Confederates in the Attic- Tony Horwitz

I first attempted to read this book during my Civil War Era History class almost 2 years ago. This book was an assigned reading, so naturally I didn't finish it.  But I did like what I had read, so instead of attempting to sell it  back to BYU for 2 bucks or whatever measly amount they would have offered me, I decided to keep it so that I could read it again on my own terms.  I picked it up a few weeks ago and was intrigued by the story Mr. Horwitz tells.

Mr. Horwitz, who is a former Pulitzer Prize winner, grew up loving the Civil War.  As he got older and began his writing career, his interests changed and he traveled the world, eventually marrying an Australian and then moving back to the states.  When he moved back to the US, he chose to live in Virginia, where he had grown up.  His love for the Civil War was rekindled when one morning he awoke to a Civil War reenactment taking place in his backyard.

A few weeks later, Horwitz decided to meet up with one of the reenactors he had met in his backyard.  He spent a weekend spooning a bunch of men and eating legit food that Southern soldiers would have eaten during the war.  This weekend and the conversations he had with some of the men there, made him realize that to some people in the South,  the Civil War was still going on.  Horwitz decided to take a journey of the South and speak to some of these people while touring some historical Civil War landmarks.

The story Horwitz tells at each of these locations are quite interesting. Some of them are funny and a bit ridiculous, but others really got me thinking about how strongly people in the South feel about the Civil War. While not everyone he talked to supported Slavery, I could tell just by reading that a lot of the reasons people still held on to the Civil War were the same reasons that many people in the South fought the Civil War to begin with: States Rights.   Horwitz tells stories about Cats of the Confederacy, which a couple started when they didn't have children to put in the Children of the Confederacy.  He also tells about his experience witnessing the trial and surrounding hype of a group of young black men who shot and killed a white man with Confederate flags flying on his truck.

Horwitz went from battleground to battleground and followed the stories as he heard about them.   He even went on a Civil War-gasm trip with one of the reenactors he had met in his backyard.  This trip was a weeklong tour of the Civil War, hitting as many landmarks as they could, all while dressed in legit Civil War soldier clothing.

This book opened my eyes about how people in the South still feel about the War and why it was fought.  Having grown up in Texas, I knew that there were people that still had racist/prejudice feelings towards blacks, but I had never experienced anything quite like Horwitz did.  This was an interesting read for sure.  If you are a history nerd, you would probably get a kick out of this book.  And Mom, if you are reading this, just let me know when you want me to mail it to you :)  I know how you are about my history books.

Right now I am reading a Young Adult series called the Luxe.  I'm on book 3 of 4 and decided that I would just summarize the entire series at once. Spoiler alert I guess. :)

Vanishing Act- Jodi Piccoult

Just when you thought I had forgotten about the book blog I post something new. :)  I finished this book last week sometime.  I've been busy dealing with all sorts of wonderful things (see personal blog  for details.  I should be posting on there about my week and all the joys it has brought before the end of the week) and haven't had time to really sit down and blog about my recent readings.

I did finish the second book in the Stephanie Plum series over the Thanksgiving weekend.  I sadly don't remember enough details to give an accurate summary of this book in its own blog post.  The book was called Two for the Dough.  I enjoyed it a lot, so if you've read the first book and are thinking about picking up the second one, go for it.

Now on to the title of this blog post.  I have always enjoyed Jodi Piccoult's books.  My best friend Missy is the one who got me hooked on them, whether she knows it or not :).  Jodi Piccoult wrote My Sister's Keeper, which was then made into a movie in which Cameron Diaz played in.  Just a random tidbit about the author and her writing style.  Anyways. . . I've never read a book by her that I haven't liked.  I have an entire shelf on my bookshelf full of her books, so I decided to bring one with me over Thanksgiving to start reading after I finished Two for the Dough.  This book was AMAZING!  Seriously I LOVED it.  Here's a little summary.

