The Christmas List

I love this time of the year when I can pick up only Christmas stories. I have three books that I own that I read every year. I hope to add to that number this year.

The Christmas List is about a man who wakes up one morning and reads his own obituary. If there is ever a moment that makes a person take a look at their life, it is seeing what other people thought of it after you die. James Keir didn't die...but he did get a good hard look at how people saw him while he was alive. After being angry and ready to destroy a few lives for the mistaken death, Kier realized that this was a second chance at life that not many people get.

This is a pretty easy read (I got through it in 2 sittings) but maybe that is because this is the 3rd time reading the story. I am learning quickly that with each year I am still deeply touched by the story and I end the book with tears streaming down my face and a pile of tissues close by. I love it!

If you need a sweet Christmas story-this is a great one.

Grade: B++ (or A- depending on how you want to look at it)

The Princess Bride

I know we have all seen this movie...multiple times in our lives. And if you are the last person in the world to not have viewed it...umm what rock are you living under? Oh was that mean? Sorry, but The Princess Bride is one of those great movies that is just fun to watch over and over. There are a few times that I have wondered about the book, but I honestly didn't think the book would be as fun or entertaining as the book. I kind of figured that it was a basic story and the movie people decided to make it the funny, exciting, love story that we enjoy so much.

WRONG!!!

The book had me laughing out loud in parts, and other parts where it was so intense I couldn't wait to get to the end...go figure since I knew how the story started and ended and everything in between besides the Zoo of Death.

It really is delightful. I can't wait for my kids to be old enough for me to read this to them before bedtime.

Since most everyone in the world knows the story already from the movie, it is a pretty easy read. But there are enough little bits added in that you don't want to go skipping around. William Goldman is a delightful author! This is a must read...so take a few days this Christmas season and sit down to read this fun book. If you have kids old enough for the adventure and fighting part of it read it with them. I would bet money it will make you smile!

GRADE: A+

Roses

Oh man, should I be embarrassed that I was able to read a 609 page book in a week? Or that it was my second big book for the month? This was another great read. So thanks Brit for the suggestion!

Roses is what I would call a tragic love story. Mary is a 3rd generation cotton plantation owner and a lover of the land, she fell deeply and madly in love with the oh so handsome Percy who is a timber man (not the kind that climbs trees and cuts them down, but the kind that employs the cutter downers). Both were dedicated to their land and their family business which spanned over generations and filled with tradition, however one of them is a little bit too nuts over the land she grew to love. And in the end feels she has to decide between the man she loves and the land she loves. Her decision effects many many people, until she decides it is time to make it right and in the process crushes hearts and dreams in the process. In the end....oh wait I don't want to spoil it.

I know I haven't painted the loveliest pictures of all, but it is a beautifully written story with lessons of love, family, friendship, loyalty and making sure that the choices we make are the best we can for the right reasons. That we need to realize that the choices don't just effect only 1 or 2 people but many and many people.

Be warned there are a few parts that I was surprised made the book...there is one that comes to mind right away and I will say that if I had been warned but if I had known that was in the book I still would have read it. (is that bad to admit?) There were also 2 really naughty words...which I was surprised the author put in there since there really wasn't much swearing in the rest of the book.

It is beautifully sad story and I am so glad I read it. The author did a wonderful just making the reader love the characters and care what the end result is for everyone involved. I love it when I actually care what happens to the characters.

GRADE: B

The Forgotten Garden

The library FINALLY had this book available...it seems like the waiting list was forever long. It was perfect-I was able to check it out and take it on my trip to VA! It was the perfect book to read on the long airplane rides.
It is pretty much three versions of the same story...you might say that isn't possible but it is! It takes place in the early 1900's, around the 1970's and 2005. It is about a little girl who is abandoned on a ship to Australia in 1913...and when I say little girl I mean she is about 3 or 4. Way too tiny. She only has a small suitcase with a few clothes and a book of fairy tales. The dock master finds her and after searching for someone to claim her without luck he and his wife give her a name (Nell) and raise her as their own. She is delightful and well loved by everyone. Her father is plagued by the secret of how she came to be and goes against his wife's wishes and tells her how she came to be part of their family. It turns her world upside down and inside out.

Decades later life didn't turn out like Nell had thought it would as a young girl but she is learning to be content. She then decides to find out who she is and where she really comes from. 30 years later her granddaughter finishes the hunt for the truth.

It is such a great book, I was warned by a few that the first few chapters where hard to get through, but then the story took off and was wonderful. I don't know what those guys where reading...I loved this book from the first page. The only hard thing was that I kept thinking this was a story that took place in America and I didn't recognized city names...and then I would remember (over and over) that it takes place in Australia and England. Also...since this story does take place over 3 generations I was constantly starting a new chapter a little confused as to where I was and with what character. Other than those two small things this was a wonderful story. I would love to see it turned into a movie.

Grade: A

The Snow Angel

*kind of funny that just a few days after my last post I have a book to review...that is how it goes*

The other day my mom gave me this book with strict instructions : "it is a gift read it fast I have to mail it tomorrow." That is how we do books in our family...we all read them before or after they have been given as a gift. It is so fun. That gave me about 24 hours to read it, 8 of which I was sleeping then there is kids to take care of what ever else I do during the day.

