Reading Challenge - Book 28

I'm pretty sure this really will be the last book I finish this year ;)

I made it more than half way! The 28th book I read this year - well, I wasn't sure if I'd finish it this year, so I hadn't really considered the category when I started. I'm going to count it for the 47th category - a play - because it was a book about a play. Close enough.

The Lake Shore Limited by Sue Miller was about four main characters, really. Their lives intersected around a play for now (some of them had met previously, out of context of the play, but that's why they're interacting in the book). I was totally drawn in by the characters, but sort of disappointed by the end of the book. Not to give anything away, it wasn't a definitive ending. Imagination is fine while I'm reading, but I want to know how it 'really' ends for the characters. Oh well. It was still a pleasant way to pass some time for a few days.


This wraps up the 2015 Popsugar reading challenge for me. Interested in joining in for 2016? I'll be posting more about it next week for sure, but you can check out the list here.

Reading Challenge - Book 27

I have to admit, I usually shy away from 'popular' books. I don't like being told what to like, or not like, based on a consensus of strangers. But I finally read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert as my 27th book this year, to satisfy the 19th category on my reading challenge list - a book based on a true story. And I'm really glad I finally did.

I loved the author's approach of both telling about her past and her experiences, as well as what she learned, in a 'take it or leave it' sort of tone. She wasn't promising anyone else a better life, perspective, or experience from reading her book, only her own assessment of it. If it works for you, great. If not, oh well.

At the beginning of the book, I felt I was learning more from her spiritual insights, but that makes sense - India was the more spiritually intended leg of her journey. By the end, I really wanted to know what would happen next during her stay in Indonesia. I'm not sure if that says more about my place in the universe or her book.

I don't re-read very many books, but I'm at the point just a week later where I'd don't think I'd mind reviewing some of the earlier lessons, and see why Italy didn't make as much of an impression on me as the other parts of her journey.

If you've read this book too (and I was under the impression that a lot of people have), what was your favorite part?

Reading Challenge - Book 26

Today I finished reading Life From Scratch (A Life From Scratch Novel Book 1). It satisfied number 41 on my reading challenge list - a book by an author you've never read before. At least I'm pretty sure it did. This was the second book that I was so grateful to have as a back-up to read at baton competition last weekend.

Life from Scratch was a delightful little edition of chick-lit, with a unique ending from what I expected. I was engaged with the characters, which is pretty much the best part for me. It was, oddly enough, another book with sort of a cooking storyline. The most odd part of that is that I'm not much of a cook either, much like the main character at the beginning of the book.

I wonder what it means that I keep picking these books about people cooking. Maybe my family will grow to like the same things that intrigue me and I can take up cooking sometime? Only time will tell...

Reading Challenge - Book 25

I was sort of tricked into finishing this one really fast. I downloaded two books to take with me to baton competition last weekend. It turned out really lucky that I did - this book was only 100 pages, and I finished it easily during solos. If I hadn't downloaded two, I would have been sadly without reading material for half the day!

The 25th book I finished for the challenge this year satisfied item number 45 on the list: a book set during Christmas. In The Christmas Cookie Chronicles: Grace, Flynn is about to give birth to her first baby. We meet Flynn and her husband and learn a little about their difficult past. As is typical in books, love and Christmas overcome all obstacles and we move promptly to a 'happily-ever-after.'

I would be interested in reading more quick books from this series. The characters so far are warm and likable.

Reading Challenge - Book 24

I actually finished my 24th book in the reading challenge last Tuesday, but had other things I had to write before the review.  Lunch in Paris - A Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard satisfied the 17 category on the Popsugar 2015 Reading Challenge list. It was a 'book recommended by a friend.' The friend was one of the librarians in the children's section of our local library. She probably wouldn't even remember recommending it to me, as we haven't been there in month. This book had quite a waiting list for my Kindle!

The book was very good, and probably would be even better for someone who enjoys cooking. The author would tell about a realization of her life while she adjusted to living in Paris with her boyfriend, who later became her husband. In the next section, she would give the recipes that were meaningful to the anecdote of her life she'd just told.

I'm grateful to have finished this book last week, although I now can't help but wonder if the author is still in Paris, and if she's okay after the terrorist attacks on Friday. My thoughts are with her, the family and friends I feel like I got to 'know' a bit through her book, and all of the citizens and visitors in Paris and affected by the tragedies.

Reading Challenge - Book 23

What a powerful, fabulous book. I laughed and cried out loud. Life and Other Near-Death Experiences is a book I won from another blog, that ended up satisfying the fourth item on my reading challenge list - a book that was published this year (2015).

Libby Miller has always been an unwavering optimist—but when her husband drops a bomb on their marriage the same day a doctor delivers devastating news, she realizes her rose-colored glasses have actually been blinding her.

