their own problems back before someone else got to them first." (Drew- Charlie's actor boss- tells her this. It is actually a line from one of his movies (or a movie), however I have NO CLUE if this is a line from a real movie or not. Either way... it speaks volumes.)

"There is nothing more painful in life that to be invisible. Try to never make anyone in your life feel that way."

If this sounds like something you are interested, the picture above will take you to the link on amazon. Just click the following link, A Total Waste of Makeup. I have no clue what I did to break the link on my image. It is available in kindle and paperback. It is also available on B&N. There is another book in Charlie's series and I will be reading that one next. Stay tuned...

What I'm Reading Wednesday

I am back with another week of What I'm Reading. This one is out of my normal genre but I couldn't pass it up.

If you are a football fan you may remember in 2007 when Kevin Everett had a bad hit when tackling and was paralyzed at the Bills season opener against Houston. Tim and I were at that game and I don't think that is an image ANYONE that saw it will ever forget. It was scary. Beyond scary. And it was unlikely that he would ever walk again. He beat the odds and this book is his story. I am not typically a nonfiction reader but when it popped up on Amazon when I was searching for something else, I just had to grab it. The book takes you through his highs and lows of recovery and is definitely worth the read if you are interested in his story or the story of what may have been influential factors in his recovery. It was very interesting!

What I'm Reading Wednesday

One of my resolutions was to read more because it is something that I love to do and never take enough time for it. And since I am trying to really keep myself on track I decided to share with my readers what I am reading. I have this feature over on my mommy blog but figured I would share here too since I know teachers are always looking for new books.  My goal is one book a week. I am using this weekly feature to help keep me accountable. The first book I want to share that I just finished is

I have read all of the books in this series and I love them! I typically finish in a day or two, depending on how much free time I have. I have been dying to read this one since it was released and finally had time to sit down with it over winter break.

The entire series is about Maddie Springer- shoe designer and wife of a detective who always finds herself in the middle of a murder, and typically FINDING the murder victim. This one puts her best friend's movie star boyfriend at the top of the suspect list when his Dancing with Celebrities co-star is found naked and dead in his dressing room!  Is he guilty of murder AND cheating on his girlfriend (Dana) of three years? While Maddie and Dana believe he is innocent, on at least one account, Dana is relying on Maddie, new mom of twins, to help solve the crime before he is behind bars.

If you are interested in this book, clicking the image above will take you to the link on amazon. It is available for kindle, nook, and in paperback. If you want to start from book one, you can click here... and the kindle version is FREE! And books 1-5 in the series are bundled here. (As of now there are 7 full books and a couple novellas in the series. I have the novellas but have not read them yet.)