I didn't do it. I came very close, but since my mom decided NOT to gift it I was able to slow down and I took about 34 hours to read it in stead. It was a VERY touching story, one that I didn't want to put down.

It is a story about Rachel who is living a life none of us would really wish for-except for her sweetheart daughter (we all want one or two of those). Rachel's husband is a monster and with the help of a couple of true friends and the previously mentioned daughter Rachel rediscovers the power within. I don't want to give away too many of the details. But I will say that had Dave NOT walked into the room while I was reading the last few pages I would have been crying for sure...and knowing my pregnant weird-o-ness I would have ended up sobbing or something silly like that.

This is a sad book, with a very happy ending (I was nervous about the happy ending). Glenn Beck is an excellent writer and although this isn't a book I would suggest reading on Christmas Eve I would suggest reading this book.

My only issues with the book was that the 11 year old daughter seemed to be much older and instead of being 11 she should have been 14 or something. But that is pretty minor, in fact I think when I pictured the little girl in my mind she was older. Also there are two seperate stories that start off right away and I was very confused about why I was reading about two different people...I got through the confusion and figured it all out.

I will say...I am excited for Christmas and all the sweet stories that come with it. I think it is time to re-read Glenn Beck's The Christmas Sweater along with a few other favorites of mine.

Favorite Quote: I can't find it now, but was about being a construction worker and how he didn't just build houses he helped build homes. I liked that very much.

GRADE: B+

Something terrible

Well, I don't know if anyone noticed besides me but I haven't posted a book review for quit sometime. I am working on a few books...but I am really going slow at it.

WHY?

Well, I just don't want to read right now. Weird I know. I can't remember when the last time I felt like this was. I think part of it is the fact that at night when it comes time to either sleep or read I always pick sleep. So there goes a BIG chunk of time when I read.

I have thought of maybe just forcing myself to keep reading until I found my "want to" again. But doesn't that go against everything pleasure reading is about?

And so...my plan is to take a break. I am part of a book club so I will read the monthly book and I am still going to plug along with the books I am reading now (look off to the side to see the little list...they are mostly information books no novels). I assume that once winter settles in or who knows when I will be back to pumping the books out like a mad woman again and loving every pages of it..

But for now...I am reading when I feel like it and nothing else in other words I am going to do what I have been doing (makes this post seem a little pointless now doesn't it?).

I hope you (meaning the one person who reads this) are enjoying a book or two these days. Let me know what it is...maybe my problem is a lack of great novels ideas.

The Waterfall Concept

I finished this book earlier this month and I was just as excited to finish it as I was to read it! First off...note the author's last name is Stark. Yep, that is my uncle. How cool is that? It is a heavy topic so it took me a while to get through it all. But I can honestly say I am glad I read it, I didn't know anything on the topic of addiction or recovery; this book was a real eye opener for me.

It is 4 chapters long...I know can you believe it only FOUR it drove me nuts to have so few chapters (I like my chapters short remember). Thankfully within each chapter are short sections...phew. I always had a good stopping place. The first chapter was mostly about addiction...which was important to read since it was all new information for me. Then I felt like the rest of the book focused more on recovery, which I also learned is hard, long and never really over. I learned that there are many faces to addiction, many underlining issues, and no simple case.

Before you quit reading this review because you aren't a drug, sex, or alcohol addict let me say this about the book. It is a mix between a informational book on the topic and a church book on change, the Atonement, and moving forward. I found myself thinking at not times not about the addicts the author was talking about, but instead about the things I am addicted to in my life (facebook, The Bachelor, sweet treats, avoiding dishes, blogs) and how I can use the Waterfall Concept to make changes in my life for the better.

On the back of this book it was recommended that parents and church leaders should also read this in addition to those in addiction recovery read this book. At first I will say I was doubtful of that need-after only a few pages I realized the truthfulness of that statement. I would bet that most parents are extremely unaware of the reality of this issue and how close it is to our children. And as youth leaders, bishops and others in leadership rolls knowing the information in this book would be priceless. Knowing how to approach someone entering addiction and those in recovery would be helpful not only to those in leadership positions but also to the addict in recovery.

Now. You might be thinking "well, duh, Angela is going to give this book a screaming review it is by her uncle in law ." I will say I was worried about that when I started reading the book...what if I didn't like it? or couldn't finish it? or (gasp) didn't want to? It did take a while...like most non-fiction books do for me. But like I said before, it was a lot new information for me that I am glad I have now, and it also taught me through the Spirit. What more could I want in a non-fiction book?

Favorite Quote: (it was hard to choose just one) "In our addiction, we find ourselves very low in the stack [spiritually speaking], perhaps very near the bottom. The same rules apply while we struggle in additions; we must move up, line upon line, no matter how low our starting point is. Our goal is always the next line, to keep progressing along the right path. Don't worry about time or history; they don't matter. All that really matters--all that He really wants--is for us to move towards Him on this right path."

Grade: B (especially if you are a parent or church leader or teacher)