Summer Reading

Over the summer I read several books. I'm so glad to finally have my reading mojo back!

Book Review: My (not so) Story Book Life by Elizabeth Owen

You may recall me writing about
the contest over at Mabel's House
to win a copy of Liz's first book.

Well, I was lucky enough to win!


(here's me with the book)

(she wrote a sweet note inside!)

Thanks, Liz!!

***

Review: My (not so) Story Book Life
by Elizabeth Owen

My (not so) Story Book Life is Elizabeth's account of her journey of striving for perfection to being content with life. Throughout the book, I found myself laughing at the hilarious mishaps that Elizabeth and her husband, Matt, encounter in their 1950's house; I had tears filling my eyes as I read about Liz's friend Angela, who has been diagnosed with cancer; and I was amused by the literary heroes in modern day settings. And of course, we can't forget Mabel, the canine star of Liz's blog. I still laugh at the description of Mabel barking at a ghost. "A ghost?", you say? Well, you'll have to read the book.

I have been a follower of Liz's blog for quite some time, and I felt like I was reading a story by a friend. I really enjoyed this book, and am so glad I had the opportunity to read it.

Go get yourself a copy of this book today, and if you're not already following Liz's blog, what are you waiting for??

My (Not So) Storybook Life: Another Giveaway

Liz at Mabel's House is having another giveaway to win a copy of her new book
My (Not So) Storybook Life.

You can see an excerpt HERE.

See Liz's Blog to see how you could win this book too!

edited to add: I won this book!!
See??

Book: My (not so) Storybook Life

Liz, of Mabel's House wrote a book, My (not so) Storybook Life
and is having a giveaway to win a signed copy.
I have been following her blog for some time now,
and I can say with certainty that Liz is a genuinely great person
and has a wonderful sense of humor.
I look forward to reading her book!

Check out this excerpt:

***

Once one has breathed in the deep pungent aroma of sewage, you never again forget the nose-hair singeing, eye clawing, throat gagging experience. It comes over you slowly. You begin to feel like a character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as your muscles involuntarily jerk and you run screaming and blowing raspberries. Anything to get away from the mind-numbing stench.

But let me explain.

It was 6:30 a.m. I was standing in my retro pink tiled bathroom trying to open my bleary eyes and ready myself for work. As I stood there, peering into the mirror and wondering what demented nighttime fairy had planted four new wrinkles on my face, I paused and sniffed.

“Matt… what’s that smell?”

Matt staggered from the bedroom in his underwear, eyes half shut. “I don’t smell anything.”

I pointed my nose into the air like a hunting dog. “Seriously? You can’t smell that? Did you go to the bathroom in here earlier? I told you to use the room spray when you do things like that.”

Matt puffed out his bare chest and gathered his pride as best a man can with sleep in his eyes and a small hole in the side of his underwear. “I just woke up!”

I frowned, catching a glimpse of my makeup-less hot-rollers-in-hair state and tried not to think about the fact that I looked fifty instead of twenty-nine. “Well, help me figure this out. Because something smells ripe.”

We sniffed the sink drain and ruled it out as a suspect.

“Is it coming from the toilet?” Matt asked, examining it from top to bottom.

“No, that’s not it,” I snapped. I’m not known for my milk of human kindness in a disaster. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a survivor. I plan on eating my radish like Scarlet and clawing my way out of the nuclear dust while dragging my loved ones with me. But I won’t be doing it with positive phrases and a smile.

“Hon, I just don’t know. We’ll call a plumber after work, maybe it’s coming from under the house.” Matt staggered a little, trying to get past me and out of our tiny bathroom.

“Well, that’s just great,” I moved aside and pulled the shower curtain back so I could perch on the side of the tub and give Matt room to move out the door.

That’s when the full brunt of nastiness filled the air around us, a swirling mix of excrement and acrid stench that would have brought the sewer dwelling Ninja Turtles to their knees. Where the normally slightly-clean-with-a-hint-of-soap-scum bottom of the tub should have been, there sloshed gallons and gallons of brown sewage.

I clutched the front of my sweatshirt and held my breath. Matt began to dry heave.

“Get out and shut the door!” I screamed as we bumbled into the hallway.

“I’ll deal with this,” Matt grabbed my shoulders, trying to talk and hold his breath at the same time.

I could feel my eyes glaze over, the horrors of typhoid and hepatitis in our bathtub filling my mind. But more importantly, I could envision our evaporated savings account. In my mind’s eye I could see the long, gray hallway at the bank. A worker shrouded in a black suit pulled a set of keys from his pocket and unlatched a small locker labeled “Owen Bank Account.” Inside were two small stacks of quarters and a few crumpled dollar bills. It was bleak, not only because the banker with an unimaginative wardrobe gazed at me with an expression that could only be interpreted as “You’re a Big Fat Loser,” but also there was a very definite possibility we wouldn’t be able to pay for a plumber.

I wasn’t necessarily a spend thrift. In fact, I was downright frugal when it came to decorating with thrift store furniture and rewired vintage lamps. But the fact was, we were poor. We were starting out at starter jobs with starter salaries. We were starter adults with a starter bank account.

“Okay,” I nodded numbly, thankful that Matt was taking the lead on such a disastrous biohazard. “But make sure the plumber is super cheap. We don’t have much money!”

