Where do you fall...

I saw this article - Where do you fall in the poll of U.S. reading habits - on a fellow book lovers blog and I cannot believe some of the numbers.

One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year!!

I'm not sure where I would be today if I didn't know how to read - but I know I would be a very dull, bored, perhaps even lazy person. I cannot even imagine!

Princess Academy

Princess Academy
Shannon Hale
3 1/2 Stars

This book was perfect for it's ideal audience. It's a young adult fiction about a village, Mount Eskel. Here the girls are informed that one will be chosen to marry the prince so they all must attend a Princess Academy where they will be educated on how a princess should act and be prepared to meet the prince.

Miri, the main character is a cute 14 year old girl who finds herself wrapped up in the competition to be top of her class. She is torn between her home at Mount Eskel and the chance for a new home in the lowlands. She makes new discoveries while at the academy that can change her life and the way of all her village.

The book was quite a nice surprise and very refreshing. It was fun to cheer for the triumphs of Miri, and each of the girls. If I would have picked this book up as a teenager, around 13 - to 16 I would have adored this book!

AustenLand

AustenLand
Shannon Hale
4 Stars

This cute-under-200-page-book was just the right pick me up for me. I was had read Harry Potter but was still waiting for Eclipse to come out when I saw it calling my name on the shelf at the library.

I have seen many other bloggers mention Shannon Hale and heard her name mentioned at several book club meetings too. She has a fun website - here. She's a local SLC girl and such a fun writer.

If you love Pride and Prejudice - particularly the BBC version then this book is a must. The main character - Jane - is a 32 year old closet P&P fanatic and cannot find a man who measures up to Mr. Darcy. When her Aunt leaves her with a all expensive paid trip to Austenland she believes this is the time in her life to finally get Mr. Darcy out of her system for good. She finds love there, but not exactly where she expected it. The end has a twist I was not expecting. It was such a cute read! My only complaint was that some parts were very predictable and I wished it could have been a bit longer.