Mom to the Screaming Masses

Books You Loved to Hate

There are millions and millions of books out there. Books you love, books you tolerate, books that you read over and over again. And it's super easy to talk about those – I know anyone who's read here longer than a month knows of my unfailing obsession with the Outlander series.

But what I want to know is, what are the books that you hate? The book that you read, the one you couldn't get through? The one your best friend's aunt's sister's cousin recommended to you – and you never got past page 10? The bookie force yourself to finish, hoping that it would get better, but it never did. At the end, you were furious with yourself for wasting the time.

I really did not like Gone,Girl. I know that makes me an anomaly, but I just could not stand it. Atonement. Anything by Ayn Rand. TWILIGHT. Eat, Pray, Love.

Those will do for starters. What about for you?

What I've Been Reading Lately - The Latest

First of all, a bit of housekeeping:

I've been nominated (by myself, don't get all up in my bidness - but I was encouraged to nominate those, so there! - wow, did I just get cranky!) to speak as a Voices of the Year at the BlogHer Conference for two posts. I would really, really love to read one of these posts. IF and only IF you liked them, and think that they would be a good piece to read to a wider audience - would you consider voting? Post #1 is the one that talks about the trip to the mall with my son and Post #2 is about having faith. You can read both of them before you vote. Please and thank you and you look so very pretty today.

Item the second: I did a car review for my good friend Chris and it's live here. It's only the second car review I've done, so be kind.

Now, on to the show.

Books I've read lately, and my thoughts on them - this is probably going to be long, so I'm going to use the "read more" click through option that some of you don't like. I'm super sorry in advance. It just seems to be a gigantic wall of text.

I read a lot, y'all.

And the way I can read so much? Well, you should see the pile of paperwork sitting here on my desk. I work. I cook. I clean. I do laundry. I care for the shorties (maybe that should have come first...)

And then I read. I don't watch TV, unless it's Downton Abbey, Call The Midwife or Funeral Boss (man, do I love that show.)

I just - read.

The Charm School (Nelson DeMille) - probably one of my favorite books. I am not typically a spy novel person, but the premise of this - that our POW's from the Vietnam War were traded to Russia and forced to train the Russian soldiers to become American Impersonators - sent shivers down my spine. It was an awesome book 5 stars out of 5.

I Read as I Breathe

My husband and I went to one of his coworkers houses last week. I'm not overly friendly with the people who we spent the evening with, and one of them asked me what television shows I watch.

Do I watch House? No. Do I watch The Bachelor? No. Real Housewives, Catfish, Dr. Who, Pawn Stars, or others? No.

About the only show I watch is Dowton Abbey. And Jeopardy! when I'm washing the dinner dishes.

So, I was asked, what do you watch?

Words on Paper. That's what I watch - words on paper. Otherwise known as BOOKS.

I READ books and rarely watch tv.

That's me. I always have a book with me.

Have you read this? Attributed to Rosemarie Urquico, it begins with:

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Me. I am that girl.

According to the University of Sussex studies, reading for just six minutes has been shown to reduce stress by 68 percent. Reading before bed further reduces that stress. Why would you not want to read? Why would you not want to climb in to someone else's life, rattle around in someone else's brain, see the world thorugh fresh eyes and experience situations you may never come into contact with?

If you can try on other people's lives and learn more about what makes them tick - why wouldn't you?

Are you a reader?

What I've Been Reading Lately

I used to try to do a weekly reader series. I read daily, sometimes hourly, if the book is especially good. I like to share the books I read with you - the good, the bad, the ugly - because in my mind, there is NOTHING worse than buying a book that you think is going to be just AMAZEBALLS and it so is not. 

Ahem. I'm giving the hairy eyeball to you, Amazon reviews.

I read so voraciously that reporting these reads to you could be an all day affair - so I try to do it at least semi regularly in order to keep the post length down.