Delia lives in New Hampshire with her father Andrew, her Daughter Sophie, her fiance Eric, and her best friend Fitz.  Delia has a search and rescue dog and together the 2 of them find missing persons.  Delia starts having dreams and flashbacks to a life she can't remember.  She tells Fritz about her memories and Fritz does some detective work.  One night, the police knock on Delia's door and arrest her father for kidnapping a girl named Bethany years ago.  Delia is confused until her father tells her that SHE is Bethany, but that he is her biological father.  Delia, Andrew, and the rest of the gang travel to Arizona (where Bethany was kidnapped from) and learn all about Delia and Andrew's past as Eric (who is a lawyer by trade and whom Delia insisted work on the case) tries to prove Andrew's innocence in a crime Andrew admits to committing.

Seriously this was a great book.  As I was reading it, I found myself torn between whoI was siding with, not only in regards to the trial, but in regards to which parent I liked better, or which man I thought was better for Delia. This book deals with some interesting issues, especially when it comes to who should have custody of a child after a divorce.  I would recommend this book to any young adult/adult reader. 

Right now I am reading a book called Confederates in the Attic.  My plan for the next few months is to focus on books that I already own. I have so many books that I've never read that I need to bust through.  I love the library and all of the cool books I've seen there, but it's time to focus on my books for a while.

In other news, Ashley is pretty close to being done with finals for the semester.  She says she will be blogging about some of the books she's read and will read over the break.  I'll try to hound her about it :)

Happy reading!
 
~Tara

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister- Gregory Maguire

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister was a super good book.  I have read Wicked by Gregory Maguire, so I knew I liked his writing style.  Basically he rewrites stories (mostly classic fairy tales) from the "bad guy's" perspective.  So in Wicked, he tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West.  And in this book, he tells the story of the Stepmother and Stepsisters in Cinderella.

In Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Margarethe flees to her home country of Holland with her 2 daughters, Iris and Ruth, after her husband has been killed in England.  Margarethe hopes that her family is still alive and will be able to take care of her small family.  Upon arriving in Holland, she learns that her family is no more.  She is then forced to beg for work door to door.  Margarethe stumbles upon a painter's house who is willing to provide work and shelter for her family. Margarethe is given the task of taking care of the home. Ruth, who doesn't speak and appears to be dumb, is given the job of gathering flowers from a field every day for the Master to paint.  And Iris, who is plain to look at but very smart, is told that she will be sitting for the Master, who will be painting her with the flowers.  

When the painting is finished, the Master takes the painting, and Iris to the home of the man who is purchasing it.  The man, Mr Van der Meer, loves the Masters work.  He comissions the Master to paint a new picture featuring his young daughter Clara and Tulips.  Van der Meer then says that he wants to take in Iris and her family to help around the house.  He wants Iris to teach Clara English and befriend her.  Margarethe, Iris, and Ruth move in to the Van der Meer house and slowly Clara and Iris become friends.  Things aren't going as smoothly between Margarethe and Henrika (Mrs. Van Der Meer).  Henrika eventually dies and Margarethe marries Mr. Van der Meer in order to provide a better life for her daughters.  Clara is upset by the marriage and eventually takes to cleaning and helping out in the kitchen (by choice, not forced to). 

When the Van der Meers lose their fortune by a trade gone bad, Margarethe tries her hardest to fix the unwelcome situation.  She manages to obtain invitations to a party featuring the former wife of Henry VI and her godson Phillipe who is looking for a wife.  She gets 4 invitations, enough for her daughters, her, and Mr. Van der Meer. Mr. Van der Meer falls ill, so the 4th invitation is planned to go unused. Iris thinks that maybe Margarethe will let Clara go to the party, but Margarethe doesn't want Clara to attend because Clara is beatiful and will take the attention away from Iris if she attends the party. Clara doesn't want to go anyways, at first.  Finally Iris convinces Clara that going to the party will be good for her, so she starts making a plan to get Clara to the party.

At the party, Iris talks to Phillipe and realizes that she might be a bit interested in him.  Then Clara walks in, with veil covering her face, disguised as Clarissa from Spain.  Phillipe loses all interest in Iris and takes Clara into another room.  The rest of the party Clara and Phillipe remain unseen. When a fire starts and people have to escape, Iris is a bit worried about Clara, but later that night Clara sneaks into the house unharmed. 

The rest of the story I will keep a mystery for you. Does it end in a similar way that Cinderella ends?  Does Iris find happiness as well as Clara? Do the Van der Meer's regain their fortune? And what about Ruth, who seems to take a backseat in the entire book?  

