Outlander

I finally finished !!! Phew ! I started reading this around the first of January and it took me quite some time, but I'm so glad I powered through. Outlander is the story of a woman on her second honeymoon with her husband in the 1940's. Interested in herbology, she goes up to a rock formation to pick some flowers, and somehow ends up thrown back to the 1740's. This is the story about Claire Beauchamp and how much she is willing to do to be back with the one she loves.

 

The story for me honestly started out a little slow, however once I was hooked, I was hooked. The writing is pretty spectacular, the descriptions are just enough. I genuinely love this story. I'm not the hugest fan of historical fiction, I basically slept though history in school, but this just captivated me. Claire is such a strong character, such a strong woman, and Jamie Fraiser, the Highlander she meets, is so dreamy. I absolutely can't wait to see what happens with the rest of their story. Which of course means 7 more books and at least one more on the way. Yikes. I don't know why I do this to myself.

 

Now here is where I get on my soapbox for a minute. Starz has put out the first 8 episodes of their Outlander series, so obviously I got someones log ins and binged them. Can I just say I will be eternally advocating that all worthy books be turned into TV series instead of movies !? Gosh, there was so much detail and almost nothing is left out. I absolutely loved it and can't wait for more. I'm so tired of awesome books being turned into mediocre movies, it just baffles me why screenwriters think it's OK to just tear wonderful books into pieces and thinking its worthy to put on screen. Its so frustrating, and I won't stop complaining.

 

And I'm done. 

Monday Catch Up

    Well, happy Monday to you all ! Its quite a gloomy one here, makes me want to snuggle down with my cutie pup and read ! How was your weekend ? What'd you do ? My birthday was Friday, so I really lived it up :) I'm now 26 years old, I'm closer to 30 than 20 now. I'm slowly making my peace with it haha. In my 26th year of life I thought I could make a list of things I'd like to do this year. I like the idea of that better than new years resolutions for some reason. So, a few things I'd like to do this year are:

 

                                                 1. Read 110 books this year

                                                 2. Move out of my current apartment

                                                 3. Lose 75 pounds

                                                 4. Go on another friends trip

                                                 5. Spend more time with my Grandma  

 

 

I've gotten kind of set in my ways, especially in the past year. I don't want to become stagnant or find a comfort zone and stay there. That doesn't sound like the most exciting life. I'm going to start checking in with you guys on Mondays to kind of keep myself accountable for the life I wish to lead.

 

What I'm reading this week: Outlander ! Its one of the books that EVERYONE has read and I feel like the last man standing. I'm reading it on my Kindle and am only 11% in, but it is pretty interesting. I'll be honest when I say that I'm not a huge historical fiction fan at all, but I think that's more attributed to the language that is spoken. It takes longer for me to read it, and I have to focus so much more. Maybe I'm lazy ?? Don't ask my mom :)

 

Have an awesome week everyone !  

 



Captivated by you

     This is the fourth book in this series, and apparently there's going to be a 5th. I've really enjoyed this series, its got its share of smut, BUT it also has a very interesting plot (here's looking at you, Mr. Grey). The story follows Eva as she moves to NYC for her first job and runs into Gideon Cross. Gideon is your typical millionaire that owns half of New York, and isn't used to the word no. SPOILER ALERT !!! As of this book, Eva and Gideon are secretly married, but are planning a wedding.
  
     Honestly, nothing of note happened in the book which was really disappointing. I had been looking forward to the end of the series, and what I got was more of a filler and not much plot at all. Don't get me wrong, Sylvia Day is a great writer for that style of book, but I feel like she really could have whittled this book book down to 50-75 pages and just added it to the (hopefully) final book. I only gave the book 2 stars, sorry ! Gideon, I still love you though !!

Big Little Lies

     This was a book club pick by one of my friends, Kathryn. This is my first Liane Moriarty book, and I was pretty intrigued. The book starts out with a murder, but who has been killed ? This book follows three main women with children in the same kindergarten class, Madeline, Jane, and Celeste. They navigate the politics and drama that goes along with having your child in a private school. It involves ex husbands, second wives, schoolyard drama, and of course a death.

