Literary Tour 2011-Panem

Last summer I got really into reading and I did these posts about the books that I read. Well, I'm at it again, so I thought I'd fill you all in on my literary journeys. To start with, in May I read To The Rescue which was amazing! I could not put it down which is saying a lot because I usually have a hard time reading biographies. Anyway, that's a post for another day, because I have a lot to say about the book.

Right now though, I'm finishing up the Hunger Games trilogy. The whole thing has taken me a bout ten days to read which is really fast for me! But these books are awesome! They are young adult so they are very quick easy reads and I'm halfway through the third book so I don't know how it all ends, but the first two were awesome!

If you haven't read the series, I won't give any spoilers. But I will let you all know what I think about the books generally. First of all, I have to say that the concept is pretty interesting. I was reading on the wikipedia page about the book and it said that author, Suzanne Collins got the idea when she was watching tv. On one channel was a reality tv fighting competition and on the next channel was footage of the Iraq war so I thought was interesting inspiration.

I really like how Collins developed the characters I in some ways, I really want to be like Katniss. She is the main character and I really admire her strength. She has a humility about her when it comes to her abilities and doesn't see herself as extraordinary even though she totally is. Katniss is my new running alter-ego.

The cool thing is that these books have really made me think. They make me think about how I view entertainment, how I value life and what I want the future to be like versus what it could become and how I effect that.

My sister mentioned that it's probably not her cup of tea and I think a lot of people would say that-I even thought that at first. But I'm really glad that I gave it a chance. It's a fun read even though it's pretty heavy stuff. Another great review is over on my friend Kathleen's blog where she talks all about the love story and her distaste for certain characters-while I disagree with her, she makes me laugh. But beware of spoilers, so don't go look at it if you haven't read the series. Plus, you can see her cute daughter!

Anyway, the books are great and I'm well on my way to reading the required amount of books for the summer reading program at the library, so that's cool! Free book here I come!

Next up, Tonga as I read about John H Groberg's missions in the pacific islands in 'The Other Side of Heaven' and 'Fire of Faith'.

A Reading Tour

*First thing...I got a little carried away on picnik with vampire tools. So we now have a whole family of vampires until Oct 31st. Couldn't help it...Twilight takes over sometimes!*

When I started my personal journey into becoming a reader earlier in the summer, I had grandiose plans for documenting all the different places that I would 'visit' on my book tour. I even did a post about it, remember this one? Well, I've read a lot in the last few months, and as you can see, those posts never came to fruition. Well, I'm starting yet another book, so I thought I'd do a quick recap of where I've been in my imagination (I know...cheesy).

*These Is My Words One word, AMAZING! I want to be just like the main character Sarah when I grow up. It took me about 100 pages to get into it, but it was so worth it! I could not put it down! Sarah is such a great example of what a strong, independent woman is. She's independent out of necessity and I like that.

*The Kite Runner I was warned that this book was going to contain some very shocking scenes. I figured that since it takes place in Afghanistan, during war, that was inevitable so I went into prepared. But I did not get the shock I expected. I really enjoyed the book, however, I felt the ending left a little to be desired.

*The Overton Window Say what you want about Glenn Beck, I thought he wrote a very compelling work of fiction which was a little frightening in that if you look around, a lot of what he described you can see happening. Again, I thought the ending was a little abrupt but I'm wondering if there could be a sequel. There are times when the writing is slightly amateurish. But they say that about Stephenie Meyer, so it obviously doesn't really matter when it comes to making millions.

*The Secret Life of Bees This one took me a while to get through. I actually started it before The Overton Window and got a little bored which is why I moved on. It's a very good book though. I felt that it contained a great deal of wisdom and every character was compassionate in their own way. Great lessons learned from each of them. Although, the movie made me cry where the book didn't. I also thought there was too much narrative which is fine, but it felt like reading more of a journal rather than a novel.

*The Glass Castle First of all, what is the difference between a memoir and an autobiography? (Can you help me out Alison?) Anyway, it was very interesting to be a fly on the wall of a very dysfunctional family that has no idea it is so dysfunctional. There were actually parts that I found more shocking than The Kite Runner when you look at it from the perspective of a parent. Very good read that makes your skin crawl sometimes.

*The Amber Room This is more along the lines of a Dan Brown mystery. Carson wanted me to read something a little less sad and emotional. So he turned me onto Steve Berry. I enjoyed it although I had a few complaints....there was a great deal of sex which didn't seem to drive the story at all (according to Carson his other books don't have any so he was surprised to hear that). Also, the majority of the story takes place in East Germany and is about art thieves. The issues that I had with that is that I don't read/speak German so it was hard to tell the geography and all the art mentioned is real, but nobody has seen it in years and it's really obscure so you don't know what they are actually stealing. But other than that, very interesting read. But there is a lot of WWII history and I always find that compelling.

So that's where my literary travels have taken me. I just started The Help which I'm loving so far! After that, I'm going to read The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and then A River Runs Through It. I love reading!!!!