I really enjoyed the book a lot.  After reading Wicked, I thought maybe this book would have some unnecessary explicit scenes as well, and was shown differently.  It certainly puts an interesting spin on the classic Cinderella tale, but I really enjoyed it.  I think most girls who like the Cinderella tale probably would like it as well.

Not sure what is next on my reading list. I have the 2nd book from the Stephanie Plum series checked out from the library, so I'll probably read that.  I have a road trip ahead of me for Thanksgiving, so I'll have lots of time to read.  I'm thinking about trying to read more books from my personal collection before I hit up the library again, so maybe that's what I'll do.

Until next time!

~Tara

One For the Money- Janet Evanovich

I moved on to a new mystery series. . . The Stephanie Plum novels.  I don't know if they qualify as a mystery exactly, but oh well.

I read this book in one afternoon, so I guess you could say that I enjoyed it.  I am still trying to decide if I want to continue the series, but the first book was good, so I don't see why I wouldn't.

In this book, Stephanie Plum is a Jersey girl who loses her job selling Lingerie.  She goes to her cousin Vinny's bail bond place to see if he has any work for her.  The only job available is a bounty hunter job.  The person she has to bring in: Joe Morelli, a local boy, former cop who is charged with murder.  Not only is Joe a local boy, he happens to be an old flame of Stephanie's.  The rest of the novel follows Stephanie trying to capture Joe, and failing several times.  In fact, she actually runs into him on a number of occasions, but he always manages to escape.  Stephanie has to learn the bounty hunter tricks while trying to find a cop who knows all the tricks in the book.  Eventually, Joe comes to Stephanie, offering to go in with her and allow her to collect on him if she first helps him find a witness that can prove his innocence.  The book was really good, I will admit.  It was a lot more risque than the Hannah Swenson series, but I really enjoyed it.  It's not too often that I sit down, start a book, and then finish it just a few hours later.

Apparently this book was made into a movie. I'm glad I didn't know this until after reading the book. I always prefer to read the book before I see the movie. I don't know why that is, i just do. The movie looks like it follows the book pretty well.  I just watched the trailer for it on youtube and found myself laughing out loud (good thing no one is home to hear me laughing like a crazy person).  It looks like it was a good movie. Maybe I'll check it out.  Here's the trailer:

I Finished the Hannah Swenson Series :)

Yup, that's right. As far as I know, I have read the rest of the series. Or at least everything that is written so far.  I think that means I technically have 4 or 5 books I should summarize here, but I will spare you that.

As you know if you have followed the blog, I REALLY like this series. So the last few books are no different. Although she did start including meals in her recipes instead of just desserts.  Other than that, the story line just progresses.  Hannah discovers that her feelings for Norman are possibly stronger than her feelings for Mike.  Norman throws a wrench into things by bringing a new lady into his life. Andrea gets worried that her husband might be moving the family away from Lake Eden.  Lisa and Herb bring some additions into their little family. And Hannah's mom Delores ventures out into the wonderful world of dating.

As always, there are murders in every book (or they wouldn't be called Apple Turnover MURDER, Plum Pudding MURDER, etc.).  Hannah isn't the only one discovering bodies. She lets Delores and her other sister, Michelle, join in on that fun.  Hannah and her clan are still solving the murders before Mike the detective can get around to it.  I do like that in a lot of these later books, more than one mystery is solved when the murder is solved.  The murders are starting to tie in to the actual story line now, which makes things more interesting.

I LOVE these books.  They aren't inappropriate in any major way, but they keep me entertained.  I have said it before and I'll say it again, I recommend these to ANYONE.  So seriously, if you are looking for a good read, go to the library and check out the first book (which is called Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder) right now!  You will get hooked!

Best of Me- Nicholas Sparks

I kind of got into a Nicholas Sparks mood apparently.  I have read most of his books in the past, so when I saw that there were 2 more books that I hadn't read at the library I checked them out.  I read Safe Haven first, and liked it, so I decided to read this one.

Best of Me was a little bit harder for me to get into at first.  I think it started out a little bit slow and confusing, but after the first few chapters, it all started to click and turned into a pretty fast read.

