Books I Love!

Reading has been a huge part of my life as long as I can remember.  My first love was the Berenstain Bears and would sit in my closet with the light on reading until the wee hours of the morning.  My mom wondered why I was soo tired after school, well I wasn't getting much sleep and I am still at it!  So I have decided to share my thoughts and opinions as I read a book.  Here are a few I have read this summer.

A Dog's Purpose, By: W. Bruce Cameron
This book is an absolute favorite and is one everyone should pick up!  If you want a feel good story then this is the one for you.  It is a story of a dog's journey through four lives.  Each life touches you in a different way, but the last life is the most remarkable of all.  It starts out with a hopeless life as a stray, then he gets a new lease on life in a home with a loving boy named Ethan, his third life is a life of service as a rescue dog, and ends as he amazingly reunites with his beloved boy Ethan as an adult.  I promise you will hug your dog a little longer after reading this book.  While reading this at 2:30am and the tears were pouring out of me, I had to stop and pick up my dog Ottis and give him a hug and put him in bed with me.  It makes you stop and wonder how much our pets know what we need!  5 Stars!

The Mill River Recluse, By Darcie Chan
The reason I found this book was because of its price!  .99 cents on Kindle Books!  As much as I read you can't beat that price.  This is a story of a young woman Mary who has had a tormented life starting with a rape by her teacher then later followed by an abusive husband.  The scars caused from these men created a severe case of social anxiety trapping her inside her marble mansion overlooking the town her entire adult life.  Only the local priest remained her constant friend throughout those years.  During his visits he shared stories of the citizens of Mill River and she began to feel a part of their community.  The community on the other hand didn't know much of her and rumors spread about her.  Only upon her death did the community discover what a kind heart Mary had. 

This was a quick and a decent read.  I am not sure it will be one I remember years from now, but I do recommend it.  It has a feel good ending and I love those! 3 Stars!

The Glass Castle, By Jeannette Walls
This was picked by my book club in Korea and I am so glad it was.  After reading the online reviews I discovered that this was a true story written by the author.  Jeannette and her siblings had a tough life moving from town to town into shack after shack.  Her parents were needless to say "different".  Her father drinking too much and having a hundred get rich ideas but never having the follow through.  A mother who came from a wealthy family with a college education who couldn't stand to teach and wanted to be a well known artist.  The problem with that is no one wanted to buy her art.  With the kids barely getting enough to eat, dirty clothes to wear to school, bullies after them because of their smell, and trying to stay warm in the winter, life was tough!  Amazingly these four kids found a way to survive and became somewhat normal adults while their parents eventually became homeless in New York.  Their parents did love them in their own way, but it is a shame no one noticed enough to help these poor children from a rough childhood. 

I did enjoy this book even though some of it was tough to read.  It makes you stop and think about how fortunate your life is and how lucky I was to grow up with the parents I did.  How many children have to raise themselves out there?  It makes you stop and think what can I do to help?  4 Stars!

Fall of Giants, By Fen Follett
I LOVED THIS BOOK!  If you are a fan of Pillars of the Earth and World Without End then you will love this one.  It is the first book of a trilogy.  My only complaint is now I have to wait a few years for the second book to come out.  Once in a while I enjoy a long read and this is the author I go to for that, with the book reaching about 1000 pages.   It is based on five families from American, German, England, Russia, and Wales.  Each family is facing the effects of World War I from different parts of the world.  This book has history, war, romance, and drama.  It is safe to say it kept me up into the early morning hours.  5 Stars!!

A Dangerous Fortune, By Ken Follett
Another favorite from Ken Follett with a historic feel along with drama and romance!  A group of boys attending boarding school suffer a tragedy of a fellow student by drowning.  There is suspicion that it wasn't an accident and these thoughts will follow one of the boys throughout adulthood.  While he tries to cover up for one crime he commits several others and many more suffer in his wake.  Eventually he gets what he deserves but man; you never think it will come!  4 Stars!

Heaven is FOR Real, By Todd Burpo
I am sure many of you have heard or already picked this one up.  My friend Rhea shared this one with me and I am so glad that she did.  This book has actually started a spiritual quest for me this summer.  This is a book everyone should read.  It gives me so much hope of what we all have to look forward to in our future. 5 Stars!!

Before I Go to Sleep, By S. J. Watson
This is a story of a woman, Christine who suffers from short term amnesia.  She wakes up every morning wondering who is the older woman in the mirror, who is that man in my bed, who's house is this because years ago she suffered from a tragic accident.  Her husband explains every day who he is and how her life has been the last 20+ years and just when she accepts it, her memory disappears when she falls asleep.  With a help of a doctor she starts documenting her daily memories in a journal and as time goes on she starts realizing that her husband is not always telling her the truth and she rights down not to trust him.  Throughout the book, she slowly discovers who she is and what happened that awful night of her accident and that her husband isn't really who he says he is.  It was a good story, but not one that I just couldn't put down.  Actually I think that is how I judge a book by how often I put it down.  I would say 3.5 stars.