With nothing left to lose, she abandons her life in Chicago for the clear waters and bright beaches of the Caribbean for what might be her last hurrah. Despite her new sunny locale, her plans go awry when she finds that she can’t quite outrun the past or bring herself to face an unknowable future. Every day of tropical bliss may be an invitation to disaster, but with her twin brother on her trail and a new relationship on the horizon, Libby is determined to forget about fate. Will she risk it all to live—and love—a little longer?

I would highly recommend this book. Libby is an incredibly likable character, and I could easily imagine myself dreaming of doing some of the crazy stuff she does. Who knows what could happen when you feel you have nothing left to lose?

Reading Challenge - Book 22

I read Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed to fit category number 14 on the reading challenge - a nonfiction book.

Cheryl is in her twenties and newly divorced when she decides to undertake one  hundred days on the Pacific Crest Trail. From southern California to partway through Oregon, she hopes the solitude will help her come to terms with the loss of her mother, and the feeling of disconnection that led to her divorce from a man she still says feels like her best friend. The trail and the people she meets there seem to point her in the right direction as she discovers a strength she previously only hoped she had.

I enjoyed the stories from the trail, as well as the backstory of her life growing up, and losing her mother. I was really happy to have the after-story and finding out immediately what happened in the years after her hike.

What have you done that has helped you 'find yourself?' Or, what's your favorite book/story of an individual's personal transformation?

Reading Challenge - Book 21

Yet another book I found in my office while waiting for my list of requested Kindle library books, I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg was a delightful read that I'm using for the 24th category - a book based entirely on its cover.

What started out as a book about a woman planning to end her life ended up as a wonderful mystery solved, and a whole lot of good news for good people.

Maggie thinks her life, spent mostly with her co-worker Brenda and thoughts of her regrets from her past, isn't going to get better, and has really passed its high-point already. She considers it a service to end it now, before she's a burden to anyone in her approaching old age.

Without giving too much away, after several humorous side-trips as she tries to meet her goal, she sees another light entirely. Her life, and the lives of those close to her, become more of what everyone deserves.

While I wouldn't have expected a book originally premised on a planned suicide to be quite so enjoyable, I'd highly recommend this book as a way to pass the time, and an uplifting view of what could be, if we just keep pushing on.

Reading Challenge - Book 20

Well, I knew when I picked this book up from the floor in my office that I'd read it before. But I sadly never remembered the ending til I'd read it all the way through...again. And I don't think it made much more of an impression the second time.

I read my list of categories several times, and can't even find one (not used already) that this book would fit. You've Been Warned by James Patterson & Howard Roughan was a decent read as a psychological thriller, but I really ended up reading it just to finish the ending. I will be sure to give it away before I accidentally read it again ;)

Reading Challenge - Book 19

For my 'book written more than 100 years ago,' I chose this short story by Edith Wharton. Ethan Frome was published in 1911.

While I have to admit I picked this one because it was a short story, and I wanted something fast for a change, this book really lingers with me. I don't want to spoil it, but it's the ultimate 'careful what you wish for,' story.

The whole story is told 24 years after it occurs, as a flashback while the preface narrator tries to learn more about a resident in the town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, where he's staying for a year. Ethan Frome is more than meets the eye.

I was surprised to learn that this was also made into a movie in 1993. The reviews aren't the best, but I'd like to see it just to compare it to the story in my mind's eye. ;)


Five more days til I draw for the four-pack of Marvel Universe Live tickets! Your chance to enter is here: http://www.sweetlybsquared.com/2015/09/marvel-universe-live-ticket-giveaway.html

Good luck!

Reading Challenge - Book 18

The eighteenth book I read for the 2015 PopSugar Reading Challenge was number 18 on the list - a Pulitzer Prize winning book. 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison was the 1988 Pulitzer Prize winner.

I'm not sure what I expected from reading this book, but I got way more crazy than anything else. It was the kind of crazy that sucked you in, because the narrators were in it. My heart was broken right along with Sethe's as I tried to understand the reasons behind her actions, and the neverending results.

And although it's only been a couple days, so far the book is staying with me. I need to find something light, fun, and quick to read to leave the despair in Beloved behind. I keep trying to remember the triumph of Denver. Hopefully the crazy has stopped.

What's the last book you read that was light, fun, and engaging? I want to laugh out loud again, but I don't know that Sethe ever did...

Reading Challenge - Book 17

As I stated in my last 'reading challenge' update, I definitely wanted to read the follow-up to the last book I'd read. Book 16 was 'Wish You Were Here' by Stewart O'Nan, and I mostly read it because Emily, Alone had caught my attention, but was a sequel to the first one.