In this book, 2 former high school sweet hearts Darcy and Amanda have taken 2 totally different paths after graduating.  While they were in high school, Darcy was from the "bad family"; he was the black sheep in his family, getting good grades and staying out of trouble. Amanda was from a more well to do family.  Everyone thought dating Darcy was a HUGE step down for her.  They found peace at the house and car shop of Tuck, a local mechanic.  Darcy went to jail after high school for killing the local doctor in a car accident   After being released from prison, he went and stayed with Tuck before eventually moving to Louisiana   Amanda eventually went to college, got married, and had 4 kids, one of which died at a young age.  She visited her home town on a regular basis, always visiting Tuck in the process.

Darcy and Amanda both get called back to their home town after Tuck dies.  Tuck has made a bunch of requests for them to carry out, including spreading his ashes and taking care of his belongings.  Darcy and Amanda both realize that Tuck has made these requests to allow them the chance to reconnect.  After a weekend together, Darcy and Amanda part ways, but are never the same again.

Again, this story ends in a very Nicholas Sparks way.  It is kind of surprising, but not too much if you know Nicholas Sparks' style.  I really enjoyed this after getting past the first few chapters.  I do recommend this, along with Safe Haven.  If you like Nicholas Sparks, you are sure to enjoy these 2 novels.  If you like romance, you will like them as well.  I wouldn't necessarily recommend these books to a macho tough guy, but who knows, maybe they have a soft spot for romance and would like it. But to all those girls out there that like a good chick flick, this should feed your addiction :)

Safe Haven- Nicholas Sparks

Yes Yes, I have been slacking hard core here.  But I HAVE been reading I promise.


I read Safe Haven probably a month or so ago, so I might be a little hazy on the details.  Basically, in this book, Katie shows up in North Carolina.  She doesn't associate with too many people outside of her job as a waitress at a local restaurant.  She starts renting a house.  When the house next door gets rented out by someone named Jo, Katie and her become friends.  Katie then starts hanging out with Alex, a local store owner and widower,and his 2 kids.  Eventually Katie and Alex start dating. Alex can tell that Katie is hiding a huge secret from him, and suspects that he knows what it is.  Having a military background and experience in dealing with domestic violence, he suspects that Katie has left a significant other.

Alex's suspicions are confirmed as Katie reveals that she has indeed left her husband and changed her identity.  Throughout the book, you get to read about her husband's view on things, and his search to find Katie. Eventually, you find out who Jo really is, if Katie's husband finds her, and what Katie's future with Alex is like.

I really enjoyed this novel, as I do most Nicholas Sparks books.  The book had what I consider a typical Nicholas Sparks ending.  If you've read any of his other books, or seen any movies based on his books, you know what I'm talking about.  It is a good ending, just not necessarily what you might expect.

This book is actually being made into a movie, due to come out next year.  I can tell that there are some changes made, but it looks like it will stay pretty true to the book.  Check out the preview:

1776- David McCullough

That's right, I finally finished it!  I actually finished it a week or so ago, but I've been insanely busy so I'm just now getting around to writing this.

The book has 294 pages, plus an additional 90 pages of notes and documentation and all that jazz.  And there are pictures too :)

I feel like summarizing the book is kind of pointless, since everyone studied the Revolution and events of 1776.  The book does go into greater detail about certain battles, and you get to read some events that happened in Britain, which you don't get to study in as great of detail in US History classes.

The reason it took me so long to finish this wasn't because it wasn't good.  It actually was  really really good. It definitely wasn't like reading a history book that's for sure.  Like I said you get to read about what was going on in England and how the British felt about different battles that were fought.  David McCullough also uses personal accounts to tell the story, which I love.

I really enjoyed this book.  It took me a while to read, but that's just because I'm a big ball of laziness once I get home.  I do recommend this book to anyone who wants to know a little bit more about the first year of the Revolution.

I will be posting a few more posts in the next few days or so.  I've been slacking with the posting lately, so I need to play catch up.

Happy Reading!

Four for One

I've been a bit of a slacker recently when it comes to blogging. I've been working 40+ hour weeks, so when I get home, I read, maybe watch some tv, and hit the sack.  But I have been reading, I promise!  So I just thought I'd update people on what I've been up to in the wonderful world of reading.

