Wish You Well

Wish You Well

David Baldacci

4 1/2 stars

After suffering through a car crash and losing their father, Lou and Oz are forced to move to the Virgina mountains to live with their Great-Grandmother and invalid mother. The year is 1940 and times in on the mountain and in the small mining communities are struggling. Lou and Oz are struggling to find where they fit in as well.

I loved this story. It's about finding ones self. Finding out what really matters and learning how to love and forgive. I cried and I laughed. I just wonder why I haven't read this before, every person I suggest it to has already read it. Where have I been?

The day I finished the book I was driving home from grocery shopping and I saw an old boarded up farm house and a huge commercial for sale sign in front of it. I wanted to cry. I was sad because with every bit of expansion I'm sure there is a piece of history we are missing. We live in a world where ever one is keeping up with the Jones and trying so hard to be the the biggest and the best. Aren't we forgetting what is really important? Our families. Hard work. Honest living.

I loved this book and I hope to re-read it often. It is a very good reminder of what is important in life.

P & P

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen

5 Stars

How could I give Jane Austen anything but 5 stars? What more can be said about Pride and Prejudice?

The first section was hard for me to get through this time. Perhaps because I read while two little ones are running/crawling around. I prefer the last 1/3 of the book. I love the long BBC version of the movie much more than the shorter newer version. For some reason I have also been sparked into reading all sorts of Jane Austen spin offs this season. It's such fun! Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves.l They are my old friends. I have heard you metion them with consideration these twenty years at least."

"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance."

"A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment."

"Those who do not complain are never pitied."

"Stupid men are the only ones worth knowing, after all."

"I was never more annoyed!"

"Handsome men must have something to live on, as well as the plain."

"I am the happiest creature in the world."

Weekly goal

Wow! This month as entirely gotten away from me. I started out very strong and then came to the realization that my baby boy would be turning one soon (less than 2 weeks!) and I had made a goal to have his scrapbook caught up by his birthday.

I only scrapbook my boys first year and include everything else in a separate family album so this shouldn't be a hard tasks, but it has significantly decreased my reading time. The holidays are also approaching. There are so many books I want to finish and ideas I want to post. My goal is to be more consistent, so perhaps a weekly post for now might be a goal I can accomplish.

Today is Monday. Here is to weekly (or more) posting.