This One's For The Girls

Let me just say I am SO sorry, for not being an avid blogger this month.. I have about 5 different blogs going on  and I have failed to update most of them regularly.. although this may be my favorite one to write... well next to my Event Planning tips one, but I feel like such a fraud writing that one... cause even though I want to be an Event Planner and I am extremely judgmental of other peoples events.... I am not an Event Planner(yet) therefore I feel my advice I give is pointless... but I give it none the less.. I know I don't normally start my Book/Reading blogs this way, but I felt that this was the right way to do this one. ANYWAYS, I can't exactly pinpoint why I haven't been blogging as much and I think it has to do with two things. One being lack of motivation, but the other being... I think my blogging/writing skills suck. Especially after realizing my fiance is a better writer then I. Which this may sound bad, but it quite shocking to me. You see, I am extremely competitive, but not just that.. In general I did better in school then Brandon. I am the one that who tells him how to spell words and what words mean and all that fun stuff. Granted he is WAY better at spell checking then I am... What kills me is I got him into Blogging/Writing and now he is BETTER than me. Therefore a part of me died.

Which brings me to another similar topic (don't worry this will all tie into each other) I kind of want to write a book.. I have already written a children s book [SIDEBAR: which I am still looking for an illustrator for and help/tips on getting published are much appreciated] but I want to explore other genres, I have so many great ideas in my head that I want to get out on paper. Which again leads to my fear of objection and the fact that I stink at writing. Which I know, is bad cause "I'm the only person.. standing in the way of myself ' blah blah blah blah. It also doesn't help that I have a MILLION (literally) other things I want to do. Now here comes the segeway.. what led me to writing this way longer then expected "prologue" to my next book review is, that I was on my Twitter when I came across Meg Cabot's twitter page, which led me to her web page, which led me to reading her blogs. Her blogs made me laugh and in a way inspired me to start writing a book again. Will I go through with it? I don't know.. but for now I will review one of Meg Cabot's books that I read.. which is another thing her blog reminded me to do. = )

Lets go back to when I was 13.. Had braces, was built like twig, with frizzy hair, braces and freckles. Sitting in my purple flowered bed, in purple room at my Dad's house.. staying up extremely late reading... Meg Cabot books. That has long it also been since I have read a Meg Cabot book.. (I'm 21 now). My selection process of books wasn't really different then it is now, expect that I was looking in the Young Adult Selection, which I do at times still venture into. So like (most) 13 year old girls.. I venture towards the book, with the neat title and pretty cover.  "How To Be Popular" what somewhat geeky girls wouldn't be interested in this book?

The Title basically sums up the book, the main character Stephenie Landry has been a social leper since 6th grade and yearns to be popular. So, when she finds an old book on what else...but, How To Be Popular. Stephanie uses it as her guide to climbing the social ladder in high school. The book is pretty much what every teen coming of age story has.... The nerdy girl, who becomes a "princess" (no, this isn't Princess Diaries).. who likes the hot jock, but realizes the person she really loves is right under her nose. Family Drama and all that fun stuff. Cabot's characters are always fun, witty and like-able which makes the books SO popular. However, my one critique would be that I actually didn't really like how the book ended (if i remember it correctly). Although THIS one wasn't one of my particular favorites of Meg Cabot's, I over all enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone who has a daughter who is going through her awkward stages.

History Nerd Alert

This is the perfect book to review at this time, since I am currently doing research on my family as well as my fiance's. I read this book a little over a year ago and the reason I picked it, wasn't really for the normal reasons I pick a book..the title and the cover. Although, the cover is what  attracted me to the book, it was the fact that the book was based in 18th century Italy. I tend to glamourize history, but I have always loved the idea of living back in Italy,France and England from anywhere around the 1400's to the the early 1900's. I am just fascinated by history. Even if it wasn't as fancy as I picture it to be... none the less I love it. So, that is why I picked the book. What made it better was that Lucia was a real Venetian lady and that the accounts in the book were real.

The author Andrea Di Robilant is actually related to Lucia who is is Great-Great-Great-Great- Grandmother (maybe add another Great or two in there). He ended up visiting the family old home in Venice and finding letters that Lucia actually wrote to her Husband, Family and Friends.. and from that he used these letters to tell her story. Andrea Di Robilant starts out by explaining his families history and he does a good job at explaining certain things, but for the most part the story is all Lucia's words.

You may think that the book would be boring and to some it probably is.. you need an appreciation for history and ancestry, in my opinion. However, if you want to give it a try the story is almost that of a Jane Austen Novel.  Married young mostly for money, but she loved him... he cheats on her, they have kids, hes gone a lot, she takes a lover, they have a love child... It's a beautiful story about a women living in Venetian Society. The book isn't for everyone, but I most definitely recommend it.


Currently Reading: The Girls of Murder City By Douglas Perry

Top 10 Children's Classics

This is a list of my top 10 favorite Children s classics. With the exception of children s books that are series and staying in the age range of 3-8 years old. Again, these are books that are MY personal favorites and are special to me for many reasons. A lot of them being associated with my Grandma Thomas who passed away almost 3 years ago and always encouraged me to read and had A lot of these books lying around.

1. Love You Forver

The reason I consider this book a classic, because it is the perfect book to read to your child at night; So that they know how much you love them at all stages of their life. This book is special to me cause my mom, read it to me when I was little and the saying is something we still say to each other...

"I'll Love You Forever, I'll Like You Forever, As Long as I'm Living; My Baby You'll Be"

Also, the illustrations were always fun to look at.

2. If You Give a Mouse A Cookie

This book was an instant classic! From the insanely cute pictures to the absurdity of what would happen if you really gave a mouse a cookie, that would give both you and child the giggles.