I read three more books from the Hannah Swenson mystery series.  I  recently got a library card and the library carries the entire series.  So I didn't have to wait until I had the money to purchase the next books in the series.  I won't go into detail about each individual book.  You can get a summary of the series here http://biggsbookreview.blogspot.com/2012/08/sugar-cookie-murder-joanne-fluke.html.  In the three books  that I read Hannah gets proposed to, gains another beau, turns down some proposals, and of course solves 3 more murders.  The books that I read from the series were: Peach Cobbler Murder, Cherry Cheesecake Murder, and Key Lime Pie Murder.  Again, I loved all of the books and highly recommend them.  As usual with these books, it only took me about a day and a half to read them.

The other book I read was:

I have read a few of Emily Giffin's books before and really liked her style of writing.  She does a great job of allowing her readers to join in the story, losing themselves in the world she has created.  I had also seen previews of the movie based on the book.  I really like most of the movies that Kate Hudson has starred in, so I figured this book would have to be good.  I was not disappointed with it.  I really liked the story line and found myself rooting for the different characters as the story progressed.  The plot is a bit risque though.  Basically Rachel and Darcy have been friends forever.  On Rachel's 30th birthday, Darcy throws her a huge "surprise" party.  At this party, Darcy gets drunk and leaves early.  Darcy's fiance Dex stays at the party.  Rachel ends up getting pretty drunk with Dex and they sleep together. Rachel at first thinks it was a drunken mistake, but realizes that she actually has feelings for Dex.  Dex and Rachel begin an affair.  Rachel knows that it is wrong on so many levels, but can't help it.  Darcy remains clueless until the very end of the story, when Dex and her call off the wedding.  I won't give away the ending though :)  Like I said, it is a pretty complicated, and somewhat inappropriate plot, but you don't feel that way while reading it at all.  If you saw the movie, the movie follows the book pretty well ( I had to watch the movie after finishing the book).   I might not recommend this to EVERYONE, but I did enjoy it.

As for 1776, I am still reading it I promise.  I got distracted by my library books, but those are all turned in and I won't check any more out until it is done :)  I'm liking the book so far, so I'm sure I will have nothing but good things to say about it in a few days when I finish it.

For now, that is all I have for you.

Happy reading!

~Tara

The Friday Night Knitting Club- Kate Jacobs

page count: 360

After giving up temporarily on Mansfield Park, I wanted a quick and easy read that let me get lost in its pages.  I found it in this book.  I was able to completely lose myself in the story of a knitting club and the lives of its individual members.

The book follows Georgia and her daughter Dakota.  Georgia is a single mom who opened a knitting store 12 years earlier to support her and her daughter.  The store has been featured in a couple of magazine articles and newspapers, so it is beginning to make a name for itself.  Anita, an older lady who helps out at the store, starts an unofficial Friday Night Knitting Club, where anyone can come, sit around, and work on knitting projects while they talk about life.  Everything is going along fine and good until James, the father of Dakota, comes back into the picture, wanting to be a part of  Dakota's life.  This spins everything out of control as Georgia has to decide whether or not to let James back into her life.

The book also follows the other members of the club: Anita and her struggle to join the dating scene again after the death of her husband, Darwin, who doesn't knit, but is writing her thesis, using the club as research, Peri who also works at the store, but is starting her own purse line, KC, an old co worker of Georgia's who is making some big life changes, and Lucie who has decided that she wants a baby, with or without a man in her life.

Like I said, this book was a fairly quick read.  I basically started and finished it over a weekend.  The story draws you in, and you get wrapped up in the lives of these women.  Besides the fact that Georgia owns her own business and it is successful, just like I want my future bookstore to be, I was able to relate to all of the characters in some way or another.  The women in the book are just average, everyday women going after their dreams.  I loved that about this book.

I would  recommend this book to anyone looking to escape their own world for a while.  It allowed me to visit New York and make some friends, which is what a good book should do in my opinion: take you away for a couple of hours.

