Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Can you judge an audio-book by it's CD-sleeve?  I'm going to answer with a very decisive, "sometimes."  *grin*

The cover art of this book grabbed my eye:

And the story was very satisfying.  It's a coming of age tale, with a bit of love, and a tad of the paranormal.  I really enjoyed it.  The main characters are just at the beginning of high school, and the language and tone of the plot fits them perfectly.  The narrator of the story sounded like she was in high school too, which I wanted to find fault with, but just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Her voice just fit the part.

It's a great summer listen, that looks at the whimsical side of life without delving into vampires and werewolves.  I recommend it!

Reading Update

It's about time for another update...don't you think?

Raw Stats:

39 books read.  (up from 12 in March)
18,072 pages.  (up from 5,601 in March)
28 new (72%).
11 re-reads (28%).

Challenges:

TBR Challenge - Goal:  12 books.  Completed: 5 books.  I'm still on pace to finish by the end of the year.
Audio Book Challenge - Goal: 20 books.  Completed: 11 books.  I can't believe I'm getting ready for the 12th book of the Wheel of Time!  This series has been a constant presence in my car since January. (You haven't seen any reviews/reports yet because I'm waiting to finish the whole series first.)
Support Your Local Library Challenge - Goal: 50 books. Completed: 27 books.  I'm in love with the library! 

Books I'm reading right now:

Star Trek by Alan Dean Foster - Thanks to a tip from my friend Heather, I get to listen to Zachary Quinto perform this book based on the new movie.  It's fantastic!!
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver - a Bible Study assignment.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - Recommended by one of my former students who couldn't believe I hadn't read it when I was in high school.  It's supposedly one of the most loved war novels of all time. 

Coming up:

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan - then I'll be officially caught up!
The Eleventh Commandment by Jeffrey Archer - a thriller.
A Chance to Die:  The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot - from my TBR list
In My Hands:  Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Opdyke - a book club assignment


There are seven books I have read but haven't blogged about yet, but that's not too bad.  I'll work on remedying that situation soon.  Is there anything I should add to my list?

My Struggle With Faith by Joseph Girzone

I knew that Joseph Girzone was the author of "Joshua" series. I didn't know that he was also a Catholic priest.  So when I saw this book on a library shelf, I was immediately intrigued.

I'm glad I picked it up.

I learned a lot about the Catholic faith:  about the sacraments of confession, about their take on marriage and communion, about a lot of things.  (I found it fascinating that while catholic and protestant ideas can be very different from each other, we often use the same passages as our inspiration.  We just interpret them differently.)

Girzone's tone is very conversational and approachable.  I loved that he was able to share (and even critique) without getting preachy or nasty or bitter.  He's not afraid to let the reader know when he doubts, when he's still figuring things out, or even when he disagrees with the stance of the Church.  Sometimes on very big things like the necessity for priests to be celibate, or the process of marriage annulment.

The more I read, the more I felt like I had discovered a kindred spirit.   For example:  In one passage he writes "It was not easy for me to keep digging and digging for a ‘reason for my faith.’… In their dedication to dogma, they lost total sight of the gentle, forgiving Jesus they were supposed to be representing.  Instead, the did more damage to the name of Jesus and to people’s faith than heretics did with all their strange theological ideas. ….It was downright depressing."  I've had similar thoughts in my long relationship with the church.

Girzone's book is full of honesty and compassion.  If you're curious about the Christian faith, (or even if you have a disappointed view of the Church as an institution), I would strongly recommend this book. 

Tempted by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Somehow in the blur that was my week, I managed to find time to read the latest House of Night novel.  On one hand, I'm glad that I'm all caught up.  On the other, now I have to wait for the new books to come out.  The wait will be terrible!

This one was probably my favorite of the series.  The theme of "choice" is front and center.  It reminded me of the sage words of Albus Dumbledore:  "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."  There are several major characters that face the choice for good or evil.  Another type of choice was also there -- to follow stereotypes and expectations, or to be true to yourself.  Not an easy stand, but one that's worth making.

So in the middle of the fun and the fluff, I keep finding a lot of great stuff in this series.  Tempted keeps the high pace and the teenage drama.  But it held some new twists that really changed the game.  After a cliffhanger ending, it will be a long wait for the next chapter!

Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners by Josephine Ross

This book is a must-read (or peruse) for any Jane Austen fan. It goes behind the scenes of Austen's world to give insight into the "Compliments Charades and Horrible Blunders" of her day -- from "Forms of Introduction" to "Calling and Conversation" to "The Subject of Matrimony." It's written as if to members of the Regency Era, and it mixes lightheartedness and wit in a perfect blend.

I loved that it had one of those built in ribbon bookmarks -- the kind that you would find in a Hymnal.  I imagine it comes in handy if you want to mark your favorite page.  Maybe this one from "Calling and Conversation" (it made me laugh out loud): "It was an awkward ceremony at any time to be receiving wedding-visits, and a man had need be all grace to acquit himself well through it.  The woman was better off; she might have...the privilege of bashfulness."  Haha!  Poor men.  They get to weather the awkward moment all by themselves.

However, my favorite part of the book was the watercolor illustrations of Henrietta Webb. They're beautiful and charming and a treasure all their own.

The World According to Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers

I picked up this little gem on a walk around the library.  I thought it would be memoir-like, but instead I was happily surprised with a colleciton of quotes and excerpts from Mister Rogers writings.

"A timeless collection of wisdom on love, friendship, respect, individuality, and honesty from teh man who has been a friend and neighbor to generations of Americans"

Here's a taste from each section of the book:

• The Courage to Be Yourself - "The values we care about the deepest, and the movements within society that support those values, command our love.  When those things that we care about so deeply become endangered, we become enraged.  And what a healthy thing that is!  Without it, we would never stand up and speak out for what we believe."
• Understanding Love - "In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers."
• The Challenges of Inner Discipline - "I hope you're proud of yourself for the times you've said "yes," when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to someone else."
• We Are All Neighbors - "The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings.  Some people have many blessings and hoard them.  Some have few and give everything away."  Bonus: "'L'essential est invisible pour les yeux.' (What is essential is invisible to the eyes.) The closer we get to know the truth of that sentence, the closer I feel we get to wisdom."

I grew up watching Mister Rogers Neighborhood, and this kindhearted man is one of my heroes.  With every page turn, I could almost hear his voice, and picture him in his foyer dolling out his final thought of the day while donning his outdoor coat.  

When I was doing a lot of paper-writing in college, I collected books like these to augment and inspire my writing.  I'll be adding this one my little shelf of treasures.  It's not one that you read cover to cover, but one that you come back to when you need encouragement or a little reminder about what's really important.

Decoding the Universe by Charles Seife

This was a happy find during a random walk-through my library.  I was hooked from the moment I read the subtitle:  "How the new science of information is explaining everything in the cosmos from our brains to black holes."  How could I resist?  Then I read the first line:  "Civilization is doomed."  Yep.  This one was going to to be a winner. *grin*

I found this book fascinating.  Sometimes it got a little heavy and I had to pause and process what I was reading, but Seife does and extraordinary job pulling everything together.  You know why analogies work?  Because things are connected.  And Seife puts quantum physics, information theory, and other such fare into language I could understand.  But better than that, it was language that I enjoyed!

One thing I love about science:  While we're constantly figuring out new and mind boggling things, the old saying holds that "the more we learn, the less we know."  To me, this reinforces a state of wonder and amazement for both the created world, and the creator behind it.  I think I enjoyed this book so much because Seife writes from a similar optimistic and amazed point of view.  He welcomes the paradoxes and questions, and admits that there are things we have yet to answer or figure out.  Those questions keep us pushing and discovering. 

If you want to exercise a different part of your brain, if you're curious about science, astronomy, or mathematics, or if you're just in the mood for something different...pick up this book.  I think you'll like it!

Cleaving by Julie Powell

"Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat and Obsession" is Julia Powell's second book. I picked it up because I was curious. I had seen the movie "Julie and Julia," and wanted to read more about the woman behind the movie.

Of course, the person Julie is much more complex than the character in the movie. In fact, I had to giggle over a quote by Amy Adams (the actress who portrayed Julie Powell in the movie). When an interviewer told her that Julie was coming out with a new book which talked about her extramarital affair, Amy exclaimed "Not my Julie! My Julie Powell would never do that."