So I read and finished the first one (which became my 'book from an author you love that you haven't read yet'), and went on to enjoy the second one in much the same way. Except I can't find a category for it. I would expect to be more bothered by this, but really?, there's no way I'll get all 50 on the list done, so if I passed a few hours enjoying a book that doesn't 'count,' I'm still okay with it.

Emily, Alone is about another year or so in the life of Emily Maxwell. We'd already met her children and their families, as well as her sister-in-law Arlene, in the first book, so this was really just keeping up with them. Emily and Arlene may not have chosen each other as friends if they weren't related, but once Emily married Arlene's brother Henry, they ended up being either other's go-to companions. They are two old women passing time together. They do brunch on Tuesdays, and the Club for special occasions, as well as other events in Pittsburgh that catch their fancy. But being two old women, it isn't all fun and games. They and the friends they've known forever face health challenges. Funerals are part of their social event calendar, and we're privy to Emily's pragmatic thoughts about it all.

It's never too late to check out PopSugar's 2015 Reading Challenge List. I've sought out a few books to fit different categories that I normally wouldn't have read. While I can't imagine actually reading all 50 this year, it's something to plug away at and get some enjoyment from accomplishing a little at a time when the short terrorists I live with aren't making their demands ;)

Reading Challenge - Book 16

My sixteenth book for the reading challenge actually satisfied the sixteenth category - 'book from an author you love that you haven't read yet.'

I've read several of Stewart O'Nan's books and always enjoyed them. For this, I almost picked up Emily, Alone, but then I realized that was a second book to follow Wish You Were Here. I considered stopping reading this book early on. It was well-written and exactly as I'd expect from Stewart O'Nan, but a lot of it focused on sibling relationships, which made me very sad since losing touch with my only brother. But I pressed on.

As with most of the books I've read from Stewart O'Nan, Wish You Were Here was not a remarkable book as far as its subject matter, but it was real life. We spend our time in this story with a few branches of the Maxwell family, as they close down the family cottage for the last time. There's Emily Maxwell (whose husband Henry died the previous year), Arlene (Henry's sister), and Ken and Margaret (Emily and Henry's two children). Rounding out the family are Lise (Ken's wife) with Ella and Sam (their children) and Margaret's children Sarah and Sam. Margaret's divorce is a new family development, so her now-ex (who is also the children's father) is only there on a few phone calls.

Sorry - I'm getting carried away! Obviously the book and its characters engaged me, and I did read til the end wanting to know everything that would happen with each of their story lines. I am looking forward to trying to reserve the follow-up book now as well.

Do you have a favorite author who isn't necessarily a household name, but you still search out their books? Or if you already know Stewart O'Nan, which of his books is your favorite. Mine is Prayer for the Dying. I'd recommend that as well as Wish You Were Here, but I'll warn you that my favorite is a little dark.

Reading Challenge - Book 15

This book has been getting kicked around my office for a while. I got it at the Scholastic Book Sale last year - around the holidays, I think? Anyway, I've always loved Gone with the Wind, so I picked up Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig with high hopes.
And I loved it :)

Since I am supposed to be satisfying categories from the reading challenge, I put this one down for number 34 -a book with a love triangle. The book runs pretty parallel to Gone with the Wind some of the time, so you know who's in that triangle if you've read the book or seen the movie.

I still nearly cried at the sad parts - maybe even worse since I usually knew they were coming. But my favorite (and I don't think I'm spoiling your reading enjoyment by saying so) was the happy ending. It makes me want to go back and re-read Gone with the Wind - and maybe even the sequel, Scarlett, that I think I've only read once!

Even more good news? The author that wrote this authorized (by the family of Margaret Mitchell) novel also wrote one about Mammy, titled Ruth's Journey. I've added that to my wishlist now too.

Reading Challenge - Book 14

A mass-market paperback from 1985. I probably shouldn't have been old enough to read this when it first came out ;)

The book I chose for my 'popular author's first book' was Danielle Steel's Passion's Promise. As expected, it was a little faster read than the last book I read, and I was a little more engaged with the characters.

I purposely picked a Danielle Steel book because she tends to write high-fashion or richy-rich stuff in my experience. Which is to say, far from MY experience. LOL

I enjoyed reading about Kezia's life, and even her heartbreak, where she apparently did absolutely nothing but travel the world for months. I can only imagine. ;)

If you're looking for a fun beach or summer read and haven't stumbled across this old classic, it was a fun read.

Reading Challenge - Book 13

Lucky number 13 ;) Unfortunately, it was slow-going, and not one of my favorite books so far.

I read 'Everything is Illuminated' by Jonathan Safron Foer to satisfy my 'book set in a different country' requirement. Since hubby's family is originally from around the Ukraine and Lithuania, I figured this would be interesting.