Next up, I'm reading 1776.  I'm enjoying it so far, but have reached a dilemma.  Do I finish this book before jumping into the library books I checked out, or do I just read the library books first since I own 1776?  These are the tough questions in life. . . :)

Until next time,

~Tara

Mansfield Park- Jane Austen

So I would like to say that I finished this book and enjoyed it. But I can say neither of those things.  I had to take a break from Mansfield Park.  I found the book hard to follow, and that led it to be hard to enjoy.  I would get lost in conversations.  I would forget who characters were and had to go back to find out who that character was.  I'm pretty disappointed in this because I love Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility a LOT.  I don't know if it's the fact that I'm so busy and stressed that made it hard for me to enjoy, or if it's the book itself.  I'm hoping that if I take a break and come back to it, I will have a different opinion.  I mean,  I didn't like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at first, but after taking a few months and trying it again, I ended up LOVING it. . . and then becoming obsessed with the entire series.  So maybe that will happen with Mansfield Park.  I know I like Jane Austen's writing, so hopefully I can come back to this book and enjoy it.

I am a little behind on my posts because I took a vacation to visit my mom in Colorado.  I did finish another book that I will write about, so look for that soon!

Until then,

~Tara

Just an Update

Hello fellow readers!

I just thought I'd give you guys a quick update so that no one thought Ash and I were slacking on our posting. Ash just started her first semester of school, as well as her new job, so her posts might be few and far between.  We'll see how that goes. Unless you all are anxious to hear about the text books she is reading for school. But I doubt she would want to write about those on here.  It might just be me posting for a while.

As for me, I am still making my way through Mansfield Park. I'm finding it hard to get through, to be honest, which makes me kind of sad.  I've been pretty stressed the last week or so with work, and since I'm finding this particular book hard to read, I'm not as anxious to sit down with it in order to relax.  But I'll fill you in on the details later. I just wanted everyone to know that I was reading, just not as fast as normal.

Let me know if there are any books I should be reading!!! I need some suggestions!  Some of the people closest to me might think that I don't need any more books to read, but I think I do.  So if you are hesitant about reading a book because you don't know if you'll like it, let me know and I'll try and read it and tell you if it's worth your time :)

Happy reading!!!

~Tara

Sugar Cookie Murder- Joanne Fluke

If I were to have to name my top 5 favorite things (and I said THINGS, not people), 2 of those things would be recipes and a good story.  The Hannah Swenson series (of which this book is a part) combines both of those things into one fantastic binded bundle of happiness for me.  So I will give you a low down on the series before I give a summary of this book in particular.

Hannah Swenson owns a cookie shop (which I imagine as kind of being like all the cupcake stores that have popped up over the past few years) in a small town in Minnesota.  She is kind of dating 2 guys, one of them a dentist and the other a detective.  Her family all lives in town with the exception of her dad, who has passed away, and her baby sister, who is off at school.  Basically in every book, Hannah will find a dead body or is with someone when a dead body is discovered. Hannah then solves the murder. While the plot in each story may sound predictable, it is far from it. I love these books because: A. there are recipes. B. There are some surprising endings to the stories and C. the characters actually develop a lot throughout the series.  I love reading these books and finding out if Andrea (Hannah's sister) has had her baby or if Lisa (her partner at the cookie shop) is going to get engaged to Herb.  Like I said,the stories develop well and you get to keep up with the characters.

So now to the summary of this particular book.  The novel itself was 200 pages with an additonal 166 pages of recipes :)  YAY!  I won't lie, while I was reading this I noticed that there weren't recipes between chapters like there normally is and I got a little bummed. I flipped through the pages a bit to see if I was getting jipped and saw that there was a TON in the back and all was well.  ANYWAYS. . . in this particular story, Hannah is hosting a Christmas potluck for the town of Lake Eden.  The reason behind it is that she is collecting recipes and compiling them into a cook book that is getting published (they discuss this in some previous books. . . see continuing story line). She is kind of having a taste test thing and using the Christmas Potluck and as way to carry this out.  At the party, a recently divorced resident of Lake Eden shows up with his new wife, a Vegas showgirl.  As the party goes on, it is discovered that an antique cake knife that was supposed to be used on the desserts has gone missing. Hannah goes on the prowl to find it and discovers that it was used to murder the new Vegas showgirl wife. She grabs her sometimes man Mike the detective and they decide that most likely the murderer is still at the potluck because of the weather conditions so the building goes on lock down until the murder is solved. Hannah and her sisters end up solving the murder and the Christmas Potluck ends in success.

