Rebecca

I recently read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. A long time ago we had an enrichment group where we brought our favorite books. A friend (I think it was julie stoner) brought it. That was probably 2 years ago but I've always remembered it. It took me forever to get around to it but i'm so glad i finally did. It was really good. When I first started it I was imagining a jane austen love story. I love that stuff and thats why I started it but after the first chapter i knew it would be different. The main character was a really insecure, young girl who was obsessed with the fear of what others were thinking of her. Not sure about y'all but I can totally relate to that. Anyway, it was really good. I recommend it.

Then I read the Christmas Box. I know a lot of people read that a long time ago but i never did. I was expecting something deeply spiritual that I would ponder for the next few weeks leading up to christmas. I didn't find that at the end. It was a bit of a let down to me.

I love reading. I really do.

Book review

I really want to write on the blog about the books I read. I like keeping track of them. I'm just not really good at doing it when I finish and then I have a hard time remembering what I read. (As I was writing this post I remembered one I'd forgotten.) So that being said, my little book summaries or thoughts aren't very good, because I forget.

My Sister's Keeper by jodi picoult was a good kfast read. I thought the subject was good and it made me think. A 13 something girl is seeking medical emancipation from her parents so she won't have to donate a kidney to save her sister from dying of cancer. I didn't really like how it ended. It had several mini story lines that all ended too abruptly for my taste. Also, I tend to not really notice cussing until a certain word so I don't know if there was cussing throughout but once my sensitive word came up it was rather late in the book so I continued and it got worse after that. More than necessary for me.

Then I read The Peacegiver by james ferrell. I totally loved this book. I borrowed it from a friend but now I wish I had a copy of my own. It's an lds book about the atonement and finding peace. It changed a lot about how I think about the savior, my own decisions, my thoughts, and hopefully they'll change for a long time. While it is an lds book, he never mentions mormon doctrine or the book of mormon without explaining it as if the read wasn't familiar with it. I do think it's a good book even for members of other faiths. It's not a sermon like book, it's fiction so I liked reading it for that reason too. I totally totally recommend this book to the point that I want to re-read it and buy it. (I hate re-reading books and don't even particularly want to own the books I've read. I get almost all from the library so that is saying something.)

Then I read The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. I liked it. I didn't like it the whole way through but in the end I did like it. The beginning I found rather boring but I'm glad I kept reading. It's about a guy who is engaged and the society expectations that surround him in that situation. It's about marriage and what can potentially come from that. (it's so hard to not write what happens but i don't ever know if somebody would actually read the book.)

well there you go. check them out if you want.

more books

After reading "The Help" I decided I like reading too much to quit. Granted, too often my house goes to pot, but I'm trying to limit what I read at home and do most of it at the gym. I'm horrible at that but I'm trying. So what did I read? I read "The Hunger Games" and then the sequel "Catching Fire." They're teen fiction but I still loved them. Now when I say what they'll about you'll think what the heck but isn't that what you thought whenever everybody started reading about vampires? OK so I enjoyed the hunger games more. basically it's about teenagers that are forced to fight to the death by oppressive government. yeah-not typical natalie reading huh? Catching Fire felt more like a twilight book focusing more on the love story part. i mean it still had a high adventure part but not as much as the first. The best part is the third book in the series "Mockingjay" comes out in August. They're fun super fast reads so I liked them.

Today I just finished John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men." I didn't have a clue what it would be about but I liked it. Two ranch workers in California that travel together--one is mentally retarded. It was really good but a bit emotionally challenging. It was a really fast read as well though. It was only 107 pages.

hmmm....i love reading and then the time afterwards i spend thinking about it.

finally

Finally! I read a book! It feels good to say that.

Thanks Lori for recommending it. I waited a long time for my turn to get it from the library. They have like 50 copies but it still took forever. It's called "The Help" by Kathryn stockett.

