I am totally NOT feeling books right now! I wish I knew why. I have been in a total funk so far and we are already three months into 2015.
Originally I set a goal of 80 book (five more than last year) with 25 of those books being Non-Fiction. Well I'm totally pooing all over that so I have amended my original goal and decided on setting no solid number for 2015 other than 30 Non Fiction books. I have never experienced something like this. I'm not sure exactly what is going on but even the though of picking up a book is exhausting. I'm slowing getting through some here and there but overall - not so much.
Here is what I have so far in 2015...
1. Hope To Die by James Patterson
Another Alex Cross series, finishing up the prior story line which I actually did find pretty interesting. Lately I'm anti-James Patterson; the same things over and over (probably because I read several of his series) but I was really worried about Nana Mama. No spoilers! But definitely one of the better recent Alex Cross books.
2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (re-read)
My husband had never read the books and we were getting ready to see Mockingjay part 1 so we decided to binge read books one and two. He finished the third on his own. We listened via unabridged audio. I really enjoyed the second go-around,especially Catching Fire (my favorite of the series).
3. Saving Grace by Jane Green
I have several issues with this book. I totally understand Ms Green comes from the UK where people often shun therapy and the use of medical intervention for emotional issues but this book is dangerous in my opinion. She makes a mockery out of being treated for bi-polar disorder. The premise is she is married to a man who is volatile (something that totally is NOT addressed in the book other than the first couple of pages) and she ends up hiring an assistant to help him and them run the house. This woman ingratiates herself into the family and ends up convincing the main characters husband that she has bi-polar and needs to be medically treated. Now granted, being treated with medication for an illness you do not have can cause a lot of damage. Especially when its an emotional illness. She clearly was not bi-polar. BUT that being said the book does more to talk down the validity of mental health treatment than exploring the crazy of the girl who does this to her family. Last I checked she is not a medical professional and should not, through her writing, encourage people who desperately need treatment for chemical imbalances such as bi-polar disorder to refuse medical intervention. Its wrong. And that unfortunately overtook the story line for me. I couldn't get into the book because I became too angry at how flippant she was about someones mental health.
4. 13 Hours by Mitchell Zuckoff
Wow. Let me just say I felt a special connection to this book because I had the distinct pleasure of working with so many great men/women from Blackwater when I was employed there. With their being such a connection to the people in the book with BW it struck me even more deeply than most other books I read. The development of the story through the timeline was so detailed and complete I could close my eyes and see what it would have been like during those horrible hours. The book doesn't place blame on politicians directly - which I really liked because honestly, we all know who was to blame for not listening to warnings, and putting our US diplomats and their protectors in harms way, but making that a theme of the book would have taken away from its message - the TRUE story of what happened from the people who were there to experience it firsthand. During several points of the story I had to stop and take a few minutes away because it became intense. If you are interesting in really knowing the story of what happened in Benghazi - I HIGHLY recommend this book.
5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - I'm reading some dystopian books as background for a novel I hope to write in my spare time. I really didn't enjoy this story. But then again I did not enjoy it when I was in school either.
6. The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
This is a hot ticket book on every one's best seller list. Supposedly the next best Gone Girl type book. It was pretty good. I was a little surprised to see who the killer was in the end. It was a pretty quick read that surprisingly kept me interested.
7. I Was Here by Gayle Forman
I discovered Gayle Forman because I wanted to read If I Stay and Where She Went before seeing the If I Stay movie. I really enjoyed both of those books as well. I Was Here follows a girl Cody on her journey to make sense out of her friends suicide. I wouldn't maybe let a 10 year old read it but a 14 year old sure. I am such a dork though because most of the books I thoroughly enjoy are YA.
So that's where I am at. Maybe I should try to re-read some of my favorite books like the Luxe and some Stephanie Plum early books to get me back in the mood to read. There is no law that say I can only read new books. I mean in the last few years I have read over 400 books so why not go back and enjoy some of my favorites!
