What I've been reading...

DAY 62

I thought it was time to tell you what I have been reading over the last month or two. I had a very productive Christmas holiday - I read 4 books in a week!

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | Jonathan Safran Foer

“In a vase in a closet, a couple years after his father died in 9/11, nine-year-old Oskar discovers a key…”

This was one of my favourite books from 2010. A great story about the different characters living in New York City, from the perspective of a quirky and extremely intelligent little boy.

5/5

Water for Elephants | Sara Gruen

“Orphaned, penniless, Jacob Jankowski jumps a freight train in the dark, and in that instant, transforms his future. By morning, he’s landed a job with the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Bt nightfall, he’s in love.

I hear they are making this in to a movie which should be great. Love this story as it is rich with love, laughter, danger, a naughty elephant, prohibition, the depression and a love that defies logic.

5/5

Room | Emma Donoghue

“Room is the story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible. Unsentimental and sometimes funny, devastating yet uplifting, Room is a novel like no other.”

One of the best books I have read in a very long time. I read it in a 4 hour sitting one Saturday afternoon, because I just couldn’t put it down. An incredible story of a kidnapped teenager, her child and their life in ‘Room’.

5/5

Wicked Appetite | Janet Evanovich

Unfortunately not up to the normal level that I expect from Janet Evanovich (who is the author of one of my favourite book series). It has it’s funny moments (a monkey who gives everyone the finger, enchanted stones that cause the holder to horde: food, padlocks, ferrets etc, a gorgeous man with smouldering good looks who is the protector of these stones) but on a story level it leaves much to be desired.

3/5 - I wouldn't bother if I were you. Read the 'One for the Money' series instead.

Her Mother’s Hope & Her Daughter’s Dream| Francine Rivers

Marta’s Legacy series

These two were a great read looking at the legacy of one feisty, strong willed young girl from Switzerland through her life, her daughter, her granddaughter and her great granddaughter. Travelling through Europe, Canada and the wilds of settlement in America, these books illustrate the lives of women who loved their husbands, their children and their faith. Exploring the complicated relationships between mothers and daughter, husbands and wives, neighbours and friends.

4.5/5 – they got a little predictable towards the end.