101 Progress - August 2012

Here's what I did in August 2012

~ Blogged about my 101 progress, obviously! ;) 
~ Wrote a letter to a friend/a different friend.
~ Finished Reading the following book(s):
       The Host

~ Things fell apart with the book club meeting this month but I did create a blog for us and have already started next month's book. :) Hopefully I'll finish this month's book quickly so I can read more than one book this month. :)

~ Still writing in my journal albeit not as much this month but still writing.
~ Counted my pencils/pens; I'm at 269 - 16 more than last month! I bought 12 (they were Muppets and Icee pencils; too cute to pass up) and I found a few around my house. Some them were pens too.
         Funny story for one of the pens. Andy and I went out to lunch and the pen that the guy gave us to sign with said "The Pen has been stolen from: Douglas Pest Control Inc." Now I know that it was prolly one of those pens that was made to look like it was stolen, but it was still fun to "steal" a "stolen" pen. But if anyone asks, just tell them that I accidentally forgot and walked away with it. ;)

~ Counted my nail polish; I'm at 77!! - 5 new ones and I got all of them for FREE!!! I got a magnetic one from my mom (YAY for packages!!), I got 2 bottles of Essie as Klout perks and I got 2 for .033 cents a piece (which is free in my book) from Julep. I'm not sure how long this is going on but if you sign up to be a Julep Maven and enter in the code PENNY you will get your first Julep Maven box for one penny. If you don't want to continue receiving Julep boxes just cancel your account after you receive your first box. :) Click HERE to learn more and sign up. :)

~ Found jewelry. I don't know if I'll ever find it all. But I found some and once it's all organized and in my jewelry box I'll count this one as completed. lol
~ Pedicure of the Month - It was the Olympics so of course I had to do something fun for that! ;)

~ Song of the month: I haven't found a specific song for me this month, so I think I will dedicate this month's song to my Grandma (Mom-mom) who passed away on August 1st 2007. There are two songs that remind me of her: Alexander's Ragtime Band and Flight of the Bumblebee. I found a really good video for Flight of the Bumblebee so we'll go with that one. :)

Book Review: The Host

Click the picture to follow me on Goodreads

"Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
This month for my book club we read The Host by Stephanie Meyer (Author of Twilight). First of all, it was hard for me to get into this book but I have said that about all of the book club books that I've read so far. I have pondered why it has been hard for me to get into the book club books and have come to the realization that it is my mentality. I think that most times I feel like I have to read the book as opposed to wanting to read it. I am going to try and get over that personal hump and focus on reading these books so that I can connect with the other people in my book club rather than thinking that it's just another book that I have to read. If you like a little bit of love, a little bit of Sci-Fi, and a little bit of fun banter I think that you will really enjoy this book and it won't be hard to get into it at all.

Once I got into this book I couldn't put it down.  I HAD to know what would happen. The two main characters, Wanderer and Melanie both existed within one body and both of them were very different. While they both longed for Jared, Wanderer had a very logical way of thinking, she loved everyone and was filled with guilt if something happened to one of the other humans. Melanie on the other hand had eyes for only two people, Jared and herself. Melanie reminded me a lot of Bella from the Twilight books, she was a little whiny, clingy and very stubborn. Melanie was trapped in her own body, unable to speak or do anything for herself, all she longed for was Jared and she made sure that Wanderer knew it. LOL

I really loved the banter between Wanderer and Melanie since they were so different. I thought it was funny how they would silently argue with each other, their personalities clashed but did so very well; it made for a very interesting and fun dialog. Sometimes the dialog between them was a little hard to follow since Stephanie didn't use quotation marks when they were talking to each other but it was fun nonetheless. Plus you did get used to it after a while. :)

I really connected to Wanderer. She was pulled in so many different directions. She was very literally stuck in the middle of a love triangle. She came into the human's cave knowing that some hated her, some liked her, some loved her for the alien that she truly was and she in turn loved everyone. She was selfless. I am selfish and can admit it. She inspired me to want to be more selfless. To stop thinking only of myself and rather look at those around me; think about what my actions do to everyone.

This book had a wide range of emotion. It made me laugh, made me frustrated, made me mad, made me happy, made me cry, and made me cry. Oh did I mention that it made me cry?! LOL It was a great book and definitely worth reading. :)

Rating:





Your Book Reviewer,
Jessy <3

Book Review: The Forgotten Garden

Click the picture to follow me on Good Reads

"Cassandra is lost, alone and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident ten years ago, feels like she has lost everything dear to her. But an unexpected and mysterious bequest from Nell turns Cassandra's life upside down and ends up challenging everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.

Inheriting a book of dark and intriguing fairytales written by Eliza Makepeace - the Victorian authoress who disappeared mysteriously in the early twentieth century - Cassandra takes her courage in both hands to follow in the footsteps of Nell on a quest to find out the truth about their history, their family and their past; little knowing that in the process, she will also discover a new life for herself."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am a girl who loves a good mystery. That is what this book is, a great mystery! Cassandra is sent on this journey to discover her grandmother, Nell's, past. Nell grew up thinking that she was the daughter of one couple, finding out that she was abandoned as a small child and then died never knowing who her real parents were or where she came from. Nell literally handed her granddaughter, Cassandra, the key to unlocking the mystery of her past. So Cassandra decided to finish the research that her grandma started 30 years earlier.

