Darby

Darby
Jonathon Scott Fugua
5 Stars

While sitting at the library this week and watching my children play I looked up to see this book on the shelf. I have seen it there before, but I have never picked it up. Since it had an Iowa Children's Choice Award sticker on it I finally decided to pick it up and give it a chance. It's a children book and about 250 pages. I believe every child - probably around 10 years old - should read it and know the history that battled our southern states.

Darby Carmichael is a girl after my own heart. She wants to grow up to be a news paper girl. Her best friend, Evette, and her write a column for the Bennettsville Times in Marlboro County, South Carolina. While writing is great and she loves receiving all the compliments, it doesn't take long for her to realize that while a good newspaper girl only tries to tell the truth some people don't always want to hear it.

Set in 1926 this book examines the black/white issues that small southern towns faced. I personally spent many years growing up in the south and love small southern town stories such as this one. Darby, and her family, amazed me with her courage.

This was a very good story based on real interviews. It is very easy to read so there are no excuses!

Warriors Don't Cry

Warriors Don't Cry
Melba Pattillo Beals
5 Stars

While reading Darby, my mind kept referring back to the book Warriors Don't Cry, a book a read about a year ago. This non-fiction book is based on the "Little Rock 9" students who segregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957.

While living in Arkansas my mom picked this book up and read it. My husband then picked up the book at their home a few years later and brought it home to read himself. He never was able to read it and I tried a few times to read it without success. Finally last year I sat down and read the account told by Melba herself, who was one of the courageous students. It is an awesome story and very inspiring.

If you are light hearted book this is not the one to pick. She tells it how it was during that awful year and most of which is very hard to swallow. The fact that she stood through it all and graduated was amazing to me. I am not sure I would have the faith or endurance to do what she did. Thank goodness that someone did and that she shared her story with us. We are all better people because of it.

Mr Darcy's Diary

Mr. Darcy's Diary
Amanda Grange
4 Stars

I must be in a little big of a Jane Austen spin off rut because I saw this book and I had to read it after reading AustenLand. This tells the whole story of P & P from Mr. Darcy's point of view. It's very well done and I liked it well enough for 4 stars.

One thing that totally put me over the edge from 3 to 4 stars is in the last chapter or two of the book we get to see glimpses into the marriage of Mr and Mrs. Darcy. It's great. I love seeing how he softens up to her and knowing more of the story.

It didn't always read like a diary and that sometimes quirked me a little funny. If you are going to write something as a diary, then write it as a diary, but there were major points in this book that I felt it didn't come that way. Just name it Mr. Darcy's point of view and write it that way. I know this is a small thing, but for some reason it really bothered me.

It was cute though and if you love P & P then you will love this. I think it would make a great reading for a book club or any group of Austen fans.

Where? When?

Here is a question I would like to know...where and when do you read?

I should be reading now, my children are asleep in bed for the night, instead I am blogging. I typically read in bed for 30 minutes before turning out the light. I also read each day during the boys hour and a half nap time. My favorite place for this is the love seat in my living room. It is right by my front window - has great lighting and fits my legs perfectly! If a book is interesting sometimes I cheat and turn on movies for them and I read sitting on the floor. I am a nut. Where is your favorite place to read? When do you read?

Story Time

I have always had this fear that my children will not like to read. I just love it so dearly that I want them to share my passion. Today was the first day of preschool story time and my little 3 year old was SO excited to have this back in his schedule. In story time today they read about alligators and then created one. It was so appropriate because I have been using our mornings together doing preschool activities and this week we are talking about the letter A.

I remember a few times when he was a baby he would cry each time I stepped into the library doors. Now I can hardly keep up with him as he runs in so ready to find books. Just last week as I was reading a few book with my baby I saw him from the corner of my eye pick out a book and throw it in the bottom of the stroller and run off - all this time thinking I had not seen him. How clever he thought he was. I'm so glad that he is finally excited about reading!

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.