     I grew up in a private school, went to one my entire life, so hearing about the drama between the parents was pretty interesting. I actually really enjoyed each of the 3 main women's takes, they were each very different and interesting. Starting with the first few sentences, I was pretty hooked. You start out knowing someone has been killed but not who or who did it. Then the story starts out 6 months before the "incident". Gosh, that drove me crazy ! The twists and turns were just fascinating and kept me on my toes. I was genuinely surprised with the ending which was pretty awesome. I'll definitely be interested in reading more by this author, so stay tuned ! :)

Breakfast at Bloomingdales

     Finally the last book of Semi-Charmed's Winter Reading Challenge !! First from Goodreads: Kat's come to New York City with a dream: to be a big fashion designer and to see her name on a label in Bloomingdale's. Back in upstate New York, she imagined a city paved in Prada . . . but the reality isn't quite so fashionable. Still, there are friends to be made, boys to be flirted with, and amazements to be found . . . sometimes when she least expects it. Even when her lame hick boyfriend from back home comes to the city to try to reclaim her, Kat knows she's found her place . . . now all she has to do is have the place find her back.

     I found this book a little silly and over dramatic, but you know ? I didn't hate it. It was cute and I really liked the fashion Incorporated into it. This would something fun to read at the beach, for sure. Its light and has a lot of quirks. The main character, Kat, is someone you want to like and succeed. Even when she's angry and acting a little outrageous. Overall, an entertaining read, but its not for everyone. That's for sure.

Last one, although I won't promise

     I've been following Modern Mrs. Darcy for quite a while now, and she's just announced her very first reading challenge. I can't say no to that ! The rules are pretty simple, 12 categories for 12 months, and from what I understand, its more based on pinterest.

Read a book you've been meaning to read

Read a book published this year

Read a book in a genre you don't normally read

Read a book from your childhood

Read a book your mom loves

Read a book that was originally in another language

Read a book "everyone" has read but you

Read a book you chose because of the cover

Read a book by a favorite author

Read a book recommended by someone with great taste

Read a book you should have read in high school

Read a book that's currently on the best sellers list 

Favorite Books Read in 2014

     I've read 112 books this year ! I'm so proud ! Its the first year I've actually kept track of  what all I've read through Goodreads. Its my most favorite website :) I'm just going to list the books I read that I gave at least 4 stars to. I'm pretty stingy with my stars, so you know they're good when they get that many from me. Those are the books I would gladly reread, they're special to me, and sometimes they change me. I love books. They're my most prized collection and favorite hobby. So, here are my favorites from this year.

• Gone Girl ~ Wow. I've never been more surprised by a book. After reading so much for so long, I don't really get surprised when it comes to mystery books, but this one. WOW. Also, its one of the best book to movie adaptations I've ever seen !

• The Fault in our Stars ~ This books absolutely broke my heart. Beautifully written, beautiful story. John Green inspired me to just be more eloquent in my day to day. I don't know if I'll ever get over this book.

• The Selection ~ I'll just highlight the first book of this series. I was pleasantly surprised after reading this. I picked it up to be just some light summer reading on vacation and found myself clicking purchase next book in the series on my kindle. Loved the premise, loved the royalty, such a fun read.

• Ready Player One ~ I couldn't be farther from being a gamer, but this book was awesome ! It appealed to my nerdy side and my 80's loving side. My husband never reads, but he adamantly suggested I read it; I finished in a couple hours.

• If I Stay ~ This was apparently the year of heart breaking young adult novels. I think people either love or hate it,  I was a definite love ! I first found out about this book from the movie trailer. So glad I read it !

• Fallen ~ Another YA that surprised me. The battle between Angels and Demons is oddly interesting to me, and this series had a lovely little twist I didn't see coming. Awesome ! Side rant: I've had a lot of problems with how some authors have been finishing their series. This one ended exactly how it should have ! Thanks, Lauren Kate !

• Attachments ~ This was my first Rainbow Rowell book, and good lord what have I been missing !? It was just quirky enough to keep me smiling, the ending was wonderfully sweet. Sigh. I'd read it again tomorrow :)

• Deeply Odd ~ Its the second to last Odd Thomas book, and we're finally going back home. The weirdness was just right, and Odd's senses were right on point. I was so happy Dean Koontz got his Odd groove back, however sad that Odd is almost done :(

• Neil Patrick Harris: Choose your own autobiography ~ I don't know what else to say about this book except that it was just lovely. Neil is such a cool person and hearing about his upbringing, and then his little family. I actually learned a lot about him ! I teared up and I laughed out loud. What more could a gal ask for ? 

• Cinder ~ I've never really read anything Cinderella-esque and I was totally hooked. I read this so quickly and I was really sad I have to wait to find out what happens. I'm also mad I waited so long to read it ! Its been on my kindle since April !