Thursday, January 30, 2014

January Books.

We're stuck at home for the sixth day in a row {we HAVE left the house three times but no church or school at all...two sick days + two snow days}. I have snow day pictures plus a snow day story and I have stories about Will's big boy bed, but today I need to be quick {Daniel Tiger will be over in 15 minutes!} so I'm going to post my January Books post early. I don't think I'll finish the other two books I'm reading today or tomorrow, but even if I do I'll just lump them into the February post.

I've set my Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge at 60 books for the year. I think my total last year was 48 so this is an extra book a month but I'm ahead of the goal so far so I think I'll do okay! James and I have been reading up a STORM {I mentioned, I think, that he wants to read ALL of his chapter books on his bookshelf this year...} and I've been spending a ton of time reading lately so we're off to a great start. {I've been on a Christmas book kick because I had a stack of them in December and didn't finish. I have ONE Christmas book left and then I'm moving on!}

The Worst Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
James and I read this together in December {we finished it after I posted my December books}. I remember reading it in 3rd grade and loving it. James enjoyed it for sure! Some of the jokes were over his head, but it was a fun little read at Christmas time.

The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp
This was a FANTASTIC Advent book that I didn't read like I should have. It was a daily devotional that went along with the Jesse Tree theme and it was incredible. I'll be using this one yearly, for sure. I highly recommend it to anyone who would like a daily re-focus at Christmas. We spend so much time thinking about the other "stuff" at Christmas and this was a great reminder that it's NOT about that. 

Lord of the Flies by William Golding
I finally finished this. I was ALMOST done with it a few months ago and then we moved {I know...it's been SEVERAL months} and I lost it. Eddie found it in the garage in a box and I was able to finally wrap it up. This was one I read in high school but had never re-read. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it this time around. I remember not enjoying it in high school. {I never taught this one...I think it's 11th grade.} Goodreads says, "William Golding's compelling story about a group of very ordinary small boys marooned on a coral island has become a modern classic. At first it seems as though it is all going to be great fun; but the fun before long becomes furious and life on the island turns into a nightmare of panic and death. As ordinary standards of behaviour collapse, the whole world the boys know collapses with them - and another world is revealed beneath, primitive and terrible."

Boxcar Children: The Mystery at Snowflake Inn by Gertrude Chandler Warner
James LOVED the first Boxcar Children book so I was glad that I'd picked up two others at a used book sale a few months ago. He actually is SO thrilled that these are "mysteries." This particular one is about an old inn that has strange things happening - horses get out of their barn, the stove stops working, the chimney is stopped up with jackets so that smoke fills the living room. James asked the whole time, "Who do you think is doing it? Is it her? Is it him?" Ohhh, I cannot wait for him to be old enough to read Hardy Boys.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Ughhh. I have so many mixed emotions about this series. Was it interesting? Sure. But I was bothered by a few things about it. First, it just seems to be the same old thing. It's similar to the Hunger Games series {which I enjoyed SO much more}. Second, there were TOO MANY CHARACTERS. Oh, sweet mercy. Trying to keep up with who was who and which faction they belonged to wore me out. NOW. A lot of that might have to do with the fact that I read the first two back to back and then had to wait for the third to come out and then wait for my library to get it, but it still seemed like a LOT to remember. I just didn't enjoy this third book in the series. I wasn't all for what they were doing and just wore myself out on it. Oh well. They're obviously popular books - they're making them into a movie - I just didn't enjoy them. {The first two were better to me.}

Christmas Bliss by Mary Kay Andrews
Oh, Mary Kay Andrews. How I've missed you. If you like light, hilarious books she is your girl. Almost all of her books are set in either Savannah or Atlanta and they are just hysterical. This book centered around Weezie and Bebe, two characters that are in several of her books. If you haven't read Mary Kay Andrews {or her other name - Kathy Hogan Trocheck} you are missing out!

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
I have only read one other Fannie Flagg book so I really didn't have any expectations for this book, but it turned out to be SO SWEET. Longtime divorcee Oswald T. Campbell gets a diagnosis from his doctor - you're dying and you may not make it to Christmas. The doctor recommends retreating from cold Chicago to a warmer climate - specifically, Lost River, Alabama. When he calls to inquire about a place to stay a warm, welcoming woman, Frances, tells him she'll find him a place to board and he makes the trip down. The small town takes him in as one of their own and he makes friends and begins his new life. While he's there the town also takes in a little girl named Patsy, who makes friends with the storekeeper's pet cardinal who is injured and cannot fly. The story that brings all of these characters together is sweet and charming and will leave you feeling enchanted. {My favorite thing about Southern novels? They all have recipes at the back! Ha!}

Boxcar Children:The Niagara Falls Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner
James and I have just wrapped up our second Boxcar Children book and it was more of the same for him. This is a great series for kids, especially if you have one just learning to read by himself!

What did you read this month? I'd love to know!



2 comments:

Unknown said...

I'd love to list all the books I read in January...let me think...I read NONE! I can't wait to have the time and energy to read again! It makes me happy that you get to read so many books. Konrad and I are still working on Charlotte's Web. Happy reading!!!

Meggie said...

I LOVE Mary Kay Andrews too! Southern books are my favorite. =) And I definitely want "The Greatest Gift" for next Christmas!