Parts of this book were a little bit confusing to me. One thing that confused me about the book was the style in which it was written. It followed two, eventually three, story lines. It followed Cassandra on her quest, it followed Nell's discoveries and eventually followed Eliza's story line as well. Once you make a conscious effort to notice the year at the beginning of each chapter you are good to go and it gets less confusing.

There was one other key point that confused me and that was figuring out who was related to who and how this person or that person fit into the story. There was one point while I was reading that I literally had to stop, get out a piece of paper and work backwards from Cassandra so I could see how everyone fit into the puzzle. Once I saw it on paper it made a little more sense and I was able to continue reading.

Other than those two minor frustrations it was a great book. I'm not if it's just me or if everyone had a hard time getting into the book, but there comes a point in the book when you just can't put it down. As Cassandra gets closer and closer to solving this mystery, you think that you're on the brink of discovering something big and then the chapter ends and flips back to the year 1900!!! Seriously, really hard to put or down after that point.

One thing that I really liked was the fact that they incorporated some of Eliza's fairy tales into the book. Reading some of her fairy tales made me wish that I had a copy of her book to read. I think the author should make a book with all of Eliza's fairy tales. I would read that one over and over.

If you decide to read this book and can't get into it, don't give up on it!! It is a fantastic book and I'm so glad that my book club is expanding my horizons when it comes to book genres. It's been great to read some books that I probably never would've read otherwise. :)

Rating:

Your Book Reviewer,
Jessy <3

Book Review - The Book Thief

 

This book is the first book for the book club that I joined so I read it within a month's time. Which is amazing for me, since I'm still reading Dracula that started back in October 2011. LOL I guess a time limit is a very good thing for me. LOL

Here is the description of the book as told on the back cover: 

"It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul."

Many of the books that I've read are written in a first-person format as someone is telling their story. Very rarely have I found a book that is narrated by someone who is overlooking all parts of every situation. I have never encountered a book that was narrated by Death. In this book Death is portrayed as a person who is narrating, rather than a thing that happens - so you get to hear his side of the story as well. 

This book was hard for me to get into and felt a little slow. But I stuck it out and read the whole book and you know what? I am so glad that I did. 

Liesel is one of the main characters in the book and she is "The Book Thief." She is a little girl who watched her little brother die and fights with her nightmares about the event every night. She is brought into a foster home with a mom who is very strict and dad who is very loving; he teaches her to read and write. The little family is very poor, but Liesel loves her books so much that she resorts to stealing to get another one. 

Another thing that I thought was very unique about this book was the fact that it was written from a German's perspective during WWII. There are all sorts of books about the Jews and their tribulations during WWII but very rarely do you hear about what the Germans were going through. Believe it or not they suffered too, and not all of the Germans were bad. In this story, Leisel's family was comprised of some of the good Germans.

Since this book is narrated by Death, I will tell you that it does not have a fairy-tale ending. To tell you the truth I cried like a baby, I needed tissues and everything. However, reading this book made me realize just how powerful words are and how much a book can be good for your soul. I got very inspired to write my own book just so that I would be able to share that power and inspiration with someone else.

Even though The Book Thief can be hard to get into and doesn't have a fairy-tale ending, it is one that I would recommend. It helped me not only see the power of words but also the goodness that can be found in people.

Your Book Reviewer,

          Jessy <3

Book Review - Kiss of Fire

 

I decided that since I am reading all of these books, It might be fun to do book reviews. Now don't worry, I am not the type of girl who spoils the book for everyone. So I promise not to reveal too much about the books just in case you end up reading them. 

This first book review is about Kiss of Fire by Deborah Cooke. It is one that found at a local bookstore in the Paranormal Romance section. LOL Since it is a "romance" novel there are some very explicit parts in this book. - You've been warned.

Here is the author's description of the book: She explains it so much better than I can...lol

"When ace accountant Sara Keegan decides to settle down and run her quirky aunt's New Age bookstore, she's not looking for adventure. She doesn't believe in fate or the magic of tarot cards, but when she's saved from a vicious attack by a man who has the ability to turn into a fire-breathing dragon, she questions whether she's losing her mind - or about to lose her heart.

Self-reliant loner Quinn Tyrrell has long been distrustful of his fellow Pyr. When he feels the firestorm that signals his destined mate, he's determined to protect and possess Sara, regardless of the cost. Then Sara's true destiny is revealed and Quinn realizes he must risk everything - even Sara's love - to fulfill their entwined fates."


As usual, this book took me forever to read, simply because I'm like that little dog who can't stay focused. I end up finding another book that is prettier, shinier, and must be read. So I end up reading multiple books at the same time. Also, this book was lost in my room for a while - it was hiding from me. lol 

I will admit this book was not all that I had expected, and definitely wasn't like some of the other "Paranormal Romance" books that I've read. It did have a very good story-line and I really enjoyed learning about the Pyr lore that was told throughout the story.

In the book, Sara discovers that she is destined for far greater things than simply running her deceased aunt's book store. Her aunt even helps her realize this by making books fall to give her clues, and making sure the tarot cards end up at the top of Sara's purse. Quinn is a traveling blacksmith who just happens to have the ability to turn into a dragon and feels drawn to Sara in every way possible. He fights for what he believes is right all while trying to mend his broken heart from someone he lost in the past.

This book was hard for me to get into at first, but in the end it was a great story of love, learning how to trust after not having trusted anyone for a very long time, fighting for what is right, and discovering the power of fate and destiny.

If you're not into romance novels or anything explicit, this book is not for you. lol But if you are and like a little bit of fantasy to go with that. It was a good read. :)


Your Book Reviewer,
         Jessy <3