So, here are some books that I've been reading, with my notes - I'm linking them for your ease, not because I make any money off of your Amazon purchases, fyi:

Me Before You - This was one of my favorite books to have read over the past several months, and I'd have to put it up there at the top of any list. It's been hailed as a "Modern Day Love Story" of the 21st-century, and it touches on the topic of euthanasia. I found myself pulling for the couple, and I didn't expect to. I understood what would happen at the end – kind of saw it coming before it happened – but it was still very touching. 5 stars out of 5.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker -  I wanted to like Elizabeth, Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker. I really did. It seems like just the tale for me – the inner workings of someone who was truly famous, although we know nothing about her. The parts of the story that focused on the dressmaker were very interesting indeed. I especially enjoyed the back door view into the Lincoln White House. When the book delved into Civil War, it definitely lost me. I know my history, and I love me some history. But I didn't want to hear the details of the battles again. Rather, I wanted to know what made the dressmaker stick with Mrs. Lincoln, even though she was extremely difficult. I wanted to know what made their relationship tick. I didn't finish reading this book, and I've only even done that three times. I had been reading for what seemed like days and days, and felt as if I was slogging through it, and realized I was only 34% completed. Rather than being excited that I had so much more to look forward to, I felt dread. So I didn't finish it.

When It Happens to You -
The concept of this book was intriguing - a set of short stories that are all interwoven - one person from the first story appears in the second, a different person from the second is in the third, and so on. The stories were all interesting, some sad, a few that were so well written that I hated the character - which I think I was supposed to. Written by Molly Ringwald, it's not your typical "celebrity" book - those are often so dumb you can't finish them. This was excellent. 4 out of 5. 

Digital Fortress - I downloaded Digital Fortress on the day that Dan Brown's new book title was debuted. I've heard good things about his books, but I've never read them, mostly because I've heard that some of his more famous books were anti-Catholic. I have a hard enough time keeping myself straight. I don't need books to help take me to another side. But Digital Fortress discussed topics that I am interested in: computer hacking, puzzles, the tech world. This is a very good book, although the end didn't come together in a satisfying manner. I had actually picked out who the villain was about halfway through the story. It was predictable, but didn't wrap up satisfactorily. 3 stars out of 5.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter -
A murder mystery that gripped me from the very beginning, this was a favorite book. It deals with race and class issues in a satisfactory, and more important, BELIEVABLE manner. 4 stars out of 5.

Redeeming Love - A girlfriend posted that she was reading Redeeming Love on her Facebook wall, and she received more comments on that post than any I've ever seen. Everyone universally loved the book, so I downloaded it. It was – okay. A little bit preachy, a little bit overdone, but still, a fairly satisfying story in the end. Don't read if you don't like to be preached to. 3 stars out of 5.

American Wife - This book I have not yet finished, but I already love it. When I began to read it, I Google search to find out which presidents this book referenced. The overwhelming thought is that it talks about Laura Bush, and her husband. If that is true, this book could almost seems scandalous in some aspects. I like Alice. I really like her a lot, and I'm not a fan of the family into which she married. They are rude, snotty, haughty, and look down on those without money. I find myself rooting for Alice, and hoping that her husband will not go into politics. Alas, being that this is the story of George Bush, or so it's told, we know how this will end. I've not yet finished this book, but I give it a 5 out of 5.

What are you reading?

Your Life as a Book

It should come as no surprise to you that I love to read.

Love, love, love it. I read all the time - even when I shouldn't.

I heard a reflection this week that referred to a person's life as a book. What would the title of your book be?

Mine? Probably something like - The Thinking Person's Guide to Insanity. Or maybe Insanity: It Runs in the Family. Or - You too can have Bad Genes. (I'm sensing a theme...)

Or, maybe, just my name with the dates bookended.

What would the story be?

There'd be entire chapters that I'd feel completely comfortable skipping - and chapters that would be so short they'd be superfluous.There might be a few chapters that I'd be proud of, a few that would make my parents squirm and one or two that I'd probably be put on the censorship list for including.

I'm hopeful that the book would have many, many, many pages and chapters. :)

I imagine that, when you die, you take your book with you, wherever it is that you go. Your book is added to the shelf in your final resting place - whose book will yours touch? Will you be proud of your book, the book of "you", of who you are and what you did in your life?

Dude. I'm really morbid tonight, aren't I? I should have some really, really good news the beginning of next week. Betcha can't wait for something upbeat!

