Some Goodreads, Some Not So Goodreads

Just finished reading "The Silent Wife" by A.S.A. Harrison.  Actually, I read it in one day. It's been compared to "Gone Girl" but I don't think that's very accurate.  The story is written in a similar style (he said / she said) but that's really about it.  The main female character, Jodi, is wound up tighter than a top and it's only a matter of time before she loses it on her cheating husband.

I read "The Fault in Our Stars" a couple of weeks ago and really, really did not enjoy this book.  Maybe I'm just too old??  I had downloaded it on my Nook and was halfway through it when KJ texted me and asked me to buy her a copy (she has a Kindle so we can't really share books).  Anyway, for her to ask me to buy a book is a big deal so when I was visiting T I picked up a copy of the book in one of the airport bookstores.  This YA novel is being made into a movie staring Shailene Woodley of "Divergent" fame.  She's about to become the new "It" girl in Hollywood.  Move over Jennifer Lawrence.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582846/?ref_=nv_sr_1

I've added a couple of new books to my Nook Wish list:

 "Bread and Butter" by Michelle Widgen (see NY Times review here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/books/review/bread-and-butter-by-michelle-wildgen.html?_r=0)

"The Museum of Extraordinary Things" by Alice Hoffman http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/books/review/alice-hoffmans-museum-of-extraordinary-things.html

Always on the lookout for a great book!  Please share your finds!

I Could Really Use That Hour Right About Now

Ugh. I can't stand Daylight Saving time. I hate everything about it. Starting with the name and how many people add an "s" to the end of the word Saving. It's Daylight Saving Time. Not Daylight Savings Time. And while I'm on a tear, who, exactly, is saving time? I'm certainly didn't save anything this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I had an awesome weekend! I didn't want it to end and I certainly could have used an extra couple of extra hours. KJ had a friend sleep-over Friday night. We were going to watch the latest Hunger Games installment but instead Cosmo and I started watching "Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1611224/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 I have to be honest with you. I had heard the book was really good but I wasn't expecting much from the movie. To my great surprise, the movie was quite good. Very well made, not a cheesy vampire at all and it had a great story line. And the actor who portrayed Lincoln did a great job. Saturday we went to the mall to look for a dress for KJ's 8th grade formal. A day I totally dreaded and just wanted to get it over with. We had a little tete-a-tete in the car and told her that ultimately, I'm paying for this dress and will not pay for something that is tacky/trashy/generally inappropriate for an 8th grader. She, in turn, let me know that she was not going to be talked into a dress that she doesn't really love (we have a history of me "gently persuading" her into something I like and then later she claims I "forced" her to buy it and refuses to wear the item. Hence, a closetful of clothes never worn). We actually ended up having a lovely, lovely day and no one cried! She found several dresses she (and I) liked and ended up buying the second dress she tried on. Very age appropriate dress, I love the cut and color and the silohuette is perfect on her. We bought shoes, a handbag and jewelry and she is done!!! We did some more shopping, bought some things at Lululemon and had a delicious lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe. I also got to use a Victoria's Secret gift card from Christmas. Saturday we did finally watch Mockinjay. I had read all 3 books and KJ was so disappointed in the end. She looked at me and said, "Seriously??" Divergent, the hot new YA trilogy will be in the theaters soon. I read all three of those books as well but definately like the Hunger Games books better. My aunt and uncle were visitng my cousin and her husband for the weekend so Sunday we all went out to lunch together. I had never been to the Dogfish but Cosmo and the girls had been a couple of times. http://www.dogfishalehouse.com/ Last night was the finale of True Detectives on HBO. Holy cow. That stuff gave me nightmares last night. So creepy yet so good! Tonight Cosmo and KJ are going to the Caps vs. Penguins game @ the Verizon Center. KJ's 1st NHL game! She is super, duper excited and plans to wear her Sidney Crosby jersey. Cosmo has told her she's on her own if Caps fans boo or hiss at her.