But of course, the real Julie did. And as "Cleaving" recounts, it was not just a short term thing. Her affair truly was an obsession. It encompasses every part of her life.

"Cleaving" follows Julie's thoughts during an "Eat Pray Love" type year. She gets sick of her affair and decides to stop it (sort of), takes up butchery to get her mind off things, and ends up going on a trip to visit with butchers around the world to continue her soul-searching.

But like "Eat Pray Love," I don't know that the soul-searcher ends up any different at the end of the journey. Some of Julie's analogies and comparisons are pretty good, but overall, I was disappointed.  I probably wouldn't recommend this book to others.

One last note. At the end of her book, Julie writes this acknowledgment: "Most of all, I thank Eric and D. Writing your own story is easy enough; having your story written by another is hard. I am grateful down to my toes for you both, for your generosity and grace in handling a situation difficult and not of your choosing." I realize that in a way, Eric is probably simplified from his real-life self (then again, this book is very raw and an "overshare" in several places), but he's a saint. I can't imagine the sheer amount of grace, forgiveness, and patience this man has. I hope for his sake that the Powell's survive this storm and experience marital bliss once again.

Reading Update

I thought I would post an update on my reading so far this year:

Raw Stats:

• 12 books read.
• 8 new (67%).
• 4 re-reads (33%).
• 5,601 pages.  

Challenges:

• TBR Challenge - Goal:  12 books.  Completed: 2 books.  Not bad there.  I'm on pace to finish by the end of the year.
• Audio Book Challenge - Goal: 20 books.  Completed: 4 books.  I'm almost done the 5th, with number 6 waiting in the wings.   You haven't seen any reviews/reports yet because I'm waiting to finish the whole series first.
• Support Your Local Library Challenge - Goal: 50 books. Completed: 8 books.  Almost done the 9th (an audio book), and am in the middle of number 10. 

Books I'm reading right now:

• The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan - part of my quest through the Wheel of Time series
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - a book club assignment.
• Cleaving: A Story of Marraige, Meat and Obsession by Julie Powell - the follow-up to "Julie and Julia."
• The Pursuit of God: A 31-day experience by A.W. Tozer- a Bible Study assignment.
• Decoding the Universe: How the new Science of Information is Explaining Everything in the Cosmos, from our Brains to Black Holes by Charles Seife - surprisingly engaging and really interesting stuff.

Coming up:

• The Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan - the quest continues
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis - both for the TBR challenge and for book club.
• The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riodan - After enjoying the movie, I'm looking forward to diving into the books.

Anything I should add to the list? *grin*

Drops Like Stars by Rob Bell

Do you have a "go-to" genre?  A fellow book-worm and I were talking the other day and she admitted that she always returns to epic adventures (in the vein of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, etc).  Actually "admitted" is not the best word.  She's not ashamed at all.  Those are the books to which she comes home.  Other literary forays are fine and good.  But when she needs revitalization, that's where she returns.

For me, it's to books like this one:  "Drops Like Stars: A Few Thoughts on Creativity and Suffering."  Only 145 pages.  And granted, it's more a work of art or a song than a book (a fact which frustrated some online reviews).  But it's pure inspiration.  I revel in the analogies and insights and questions.  They encourage and affirm a part of me that gets worn down in the daily grind.  If you've never picked up a Rob Bell book, treat yourself to this gem.  I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast

"Hunted" is book 5 in the House of Night series.  A collection of books that has become my rainy day guilty pleasure.  Each installment only takes a few hours to read.  Plus, since each book only advances the plot a few days or so, I can read one long after I've read the one before without becoming lost.  In any case, the main character's constant internal battles and remeniscing fill in any potential blanks that might have formed. 

Similar to Twilight, the protagonist's main weakness is the men in her life.  But what I like about this series is that it explores deeper topics even while it embraces the vampire angst.  The focus of "Hunted" is faith and free will.  And I have to admit, it's one of my favorite of the series so far. 

I especially love that Zoey has faith in herself, in her Goddess, and in her support system, even while she is obviously struggling with doubts as well.  Is she ever 100% sure?  Not really.  But does she step out and make the decisions she believes she must to do what is good and what will save those she loves?  Always.  I can't help but admire that.