Originally I set a goal of 80 book (five more than last year) with 25 of those books being Non-Fiction. Well I'm totally pooing all over that so I have amended my original goal and decided on setting no solid number for 2015 other than 30 Non Fiction books. I have never experienced something like this. I'm not sure exactly what is going on but even the though of picking up a book is exhausting. I'm slowing getting through some here and there but overall - not so much.
Here is what I have so far in 2015...
1. Hope To Die by James Patterson
Another Alex Cross series, finishing up the prior story line which I actually did find pretty interesting. Lately I'm anti-James Patterson; the same things over and over (probably because I read several of his series) but I was really worried about Nana Mama. No spoilers! But definitely one of the better recent Alex Cross books.
2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (re-read)
My husband had never read the books and we were getting ready to see Mockingjay part 1 so we decided to binge read books one and two. He finished the third on his own. We listened via unabridged audio. I really enjoyed the second go-around,especially Catching Fire (my favorite of the series).
3. Saving Grace by Jane Green
I have several issues with this book. I totally understand Ms Green comes from the UK where people often shun therapy and the use of medical intervention for emotional issues but this book is dangerous in my opinion. She makes a mockery out of being treated for bi-polar disorder. The premise is she is married to a man who is volatile (something that totally is NOT addressed in the book other than the first couple of pages) and she ends up hiring an assistant to help him and them run the house. This woman ingratiates herself into the family and ends up convincing the main characters husband that she has bi-polar and needs to be medically treated. Now granted, being treated with medication for an illness you do not have can cause a lot of damage. Especially when its an emotional illness. She clearly was not bi-polar. BUT that being said the book does more to talk down the validity of mental health treatment than exploring the crazy of the girl who does this to her family. Last I checked she is not a medical professional and should not, through her writing, encourage people who desperately need treatment for chemical imbalances such as bi-polar disorder to refuse medical intervention. Its wrong. And that unfortunately overtook the story line for me. I couldn't get into the book because I became too angry at how flippant she was about someones mental health.
4. 13 Hours by Mitchell Zuckoff
Wow. Let me just say I felt a special connection to this book because I had the distinct pleasure of working with so many great men/women from Blackwater when I was employed there. With their being such a connection to the people in the book with BW it struck me even more deeply than most other books I read. The development of the story through the timeline was so detailed and complete I could close my eyes and see what it would have been like during those horrible hours. The book doesn't place blame on politicians directly - which I really liked because honestly, we all know who was to blame for not listening to warnings, and putting our US diplomats and their protectors in harms way, but making that a theme of the book would have taken away from its message - the TRUE story of what happened from the people who were there to experience it firsthand. During several points of the story I had to stop and take a few minutes away because it became intense. If you are interesting in really knowing the story of what happened in Benghazi - I HIGHLY recommend this book.
5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - I'm reading some dystopian books as background for a novel I hope to write in my spare time. I really didn't enjoy this story. But then again I did not enjoy it when I was in school either.
6. The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
This is a hot ticket book on every one's best seller list. Supposedly the next best Gone Girl type book. It was pretty good. I was a little surprised to see who the killer was in the end. It was a pretty quick read that surprisingly kept me interested.
7. I Was Here by Gayle Forman
I discovered Gayle Forman because I wanted to read If I Stay and Where She Went before seeing the If I Stay movie. I really enjoyed both of those books as well. I Was Here follows a girl Cody on her journey to make sense out of her friends suicide. I wouldn't maybe let a 10 year old read it but a 14 year old sure. I am such a dork though because most of the books I thoroughly enjoy are YA.
So that's where I am at. Maybe I should try to re-read some of my favorite books like the Luxe and some Stephanie Plum early books to get me back in the mood to read. There is no law that say I can only read new books. I mean in the last few years I have read over 400 books so why not go back and enjoy some of my favorites!
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