Goodreads.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/books-to-read-before-they-hit-the-big-screen

I feel like I've been reading like crazy this summer but my Goodreads account says I'm really far behind my reading goal of 100 books in 2013.  Ugh!

I've read both Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth.  Eh.  There were a lot of characters to keep up with, a lot of "factions" and a bunch of stuff about simulations and serums.  I think I like Hunger Games better.  I'm getting a little tired of reading about dystopian societies.  While I love that this series, as well as the Hunger Games, have strong female leads, I'm just over the whole bleak, depressing, futuristic, Mad-Max theme.

I'm glad to see The Book Thief is being made into a movie.  It's one of my favorite books!  And I've got Monuments Men on my queue.  Should be a good movie (Clooney?  Matt Damon?  No problem!).  I really, really hope Reese Witherspoon does NOT play the lead in Gone Girl.   Amy is insane and I don't know if Reese can tackle that level of insanity.  IDK.  Maybe after her recent run-in with the law . . . maybe she can do crazy.  And I really, really hope Rob Pattinson does NOT play the lead in 50 Shades of Gray.  Ick.  Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper are teaming up again and I think I'm the only person on the planet that was not impressed with Silver Linings Playbook. 

This summer I've read Wife-22 which was pretty funny.  I'm about 125 pages in
The Wolf of Wall Street and it's pretty insane (see the trailer here:  http://youtu.be/iszwuX1AK6A). 
And I also read Bossypants by Tina Fey.  Hysterical.  I could totally be friends with Tina Fey.  And Amy Poehler. 

Summer Reading Update

Couple of days ago I posted about Summer Reading (see blog post here: http://cos4.blogspot.com/2013/06/summer-reads.html) 

Update:  I finished the The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls: A Novel as well as Divergent and now I'm on to Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns.  Yonahlossee was OK, it kind of fizzled at the end; everything was tied up in a neat little bow.  Not sure how I feel about Divergent.  As I read it, I couldn't help feel like it was a wanna-be Hunger Games.  I'll see the series through and will read books #2 and #3 (I believe book #3 is set for a 2014 release).  Interestingly enough, Entertainment Weekly just did a feature article on the movie currently being filmed in Chicago.  The article actually helped me understand the direction of the books and the characters a little bit better.  And the Prada sequel is all over the place and Andi is kinda psycho and really insecure.  I usually don't read Goodreads reviews before I purchase a book because I like to form my own opinion.  I kind of regret not doing some research prior to pre-ordering this book on my Nook.  So far, I'm not that impressed. 

Summer Reads

I'm not sure why summer reading or beach books are separated from other genres.  Nobody seems to make a list of "top 10 books to read this winter!"  I don't read one certain type of book based on my geographic location.  I read what I read when I read. 

But, since I'm always on the lookout for a good book and love a great suggestion, I have read or am about to read a couple of books off People Magazine's 2013 summer list: 
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/38269.People_Magazine_s_Must_Read_Books_for_Summer_2013

This past weekend I read The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls: A Novel.  I've got The Engagements on my Nook queue as well as Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen (I've read some of his other stuff) and the Widow Waltz.  I'm thinking about Sisterland: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld  but I just couldn't get into Prep so I'm not sure if it was the author's style of prose that didn't do it for me or the subject matter.  The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story looks interesting, too. 

I'm currently reading Divergent (only a few chapters in). You can check out the author's blog here: 
http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/  Divergent is being made into a movie and this link gives a a quick review as to what this book is all about:  http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/05/14/divergent-tris-dauntless-exclusive/  And here's the IMDB link:   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1840309/?ref_=sr_1  It will be interesting to see if this series is as popular as The Hunger Games.  There also seems to be several discussion boards/forums dedicated to which is better:  Hunger Games vs. Divergent.  On a personal note, I loved the Hunger Game books but didn't really like the movie -- I thought some of the graphics were a bit cheesy and a little too CGI for my taste, however, I can appreciate a strong female lead and both books seem to have that in "Katniss" and "Tris."