Fall Into A Good Book

October is my favorite time of year.

It's no secret that I love a good book. However, this is the time of year is when I read the most of all. The air is crisp and leaves are slowly changing color. I love being able to curl up in a comfy chair and stare outside in between chapters. Plug in a wax burner filled with apple pumpkin, crisp fall leaves and toasted campfire wax melts and it's almost perfection. Fall is the time of year, you wish you could just enclose it in a bottle to remember the sights and smells. Last year we took a weekend trip to Lake George and saw the last of the leaf peeping season here in the North Country. We stopped alongside the Hudson Watershed and snapped a couple quick pics. Autumn in New York is brief, however it is breathtakingly beautiful. 

October is a time for fresh apple cider and hot cider donuts. Enjoying one in front of a waterfall is an added bonus. Impromptu picnics on the remaining days of an Indian Summer and spend the evening under a full moon warming yourself beside a roaring bonfire. It's more than PUMPKIN everything. As I said, it's my most favorite time of year. New books begin hit the shelves at local bookstores and  The New York Times Best Seller list produces tons of fall worthy reads. Which brings me to my original thought. I love a good book. A few ladies in our neighborhood have formed a book club and although we took  the summer off from reading we started back up in right before school started back. For August, we picked a historical fiction WWII novel, "War Brides" by Helen Bryan. Although most of our group enjoyed some parts of the book, we mainly agreed it was a little slow going. It received 3 1/2 stars. 

September's selection was a debut novel, California by Edan Lepucki. It was a post-apocalyptic novel following the characters, Cal and Frieda into the wilderness leaving L.A. behind in their past. Our group enjoyed the far fetched reality that Cal and Frieda faced, but we were left hanging by the ending. California received a week 3 stars. For October's selection we decided to go with a thriller to fit with this time of year. "The One that Got Away" by Simon Wood was a fast paced thriller that had us rooting for Zoë and that the Tallyman got what he deserved in the end. Wood's book received 3 1/2 stars. 

For November's book club pick we decided to read another thriller.  Reese Witherspoon's Instagram account provided our selection. "In a Dark, Dark Wood" by Ruth Ware is a mystery/thriller based on high school friends that loose touch, only to reunite at a "hen weekend" to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Clare. I picked this book up after our meeting to get a jump on reading. It was a page turner and had you guessing until the very end. Ware's debut novel received a strong 4 stars. I'm also excited to see news that Witherspoon is taking this novel from page to screen. Meanwhile, I'm trying to finish up reading the first book in the Outlander series, so I know what all the hype is about and then moving on "Into the Wilderness" by Sara Donati. I'm hoping that there's no thick Scotch accents to read like in Outlander. I hope this rambling of my love of all things fall and a few book club selections kept you entertained. Until next time y'all and keep on reading! 

It's Spring and Still Snowing...

Ah, another North Country spring, where we're still wearing snow boots and get excited about temperatures in the low 40s.  How I long to sit on my front porch in a rocking chair, sipping on a glass of sweet tea and enjoying the latest book I've picked up. But, alas here I am in the frozen tundra of the North Country enjoying Spring Break with my boys.

Yes, it's Spring Break, which means we're sporting footy pajamas and carrying fuzzy blankets around the house until we head South. We're looking forward to a long weekend visiting family and friends, attending a wedding and celebrating Easter and even squeezing in a trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Until I need to go start packing for our mini-vacay, I'm enjoying reading a book from the comfort of my couch, with the company of my almost-too-big-for-my-lap dog, Hunter & his sister, Bella. 

Up until recently, all my reading selections were based on word of mouth recommendations, on my to-read list on Goodreads and if the cover made me want to read the inside flap, while perusing a book shelf. Not gonna lie, I do judge some books by their covers. However, I now belong to a newly formed bookclub in our neighborhood and our first selection was voted on by our group. The first meeting is to take place a week after our vacation. Knowing that I had precious time to read it and sort out my feelings on a book I'd never heard of, I bought the book and patiently waited for it's delivery, all the while trying to finish a 1000 page beast on my nightstand. More on it in a bit.

