Books I’ve Read (March)

I haven’t been regular in updating the books I’ve read this month.
Last month I was able to read these books – my highest so far, for this year:

Sarah Addison Allen:
The Girl Who Chased the Moon
The Peach Keeper
Garden Spells
Sugar Queen

John Green Paper Towns
Liane Moriarty Three Wishes
Beth Hoffman Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

I will be updating this as soon as I update my rfid protection too. I have been very busy as of late and it has been very tiring to update my blog this month.

Book: Liane Moriarty’s Three Wishes

Liane Moriarty Three Wishes

SUMMARY:
Australian triplets Lyn, Cat, and Gemma Kettle are about to turn thirty-three and one is pregnant, one has just had her life turned upside down, and one is only just keeping hers from skidding off the fast lane. Meanwhile, their divorced parents have been behaving very oddly indeed.

In this family comedy by Liane Moriarty, we follow the three Kettle sisters through their tumultuous thirty-third year — as they deal with sibling rivalry and secrets, revelations and relationships, unfaithful husbands and unthinkable decisions, and the fabulous, frustrating life of forever being part of a trio.

MY THOUGHTS:
You’d think you would have a hard time remembering which triplet was who but the author gave them very distinctive personalities. There are parts that are really quite funny and I like how each triplet was given equal showtime in the book. Sibling relationship cannot get any truer in this book. There are no magical strings or sentimental quotes for this trio. It is more likely that they would be turning scalpel blades to each other than hugging each other out. But that is how it usually is in real life. Sisters rarely show affection but are extremely devoted to one another.

I honestly felt that Catriona (Cat) had it worse than any of her sisters, being cheated on, suffering a miscarriage and getting divorced all in the span of one book! BUT, I think Liane wrote her very well. I see pieces of me in each of the triplets too, even with their Mom.

This aint like What Alice Forgot but it has a charm on its own.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
He has mistakes in his past. I have mistakes in mine. The fact the we are actually each other’s mistakes is irrelevant!
- Mrs. Maxine Kettle, the triplets’ mother, on getting back with Frank, her ex-husband and the triplets’ father.

Books: The Magic of Sarah Addison Allen

Sarah Addison Allen books: The Girl Who Chased the Moon, The Peach Keeper, Garden Spell, Sugar Queen

Sarah Addison Allen books: The Girl Who Chased the Moon, The Peach Keeper, Garden Spell, Sugar Queen

I think I may have a budding favorite author. I have read the four books Sarah Addison Allen has published and I fell in love with all the books. Doing some easybackgrounds.com background checks on her (mostly on Goodreads.com) revealed she is a native of North Carolina. This comes as no surprise then that all of her books are based on the location.

I love her magic! She has a way of describing things, making it alive for you when turn the pages of the book. Her stories are always interwoven with something magical, which might be a corny for some, but I personally find it enchanting. She almost always revolves mini-stories in one big story and I have fallen in love with each of the characters.

I cannot wait to read what she has next!

Book: John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars

John Green's The Fault in Our Stars

John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars

SUMMARY:
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

MY THOUGHTS:
I couldnt put it once I started it. It has the perfect touch of humor to make me laugh out loud at times and the sometimes intellectual babble amused and made my heart flutter. Green made cancer alive and real in this book and let me see how normal it can be, as against to the view of normalcy we have. This book made me think about legacy, death, pain and sickness and joy.

And as Hazel Grace said, I would always cherish the limited infinites I had reading this book. (This made my forever).

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
“You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world…but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.”

“Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.”

“There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There’s .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others. Of course, there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I’m likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.”

“Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you.”

Books and Movies: February

I think printing companies online would definitely go out of business if people will go read e-books. I have to admit though, it has made reading easier!

Here are a few books I’ve read this month:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Fault in our Stars
One Hundred Names
The Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother
The Hypnotist’s Love Story

I have not watched as many movies I am accustomed to:
Life of Pi
Frank and Robot

Grey’s Anatomy, The Vampire Diaries, Glee, Scandal, Beauty and the Beast are my consistent TV watch every week!

GoodReads Reading Challenge

Goodreads Reading Challenge

Last year I read 15 books. Fifteen. A dismal number for some, but an average read for me, considering I only voraciously read in March and August. Thanks to TV series’ hiatus and a lack of good TV show to be seen on our flat screen mounts, I have turned to books.

My goal this year is to be able to read 24 books. Two books per month. I am sure I can somehow manage this number.
Wish me luck!

Books I (Still Need To) Read

Reading has taken a backseat and I have a lot of books to read. I am afraid they might have to wait until next year to be read though, as these days would be extremely busy:

David Sedaris – Me Talk Pretty One Day
David Sedaris – Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Liane Moriarty – The Hypnotist’s Love Story
JK Rowling – Casual Vacancy
Stephen Chbosky – The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Paullina Simons – The Bronze Horseman
Amy Chua – Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Sarah Addison Allen – The Girl Who Chased the Moon