Halfway there!

Earlier today I finished my 56th book... and do you know what that means? That's right, I'm over halfway to 111!!! I have to say it feels pretty good. :D And just in time too, it's almost July and I am just barely on schedule. But that's okay, I've got 6 more months!

The special book number 56 was When Joy Came to Stay by Karen Kingsbury. This was the first Karen Kingsbury book I had read, and I loved it! I have to admit that I've been a little snobby towards Christian fiction... I mean there are a lot of badly written Christian fiction books out there. But really, that's true of any genre. And When Joy Came to Stay definitely doesn't fall in the bad category; it was great! Since Karen Kingsbury has written something like 50 novels.. you will probably see several more of her books popping up on my reading list.

Book number 55 was another Sarah Dessen book, Along for the Ride. It's about like every other Sarah Dessen book I've read, but that didn't stop me from staying up til 4 in the morning to finish it! I loved it and I would most definitely recommend it.

Longest book of the year right here!

Well I'm pretty proud of myself because I just finished a 1,258 page book! Yep that's right, 1,258 pages, and in 8 days too! Not too bad, right? Maybe I'm getting back on track.

Anyway, this book, as you might have guessed by the length, falls in the epic fantasy genre. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is the first in what will eventually be a 10(?I think) book series. The book was really good, especially if you like epic fantasy. If you aren't an epic fantasy fan, then I probably wouldn't recommend it. It's long, complex, a little slow at times, and a lot confusing. But I think that's part of what I loved. So many small details, little clues, big revelations, hints at bigger revelations to come... I love it. And the characters! I fell in love with Sanderson's previous books because of his characters... and he did not disappoint with in this book. I feel so invested in them and their world already after one book.. how will I feel after 10?

There is one problem though. This is only the first book, and the second one won't be out for another year. With 10 books, and 1-2 years in between... I can't imagine this series ever ending. And that's a daunting thought. I will likely be 40 years old when this is over! I am hesitant to get involved in such an enthralling series so early on... but it's too late now. I am already invested. Maybe I will wait until I am 40 and all 10 books are released before I read another one. But probably not, I won't be able to wait that long. And part of the fun is the speculation, right? It might be kind of fun to follow this series through from the start.

Anyway, if you are a Wheel of Time or Sword of Truth fan, you'll like this. If you like fantasy but don't want to get involved in lengthy epics, try one of Sanderson's stand-alone novels- Elantris or Warbreaker.

I'm still alive but I'm barely reading

Barely reading. What can I say? I guess I'm not quite the avid reader that I was so proud of being. Or I just got a little burned out. Either way, I've hardly been reading at all lately. I realize I didn't post a progress update at the end of May- it was because I didn't really read much in May. I didn't feel like there was much to update. I thought June would be better. So far, it's been worse. I've only read two books- and really we should say only one, because the other one was an audio book that I've been listening to for months and finally finished. But that one book I did read was a good one- 1984 by George Orwell. It was on my must read list AND it's a classic, which I have to read 10 of this year (this makes two). So I do feel a little proud of myself for finishing that, and for the most part, enjoying it.

Hopefully my reading will pick up in the next month or so, because I'm going to the beach. (Twice!) There is something so appealing about the idea of spending a day just reading a good book on the beach. So in anticipation I've been saving two supposedly awesome books for beach reading- Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Hopefully they will live up to my high expectations, and get me back to being a reader again. I'll let you know.

In the meantime, if you are looking for some good beach reading, might I suggest Delirium by Lauren Oliver? You won't regret reading it, I promise!

Progress!

Well guys, I am excited to tell you all that I have officially finished my first nonfiction book. 127 Hours by Aron Ralston. Yes, this is the book about the guy who was hiking alone, got his hand stuck in between two rocks, was stuck there 127 hours, then cut his hand off. It's now a movie starring James Franco, which I really want to see.

I started reading this book way back in February. It took me several months to get through the first half. Not because it was bad. Just because it wasn't quite a page-turner and I was always reading something else at the time. And the first half of the book was a lot of flashbacks to past outdoorsy expeditions, which were described in a technical outdoorsy way, and I just wasn't super interested. However, I finished the last half of the book in three days. It was a page-turner by that point! I knew he got out, and I knew how (from the back of the book), but I still couldn't stop reading. We got to hear about things from his point of view, and what his friends and parents did once they realized he was missing. His thoughts, visions, ideas, and the things he went through while he was stuck were just fascinating, (in a horrifying sort of way). I'm really glad I read this book and I'm really glad I stuck with it through the end.

