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.

A Heart Like His: Making Space for God's Love in Your Life

Virginia Pearce

4 stars

By Kathy

I read this one for my book club, and I really enjoyed it. The author comes right out and says that she doesn't want to give the reader any more lists of things to do, she knows we are already busy enough. Instead she wants us to focus on "softening our hearts" so that we can feel the love of the Lord in our lives. If we do that one thing, we will automatically change how we act in certain situations. I really liked how practical and down to earth the author is. She never acts like she has everything figured out, in fact, she calls the act of softening our hearts and "experiment, " meaning that it could work, or not. She also repeatedly says she doesn't want us to make this assignment into extra visits, or casseroles. She seems to understand how full our lives are already are. I'm not sure if this book has changed my life, but it has stuck with me, and given me some things to think about and work on.

The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini
3 1/2 stars
by Kathy

This story follows a young Afghan boy and his friendship with the son of his father's servant. As a youth, the boy fails to stop a brutal attack on his friend, and his guilt over this incident consumes him for 2o some years, as he leaves Afghanistan due to political turmoil, comes to America, and gets married. Ultimately, he finds redemption and peace as he returns to Afghanistan while it is under the rule of the Taliban, and rescues the orphan son of his old friend. A few parts of this book are very violent and brutal, mostly showing how horrible the Taliban was. There are also many tender parts, including his relationship with his wife, and his relationship with his father. This book was an interesting look into Afghanistan's recent history, and its people and culture.n I liked this book overall, but I'm not sure if I'd read it again, as the violence was a little hard to stomach.

Book Worm Carnival

The bookworms Carnival second edition is done. Click here for some great reads.

Eclipse

Eclipse
Stephanie Meyer
3 1/2 stars
by Debbi

I cannot tell you what I think of this book without spoiling it; that being said, if you have not started it, finished it, or want to sometime read this book in the near future – then stop reading now.

This is what I thought:
I agree with Kathy that there are a lot of irritating parts in this book. Since I am a Jacob fan, Edwards behavior was very irritating and made me love Jacob that much more. Bella was a big push over in this book. She needed to do what she wanted and let Edward deal with it. Everyone is so worried about making everyone else happy. I was surprised that it took so long for the pack and the Cullens to finally figure out there were both on the same side. I really enjoyed the conversation that Edward and Jacob had the night in the tent.

One thing I especially loved about this book is we got to know the history of some more of the Cullens – Jasper and Rosalie. Their stories were fascinating to me and I’m so glad that they were included. I secretly hope that Rosalie will have more influence over Bella in the forth book.

As far as the Jacob versus Edward issue, of course I am truly sad that she picked Edward, but I still am hanging on to hope that Jacob will be back in the fourth book. Bella hasn’t become a vampire yet – which I’m sure will not happen (if it ever does) until the end of the final book of this series. So there is still way more time for Jacob to make a good run for his money. At least she knows she loves him now. Some say that Jacob is too immature for Bella. Well, Bella herself is only 18 and Jacob is younger than her. I think teenagers are allowed to be immature. Edward can seem much too old to me at times. Marriage at her age? That is pretty young - but that does bring me to another point I wanted to make:

I must insert here that I am very impressed with Stephanie Meyer’s ability to write such an intriguing love story and keep it clean. There are parts that are so intense but the characters keep their morals. So many other young adult authors do not do this. One kiss between Jacob and Bella took up four pages – four amazingly morally clean pages!!!

I did not like the epilogue. I don’t like reading in Jacob Blacks perspective, I am used to Bella. I had a sick feeling that Jacob was going to imprint with Leah and then I would have to throw the book across the room and never look back at the series. I’m glad that didn’t happen.

I guess I will have to wait and see how the fourth book turns out. I don’t think I’ll hold my breath for Jacob, but I am still hoping that there is a tiny chance. I think it would be so sad for Bella to leave behind her family and friends. She saw a future with Jacob and I think she, in the end, might miss that. I know deep down that she will always end up with Edward. That is how these stories always go. But give me a break here,

At least a girl can hope.

Eclipse

Stephanie Meyer

3 stars

By Kathy

Ok, well I didn't hate this book. I read this one lickety-split. It was engrossing and enjoyable for the most part, but a few things bother me about it, and the more I think about it, the more irritating they become.

