book reviews

I have been on a reading roll, since recovering from my book hangover. First I read The Secret Life of Bees and then I read The Girl on the Train. Both were incredibly satisfying and had me wanting more after I turned the last page.


The Secret Life of Bees is set in the American south during the start of the Civil Rights movement. It follows the life of a teenage girl in search of information about her mother. She finds her self in a very unusual place, but feels as though that is where she belonged her whole life.

It was an easy read and didn't induce any nightmares, which is always a plus in my mind. I know there is a movie based on the book starring Dakota Fanning, but I have yet to watch it. The books are usually better, but if I happen to watch it I will add it to this post.

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The other book I finished this month was The Girl on the Train and let me say this...it totally lived up to the hype. This book was AMAZING!! It may have given me nightmares, but I couldn't put the book down and I found myself reading at all hours of the night.

This book is set in London and follows a woman who takes the commuter train into town every morning. She watches out the window of the train and daydreams about what people's lives are like on the other side of the tracks. When a girl goes missing, the girl on the train proves to be a key component in solving the mystery. If you like mystery fiction with a little suspense check this book out. It feels very much like Gone, Girl so if that's your cup of tea you will enjoy this story. 

There is a movie coming out in October 2016 that tells this story. The main character is Emily Blunt and you can check out the teaser trailer from Universal Studios.  

a book review: 19 years in the making

First let me say that I am very much aware that I am wayy late to the party when it comes to Harry Potter. I started reading the first book when it came out 19 years ago and the first chapter couldn't keep me interested so I put off the entire series as I got older. Now that I enjoy reading again I wanted to read all of the Harry Potter before I turned 30 and cross it off my 30X30 list. Now I understand what all the hype was about. These books are amazing!

Once I started reading the books I realized I wanted to watch the coordinating movies after I would finish the book. I finished the first book, then watched the first movie etc. I am going to be one of those people who say "the book was way better than the movie" because it was! I found myself at times reading into the wee hours of the night just to finish another chapter. The books had such vivid detail that I would also have nightmares/dreams about the scenes without seeing the movie as a reference. J.K Rowling is an amazing author and I read her other book The Cuckoo's Calling and it was a great novel so I should have known that Harry Potter would have been written excellently.

Again, I realize this post is about 15 years behind, but I just read all seven Harry Potter books and couldn't be happier with the end results.

books to read

With the holidays right around the corner I wanted to make a mental note of some books that I want to get reading. Some of these are being made into movies, so the hope is to finish them before they hit the big screen. In no particular order these are the few that I am interested in reading.

 Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Orphan Train by Cristina Baker Kline

The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham

book review(s)

I have two book reviews from last month to share today. If you recall I was reading The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith, then jumped right into Yes, Please by Amy Poehler. I am here today to give my thoughts and overall opinions of each book. 

Lets start with The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith. In case some of you don't know Robert Galbraith is a pseudo name for J.K. Rowling...yes her. I will start this by saying that I have never read a Harry Potter book from cover to cover. I thought the first one started really slow so I put it down and never picked it back up. I have also only seen the first Harry Potter movie- I know, no judgement. I was a little hesitant to read this book for that very reason. J. K. Rowling's writing isn't my favorite. This book was no different. It started extremely slow for my liking, but I didn't put the book down. I kept pushing myself to keep reading, and by the midpoint I was completely hooked. Without giving too much away this book is a murder/mystery novel with a twist. It takes place in London so I do read to myself in a terrible British accent, but the ending left me sitting on the edge of my seat-never wanting to put the book down. Overall I think this was a great read with an okay story line. There is a squeal called The Silkworm that I plan on reading this fall. 

The second book that I read was Yes Please by Amy Poehler. If you have no idea who Amy Poehler is you have either (a) been living under a rock for the last 10 years, or (b) have no access to the internet. Please take a minute to watch this lovely lady at work. Back to the book review. I love Amy Poehler and want to be reincarnated as her when I die so I knew I would love this book-even if it was complete garbage. I am here to tell you that it is not complete garbage-it is actually quite amazing. This book is an autobiography/memoir/life lessons book. It was a light, easy read meaning that I could go through 60-100 pages in one sitting without being book drained or thinking too much. Overall I would give this book two thumbs up-because I only have two thumbs. It is also now available in paperback which is the one thing I didn't enjoy about reading this book. I am an avid spine folding reader so having it only in hard back was a little bit of a bummer. 

book review: the astronaut wives club

What an awesome book!

This book kept me entertained throughout each flipping of the page. If you have seen movies such as The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, or have any interest in the "space race" that happened during the sixties you know how it ends. What you don't know is that the wives played a major role in deciding who the first man in space was. This novel takes you through the lives of the astronaut wives who put their entire life in the spotlight so that their husband's could go to the moon. 

It tells history from another perspective and that's what makes this book an excellent read. If you are looking for a non-fiction book that feels more like a "story" then this book is for you. I highly recommend picking up a copy at your local library.