I'd say that my favorite on the list so far was These Is My Words. Just in case you were wondering.

What Next???

I'm almost finished reading These Is My Words and I will be posting my review soon to add to my literary tour. Funny thing, thinking about that title always makes me sing Natasha Bettingfield in my head which is odd becuase I kind of don't like her. Anyway, I love the book but I'm having trouble deciding what to read next. So I thought I would just put it out there. After this one, I will have read two romances in like two weeks and I think I need to mix it up a little bit. Not to mention that I think my husband would enjoy me reading something less sappy for once. So here is what I'm thinking......

Into Thin Air by John Krakauer. This will make our next stop on the literary tour mount Everest. Should be thrilling, exciting and maybe a little dangerous! But most likely a little bit sad as well.

The Kite Runner by, Khaled Hosseini. By reading this one, we will make a stop in Afghanistan. We will experience friendship, war, fallen monarchies, being a refugee and kite flying (?). I'm very interested in reading this one and then maybe I'll see the movie adaptation.

The Patriots by, James Wesley Rawles. I don't know a lot about this book. It's about survivalist during an economic meltdown in the United States. This journey will take us from the midwest to Idaho and maybe a few places in between.

I'm really excited to read all of these books so I just can't decide and I'll be done with the other one really soon. So let me know what you all think. I'll post a poll on my side bar. First time I've ever done that.....

A Literary Tour-Beauford, North Carolina*

After I finally got my library card, I decided to take advantage of it and request a bunch of books at the library. The only problem, my literary knowledge doesn't go much further than Twilight, Harry Potter and Anita Stansfield LDS romance novels. Not much of a selection there, plus I've read most of those multiple times. So I went to facebook, asked for suggestions and got some great ones. I pretty much requested them all and ended up really far down on the waiting lists for almost all of them. So I wasn't expecting the text from the library on Monday night saying that there were six (6!) books waiting for me. They were A Walk to Remember, The Red Tent, The Secret Life of Bees, Into Thin Air, Water For Elephants, and These Is My Words. Hello! So that night I began my quest to become a little more familiar with something other than vampires, wizards and Australians.

Book #1 A Walk to Remember by, Nicholas Sparks

I had my reasons for choosing this book. First, every girl needs a little romance, right? Second, I love the movie! It's not the most masterful of cinematic works, but it's clean, realistic to a certain extent, and I think Shane West is super cute (plus I've always held a secret admiration for Many Moore...she's like the homely, four eyed, embarrassing step sister that nobody talks about when it comes to the Disney teen queens of the late 90's. She really made you root for her but you just couldn't admit it because she wasn't Brittany.) Anyway, I wanted to see how the book would measure up to a movie that I really like and always makes me cry......here goes.

I liked the book only okay. I felt that Nicholas Sparks kind of let the reader down with the amount of character development. In the movie you have a really clear understanding of why Landon Carter is such a rebel and while that it alluded to in the novel, the only thing he ever did wrong was loiter at the cemetery after hours. Really? It would have been better had he been portrayed as a greaser from the other side of the tracks, someone along the lines of John Milner or Fonzie. At least they got parking tickets and wore leather jackets. But no, Landon Carter just seemed like any other normal guy from 1958. Maybe not Ritchie Cunningham, but definitely Potsy Webber (I watched a lot of Nick a Nite growing up).

I was also disappointed with the quality of the writing. I know that is most people's complaint about Twilight, but Nicholas Sparks is supposed to be an accomplished writer and i would have expected more. In the first half of the book, he used the phrase 'If you know what I mean' (or some form of it) on every page and I'm not joking.

Then there was the climax which I think is the most important part of the story. If you haven't read it or seen the movie, I won't give a spoiler, just know that it's there. I feel that it happened way too late in the book and then there wasn't enough attention given to it. It was like BOOM! 20 pages later, the end.

However, there were some very good aspects of the book and I feel that i would be remiss if i left them out. I really do love the story, it has feel good moments and it will cause you to get a little emotional....but I cried more in the movie than the book. I love that it is clean in pretty much every aspect of the story and that is, of course, a huge plus. I also really loved the spiritual journey that all of the characters went on, but I would have loved more of that. It just falls into that whole climax thing that I was talking about before.

All in all, it was a quick easy read that did make me feel good when it was all said and done. I would recommend if you have nothing else to read or want something quick and easy.

*The book takes place in Beauford, North Carolina. Next up, Israel and Egypt for The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

** I will post about my future literary stops as soon as the book is finished and I've reconciled all of my feelings about it.

Post Edit-I'm canceling the trip to Israel and Egypt in favor of Arizona and These Is My Words by, Nancy E. Turner. For anyone who has read The Red Tent, I tried really hard to think it was a good book, but I ended up feeling conflicted by the subject matter so I stopped about 30 pages in. If you haven't read it, let me know if you want a more detailed description as to why I stopped reading it.