The Book Chat - Your favorite book

You have no idea how excited I was to type "The Book Chat" again. It's been back for a few weeks now and I've just been too insanely busy to do anything, including sitting down to write. I super duper loved The Book Chat. I missed it  a lot.

My amazingly talented friend Jessica hosts the chat every week. You should join in the fun!

This week Jessica has asked us to share our favorite book. Today is her birthday, so what favorite book would we give her?

I'm gonna start with saying the Harry Potter books are my favorite. 

I'm pulling my nerd card out right now.

They aren't however what I recommend to other people. Maybe because I assume everyone knows about them.

These are my 3 top recommendations. Sorry Jessica you've read these but they are simply the best.

The Book Thief - I've read this twice and I would definitely read it again. It's so powerful and full of emotion. You can read my review of the book here.

The Night Circus - I've also read this book twice. The world that is created inside this book is so fascinating. I love the characters so much. My review of this book is here.

My Name is Memory - I've only read this once but that because it is the only one that doesn't sit on my shelf. I NEED to buy it. I would certainly read it again. Be warned though that it will crush your heart into a million tiny pieces. The pieces will be beautiful and magical because that is what this story is. Review found here.





I love reading so much. It is my favorite thing to do. With books we can travel to far off places, become different people, experience lives outside our own. After a long day there is nothing better than escaping into a world that was created in the mind of a writer, printed on paper, seen with my eyes, and absorbed into my soul.

Happy birthday Jessica!!!!

A book you must read ~ The Book Chat (The Book Thief)

Today's book chat is all about a book that you think everyone should read once. Our fabulous chat host, Jessica from The Tangerine. Told me I HAD to read this book a few years ago. Finally about a year ago I picked it up and fell deeply in literature love.

This book...oh this book! I went through many many tissues while reading this amazing story. The Book Thief has a great group of characters. It was hard for me to let them go after I read that final page. Just thinking about it makes me want to dive back into the story and eat up every single word.

I think it's time for a re-reading of this book.

You can read my review of the book here.

Trust me you just need to read this book. Go! Now! Get it!

The Book Thief is being made into a movie. I was worried at first because books to movies can go terribly wrong. I didn't want it to be ruined. After watching the preview I feel much better about it. All the feelings...and tears came rushing back when I watched it. I can not wait to see the movie. I only wish that I had a fellow Book Thief lover to see it with =(

Just for the record... I watched the preview AGAIN for like the 5th time and it still made me cry! I just love these characters!!!!

Do you have a book that you think everyone should read once? Link up with the book chat.

This week's Co-Host is Megan from Semi- Charmed Kind of Life I haven't read her must read book yet but I've added it to my growing every day "to read" list. Go check it out =)

Do you do "chick lit"? - The Book Chat

I used to read a lot of what is defined as "chick lit". In the last few years the types of books I read have changed. Well maybe not changed. I still read chick lit books but now I also read several other kinds of books. I can't read a ton of chick lit books back to back because they get a little repetitive, I think.  Girl has problem...Girl goes through finding ways to solve problem...Girl solves problem.

My favorite CL author is Jennifer Weiner. I really do love her. I've rarely been disappointed with one of her books. My favorite book of hers is Goodnight Nobody. It's a CL story with some mystery mixed in.

 From Goodreads:

For Kate Klein, a semi-accidental mother of three, suburbia has been full of unpleasant surprises. Her once-loving husband is hardly ever home. The supermommies on the playground routinely snub her. Her days are spent carpooling and enduring endless games of Candy Land, and at night, most of her orgasms are of the do-it-yourself variety.

When a fellow mother is murdered, Kate finds that the unsolved mystery is the most exciting thing to happen in Upchurch, Connecticut, since her neighbors broke ground for a guesthouse and cracked their septic tank. Even though the local police chief warns her that crime-fighting's a job best left to the professionals, Kate launches an unofficial investigation -- from 8:45 to 11:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, when her kids are in nursery school.

As Kate is drawn deeper into the murdered woman's past, she begins to uncover the secrets and lies behind Upchurch's picket-fence facade -- and considers the choices and compromises all modern women make as they navigate between marriage and independence, small towns and big cities, being a mother and having a life of one's own.

Do you have a favorite chick lit author? A favorite book? Do you like chick lit? Hate it?
Link up with the book chat!

The Book Chat - Memoirs & Autobiographies

At first when I saw the topic of memoirs and autobiographies I thought I didn't have anything to say about them because I haven't read any. Then I realized that I have! It's a small number though...

Love You, Mean It: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Friendship

This book should come with a box of tissues. It's the story of 4 women who lose their husbands on that awful day...9/11. They didn't know each other before that day. The book follows them from just before the one year anniversary to 4 years after the tragedy. They end up meeting and forming a very strong bond and friendship. This book makes you appreciate the people you have in your life. 

Bright Lights, Big Ass 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jen Lancaster. She's written several books cataloging her crazy adventures but this one is my favorite. Even though I've read it a few times it still makes me laugh out loud. It is a great pick me up kind of book. 

Bossypants

This was a great book. I laughed a lot while reading this. I like her even more now. Go read it!

Seriously, I'm Kidding

Who doesn't love Ellen? She's amazing. She's so kind and soooo FUNNY. When you read this book you can really hear her tell the story. I loved every page of this book. I want to go read the other books she has!

So that's about it for me in this genre. Maybe I'll read more someday....

The Book Chat - Catching Up!

The book chat has been missing for a while because Jessica from The Tangerine has been without REAL internet since about April. Can you believe that? Me either. That's just inhumane... However now she has a reliable internet connection and the chat is back!

I haven't really been reading a lot this summer. I'm having a hard time finding books that I love and actually want to review.

I DID fall in love with these three books. Lucky for me they are all the first book in either a trilogy or series!

I have Jessica (The Tangerine) and Brighton (Dear Brighton) to thank for introducing me to the world of the Black Daggar Brotherhood. Dark Lover by J.R. Ward is the first book and it was GREAT! Thankfully the next several books are already out so I won't have to wait for a release date to sink my teeth (ha ha ha) into the next one. 

I finished reading What's Left of me by Khat Zang in June. You can read my review here. The second book wont be released until September.

I started reading Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien on Tuesday. I finished it yesterday. It was THAT good. I did not put this book down! I highly recommend you go read it....like now. I didn't realize until I was almost finished with it that it was the first book in a trilogy. That made me extremely happy. 

Today I will start to read Almost Moon by Alice Sebold author of The Lovely Bones. I don't really know what I'm expecting from the book. The Lovely Bones was such a haunting book. The first line of The Almost Moon is, "When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily." So...ya...we'll see where this story takes me.

Welcome back book chat!!!!

The Book Chat - YA Books

Finally I'm participating in the book chat again! It feels like it's been forever!

I loved YA books before I knew I was actually reading YA books. I just took recommendations from friends, read the books, and loved them. It wasn't until about a year ago that I realized this was actually a genre...a genre that I read a lot of. Since discovering that the books I loved were in fact YA I started immediately heading to that section of the library. 

YA books are NOT just for young girls.They deal with so many different topics and issues. Some of the most emotion provoking books I've read have been YA. These are a few of my favorites:

The Delirium Trilogy

The Book Thief

 The Fault in Our Stars

The Book Chat - Book Blogging?

Am I a book blogger? I think I am... a little bit. My blog isn't devoted to books but I do spend a good amount of time reviewing the books I read. I don't review books for other people, just the ones I find interesting. If you read any of my recent posts you probably won't find much about books though. I was going through a reading drought. Now I'm BACK! My library bag is stuffed with books. I've been reading every day so reviews will pop up here shortly.

Blogging has pushed me to read more. I've always been a big reader but finding REALLY good books has always been hard. (Enter the blogging world!) Through blogging I've been given great recommendations on what to read. I've read books I never would have read otherwise.

When I started my blog I had no idea what direction I wanted it to take. I'm still really unsure. I DO know I want books to be part of it because they are such a big part of me.

The Book Chat - Cookbooks

Today Jessica has asked us to share our favorite cookbooks. 

I was at Joeys grandmas house one day looking at her cookbooks. I found this one and it had so many great recipes in it. She told me she bought it just a few days before at Family Dollar. When I left her house I stopped by the store and found one of my own AND for only FIVE bucks! I'm sure this was because the book was a few years old...but I didn't care!

I love this cookbook. It's meant to be a holiday cookbook but I make things out of it all the time. There are some amazing entrees in here.

Just like Jessica mentioned in her post. My food never comes out looking as nice as the pictures...

I read somewhere once that after they prepare the food they pretty it up with shiny sprays and sometimes glue to hold things together. It has to look picture perfect! When they're done it's pretty inedible. So if your food looks crappy but tastes amazing don't worry about it. =)  

the book chat - BOOKSHELVES!

 

I like to write my posts the morning that I plan to publish them. Unfortunately last night our computer kicked it. At least I'm pretty sure its finally dead. Joey knows a lot about computers and he's been fixing for months maybe a year? It's time to get a new one. BUT they're expensive! So I'm blogging from my tiny netbook. I loved it at first. Now not so much. It's extremely slow and after a while my hands hurt from typing on the tiny keyboard.....

Anyway...

Today is the book chat!!! I'll struggle with my netbook because I can't miss out! 

The topic is bookshelves. I've been looking at getting new wall mounted shelves for a while. You see... as I complained about in this post our furniture doesn't seem to fit too well in the house. We moved the computer desk into the family room and it took the spot of my large bookcase. Now my books, picture frames, and decorative items that sat on that bookcase are homeless. Sort of. I guess you could say they are being fostered on and in my dining room hutch:

EEK! Looks pretty bad huh? I hate walking through there and seeing that mess. In other news, I have BIG plans for a furniture makeover in the dining room. That stuff needs to be updated ASAP!

And now for some Pinsperation. I'd love to hang some shelves like these:

I like how these shelves make the books look like framed art.

I like how messy but at the same time put together this looks.

Are you kidding me? How cool does this look!?!

Hopefully soon I'll get around to getting the shelves. I feel like there are a million things I need to get done. None of them too important but all of them things I want completed SOON. I'm very impatient...


Happy Book Chat Day!!!!