Like I've said, I love these books, so this one was no exception.  I love that stuff from previous books in the series carries in to this one.  This series is one that I would read in order, so I can't read another one until I buy the next book. Trip to Barnes and Noble anyone???? I recommend these books to anyone who loves a good mystery and a love of sweets.  I can't wait to attempt some of the recipes in the series!

Next up on my reading list: Mansfield Park.  I love me some Jane Austen!  I've actually never read this book before, but I love Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility, so I don't see why this one would be any different.

Sorry for the long post!

Happy Reading!

Tara

The Red Queen- Philippa Gregory

Book: The Red Queen
Author: Philippa Gregory
Page Number: 424

Summary-
          Margaret Beaufort is heiress to the house of Lancaster, the royal house of England, who is in constant struggle with the their opposing house of York for the throne. At a young age Margaret wishes to give her life to God's will, but is instead married at the young age of 12, and gives birth to a son that she is determined to see as King of England. Margaret must watch her step as she is forced into loveless marriages, alliances, treason, and civil war as she works toward her dream of restoring Lancaster to the throne, becoming "My Lady and King's Mother", and "Signing her name Margaret R."

My Opinion-
       I have a bias for Philippa Gregory and her novels. I love the Tutor era, and love Gregory's writing style. Historical fiction is a genre I enjoy, and I find the characters in her books to  be complex and well rounded; this novel was no difference.
       Margaret was hypocritical, self-righteous, stubborn, and in many instances immature; but she was also determined, smart, and a realistic character. I thought her to have more flaws than saving graces, but this kept me entranced. Margaret Beaufort was refreshingly human and therefore relatable.
        The story line was detailed, visual, and easy to follow. Though the novel covers a span of many years, the pace is neither to fast or too slow. All the information you need to follow the story is given in ways that don't feel burdensome or boring, and you will feel yourself sucked into the drama of the time.
           In short, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who love historical fiction and drama, but would tell those who can't stand to read about a character they wouldn't like in real life to stay away.

The Host- Stephanie Meyer

So before I go into a summary of this book I just want to let you know that I'm pretty sure Ash is skipping out on writing blogs for the books she's read.  I'm sure she's read at least 5 books since her first post, and yet nothing new from her. I will be having a talk with her later. :)

Alright so The Host was actually surprisingly good, especially for a Stephanie Meyer book.  Having studied English Lit at BYU, I was basically trained to think that Stephanie Meyer was a disgrace to all English Lit peeps from BYU.  But I really really really liked this book. So here's the low down.

The book is 619 pages.  When I started it, I was positive I wasn't going to like it. I just couldn't get into the book and almost gave up.  But after the first few chapters (which are really short by the way), I was hooked. So if you decide to read this and think about changing your mind after the first few pages, get if a chance!

In the book, "souls" have basically taken over the universe, invading all other life forms.  The souls have taken over Earth and its human life forms as well.  Not all humans have been abducted though. There are a few "rebels" left in hiding.  Melanie is a recently abducted human. The soul that overtakes her can't fully over take the body though. Melanie still lives on in her head.  Wanderer (or Wanda as she is called later in the book) has to listen to Melanie talk, live her memories, and feel her emotions. Those emotions and memories lead Wanda to seek out Melanie's brother and one true love.  Wanda finds them in the deserts of Arizona.  Jared and Jamie, along with 35 other humans, have taken refuge in an underground cave/tunnel system.  The rest of the story deals with whether or not the humans will accept Wanda or kill her, whether Melanie is alive inside Wanda or not, and the struggle between Melanie, Wanda, and Jared (Melanie's love).

I won't give away too much else.  Like I said, I really enjoyed this book. I probably would have finished it sooner had I not been required to go to work.  Seriously, put any doubts you might have about Stephanie Meyer aside and give this a chance.  I will admit to having read the Twilight books, and this FAR surpasses the quality of those.  So yeah, give it a chance.

I'm not sure what is next on my reading list.  I'm tempted to read the book I just bought at Barnes and Noble yesterday.  It's part of a series I REALLY like, so that might be next up. But who knows what will happen.

