Book Catch Up Post

I've read 4 books since I've last updated my 50 books in 2011 goal. Brief review and rating of each book:

Book #3: Shiver- Maggie Steifvater

Young adult novel. The font is blue to match the cover. I gave this book a 4 star rating. Sam is a wolf, Grace is a high schooler who was attacked by wolves as a child and saved by Sam. They fall in love (obvious, right?) This was a good, quick read with a decent plot.

Book #4: Linger- Maggie Steifvater

Sequel to Shiver. The font is green to match the cover, which I found unique. I gave this book 4 stars as well. It was a continuation of Sam and Grace's triumphs and difficulties as a couple. A new character/wolf, Cole, complicates things a bit, almost destroying the pack. Grace and Sam struggle a lot more in this novel than the first making for a more interesting plot. There were times I just wanted to yell at the book! The 3rd book in the series (Forever) will be out in July.

Book #5: My Stroke of Insight- Jill Bolte Taylor

2.5 stars. I picked up this book thinking it was going to be great. The author is a neuroanatomist who suffers a stroke. This book is an account of her lift before, during, and after her stroke. As a physical therapist that sees stroke patients on a regular basis, this was very intriguing to me. However, only a small portion of the book was dedicated to her account. The rest of the book was dry and seemed more like the author was trying to make us all believe what she believes. The brain is a mysterious and powerful part of the body that is capable of amazing things. This book just took a long time for me to get through and wasn't presented in the manner I thought it would.

Book #6: Hex Hall- Rachel Hawkins

5 stars. Sophie is a teenage witch that uses her power in front of too man humans and is sent to Hecate Hall, a school for paranormal teenagers. She doesn't exactly fit in with everyone and makes some enemies along the way. She also finds out more about herself and her family than she ever knew before. This book had a good plot, it sucked me in and I finished it in one day. The sequel, Demonglass, came out earlier this year and I am looking forward to reading it!

I am currently less than 75 pages away from finishing book #7, look for my review!

Source for all photos

Borders Haul #1

10 books, 3 magazines, and 1 calendar...$96...not too bad for trip #1. I may go back tomorrow on my day off!

But poor Borders...it was a mad house. The line stretched around 80% of the store, it was over an hour to wait in line. Let's just say I'm a little more observant than other people and I was only in line for about 30 minutes ;-) The store was just trashed...books everywhere, huge chunks of books missing from shelves, books strewn over tables, chairs, floors. I'll admit I left a stack of random books on a random table...shame on me, I know! *Insert embarrassed face here*

The absolute worst part, the part I cringed at....they had to WRITE on my books with a SHARPIE!!!  I'm one of those people that don't even write my name in my books, don't dog ear pages, loose a breath if I see the cover has been bent in half (ok maybe I'm not quite that bad with the whole bending cover thing...but I do regret it and wish I could go back in time and prevent it!!) They have to put a line through the barcode so you can't return the book elsewhere. Nevertheless, I had a little mini freak out moment when I saw that Sharpie touch each book cover.

My loot. (Don't mind Mr D's feet in the background!!)

Book #1: Dragonfly in Amber

 -Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon.
(#2 in the Outlander Series)
Image source: amazon.com

I actually started this book on our honeymoon, but didn't finish it until this past week. The length of the book is intimidating to anyone (960 pages), and it's certainly not a quick read. I found that this book had parts that were very intriguing as well as parts that seemed to drag on forever. Outlander (book #1) was the same for me. However the story of Jamie and Claire is too good to walk away from. The twist of Claire's daughter in this book was welcoming and I am very curious to see how Claire and Brianna's relationship plays out in the next book!!

I will be taking a break from the Outlander series for a bit. I read the first and second back to back and the length of the books just gets longer as they go. However, the third is on a list to be completed by April 1st, so hopefully it will be read by then!

Rating: 5 stars!!

**To those of you that are interested in my books for the year, I have added a link to my sidebar to the list. It will be updated as I read throughout the year. Keep me motivated to my goal of 50 in 2011!!