Melephant

I picked this book up not knowing who Glen Beck was. Well I found out quickly that everyone has an opinion about him.

I listened to this story mostly while getting my house ready for Christmas Eve festivities and when my friends came by to drop off some Christmas cookies, they saw that I was audio booking a Christmas story by Glen Beck. They were surprised, and I wondered why.

Well, I Googled him, and now I know…

I actually really enjoyed this story. The author informs you at the end of the story that parts of it were based in truth- not all of it, but parts of it. I enjoyed the fact that he took something that happened to him when he was a little boy and turned it into an entertaining story.

Even if I may not agree with everything that he does or says, I liked this story.

I always enjoy a good Christmas read… Especially when it is by Richard Paul Evans.

This book caught my eye at the library when I was looking for another book, and I am glad that it did.

This was a really quick read, I read it mostly at home right before bed when I got home from work, mostly to unwind from my day. I enjoyed the way that the author wove the story together, and enjoyed that it was more realistic than many Christmas stories.

The main character has many flaws, and when he asks or forgiveness for his wrong doings, he is not given the absolution that he desires.

I can’t wait for his next book!

I picked this book up at Barnes and Noble while in Boston on a weekend getaway. I was interested in it for many reasons, one being why Starbucks would help save someone’s life. I began reading it in their cafe, over a venti mint hot chocolate- hold the whip.

I enjoyed this book mostly because the author has a good way of taking a step back from his life of privilege and commenting on the way “normal people” live and function in society. During some parts of this book, I found myself thinking “i this guy for real?” But in others, I found his insight to be refreshing.

While I understand that he had to change people’s names in the book so that no-one would be identified, I found myself wondering if this story was actually fact- or if more than anything, a fictitious replica of what he perceived to be fact during his stint as a Starbucks “partner”.

While the book was entertaining, every time I would pick up the book to read another chapter, it made me in the mood for Starbucks coffee. Starbucks should give this guy a promotion!

I have been trying to keep up with the Challenge, but have been feeling a bit stressed out over the Holidays. We celebrated both Christmas and Chanukah this year. Before you ask why, let me explain.

My husband’s mother’s new husband’s ex wife’s children (confused yet? I know I am) are Jewish, so they spent the Holiday with their father. So we spent the Holiday over my mother in law’s house. Then Christmas was at our house, with both my husband and my family. Oh and not to mention dogs- lots and lots of dogs. Before you ask why, let me explain.

I have 1 dog, Ditto, who is a cute little mutt. I am also dog sitting for my friend Kelly, who has 2 dogs, Mini and Savannah, who are a min pin and larger mutt, respectively. Then my sister in law brought her 1 dog, Jack, who is a Beagle. So we had 10 people and 4 dogs all running around the house. It was, to say the least, lots of fun. But by the end of the night, the dogs overtook the couch and fell asleep, while we all sat on the floor and around the Christmas tree. So I am a little spent after all of the Holiday gatherings.

So back to the book-

It took me a while to get into this book (I think it is because of the excessive use of commas that the author used, all of the time, in every sentence, to break up every thought). But once I got past that, I really liked the book. It was a good story.

I would be interested in reading another one of her books if she chooses to write one, especially if it is in the same genre as this one. I enjoyed the mystical side of this book, and it reminded me a lot of another Author that I enjoyed very much- Sarah Addison Allen.

I’ve been working too much and reading too little. However, I did get enough time to finish one more challenge read! I finished it when I got home from work at midnight, and I found that I just couldn’t put it down once I got closer to the end of it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. This is the second book that I read by this author, and I found it to be very enjoyable.

The characters in this book have depth and I was able to relate to them easily. The only one thing I would have changed was the amount of time spent gossiping about one of the characters’ marriage problems. I would have liked to get more story instead. But other than that, it was enjoyable.

