Graceling

First off, I must preface this post with a comment....my husband gives me a hard time for liking "fairy books" or in other words fantasy books. So Graceling is right up my alley. It is about a kingdom in which some people have special powers. They are said to be graced with this power and are, therefore, called gracelings. All gracelings can be distinguished because their eyes are two different colors. When born, they are to be sent to the king to be in his service.

Katsa was born with graceling eyes and lived with the king since she was a little girl. Her power happens to be the grace of killing, and now that she is older, the king sends her to do his dirty business. Graceling is about Katsa's journey to find herself and to become her own master.

Easy, fun read.

The Blue Castle

From a suggestion a long time ago from my friend Casidy, I finally read The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. And I am so glad that I did. It was so cute. The main character is Valancy, a 29 year-old girl who is STILL SINGLE. Dun dun dun. Anyway, it was interesting to me that this book covered that, because I don't know, I guess I figure that it is just a recent phenomenon that people aren't getting married at the age of 20.

Anyway, the book is cute. It is an easy read. It surprised me that it was written my L.M. Montgomery because I don't know, I guess it is just weird for me to read anything written by her that isn't about Anne of Green Gables or Prince Edward Island, but I really liked the book.

Cute love story. 3.5 out of 5 stars. And I don't give it 3.5 because I didn't like it, I really did, and I think everyone should read it, but unlike most of the other books I post about that I am begging you to go and read it TODAY, this one you should definitely read, but it could be number 3 or 4 on your list.

Emma

Emma. Written by Jane Austen.

(I think we all know that, but. . . tradition, right?)



So I read Emma a while ago. It is a book that I couldn't believe that I hadn't read before now because I knew the story so well from watching the movie countless times (which I think I have determined that I like the new BBC version the best because I feel like it gives the most accuracy to the book, which of course it can when it is much longer than the other versions, but still. . . and I also know that Erin the most-lover of Emma will disagree with me on this and that is okay).

Anyway, back to the book. I really liked the book. I can't say that I like it better than Pride and Prejudice because I don't. I just have something that I love about Elizabeth that makes her win out over Emma, but I did like this book and I think that everyone (no matter how many times you have seen the movie) should read this book because it is a good story and teaches good things about real life.

I am going to assume that most of you know the basic story of Emma (whether it is from watching one of the movies based on the book and/or from reading the book itself) but one thing that I loved about the book was that we got to know the dad a little more (which until I read this and watched the BBC movie, I never understood what a HUGE worry-wort he was) and we get to know Emma a little more. She is a little self-centered for me but I really do love her and it made me realize how young she was and almost made her a little more real because I am guessing that most of us are pretty self-centered when we are 18 or 19. Am I right?

Anyway, I feel silly even posting about this book, because most of you have probably already read it, and have your own opinions about it, but if you haven't read it yet, I would recommend it.

Wives and Daughters

I just barely finished Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters. It is a longer book and so I had been putting it off for some time, but I checked the BBC movie out from the library and watched it to get me excited about reading the book and even before I finished the movie (I had to watch it in installments, because I didn't have a 5-hour block to dedicate to watching a movie, although I wish I had for this one) I started reading the book because it is fantastic!!!

Seriously. I am still so happy and giddy about this book that I really don't know what to say other than that for anyone who is a typical Jane Austen book lover and even for those who aren't, I think that you will LOVE this book. It is just so cute. That is probably the best word to describe it: cute.

The "main character"-ish Molly, is just so adorable. This book is on my love list for sure and definitely one of my new favorite chick flicks. 5 out of 5 starts hands down. I don't know why I hadn't heard about the sheer greatness of this book before. Love it.

Austenland

I will be honest. This is a silly book.

I saw it on the bookshelf of a recently made friend and asked her about it and she offered to let me borrow it. Now I didn't know this girl very well at the time, and even now, I don't know her extremely well and she doesn't know me that well either. I mention this in an attempt to explain that we weren't good enough friends for her to know my literature taste enough to know whether or not to recommend this book to me. She may have known it is a little ridiculous, but not known whether I am a ridiculous-book loving fool. Who knows.

In any case, when I started the book I kind of cringed as I read it because it uses phrases like "freaked me out" and other such phrases that sadly we all use in real life, but do not always find pleasure in finding them in literature. But the book is really short, so I decided to press on. And by the end of the book, I'll admit that I had started to kind of like it. It is nowhere near making any sort of "favorites" or "top . . . " anything for that matter, but it was just kind of a fun read by the end.

It is about a 30-year old girl who has never married and has an obsession with Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy and ends up getting the opportunity to go to this "Austenland" for 3 weeks where everyone takes on the lifestyle and customs of that time.

Like I said, it is a silly book but really light reading and if you are looking for just a fun, silly read that will only take you 3 or 4 hours, this isn't a BAD book, but it's not great either. Make sense?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

So it's been a while now since I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, but it is such a cute book that I think it really deserves a spot on this blog.

It might help you gain a better picture about the nature of this book if I tell you that it is one that I was referred to and borrowed from my cute 82-year old grandma.

The book is written as a series of letters between friends. I remember feeling a little bit overwhelmed at first and thinking that I would never be able to keep all of the corresponders straight, but by the end, all of the writers and recipients of the letters become some of the dearest people that you think you won't ever be able to forget.

Back cover:

"January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….
As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.
Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.
Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways."

One of my favorite quotes from the book:
“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”

Five out of five stars.

The Forgotten Garden

I just barely finished The Forgotten Gardenby Kate Morton.

This was a book recommended to me by my Aunt Millie and cousin Becca, and I've been meaning to read it forever, and finally got around to it, and I really loved it.

It is kind of a long book, so if you're only into 200-pagers, this one may not be for you. My copy is 549 pages. However, it reads very quickly. But not too quickly. I had just finished reading The Hunger Games series before I read this book and I was worried about getting sucked into a 549-page book that I wouldn't be able to put down or be a real person until I finished, but this book is not like that. I definitely wanted to read it and I looked forward to the hour or so I allowed myself to read it each day (and to be honest, I wasn't always able to stick to the 1-hour limit) but I was able to put it down and pay attention to the needs of the world around me.

This may be cheating, but I will just quickly copy the description of the book off the back of the book and see if it piques your interest. And then if you have any other questions, you can leave them in a comment or something.

"A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book--a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell's death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go."

PS I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I really liked it. I liked how the whole story has you guessing and trying to figure out the mystery throughout the whole book. And it was just cute and a little quaint.
Also, I am giving it the labels of fiction, mystery (it's not like a Mary Higgins Clark or something, but I think it still fits) and love (and I think I will put love on your last book you posted as well Erin because I think we can all agree not to put any "bodice rippers" or Harlequin love books on here, so should we agree that "love" just means a cute love story?) 

Love Walked In

I just read Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos.

Lately I'm really into not summarizing books too much, because I tend to enjoy them more if I don't know much about them, and I want to extend others the same courtesy.

So I will not say much, but I will say this: Sometimes a book like this is just what you need, and sometimes it is not.

It's nothing too deep or serious, it's just a sweet story. It goes fast, it's easy reading, and it's a good story, but there's not anything too spectacularly literary about it.

And sometimes you need a book like this to take your mind off things. For example, a couple years ago on study abroad, I read The Kite Runner. And when I was finished, and feeling pretty downtrodden, one of my friends handed me The Devil Wears Prada and said, "Here. This is what you need to follow something like that." I had also brought Les Miserables, but she was right. There was no way I could do Les Mis on the coattails of The Kite Runner.

The point is--if you need a cute, fast book that isn't going to change your life or make you think very deeply, I would recommend this. If you're looking for something more substantial, go read Peace Like a River. Or Les Mis or The Kite Runner, obviously.

(Katie, is the sort of thing you were thinking? Am I fulfilling your dream? If not, tell me the direction you want to take it.)

p.s. So I took Shelly's idea of labeling the posts and applied it here, but I can't think what else to categorize this book as except for fiction. It's kind of a romance, but that makes me think of those bodice rippers at the grocery store, and this is NOT that. It's also about families, but I don't really know. Ann, Kiley, I know you guys have read it, will you add some labels to this? Can you add labels to a post you didn't write? Anyway, help me out.