March
Category: A book with more than 500 pages
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
Goodreads review: 5 stars
More than 500 pages of words and I can't really remember much of anything. Harry gets chased by a dragon. He grows some fins at one point. There's the fight between he and Ron. He's got a crush on Cho. Oh—I liked the dude that goes after Hermoine because he calls her Hermy-own-ninny. I'm just glad that Cedric goes on to become Edward in another life. (Another series that I've never read! What is WITH me??)
Category: A book that became a movie
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
Goodreads review: 5 stars
I'll admit, by this point I was definitely getting pulled into the storyline. The book is filled with frustration but it still had plenty of quirkiness to enjoy. Harry's a bit snappy in this one though, isn't he? The movie got Umbridge to a T. THIS is the book where I decided to love Neville even more than before. And Ginny starts to emerge into the light, a little. And how 'bout that duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort?
Category: A book with nonhuman characters
The Cricket In Times Square, Garth Williams
Goodreads review: 5 stars
This is a wonderful read-aloud. I read this with my girls and we all enjoyed it. It's interspersed with the perfect amount of illustrations to keep Maren's attention. It's about a country cricket who wanders into a picnic basket to sneak some food—but ends up traveling all the way to subway station in Times Square. He befriends a mouse named Tucker, a cat named Harry, and boy named Mario. The cricket happens to be a prodigy who can listen to any song and then play it with his wings. Wings and feet? I don't know the anatomy of a cricket. Anyway, I would recommend this book to parents and children.
Category: A book you started but never finished
Increase in Learning, David A. Bednar
Goodreads review: 4 stars
Confession: When it comes to nonfiction books, I have the attention span of a 3-year-old. I can't ever seem to get through a chapter without wondering what I should wear tomorrow, or what nail polish I should use for my toes next, or what the weather will be next week. Actually, I should clarify. I can handle a nonfiction book as long as it reads like a story. This book does not read like a story and therefore it took my about 7 attempts to get through it. I believe I started it in 2012. But don't misunderstand me! It's an interesting book. It takes an in-depth look at the process of learning, particularly with how the scriptures describe learning. Lots of examples from scriptures and prophets are given. Another confession: this book has a ton of related reading pages and I skipped right on over them. I mean, a TON of related reading. Some might say that it's cheating to read a 200 page book and skip 120 pages of related reading material (I'm just making up numbers here). I've heard it both ways.
Category: A book based entirely on its cover
We Have Always Lived In The Castle, Shirley Jackson
Goodreads review: 4 stars
This book. Boy howdy. Here's what I wrote on Goodreads directly after reading it (I'm quoting myself here!): "What on earth did I just read? I have so many questions. Namely, what on earth just happened??" Here's the thing. Going into it, the only other thing I had read of Shirley Jackson's was The Lottery, which was a school assignment back in tenth grade. And I had the EXACT same reaction when I finished it: What on earth did I just read?! Okay, so let me try and explain, whilst utter failing at the same time. There's this totally crazy girl—and saying she's crazy is NOT a spoiler because it's obvious from, like, the second paragraph that she's totally nuts—and she lives a reclusive life with her sister and uncle and cat in her family's estate house. She occasionally goes into town to pick up supplies but the townspeople hate her—and p.s. what is with that insane townspeople chapter? My brain was spinning into micro-knots. Oh, I forgot to mention that the rest of her family is all dead from an accident involving arsenic, and we won't go into THOSE specifics. Despite how disturbing and downright weird the whole thing is, you can't help but get completely engrossed in it. It's like a train wreck you can't look away from. Pull out your black lipstick and goth wardrobe from the 90s, and read it in a graveyard on Halloween.
Category: A book from your childhood
The Whipping Boy, Sid Fleischman
Goodreads review: 5 stars
This book is one of the first books I ever read when I was little. I loved it. But—it was pretty much my very first book, so I mean, I didn't have anything else to compare it to. That's beside the point. Here's the premise: Jemmy is a poor boy dragged into the castle from off the streets to take all of the prince's whippings. See, the prince, Prince Brat, is just a troublesome little dude and drives everyone nuts, but they aren't allowed to whip his royal hide, so Jemmy gets whipped, because his hide is regular. He never bawls about it, and the prince can't stand that. It really just ruffles his feathers. Rubs his elbows the wrong way. Tickles his royal chin hairs. Pulls on his princely patella. Noodles his entitled noggin. I've gotten off track. Anyway, then someone decides to run away (I can't remember if it's Jemmy or the Prince) and they run across two dimwitted highway men. Jemmy tricks them into thinking he is the prince, and Prince Brat is the whipping boy. Also during their escapade, they run into a circus bear named Petunia, and who doesn't love a bear named Petunia? I recommend this book whole heartedly. The reading level has got to be first or second grade. I read it with my girls and they enjoyed it.
Category: A book with a love triangle
Category: A book with a love triangle
Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
Goodreads review: 4 stars
I started this book probably 10 or more years ago, and something happened. I went back to college maybe? I can't remember, but it was lost by the wayside. So I dusted it off and gave it a second go, remembering absolutely nothing about it. The thing that always makes me giggle about books with propriety, is that so much trouble could be solved if people would just talk to each other! At one point Elinor and her mother have this conversation about whether or not Marianne is really engaged to Mr. Willoughby, and the mother is appalled at the idea of confronting Marianne about it. You can't just go around asking questions like that—it would be embarrassing! Also, it seemed to me like Mr. Brandon and Elinor had a lot more in common—they sure did talk to each other a lot more than Marianne and Mr. Brandon talked, at any rate. I enjoyed it well enough though. I enjoy Jane Austen's subtle humor throughout her books. Even greater is the reward after reading one of her books—the BBC miniseries version!
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