3. Where The Wild Things Are

  A Story of a little boy who didn't want to eat his dinner and go to sleep, is something every little monster and parent can relate too. As a child you may not understand the underlying meaning of the book, but the illustrations and idea of a young boy being King of an island of monsters is entertaining in itself. No matter if you got the moral of the story the book always stuck in your mind. Didn't It?

4. Make Way For Ducklings

  Make way for Ducklings is a heart warming tale of Mrs.Mallard and her eight ducklings traveling around Boston, as Mrs. Mallard looks for a safe place to raise her ducklings. The story so near and dear to hearts that they actually have a Make Way For Ducklings bronze sculpture in Boston's Botanical Gardens. This book is near and dear to me especially since it is one of many books my Grandma read to me.

 

5. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

A colorful and entertaining book, that encourages reading and has an interactive layout that keeps kids intrigued and happy. 

6. Goodnight, Moon

Goodnight Moon, is the ultimate bedtime story, it is short and sweet and usually has kids asking you to read it one more time, before they have to say Goodnight Moon, themselves.

7. Courduroy

The tale of a bear with a missing button, waiting in a department store to be adopted is a heart warming tale.

8. The Polar Express

 A clever and perfect holiday classic about a boys journey to the North Pole. 

9. The Story About Ping

Ping live with his Parents, his siblings and forty-two cousins, until one day Ping goes on his own adventure and gets himself lost.

10. The Story of Ferdinand

A story of a bull who would rather smell flowers all day then bull fight, teaches kids to celebrate diversity and to it's ok, to be different.   

    

S.W.O.K

The version I read was actually 3 books combined, Kissed By An Angel, The Power of Love and Soulmates. Basically, the book is about Ivy and Tristan who are madly in love teenagers, until one night they get in a terrible accident, and Tristan gets killed. The book follows both Ivy and Tristan. It follows Ivy coping with Tristan's death her mom's new marriage and all the twists and turns of this thriller. Tristan is coping with being dead and learning what he is and isn't capable of doing now that he is Ivy's angel. There is a whole bunch of creepy paranormal, mystery, murder and what not.. oh, and love.

To Be Honest, the book was a cute,creepy and fun BUT over all not memorable and not worth buying. In fact, it's boring me to even TRY and go back and think about what happened in the book. Three Books was TOO long for the book, the title made it seem promising and that was about it.


Currently Reading: The Girls Of Murder City By Douglas Perry

There's A Reason They Call Them Classics

I finished reading The Great Gatsby last night and to be honest, I am proud of myself. I read a classic book on my own, it wasn't for school or anything and I actually enjoyed it! Not saying that I didn't enjoy reading 1984 or Of Mice and Men, but there was something different there.  Which I will Explain later on. I'm sure most older readers have already read The Great Gatsby. So, my need of explaining the book to you isn't needed.. However there are a selected few people like me who haven't read it and may think that this book is based in the 20's and some how involves a boat. Don't ask me why I thought that but I did. I did know that the book was set in the 20's and that people had Great Gatsby parties and also, it involved a love triangle. What I didn't know is that the book is a tragedy and is told through someone who isn't Gatsby or Daisy.

The The Great Gatsby is told through Daisy's cousin Nick Carraway. Nick talks about his life and why he now lives in West Egg, where he lives next door to Jay Gatsby and across the river lives his cousin Daisy with her husband Tom Buchanon. Jay Gatsby is a mysterious man who holds elaborate parties in the summer on Saturdays. Nobody knows who he really is, but they all try and guess. Through the summer Jay and Nick become good friends. Nick also, learns that Daisy's husband is  cheating on her and that Daisy and Gatsby have a romantic past. While all this is going on Nick also has an arrangement as they say with Daisy's friend Ms. Jordan Baker.  Through this book there are many twists and turns in this tragic love story.

This book, had me pleasantly surprised. It wasn't what I expected at all and there were characters involved that surprised me as well. The book is so well written, in a way that not only makes it a classic but timeless as well. It is written very contemporary or modern. Meaning it is relate-able through the years.. it doesn't use too many words that are for the time period only. So, you don't get confused or bored by it. I recommend anyone who is serious about reading to read The Great Gatsby. The book is by far one of  my favorite classics.

What's Next?
My next book is called The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry.  My fiance bought this book off my amazon wish list and basically the book is about the girls who committed murder in 1920's Chicago. Supposedly the book is what spurred the musical Chicago.

New Review for a New Year

The review for this book will be short and sweet and maybe lacking for the review that was chosen to start the New Year with, but I was looking for people to follow on The Lost Book Reports Twitter, when I saw Maureen Johnson's Twitter.. the name instantly sounded familiar to me.. So I googled it and it took me to her personal website when I discovered she had written Suite Scarlett and 13 Little Envelopes (which I have reviewed previously). This recognizance reminded me that I have read Suite Scarlett and that this was a book I shall review.

Suite Scarlett was a book i read over the summer of 2009, maybe 2008... I spotted it in a library and was instantly drawn to it.. Again, covers and names are how I pick my books and I know , i know you aren't suppose to judge a book by its cover, but for the most part this method hasn't really failed me. If you HAVE a really good book, that I haven't read.. then maybe you need a better cover = ) Anyways, for me it was the blond curls, bright red lipstick and the name Scarlett that had me hooked.

I don't remember much about the book to be honest.. besides that there is a girl named Scarlett, who lives in a hotel with her family, she likes a guy who acts and there is Shakespeare on Unicycles... I know.. it doesn't sound too thrilling, but I promise I was a sweet, cute book and I am actually excited that there is a sequel to it; which I discovered on Maureen Johnson's website. I recommend this book to younger girls.. Middle School - High School and more for your summer reading, then for a book report.


Currently Reading : The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald