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I'm on such a novel kick right now! I spent this first part of the year devouring nonfiction, which takes a little longer for me than fiction stories. But now, I'm just inhaling all these wonderful books. I just love getting lost in a good book! The Flight of Gemma Hardy is a retelling of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre set in Scotland and Iceland in the '50s and '60s. I've never read Jane Eyre but I loved this novel so dang much. I loved Gemma and it was the kind of book I was sad to see end. The Hating Game is a feel-good romance. As you can tell, it starts with this two people who hate each other. Josh and Lucy work together everyday and are up for the same promotion at work. This book was just so dang enjoyable to read! I honestly thought I would like this more than I did. It was fine, I mean, I liked it. But I didn't love it. I, just, I don't know. I couldn't identify with Belle or she didn't seem like the Belle I "k...

“Romance novels are birthday cake and life is often peanut butter and jelly. I think everyone should have lots of delicious romance novels lying around for those times when the peanut butter of life gets stuck to the roof of your mouth.” -Janet Evanovich So, the all the books I read this month were pretty dark. The Sadie Salt series were magic infused, but not in the delightful Harry Potter sense. It was a little bit Twilight-y, what with the vampires, werewolves, and love triangle. They also involved a badass-but-personable female lead.   Brush With Death (Sadie Salt Series, Book 1) by Ware Wilkins Bad Impression (Sadie Salt Series, Book 2) by Ware Wilkins Deep Roots (Sadie Salt Series, Book 3) by Ware Wilkins The fourth book I read this month was the first in the His Fair Assassin series. I LOVED IT. It's about Ismae, a novitiate at the convent of Mortain, the God of Death. The novel is set in Brittany in the 1400s. YA with another badass female lead a...

I just got finished reading Still Life by Christa Parrish . I suppose this is the part where I write a synopsis of the book. But anyone can do that. In fact, here is a well written one from the publisher. Ada escaped her family’s self-enclosed world to elope with a mysterious stranger. Five months later, she’s a widow in a strange new world.  Ada was born into a fringe religious sect named for her father, The Prophet. But her lifelong habit of absolute obedience was shattered when she fled the family compound to elope with photographer Julian Goetz. Katherine Walker’s marriage was a sham. She and Will rarely spoke without yelling—and never touched. Her affair brings her both escape and guilt.  When a tragic plane crash takes Julian from Ada and exacerbates Katherine’s sense of shame, both women become desperately unsure of where they belong in the world—until the devotion of an artistic young boy conspires to bring them together.  From award-winning novelis...

I'm not really good at summing up novels. If you wanted a good review, there are a plethora of them . I checked this book out from my library because it was ranked as most popular in the YA section. Also, it was my first time checking out books for my Nook and I just wanted to populate my shelves. To say that I was pleasantly surprised is putting it mildly. Oh my gosh, I read this thing constantly and finished it in about two days. I really really liked this book. There are monsters in it...and the monsters don't exactly mix with this scaredy cat. Which basically means that, that one night when Mike was at a friend's house and I stayed up late finishing this book? Yeah, I totally had to sleep with the light on. Oh, and this story is based of real photographs that were collected by the author. These photographs are peppered throughout the book, which I rather liked. Some of you may know that I am rather easily amused. Well, this book doesn't get the bes...

Excerpt from Abraham Lincolin, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith: Senator Charles Sumner lay unconscious on the Senate floor, facedown in a pool of his own blood.   The abolitionist had been attacked by a thirty-seven-year-old congressman named Preston Smith Brooks, a proslavery South Carolinian who'd taken offense at the Massachusetts senator's mocking of his uncle in an antislavery speech two days earlier. On May 22nd, 1856, Brooks entered the Senate chamber accompanied by a fellow South Carolina congressman named Laurence Keitt and approached Sumner at his writing desk. "Mr. Sumner," said Brooks, "I have read your speech twice over carefully. It is a libel on South Carolina, and Mr. Butler who is a relative of mine." Before Sumner had a chance to reply, Brooks began to beat his head with his gold-tipped cane, opening new gashes with each blow. Blinded by his own blood, Sumner staggered to his feet before collapsing. His victim now unc...

I started reading it when we got in the car. Of the two books I had purchased at Joy of Books, a used bookstore in Hendersonville, NC, this was the one that the clerk said she loved. I was more exited about it too, so I read on the way back to our little stone cottage in Saluda. I read while we he watched TV and dozed until dinner. It was intriguing, sexy, and not at all what I had expected from a glance at the cover and title. Catherine Land has a plan. She's going to marry the rich and lonely Ralph Truitt. She saw his advertisement in a Chicago paper looking for a "reliable wife" and she responded. Catherine wrote to him, telling him that she was a "simple, honest woman" whose father was a missionary and who isn't looking for love. Just practicality. Out of the many replies he gets, Ralph chooses her. Ralph doesn't know that Catherine also plans to murder him with a poison she keeps in her old suitcase. She plans to marry him, kill him, and i...

I recently finished reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time and thoroughly loved it. I thought it might be drab. I thought I might dislike it just as much as I do Wuthering Heights . I was so wrong. Of course, I've already seen the movies--at least some of them--and know the basic premise of the story. So, I was pretty sure I would like the book. I didn't know how much I would love it! I'd review the story, but I suspect you already know what it's all about. If you don't, you can certainly goggle and find a review that is much better than one I could write. I will say that, as with most books that have movies made out of them, its better than the movie. It is much better than the movie. I foresee that Pride and Prejudice will be a book I will read at least once a year. It wasn't a difficult read, as I often assume older novels will be. I couldn't put it down! If you're in need of a really good love story, I highly recommend it. I was to...

As you may or may not have known I've been re-reading my way through the Harry Potter series. I've made it to the final book and I've got to say that it really is just as good if not better than the first time I read it. I, of course, pre-ordered this book the minutes Barnes and Noble would let me. I even went to the midnight release to get this book. I sat in my car in the B&N parking lot reading the first chapter. It was difficult, but I closed the book, restrained myself enough to get home and into my living room where I stayed up until 6am reading the book. It was that good. Who am I kidding? It's still that good! I've had a really hard time putting this book down even though I know what's going on. There is so much action and it's hard to find a stopping point. I mean, seriously, I just finished Chapter 17: Bathida's Secret and Chapter 18: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. Two pretty intense chapters. What's next? Chapter 19: The...

'There are many things to be considered before that question can be answered properly,' I said, sententiously. 'First and foremost, do you love Mr. Edgar?' 'Who can help it? Of course I do,' she answered. Then I put her through the following catechism: for a girl of twenty-two it was not injudicious. 'Why do you love him, Miss Cathy?' 'Nonsense, I do - that's sufficient.' 'By no means; you must say why?' 'Well, because he is handsome, and pleasant to be with.' 'Bad!' was my commentary. 'And because he is young and cheerful.' 'Bad, still.' 'And because he loves me.' 'Indifferent, coming there.' 'And he will be rich, and I shall like to be the greatest woman of the neighbourhood, and I shall be proud of having such a husband.' 'Worst of all.' ( Wuthering Heights , Emily Brontë) [source - weheartit ]

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult is an amazing and intense novel centered around two sisters, one of whom has a rare form of lukemia, the other who was concieved to save her. I could go into the synopisis and all, but you can read all that here . I've been reading the book nonstop since I bought it. Although it was nearly midnight when I crashed into bed last night, tired from dancing, I really had to know how it all ended. And that was how I wound up reading until nearly two AM, unable to tear myself away. I was too wrapped into the story to be tired. And then the ending-- oh. my. gosh. --the ending tore me to pieces. I kept flipping back, sure that I had missed something and I had read it wrong. Surely, that was a dream that a character is about to wake up from. I don't think something fictional has ever broke my heart nearly as much. I was sobbing just as much as if I had been part of the Fitzgerald family. I won't give away all the details of the bittersweet ...

The back of the book says: You may end up in an opulent mansion or homeless down by the river; happily married with your own corporation or alone and pecked to death by ducks in London; a Zen master in Japan or morbidly obese in a trailer park. Well...so far, I was a renegade art student who was raped and then I died. I tired again, and I was killed by a pipe bomb in Chad (twice). I dropped out of the science program to move up to a podunk town near Lake Superior to bag groceries. My husband died and then my 2nd husband died and then I died. I don't get it. Where are the ducks in London? Forget college, I'm going to travel next time. This book is seriously addictive. ♥, Tiffany Anne

Today was fairly eventful. Though, I've yet to declutter my apartment. ::sigh:: I went to work this morning. Until school starts, I'm going to be working every morning instead of all day, every other day. It's actually kind of nice because I wake up early and get through work and still have the rest of my day. After work, Heather and I had our picnic. :-) It was lots of fun, once again. This time, a mommy duckie came 'round with her baby duckies! So cute! She was a selfish mommy and took tried to get the food before the little duckies could peck at it with their little duck bills. I came home and bummed around procrastinating for a while before calling up my friend Steve. We went downtown and had Chinese for dinner. I had initially wanted ice cream but after dinner I was too full. So, back in the car. We headed for Books-a-Million in hopes that they would have a Catechism. Well, they did. They had two. One was the small, white softcover and the other was the small, whit...

Books I want to finish, in order of priority: "Divine Nobodies" by Jim Palmer "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas "Wanting All The Right Things" by Shirin Taber Books I have started, but not finished, and probably won't any time soon, in order of last time opened: "A Girl's Best Friend" by Kristen Billerbeck "Authentic Beauty" by Leslie Ludy "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell "Blessed Are The Bored In Spirit" by Mark Hart "How To Have That Difficult Conversation You've Been Avoiding" by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend "Christ The King" by Anne Rice Books I have on my shelf and really want to start: "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper "The Four Loves" by C.S. Lewis Books I want to read again: "Doing Things Right In Matters of the Heart" by John Ensor ♥Tiffany♥

I know they say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover (and I know that quote isn't even about books) but I do. Tara Leigh Cobble 's " Here's To Hindsight " has a great cover with good design. Parts of that book are in the typewriter font, which I love, and the rest is in a simple serif font which is ideal--makes for easy reading. The chapter headings are in what I can only assume to be Tara Leigh Cobble 's own handwriting. Also, it has that jagged edge which gives it a sort of hand-made feel while not feeling hand-made at all. I love the jagged edge. Also, there are song quotes scattered about the chapters that tie into the writing and it's almost like having a soundtrack to the book. On the back of the book, Matt Wertz likens Tara Leigh Cobble 's writing to Anne Lamont and Donald Miller. I am currently in the middle of a book by both. This (along with the book being on sale) gave me the extra push I needed to purchase it. I was not dis...

"But tension is to be loved When it is like a passing note To a beautiful, beautiful cord." Sixpence None The Richer "Tension is a Passing Note" I just finished Tara Leigh Cobble 's " Here's To Hindsight " last night. I has been a while since I've read a book that I liked so much. I heard her read a snippet on the Radiant podcast once and decided that it might be a book that I would like to read. And anyway, Relevant had it for sale. So I bought it and after much fiasco (which I will cover when the rest of my shipment arrives) it showed up and I became absorbed. God knew exactly what I needed. The last section of "Jane" was probably the part of the book that I will read over and over again. I am such an impatient person. And the knowledge that God is working my life out, even though I cannot see it right now, it so comforting and so very real. Sometimes, that is so hard to grab on to. I so often question what the heck I'm waitin...