Have a great week and happy reading!!!

~Tara

Shocking Secrets of American History: 115 Surprising and Amusing Tales- Bill Coate

Hello all!

I just finished reading this book by Bill Coate. (page count to come. I'm writing this at work so I don't have the book on me).  I must say, it was a lot less like a book and a lot more like a collection of tid bits, which has it's good and bad aspects.  I liked that instead of chapters the book had little stories, broken up into a page to a page and a half in length.  Readers find out the orgin of the song "taps", learn that we actually had a president who was only in office for a day, and discover the curse that was left after Lincoln's death. 

While the book was very interesting, I don't think I'm a fan of the short story.  I have learned through reading this book that I prefer one continuous story line instead of 115 little diddies.  This is the type of book I would maybe leave in my car for those pesky doctors appointments or things like that where you don't want to get super engrossed in a story line just to get interrupted.

I did learn a lot of cool facts that make me feel all the more nerdy.  I just hope that Mr. Coate isn't leading me astray with any of his tales.  So if you want to learn some weird or little known facts about the US of A, I recommend this book.  But if you are like me and prefer one tale per book, I might suggest finding some other nerdy history book.  I will be reading some more history type books here soon so stay tuned :)

Next on my list is The Host by Stephanie Meyer.  Yes I know, I'm going from some intellectual book to. . . well. . . not so intellectual.  Hopefully this is better than the Twilight series.  I've heard that it is, so lets find out if my friends have led me astray or not.

Adios and Happy Reading :)

~Tara

Rebekah- Orson Scott Card

Book: Rebekah

Author: Orson Scott Card

Page Number: 400

The second book in the "women of Genesis" series follows the story of Rebekah who became the woman destined to marry Isaac, the son of legendary Abraham. Opinionated, determined, and beautiful, Rebekah faces many challenges in making sure that God's will prevails.

Orson's tribute to the strong biblical heroine is interesting and well written. The characters are brought to life in a way that is believable and as complex as true people and relationships. I was impressed at the emphasis of family dynamics and relationships within this novel; father daughter, father son, sibling love and sibling rivalry are branched out upon in detail. Those people who, like myself, are interested in people and psychology will love this book. Rebekah was such a well developed character that I was actually annoyed with her to the point that I wished I could jump into the novel and giver her a piece of my mind, but at the same time I admire her for many of the reasons I wanted to slap her in the face. 

I highly recommend this novel even to the nonreligious because it has the rare quality of speaking of religious characters and God, without being "preachy." This is one book that follows a steely woman, that feminists and traditionalists will thoroughly enjoy.  

Welcome to Our Blog

Hello friends and fellow bookworms!

Ashley and I decided to start this blog for a variety of reasons.  We love to read.  We love to share our thoughts on what we read, and mostly, we read so much that sometimes we forget what we have read and need a way to remember :)

Before you trust us with our book opinions, let us tell you a little bit about ourselves.  We grew up in a family of bookworms.  Our mom was always reading, and seeing how television and cable wasn't always readily available to us, reading became our 1 reliable form of entertainment.  To us, reading is second nature.

I just graduated from BYU with a degree in American Studies and a minor in English.  Because I have been in school for the last 6 years, I haven't had a lot of time to read for fun.  Now that I am free from the burden of assigned reading, I am enjoying reading again.  I hope to one day own my very own used bookstore.  That has been my dream for the last few years, so please no one kill that dream with talk of e books.

Ashley just graduated from high school. She will be studying History and English education, with the goal of eventually becoming a University professor.  She can read like a million words per minute.  Ok that might be a slight exaggeration, but if you give her a 300 page book at noon, she will have it finished by midnight, probably sooner if she really likes it.

So here is how we want this thing to work.  We will, individually, finish a book.  Once we have finished it, we will come here and post about it.  The title of our post will be the title and author of the book.  We will include a page count, our thoughts on the book, and a brief summary of the book, minus any super important details.  NO spoilers here!

We welcome any and all suggestions for books to read, as well as comments  about our chosen opinion.  We won't guarantee a debate though; we both tend to be pretty non confrontational.

Please enjoy and Happy Reading!

~Tara and Ashley