I don't read a lot of modern literature but because Lori said she enjoyed it so much I thought I'd try it. It's based in jackson mississippi in 1963. It's told from the perspective of three women dealing with the racial tensions of the day. I had a hard time putting it down which means that jackson didn't like it at all because I ignored him more than I should. I have a hard time mentally juggling my "southern pride" and embarrassment when I read about the treatment of blacks at that time. Some of the comments the white women would make were so ignorant, not necessarily intentionally malignant. I fear hurting people's feelings. I guess I'm easy to get my feelings hurt and so I really don't like offending somebody else. While I was reading this book it made me wonder if the way I live my life may unknowingly hurt others. Does that make sense? Well I loved the story because it did make me think a lot about who I am, why I'm that way and who guided me where I am. I just love books that make ya think.

a new favorite? maybe.

I just finished David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. It was absolutely fabulous! I think anybody who enjoys classic literature will love this book. For me, when I read a lot of books I have found that I mostly want to get to the end, to find out what the climax is, how it will happen, and then to know. I find that I race through these books for them just to be over. I just love endings I guess. With David Coppperfield though I found that I'd often set the book down in my lap just to think about it. I loved the whole world that he lived in. I loved all of the characters. I just can't say enough.

On a side note. I love names that mean something. I love family names, and scripture names, and names from my favorite characters in books. I have often told Brent that I'd love to have a "sweet sweet Melanie" (Gone with the Wind). Agnes is a new Melanie to me. I really wish I liked the name a little more because I love her role as the angel always pointing upwards.

Oh I also read another book before this one but I forgot to mention it and unfortunately forgot what it was called. I know that's bad. About a girl who falls in love with her imaginary friend. It was like a day read but I enjoyed it. Just no lasting impression.

More reading

So I thought I'd update you on my most recent reads. Little Women was our book club book this month. For some reason I had put this book off for years. Even though I really like classic literature, I couldn't get past the first few chapters just because I felt like it was too hokey. I thought they all love each other and they all love their mom and blah. I decided to push through it for book club though. I LOVED THIS BOOK! I became passionate about it actually. I decided that, as a mother, I have to believe that family love that strong is possible. I feel like todays media will portray families as always fighting and selfish, that the parents are typically wrong, and that for some things you just can't ever forgive. It's not true. This book helped re-affirm what my experience has proven to be true: that families are strongest when they stick together, that parents often have wise counsel learned from experience, and that religion helps strengthen individuals and families.

The Memory Keepers Daughter I got from a friend at church. I don't read much modern adult fiction. It was a change for me. It was good in that in was .... clean. It was just like the opposite of little women. It's a story about a couple who had a baby with downs syndrome that the dad secretly gave away. It creates like a wedge in their family. I think it felt a little darker to me just because I read it after Little Women so I was thinking about the great potential of families but this was about a family making a lot of bad decisions. I think at a different time I probably wouldn't have felt it as strong.

Reading

So since I've finished school I have once again picked up reading as a hobby. It was just put on hold for... I don't know 7 years or so. I've seen a couple other blogs where they list what they're reading and I always like to look for ideas and so forth. So I thought I would start posting books as I finish and I can leave a few thoughts as to whether or not I liked it. I don't know if y'all care what I read but I do care what y'all read so if anybody wanted to let me know about some good reads either leave a comment or keep your blog updated with good books.

I just finished And Then There Were None. It's a classic mystery. I've never read mystery books. (not even goosebumps when I was little) Generally I'm just not a fan but when you put the word classic in front of anything I'm intrigued just because it has stood the test of time. I loved this book. I have a habit of checking the last page just to see how many pages are in the book and I accidentally saw something that kinda gave it away but I was constantly second guessing myself throughout the book. It's very clean if you don't mind murder. The other book I finished this year was Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. It is also a classic. It has two main characters Anna and Levin. I liked reading about Anna and mostly about Levin but sometimes it had several chapters of crazy boring stuff about Levin. It is long and took me like 8 weeks to finish. While thinking about these I thought I'd just mention my favorites that I've read last year or so. I'll only mention my absolute favorites and so my top recommendations. I read Harry Potter (of course), Twilight (of course), Gone With the Wind, like 4 Jane Austens, Uncle Tom's Cabin, These are My Words, Jane Eyre, and John Adams by David McCullough. So most of you won't care but maybe somebody does so there you go.