I've read three other books since my last update. One was great- Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. If you haven't already, read my previous review about Lauren Oliver's second book, Delirium. I was blown away by Delirium, and not only because it was dystopian but also because of Oliver's beautiful writing. So that's why I decided to give Before I Fall a shot. It's about a snobby, mean, popular teenager who dies and has to live her last day over and over again. Sounds kind of horrible, right? But it really wasn't. I LOVED it. Main character Samantha really grew and changed and learned and loved. And even though the whole story was the same day 7 times.. it didn't feel repetitive. Samantha did different things with her last day every day, and the book was actually impossible to put down. And like Delirium, it was beautifully written. I think I may have just discovered a new favorite author!

The other two books I read weren't as good- If I Stay by Gayle Forman, and the sequel Where She Went. The first book is about a girl named Mia who is in a car accident with her family. Her entire family is killed, and she gets to watch through an out of body experience as her friends and family gather around her unconscious body at the hospital. She realizes that she gets to choose- does she stay here without her family? Or does she leave with her family? (aka die) I really didn't like this book much.. and I don't think it was only because it was morbid, because I loved Before I Fall. It just didn't capture me. The sequel was slightly better, it was told from Mia's boyfriend's perspective after the accident, but I still just didn't really like it. And it didn't feel like a young adult book either. Anyway, those two books just weren't for me.

In other news, I've done really well on my no buying new books in May rule, so far, but I've just heard about a new YA dystopian that I'm dying to read. So we'll see if I can last.. Surely it'd be ok to buy one new book in May, right?

p.s. I forgot about one other book I read. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater, the sequel to Shiver, a paranormal romance that anyone who even remotely liked Twilight will love. (Click here to read my review!) Linger was just as good as Shiver, and I'm absolutely dying to read the third one, which comes out sometime this summer.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

I am on a constant quest for good, young adult dystopian book. Sometimes I find one, but that just leaves me hungering all the more for another one. Which is what led me to Lauren Oliver's Delirium. Imagine a dystopian world where love is a disease. A deadly, contagious disease that must be cured at all costs. Lena will receive the cure in a few months, on her 18th birthday. She can't wait to be safe from the disease. Until she meets a boy, who turns her world upside down.

I LOVED this book. I might even go so far as to say, best book of the year so far. I don't want to get your expectations up too much, because then you might be disappointed, but really, it was really good. The book was riddled that powerful imagery. The characters were very real and honest. The book focused a lot on Lena's relationship with her best friend, Hana, as well as her budding romance. The book dealt with the importance of all kinds of love, love between friends, love between family. Basically just a really great book. And really, come on. It's a young adult dystopian book- how could I not like it?

So what are you waiting for? After this glowing review I expect you all to go out and buy this book. Okay maybe not really, but if your looking for a good read, you might have just found it!

April Update!

Books Read: 9 / 43 total

Books to go: 68

Best Book of April: 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Worst Book of April: There was nothing especially awful in April. I guess I would have to say Switched by Amanda Hocking

0 (0) out of 5 nonfiction

0 (1) out of 10 classics

0 (5) out of 15 New York Times Bestsellers

Genres:7 out of 10

7 (30 total) Young Adult

0 (4) Fantasy

0 (1) Classic

0 (2) Thriller

1 (4) Romance

0 (1) Chick Lit

1 (1) Christian Fiction

April wasn't a very productive month, reading wise or blogging wise. What can I say? I think I just needed a little break. Hopefully May will be a little better, I've already started it off with reading an AMAZING book, which I will review soon! (I hope.) May's theme is going to be books on my shelf month, meaning I can only read books that I already own, or borrow. Maybe my theme should be No Money May. Anyway, it shouldn't be too hard because I have managed to accumulate a massive amount of unread books! So keeping visiting, I will start updating again, I promise!

Book Blahs and Blogger's Block

I've got a case of the book blahs! I haven't really read much lately. I haven't really wanted to read much lately. And I've got a case of blogger's block- I haven't really felt like blogging about anything that I have read.

I think what I need is a breathtaking, exciting, new, fun, fantastic book to get me out of this funk. I need to be excited about reading again, and so excited that I want to blog about it.

Got any book suggestions for me?