A Book Worth Promoting

I've read some really great books lately, and some that were free on Kindle and I totally can see why they were free. Ye Gads - I can't believe some of the stuff that gets published.

But here are some of my favorites.

LOVE Tana French. Her first three books were amazing. I devoured them in a day each. I just downloaded the fourth, Broken Harbor, and it was really, really, really good - not quite on the same level, because it kind of went south for me towards the end, it was a bit unbelieveable and far fetched - but it was still a good read. 

Let's Pretend This Never Happened, by The Internet Goddess, The Bloggess. Totally hysterical and extremely funny. I may have snorted a few times when I read this. I don't know that I'd recommend reading it on a plane - your fellow passengers may look at you funny when you shriek with laughter. Just know that there's a fair amount in there about animals and taxidermy and one part that made me want to puke. Fair warning.

Alli Worthington is a phenomenal woman. I'm constantly amazed and awed by all she does. She has been a HUGE proponent of iPhone photography - and I can't believe that a lot of the images that she posts are taken using the iPhone - but they are. She put together a book with tips and hints, and I've gotta say, it's spectacular. And, it's $5. I know. FIVE DOLLARS. (The price goes up to $10 Monday morning!) Since reading this, I've become much more proficient and handy with the iPhone - not to say I don't use my DSLR, but the iPhone is always, always with me. It's probably the best $5 you'll spend all day. Maybe even all week. There's a button on the sidebar over there --->>> that links to the purchase location - full disclosure - if you use that button I make a couple of pennies.

Out of Time by Deborah Truscott was one of those free books that I actually really liked.I love time travel stories and this was a good one - of course, it had a romance angle, but whatever. Good read when you are by the pool or at the beach - not too much to think about.

One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf - this was a little difficult to read, thanks to the school shooting aspect of it, and I figured out who the mystery character was about half way through - but it was a good read.

What have you read lately that you loved?

The Kinda, Sorta Weekly Reader - April Edition

Welcome to the sporadic list of books I've recently read. Let's get started!

The Orchid Affair/The Garden Intrigue - Books 7 and 8 of the Pink Carnation series, these books are light and fun reading. I think, maybe, the story line has reached as far as it will go. I found myself not quite as immersed in these books as I was in the first 6. If you need a good series for the summer, to read by the pool - this is a good one. 3 out of 5 stars

Saint Training - The story of a girl who decided, while in elementary school, that she'd become a saint - this was a funny, funny book. She begins a correspondence with a Sister and the tales of her life, and the things she does to try to make sure she gets into heaven, is honest and funny. 4 out of 5 stars.

Books and Me and Reading and Satisfaction

I saw the bookmobile today.

I haven't seen the bookmobile in *ages*. It was one of the greatest parts of my childhood. I LOVED it when the bookmobile showed up on our street. It didn't come all that often, unless I'm misremembering, and I'm sure someone will set me straight if I am - and it didn't come for that long of a period in time -

but when that long bus drove down my street, and parked about 4 blocks from my house...

we all raced to get there.

What I've Been Reading - The Lame-O "I Forgot to Update" List

So I forget to update this list and then panic and have to add a whole bunch. Sorry. I typically remember when I've read something very good and want to tell you about it.

Side note: I'm panicked and flipping out about the upcoming holiday and I know that, no matter what - it's not going to get done. I'm bracing myself to be ok with it - as if I really have a choice. I'm not done shopping, haven't even begun to wrap, and I'm still several baked goods to the negative. My laundry needs to be done and groceries need to be bought and the kitchen is a tip - and, hey, I've just described YOUR life, haven't I?? We are all in the same boat.

Moving on. My most recent reads, and my thoughts and impressions, for what it's worth. Some of these books would make VERY good gifts!

The Tell Tale Heart

I'm not quite sure how old I was when I read Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. Maybe 8th or 9th grade.

Scariest.Story.EVER.

Mackenzie read it this past week in school (8th grade) and she told me that, along with the story, they watched a YouTube video.

I laughed when I heard that. Watching it could be scary, yes, I could see that. We were old school, though - we listened to it.

And that was WORSE.