The series is planned to include 13 novels.  I'm looking forward to following the story arc through to the end.  (Even if it does move slower than the Wheel of Time series.  And *that's* saying something!)

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

I read this book after it was recommended to me by my cousin.  She was in DC for a work conference, and we met and had a wonderful evening of catching up and getting to know each other.  Turns out, we both share a passion for a reading.  So it didn't take long for recommendations to fly back and forth.

Outliers:  The Story of Success explores the factors that set people up for greatness.  He explores this phenomenon in several settings, with very enlightening conclusions.  Long story short - success is part talent, part timing, part practice, and part history.

I really enjoyed the chapter entitled "The 10,000-Hour Rule."  Do you know what the Beatles, Bill Gates, and Mozart have in common?  They all put a lot of time into learning their craft.  Much more time than any of their peers.  No one would ever claim that they didn't have an enormous amount of natural talent.  But that talent alone wasn't the secret to their success.  It was the time they put into honing and developing that talent.  Note to self:  This is one area in which I've never excelled.  I'm a hard worker and enjoy learning new things.  But I've never focused that time in one area.  I'm more of a Renaissance woman - fairly good at lots of things.  Which I suppose is a type of success.  But there's really no way around it.  To have the kind of success these men did, you need to decide where to focus...and then put in the time. 

I also liked the chapter "Rice Patties and Math Tests."  I liked it for two reasons.  First, Gladwell has a fascinating (and believable) theory that explains why Asians excel at math.  (It's based on the way their language handles mathematics.  Pretty cool actually.)  Second, he explores the different approaches Eastern and Western cultures have for education and the impact that approach has on the children of each culture.  They're both rooted in agriculture.  But the appraoches are as different as rice patties and corn fields.  In Eastern cultures, students are expected to put in long hours year round.  Gladwell quotes a farmer who states: "No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich."  Before dawn.  360 days a year.  That's the kind of focus these cultures place on education as well as tending rice patties.  And it shows in the academic achievements of their students.

I also enjoyed Gladwell's conclusion at the end of the book.  I don't want to steal his thunder, so I'll leave it there in hopes that you pick it up and read it for yourself.  It's worth it.  (And it's an easy read, so it won't take you that long to conquer.)

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

My book club read A Change of Heart in January.  I thought it was ok, but I wasn't blown away by it's awesomeness.  Two friends said that "Handle with Care" and "My Sister's Keeper" were two of Picoult's really good ones.  "Handle with Care" was readily available at the library (the other book is a little more hard to find since the movie is out), so I decided to give it a try.

"Handle with Care" follows the story of the O'Keefe family and the decisions and struggles they face raising a daughter (Willow) who has brittle bone disease.  After an especially harrowing experience, Willow's parents are presented with the idea of filing a wrongful birth lawsuit.  Doing so would be a problem for a number of reasons, two of them being 1) Charlotte (the mother) would have to say that they would have chosen to abort Willow they had known of her illness and 2) the OB/GYN in the case is Charlotte's best friend. 

It was bizarre.  I was hooked from the beginning, totally invested and engrossed throughout the plot.  Picoult explored issues from abortion to marriage to cutting to adoption to sibling dynamics to medical ethics to morality... great stuff!  But then I was completely angered and let down by the end.  Seriously.  I was livid while the book was wrapping up.

I honestly can't remember being so engrossed and yet so let down by a book.  One character in particular that bothered me throughout the book:  Charlotte, Willow's mother.  I can't decide if I like that, or if I don't.  After all, it's good writing if the author gets me that invested, right?  But I just don't understand her.  I can't get behind her.  And the repercussions and results of her actions are strongly to blame for my unhappiness at the end.

For Picoult aficionados, can I ask you a question?  Do you think the final chapter is where Picoult gives her stance/opinion/leaning on the hot topic of her book?  After reading both "A Change of Heart," and "Handle With Care," I'm tempted to think that's the case.  It might be an interesting discussion question for a book club setting.

Before I go off on a tirade and give a gazillion spoilers, I'll leave this one be.  But I can safely say that after the two Picoult reading experiences I've just had, I doubt I'll pick up another one of hers soon.  I need a break.  Silver lining:  it's one more book for the library challenge.  *grin*