Bookmania

Happy Friday!!!  I wish I could be happy that it is Friday but I'm a bit stressed because I have a SUPER busy weekend and an even busier and stressful week.  I'm not looking forward to any of it - except for dinner with an Peace Corps friend (who also married a Honduran) and seeing some long lost friends of mine this week.  Other than that - I am already ready for next Friday.

I would just like to say, I hate stress.  I feel like I spent too many years of my life being stressed and tired and never relaxed.  I actually used to thrive on stress, come to think of it.  Then I left for the Peace Corps and spent the next two years learning how to just go with the flow.  So, now, I normally just go with the flow.  Except work is becoming a bit stressful and I'm having a hard time flowing.  I gotta get my groove on pretty soon because with my marathon miles increasing and Anatomy and Physiology class starting in a few weeks - I am only going to get busier.

However, that is not the point of today's post.  Today I thought I'd show you a list of books I've read recently and totally enjoyed.  I LOVE reading and I've read some good books recently, so I thought I'd share.  I'm not gonna give you great book reviews because I think Amazon already does that - but I'll still recommend the books.

The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

If you haven't ready these books yet - you need to go to your nearest bookstore ASAP!  They are amazing.  I was depressed when I finished the last book and had to return to real life and end my life as Katness.  It was a sad moment!

I passed this book on to my sisters, my coworkers, friends, you name it.  I highly recommend reading these before the movie comes out.  They are fantabulous in a Brave New World meets Harry Potter sort of way.






The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Also another super popular book that everyone has read.  And everyone has read it for a reason - it's good!  I admit the end wasn't as climatic as I thought it was going to be, but it was still a great book.  I really loved the characters and how the author wrote each chapter from a different perspective.  It reminded me a bit of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - she did the same thing in that book (another amazing read).

I also gave this book to my sister to read.  Actually, I had borrowed the book from a friend, who had borrowed it from a friend, and then I left the book at the airport so had to buy another copy.  Boo.  I hope someone found it at the airport and is loving it!  This book is also a movie and I think it just came out.




Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

This book was tragic.  I loved every minute of it but it broke my little heart it was so good.  The story was great and I learned a lot about France's role in the Holocaust, a role I never new existed.  However, don't read this book if you only like happy endings and butterflies.

I bought this book for so many people because I couldn't stop talking about it and wanted everyone to read it.  The story stayed with me for so long and it took at least a week for me to recover from the tragedy.  What an amazing story - so, so good!





Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

Now, this is not a book I would normally pick up.  It's a suspense novel that takes place in Stalin's Soviet Union.  It was pure thriller and I couldn't put it down.  The minute I read the first page I was completely hooked and couldn't believe how good it was.  I don't normally like scary/suspense novels because they freak me out, but this one was an exception (as in I like it, it still freaked me out).

My sister also read and loved it (my older sister) and there is a sequel that is amazing too.  It's called The Secret Speech.  My only warning is that there are some detailed torture scenes that I had to skip.  Too graphic for me!






The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

I randomly came across this book a few years ago in an airport.  I had just finished my book and needed a new one to read so stopped by one of those bookstores in the airport.  I read the back of this one, bought it, and was hooked.  I loved this book!  Sometimes memoirs are a little over the top but I really enjoyed this one.  It was touching and real.

It's not a super "happy" book but it's not super depressing either.  It's real life so it is what it is.  I highly recommend it though - I found it hard to put down.






Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

This is the book I just finished.  I was reading it for a book club and LOVED it.  It's another suspense book, so not something I'd randomly pick up, but wowzers was it amazing.  Just the description pulled me in - the story of a woman who wakes up every morning and can't remember who she is or form new memories - who can she trust and what is the truth?

It reminded me of the movie Momento - which I LOVED.  I read this book so fast because I just couldn't put it down.  And the entire time I didn't know who was good and who was telling the truth and who to trust either.  I liked how I only knew as much as the main character so didn't start getting suspicious until she did.  This is a great read!



Ok - I'll leave you with those.  Right now I'm about to start reading shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.  It looks good and my sister really liked it so we'll see how it goes!

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Have you read any of the above books?  What did you think?

What good books have you read recently???

Happy Friday and Happy Reading!!!