~ Bookclub pick for April ~ 
"My Sunshine Away" by M.O. Walsh was not my typical read, but I devoured this book in 24 hours. Here's my Goodreads review:
"This is our newly formed bookclub's pick for the month of April. It at first reminded me of how dark of a novel "The Lovely Bones" was with the creepy neighbor, but turned out to be much more than that. The story's narrator guides us through his life and the summer that changed him forever. We're given brief glimpses of the past, as well as the future. You don't receive all the pieces to the puzzle, until the end and that's what I liked best. I enjoyed how the author spent so much time, carefully painting a picture of life in the Baton Rouge in the late 80's. I had no idea how the story would end, but it came full circle and I saw the big picture. You as the reader get closure with the narrator and feel like the burden he's carried for so long is finally lifted." 
I could go on about the novel, but that would spoil it for those of you who have yet to read it. So, I'm leaving it there.

I also recently participated in our post library's winter reading challenge of 8 or more books checked out from the library itself or off their Overdrive account. I won some nifty prizes and completed the challenge. The staff had made some selections of their own and turned me on to a cute little series by Jenn McKinlay, about a librarian who solved the mysteries to murders in her small town. Another new favorite read was a YA book series. The Graceling Realm series by Kristin Cashore was delightful. I read the books slightly out of order, book 1, 3 then 2, which didn't effect the final outcome of the series. I also checked out a book that had been lurking on my to-read list forever and finally checked out a copy. "California" by Edan Lupucki was terrific read for those of us who enjoy a post-apocalyptic novel. The author made the possibility of this world so realistic and had me making contingency plans for living off the grid. 

And to top it off, I'm once again doing the Goodreads Reading Challenge. In 2013, I set a goal of 25 books and read 29. In 2014, I read 21 books with the same goal. This year I've kept the same goal, but I'm currently 7 books ahead of schedule. I think it's time to change my goal. 
So, here I am in the middle of my next read, patiently waiting for the snow to melt and drag the rocking chairs out on the porch. You know that 1000 page beast I referred to way up there ^. This lovely book is the second in a series, which is well-written and holds my attention, but it's so LONG. I'm slowly working my way through George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice saga. I read the first book "Game of Thrones" last year and I'm almost 300 pages into "A Clash of Kings". I've renewed the book from the library once already and I have 13 days to finish it before it's due back. Wish me luck! 

 

V is for what.....

Yep..Paranormal Romance. That's the new rave in the best sellers series. Vampire love tops the list.

Some include:

Twilight Saga

Sookie Stackhouse

Betsy Queen of the Vampires

I've read all three of the above mentioned series. Let me just say they go from PG-XXX. I thought after seeing the Sookie Stackhouse books getting turned into a HBO series was unable to be topped, try reading about Betsy or Fred (however, she's a mermaid and doesn't fit into this category of vampire love. She's a whole other can of worms.) Betsy makes Bella look G-rated and she makes Sookie (even though she's on HBO) look like PG-13.

Okay, so vampires have lots of things in common......

(I'm comparing the 3 above series.)

1. At least one character is a telepath.

2. At least one character is a werewolf.

3. Characters in the Sookie & Betsy series feed on people without killing them, Edward did too, but it was to save a life and it was hard for him to stop.

Sounds like Stephanie, MaryJanice and Charlaine were in cahoots with each other while writing their books. I smell conspiracy.

Can we count the ways?

Twilight published in 2005.

Sookie published in 2001.

Betsy published in 2004.

Maybe Stephanie stole some ideas...I'm just saying.

Which leads me to another wonderful series...Harper Connelly.

I just finished the last book in the series, simply wonderful. I believe that if Harper was ever turned into a made for TV/Movie series, please let this man be cast as Matthew Lang...Nick Nolte this is your destiny as an actor and right up your alley. I'm sure they could use your mug shots in the story line, you know, since the police knew Lang was shady....haha!

So, let's turn up some My Chemical Romance, because we all know....

Vampires Will Never Hurt You!