It was a pretty dry read, really. I really wanted to like it, since it's being made into a movie (so I assumed the storyline would be more interesting) and based on the popularity of the author's 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.' No such luck.

The story started falling more into place by the end, but all of the drivel leading up to that point had already worn out the book's welcome in my Kindle, and I just wanted to finish. I did.

Now I will go have a cookie to congratulate myself, but I really wouldn't recommend this book. The fact that it's set in another country doesn't really make it enlightening about the country, and really only had bearing on the story because of the war's effects on the characters they were talking about.

I'm optimistic about my next read being quicker and more entertaining, if not fine literature ;)

Reading Challenge - Book 12

I finished my twelfth book for the reading challenge last week: for my 'book of short stories,' I read Ordinary Life by Elizabeth Berg.

I don't usually search out short stories, and was not really looking forward to reading a whole book of them, but I was pleasantly surprised. As I knew from novels I'd read, Elizabeth Berg does a really good job writing female characters and making them come alive. Her short stories were no different. The biggest problem came to be when the 'short' stories were longer than I should be sitting and reading.

While I"m not sure if it's because I was just ready to read, I especially liked the first story about a 79-year-old woman who takes a pseudo-retreat to her bathroom for a week. Since I have a pre-schooler underfoot all the time, my bathroom might be just the place for a quiet retreat.

I'd recommend this book, as I enjoyed it very much.

Reading Challenge - Book 11

I had placed a request for this book a while back, just after I finished the first book in the series. Now I'm faced with that awful time of waiting for the third and final book to come out this fall.

It's never to late to check out the 2015 PopSugar Reading Challenge. Let me know if you're in it - we've also got a Facebook group where we talk about it, discuss what we've read, and suggest books to fit all the different categories.

I read Hollow City by Ransom Riggs as my 'book with non-human characters.' While I probably enjoyed the first book in the trilogy (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children) a little more, I think that was primarily because the first book introduced the whole concept, which made it fascinating in a new way.

Hollow City covers the peculiar children escaping from the island that used to be their home. They have several missions to accomplish: to help their previous 'mother-figure' back to normalcy, of sorts;  to find another loop - the environment they need to continue surviving - where they can live going forward; and to stay free from the wights who want to capture them for the hollowgasts - their mortal enemies whose only goal is to capture the peculiar children and essentially eat their souls.

I can't wait for the third book, Library of Souls, to come out near the end of September!!

Reading Challenge - Book 10

I actually finished my tenth book this year last weekend, but since I was on vacation I kept forgetting to blog about it once I returned home.

I read Habibi by Naomi Nye as 'a book with a one-word title.' Habibi means something similar to 'beloved' in Hebrew. The book is about a teen-aged girl, Liyanna, who moves with her family from St Louis, Missouri, to Jerusalem, where her father was born.

Topics in geography and world history are not usually my strong suit, but I really enjoyed this book, as it was much more into the characters - who the people really were. I believe this was also pretty much the point. Liyanna was told about the conflicts, and experienced several traumatic incidents, but she could never bring herself to understand why everyone couldn't just know and respect each other as people. Such great wisdom from a young girl with little control over her own life.

This was admittedly not a book I probably would have picked up without the list requirements to guide me, but I really enjoyed it.

Reading Challenge - Books Eight and Nine

While the first book I'm writing about took me about a week or so to finish, once I picked up the next one, I could hardly set it down til I'd finished it! So they both end up in the same post. ;)

The eight book I've finished this year fits in the ninth category on the reading list this year - a book by a female author. Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan was a fun read. The main character, Issy, was lovable and sure to succeed in the end. While highly predictable, it was still a very enjoyable book.

The recipes interspersed also sounded fun, and the personal comments added in as Gramps transcribed the recipes to Issy were amusing. If I was actually motivated enough to get in the kitchen and clear enough of a space to make cupcakes (and then have to deal with the resulting mess of that...), I would probably try the basic recipe given with the author's notes at the end. I do love a good cupcake!



The ninth book finished this year was the one that totally sucked me in. As I just commented to my husband, it's been a while since I've finished a whole book in two days. And it was a hard-copy book too! My mom gave it to me ages ago after most of her office read it first. Guilty Wives by James Patterson and David Ellis satisfied the tenth category on this year's reading list - a mystery or thriller. I think the only time I set the book down since I started reading was to call my mom and scold her for not having warned me about how the book would suck me in! Hahaha...

It was definitely an excellent mystery, with some details not completely revealed until the last few pages. I also love a book with short chapters, so when calls from nature or child emergencies arise, there's a clear spot to stop and do what you need to without completely losing the thread of what's going on.