I was reading it in the car this past weekend, when I was on my way home from the mall with my husband driving. He asked me ow I was enjoying the book, and I relayed to him that it focused a bit too much on one of the main characters marriages. I didn’t mean for him to respond to my observation, but he did.

He pointed out that maybe the book had more to do with Anna Karenina than I thought it did. Has anyone read the story of Anna Karenina? Now that I have read this book, I am quite interested in reading Anna Karenina. I have never tried reading Russian authors, I never thought that I would enjoy the harsh analogies or writing styles. But now I am intrigued.

I haven’t been reading very much lately. Between the Holidays and work, I have been keeping pretty busy. This is my latest Challenge read, which I just finished yesterday on my way home from work at midnight.

I audio booked this one on my way to and from work. By the end I felt that the author rambled on and on and on, and she could have finished the book almost an entire CD earlier than she did and it would have been fine by me.

I also found some of the story to be repetitive and kind of silly. Like the parts about the mom’s that spent soo much money on their children’s clothes and schooling. And don’t even get me started about the preschool choices!

At times I found the book to be a bit frivolous, as well as outrageous. But it was still an enjoyable read, and it did entertain me on my way to and from work.

I picked up another one of her books in book form, which I might enjoy more because I can skip the parts that I find to be not believable. I will let you know how that goes…

This was a quick, easy read for the Challenge. I used this book for a task I had not originally intended it for- for the getting paid task, in which you read a book that the main character has a job that you either have or would love to have. The main character owns a knitting store. How fitting!

I love reading Christmas books in December, so this seemed like a good choice.

I enjoyed this story by Kate Jacobs. However, I wish that I would have read her other knitting books prior to beginning this one. I may have more insight into the characters that way. I felt like she was kind of picking up where she left off with her earlier novels.

If you intend to read this book as a stand alone, I would tell you not to. She doesn’t spend a lot of time building characters, but more time going back and forth from past to present. At times, I felt lost and I don’t think that I truly got the meaning of the book.

However, it was still a good story which I enjoyed very much. So all in all, a success.

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest challenge read by Rebecca Wells.

I have read all of Rebecca Wells previous books, and while they were good, her latest book was great!

I found myself wanting more when I finished it. I wanted to know that the main character truly found happiness in her new life. I wanted to know if she would have any children, and if they would grow up with the same fantastic childhood that she had.

Rebecca has a way of pulling you into her books and making you really care for the characters. And this book wasn’t any different- from the beginning, which opened to Calla Lilly Ponder’s childhood and focused on growing up in a small southern town and then spreading her wings as a young woman in a big city. It focused on friendship as well as marriage and even touched on career- choosing something that makes you happy, not just a job to pass the time.

This book is part of a 3 part challenge in which I have to finish 3 books in alphabetical order. I already finished B, and am currently reading A. I should be done with A in a little bit, so come on back soon for another finished book!

I did enjoy this book, although I have to say, this is not one of her best.

Her previous books have been kind of fluffy, more chick lit. I felt like with this book she was trying to go to ore of a Thelma and Louise type thing, girls on the run from the law. I wasn’t as interested in this one as I was her other books.

I think that was partially because I was unable to relate to either of the main characters on any level. At times I found myself getting frustrated with some of the things that they were doing or saying. I just wanted Val to stick up for herself and not rely so much on her best friend, and I wanted to yell at Addie to start enjoying her life and quit moping.
I can’ wait for her next book. Hopefully she will go back to her old writing style and put out a book that is fun to read.

My latest Challenge Read was by a British author that I have never read before. I always love a good British love story. When I visited the UK, I bought an entire suitcase of books home with me to read.

I picked this one up from the library a while ago and then forgot about it until last week. It was a fun read, and when I finished it, I felt like I wanted to know more of the story. I do hope that her other books are just as good.

I thoroughly enjoyed how all of the side stories in this book came together as one web of different experiences in parenting. I do wish that she had focused more on the back story of before she became pregnant, and bought more of her life sans child to the story, but it was still very enjoyable.