I left for work like a wino stumbling through a fog, not really remembering my commute, not really doing any work as I sipped my coffee and stared blankly at the computer screen. A disaster of such gargantuan proportions had previously been unthinkable in my life, and now I found myself attempting to push the image of a vast sea of bathtub poop from my mind. But I was sure of one thing: Anne Shirley never had to get ready for work while breathing raw sewage.

***

Like it?
Look HERE for a chance to win a copy.
Or buy a copy on Amazon.

Book vs Movie: The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

When Henry is twenty-eight, he meets Claire, who is twenty. Claire is excited to see Henry, whom she has known since she was six, but Henry has never met Claire before. Henry doesn't meet the younger Claire until he is much older. This is because Henry is a Chrono-Displaced Person which causes him to bounce back and forth in time.

The Book:

This book was fantastic. I could hardly put it down. It has been a long time since I've read a book that made me want to do nothing but read all day. There were some confusing parts in the book because it was past and present and future all at the same time, but it really made for an interesting story. The book made me laugh, made me cry, and, mostly, it just fascinated me.

The book is over 500 pages but I zipped through it in no time and was disappointed to see it end.

The Movie:

Cast: Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams

The movie focused primarily on Henry and Claire's relationship and their times together, past, present and future. There wasn't as much bouncing back and forth through time in the movie as there was in the book.

I think the cast was perfect for this story. They did a good job portraying the characters, and bringing them to life. They brought forth emotion that was very real and I believe that audiences will identify with them because of this realness.

Conclusion:

Again, the book was better than the movie. I highly recommend the book. I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it as well but the book, the book , the book! It is definitely high on my list of all-time favorite books. Go read it today!

*Warning* Bereaved parents may find parts of the book/movie upsetting *Warning*

Book Review: The Shack

The Shack by William Paul Young

When Mackenzie Allen Philip's youngest daughter, Missy, is abducted and evidence shows shows she has been brutally murdered, Mackenzie finds himself surrounded by "The Great Sadness".

One day, he finds a note, apparently from God, in his mailbox inviting him to come to the shack where his daughter is presumed to have died. With much hesitation, he decides to go to the shack in hopes of getting some answers about his daughter's death and the whereabouts of her body.

When he arrives, his whole world is changed by what he finds there.

There have been many criticism and praise for this book. It made me curious to find out what it was all about.

I have to admit that I found this book difficult to read. I was unable to comprehend what was happening in some parts. The conversations did not flow for me. There were some parts that were interesting and had me thinking and I could appreciate Mackenzie's grief.

Overall, I did not like the writing style. The biggest criticism of this book, I think, is that the author wants us to believe that this is based on a true event. And perhaps it was, but for me, I read it as a novel.

You can read the first chapter of the book HERE.

Conclusion: I can't say I loved this book, or even much liked it. The concept was more interesting than the actual story and it didn't live up to the hype, in my opinion.

Book vs Movie: My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Anna has spent most of her life in and out of the hospital. Not because she is sick, but because she was a test tube baby conceived to be a perfect bone marrow donor for her older sister, Kate, who is plagued with Leukemia.

Anna has decided she has had enough and convinces a lawyer to help her get legal control of her own body, a decision that may cause her family to be torn apart, and may have fatal consequences.

The Book:

The book is written from multiple viewpoints, including Anna, her parents, her siblings, her lawyer and social worker. It also goes back and forth from past to present day. This sometimes caused confusion if the reader forgets who's name was at the top of the chapter. But over all, the book was well written and kept my interest through to the end.

The ending, however, was so shocking to me, that I literally yelled out my surprise! But I won't tell you what happened... You'll have to read the book....

The Movie:

Cast: Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin, and Sofia Vassilieva

On the whole, the movie was good. They made some changes to fit the story into a movie version without having to explain everything. For the most part this did not affect the storyline.

The actors did a good job at portraying the characters, although it is my opinion that despite Alec Baldwin's ability to be goofy, he didn't quite capture his character as I imagined him.

The biggest disappointment was that the ending in the movie is entirely different than the ending in the book - far too predictable. You can read the author's reaction to the ending here.

Conclusion:

Once again, it is proven that the book is always better than the movie. I will definitely be checking out other books by this author.

Gift Card Dilemma

I recently got a $25 gift card to Chapters/Indigo.

So, here's my dilemma... What book should I get?

There are plenty of novels that I would like to read but I'd prefer to buy those at reduced prices at used book sales, especially since I'd probably only read it once or twice

I am sure there are other books I would like to read but these two are the only ones I could think of. I really need to get better at keeping a list of books I want to read. Currently, I have scraps of paper all around the house with books listed on them! One of these days, I *will* get organized.

(click image to read more about the book)

All-New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew

Why I want it:

I borrowed this book from the library a while back and I liked it. I had planned to buy a copy for myself and start a square foot garden in our yard but, before I could, my husband was diagnosed with cancer and our plans went out the window. I would still like to do a little garden for some of my most consumed veggies, hopefully this summer.

(click image to read more about the book)

Beyond Life's Storms: A Journey Towards Healing by Isabel Cuerrier.

Why I want it:

The reason for wanting to read this book is a more personal one. The author's daughter was a classmate of mine. Her death had a profound affect on me, even though at the time of her death we did not know each other that well. In any case, I've been wanting to read this book ever since I first heard about it.

So, which book do you think I should get? Vote below!