What is with the creepy guy behavior, and Bella's lack of a backbone? I was really frustrated with Edward's whole "I will not let you visit Jacob" deal. It was not chivalrous, it was borderline abusive. People in a healthy relationship do not try to control the other person. I really wish that Bella would have stood up to him a bit more and say something like "I will not allow you to treat me this way." Instead, after she gets so angry about that "kidnapping" by Alice, she forgives Edward after some making-out. Ugh! Of course there is also Jacob's "I will kill myself in battle unless you kiss me." Again, not a sign of a healthy relationship. And Bella goes right ahead and allows Jacob's manipulation to happen. I think Bella's behavior is especially troubling considering the teenage audience of this book. I don't want them to think that this obsessive and manipulative behavior equals true love.

The other thing that bothered me is Bella's whole "I cannot live without Edward" attitude. I think this has been building in me since the first book, but I really just want to shake her and say , "Buck Up! Yes you can!" I know she had a hard time in book 2, but that was only 6 months, and I believe she was getting better towards the end, and would continue to improve. And I admit that I would be more inclined to Bella's way of thinking when I was her age, but now it just seems immature and melodramatic. People, even young people, lose spouses everyday, but they continue on, and find happiness, maybe even love again. Is the idea suppose to be that Bella loves Edward more than anyone else loves their spouse? That they have some super true romance that everyone else doesn't have? Because if so, that idea is pretty insulting. And again, I wouldn't want the teenage audience going around thinking "I cannot live without (insert boyfriends name here)!" If my daughter were old enough to read this book, I would definitely want to discuss this idea with her.

So that is my frustration with Eclipse. I still find it an intriguing idea, and I will definitely read the next book, if only with the hope that Bella can grow up a bit and stand up for herself.

Harry Potter #7, Another Opinion

J.K. Rowling
4 stars

So I (Kathy) finished Harry Potter last night for the second time. After reading it in two days the first time, I decided that I needed to read it a little slower so I could take it all in a little better. Overall, I'm very impressed and happy with how it all turned out. Here are some of the things I particularly liked:

• Ron and Hermione. I've been a big shipper of those two for the last 4 books, so I was glad they finally got together.
• Mrs. Weasly taking out Bellatrix; awesome display of mom power.
• Neville showing his bravery and leadership, and his grandmother being so proud of him.
• Percy returning to the Weasly family.
• Everyone, from old girlfriends, to old quidditch teammates showing up at the end for the battle of Hogwarts. I liked "seeing" everyone one more time, and thought it was a fitting tribute to Harry.
• The whole battle of Hogwarts. I loved how this was done, and was glad to see so many people and other creatures stand up to Voldemort.
• The intricate plotting by J.K. Rowling. I cannot imagine having something so big as this series so well planned out from the very beginning.
• The Epilogue. I liked knowing that Voldemort was really dead, and that Harry had the happy family that he had not had before. But what's with the names for their kids? Albus? Hugo? Poor kids.

Of course, I only gave it 4 stars, so there were a few things I didn't like about it:

• Killing Fred; I figured one of the Weaslys wouldn't make it, but killing Fred made me so sad for George. They had such a close bond. In one of her "What Happens After Harry Potter" interviews, J.K. Rowling said that George never really got over the loss of his brother. Why couldn't she have killed Charlie instead?
• All the different wands changing hands so many times. Even in my second time through, I had to reread parts to see where all the different wands came from and how they got there. I think it could have been simplified a little bit.
• All the different side trips that Harry, Ron, and Hermione take. It seems like they take one trip from which they barely escape, and then another, and another, and another. It seems like she could have taken one out, like the trip to the Ministry of Magic. I think the only point was to show how horrible the Ministry had become. Umbridge having one of the horcruxes was kind of far-fetched I think.

All in all, a really good ending to the series. It was great fun to read, and I'll be anxious to see what J.K. Rowling does next.

Book Worm Carnival

I am trying out a new thing called the Book Worm Carnival. Reading is My Super Power is hosting it this month and it will feature books that cool you down during these dog days of summer. The deadline is the 10th. I am super excited to see how it all turns out!