Collective Reads: April-May
- Sarah Schoggin
- May 31, 2016
- 6 min read
I started my first cycle on April 20, 2016 and I am blogging my way to 1,000 books. I don't know if anyone will read this site, or find it useful but I am constantly looking for places to give me my next favorite novel. I don't normally go for a theme but every so often I will find myself falling in a pattern. This month it started as anything with a good story behind it. I wanted your run of the mill introduction, plot, climax, resolution. I ended the month falling into memoirs however. I got through 8 books this month.
1.) Perfect Chemistry by: Simone Elkeles. I was looking for a run of the mill story and this book did not disappoint. Its your typical 'Right side of the track girl falls for wrong side of the track guy.' Defintely falls under the "YA" category but I found it enjoyable. It was actually the second time I have read this book. I wont say this book is a read for everyone.. I can see a lot of people getting bored with the plot. However, if you like teen romance with a cliché ending, this ones for you.
2.)Water For Elephants by: Sara Gruen. I have had this book for ages and never got around to picking it up. I tried a couple of years ago on my nook and couldn't get into it. I finally decided to give it a fair chance and absolutely fell in love with the story of Jacob. This novel transports you to another world. I found myself walking through the circus and sleeping on the train with Jacob. I will say at the beginning there are parts of this novel that drag but if you push through them this story flourishes. I will say this book should be read by everyone 15 and older. Especially if you enjoy circuses.
3.) Happy Happy Happy by: Phil Robertson . This book I really enjoyed in the beginning and the middle. I loved hearing this mans back story and how his family lived. It is so different than what you hear about the generation we are in now. Towards the end though I found myself having a hard time staying focused. There are parts in the book where he goes off on tangents about every single kind of duck that ever lived on this planet and I am sure that while some people will find that most interesting I for one did not. I was more interested in the parts of him growing up and starting his business and how he made something out of nothing. Good read for some but not for all.
4.) Love and Other Variables by: Shannon Lee Alexander. This book was given to me by my mother in law, knowing what I liked to read. I will say I was skeptical only because I seem to have a hard time reading something that I didn't pick up on my own.It was sitting on my bookshelf and I finally decided to fall into the story, and fall I did. I immediately loved Charlottes character. Charlie took a little longer for me to warm up to. The author really made math bearable for me as normally I get a headache when anything with numbers or math talk is thrust in my line of vision. I cheated a little and skipped ahead a few chapters to see what I was in for when I could hardly keep my eyes open.I honestly cannot wait to read the next book written from beccas perspective after everything happens. This was such an amazing read. People can say it mimins TFIOS, but there are only two connecting traits in my eyes. This book is full of life, love, and will make you want to hug anyone your close to in every turn.
5.) The Mourning Hours by: Paula Treick Deboard. I have read The Mourning Hours twice now. I absolutely love this book. I came across it at my local library and picked it up not too sure if I was going to like it. Let me tell you, I could not put it down once I started. The first time or this time. In the late hours after my husband would fall asleep, I would either sit in my closet or use the flashlight app on my phone to finish this story.I found a lot of myself in young Kirstin. Always wanting to be a part of the adult conversations but the I have read The Mourning Hours twice now. I absolutely love this book. I came across it at my local library and picked it up not too sure if I was going to like it. Let me tell you, I could not put it down once I started. The first time or this time. In the late hours after my husband would fall asleep, I would either sit in my closet or use the flashlight app on my phone to finish this story.This book can appeal to various age groups from YA to adult to your grandparents and their friends. It is a beautiful story of family and loyalty and it truly makes you question what you would do if someone in your family was implicated. You say you would stand by them, but would you? Even if it was your own son, brother, friend? Everyone should read this book at least once.
6.) Pride Over Pity by: Kailyn Lowry. Let me preface this by saying that I love all of the teen mom girls with the exception of Farrah, and I plan on reading all of the memoirs written by all of them. I tried really hard to like this novel because I have always felt like Kailyn overcame so much and set a positive example. The first 14 chapters were decent enough. Kind of back and forth. I got really confused. It doesn't come together like a cohesive story at all. She doesn't always go chronologically so when you think a relationship Let me preface this by saying that I love all of the teen mom girls with the exception of Farrah, and I plan on reading all of the memoirs written by all of them. I tried really hard to like this novel because I have always felt like Kailyn overcame so much and set a positive example. The first 14 chapters were decent enough. Kind of back and forth. I got really confused. It doesn't come together like a cohesive story at all. She doesn't always go chronologically so when you think a relationship is over she brings it up a couple of chapters later. The title "Pride Over Pity" is pretty misleading. She seems bitter about everything that has happened to her. And when she wasn't complaining it seemed like she just continued repeating the same things in different words to fill space on a page. She attacks religion heavily and starts judging Christians harshly and that is where I pretty much got turned off by this book. I ended up skipping that chapter after the first page or so because I didn't feel like my religion being judged by someone who said they were sick of being judged for hers, and then throughout the book she would put random references of her being an atheist. It was pretty annoying. Overall, what usually would have taken me 3 hours or so to read took me 3 days because I just kept having to take a boredom break. I'm one of those I have to finish it once I start. Anyway, I really tried liking it and some other people might, but it definitely wasn't for me.
7.) My Teenage Dream Ended by: Farrah Abraham. I mainly wanted to read this book to see if it was as crazy as the reviews I read said. Farrah is a trainwreck on TV and I knew this book was going to be a good laugh. I was looking for a trainwreck and I was not disappointed. First I am pretty sure she let a five year old edit this book. There were COUNTLESS spelling and grammar errors. Not to mention sentences that literally cut off right in the middle as if she backspaced some of it to change it and forgot to continue. There was even a paragraph that cut off right in the middle of it and it went unfinished. I am so confused by this woman.
8.) My Story by: Elizabeth Smart and Chris Stewart. A book this size would normally take me two or three days depending on what else I had going on to finish. This book took me a week. It takes a lot to stomach her story and everything that happened to her. The first few chapters are about before the abduction and the day she was snatched, the last few chapters are about her rescue and the trial but the main bulk of the story is about her captivity. I was moved by how she found hope in everything and her faith never left her. She is a beautiful woman with a beautiful life and story. I don't know if I could ever handle what she went through and I hope I never have to.
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