#14: Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

I'm getting as much reading in as I can before school starts because we all know school is a freaking time sucker. Boo. So my goal is to be decently past halfway by the time school starts. Looks like I'm on track!

I've owned a copy of this one for over a year now. When I was taking a Literature class at my old University, we had a book review assignment in which we basically recommended one of our favorite books to the class. One of my classmates quite passionately recommended this one. I'd heard about it before of course, but the way he described the book was very intriguing. So last summer I got it on sale and intended to read it eventually.

It was excellent. My only regret is that I hadn't experienced the brilliance sooner! There were so many deep societal and personal themes interlaced beautifully. It was about the pursuit of happiness, legacy, tradition, simplicity, societal impact, passion, with a touch a love and friendship. And so much more. It was a quick read, but it was compelling to me in a way different from how most books are compelling to me.

I chose to make this book number 14 in memory of Ray Bradbury who recently passed away at 91 years old. Bravo, Mr. Bradbury. Great work! Glad I finally decided to pick it up and stick with it!

<Update: Today I read all the extras (the Afterword, Coda, and "Conversation with Ray Bradbury" that came with the 50th anniversary edition). Let me just add that I think I love this book even more after these extras brought to my attention all the sickening similarities between Bradbury's prediction of the future and our current society. Powerful stuff. It's more than just about books. Makes you think...>

#13: Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang - Chelsea Handler

You really can't go wrong with Chelsea Handler. Love her!

Let me just say: it's dangerous working in a bookstore with thousands of books and your discount card staring you directly in the face.

Yep. Bought this one in the awesome used book section of the store. So at least, after my discount, it only cost me around $3-4. Major win in my "book" (pun intended).

Basically, I loved it.

I was that @$$ clown sitting in the middle of a damn car repair shop laughing my patootie off while the other customers looked at me and wondered if I had broken out of a mental institution. (Similar instances occurred at Target, my little brother's baseball game, and the bar... JK about that last one, you gullible fools.)

It was nothing deep, but it was a perfect light summer read that kept me in good spirits. Yay!

Now for #14!

#12: The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve

I'm on a roll! Hoping by the time school starts I will be all caught up and ready to kick this challenge in the @$$! :) (Well sort of. Because we should ignore the fact that the title of this blog is nowhere near the amount of books I will actually have read in 2012. Okay? Okay. Yay for new, realistic goals).

The twelfth book of my challenge... um.... sucked.

Let's be honest, I was at my mom and dad's when I needed a new book to read. I grabbed it, asked my mom if it was any good (to which she replied, "You know, I don't even remember if I've read it..."), so I said "What the hell?" and cracked it open.

Let me just explain that no matter how badly a book starts, I generally power through it until the end. I've read dozens of books with horrible or slow beginnings that get amazing eventually. I don't like to "give up" on a book, so to speak.

Needless to say, this one did NOT get amazing. Far from it. I didn't hate it, no. But there are so many hundreds of books out there that are so much better (many of which I have read), so I rate it pretty low.

First of all, the writing style is exhausting. It's good to set the scene, don't get me wrong. But do we REALLY need to know that there is a dog in the distance taking a poo and to also know the precise color of the said poo?! (Okay, that was an exaggeration but not by much!) 

As for the story line. 95% of it was so predictable it was painful. Which, in and of itself, isn't always necessarily a bad thing, but I was already annoyed about the writing style and the characters were dumb. It was like a bad Nicholas Sparks book... but worse. 

I gave it only ONE star on Goodreads. So this Anita Shreve chick.... Wherever you are, don't quit your day job.

Oh well. You win some, you lose some! And the next book on my list is SURE to be a WIN. Stay tuned!

#11 (and THIRD nonfiction!): Becoming Sister Wives - Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn Brown

Before you judge me for my 11th book this year (yay, 11!), let me explain to you my fascinations with such a genre.

First of all, people of unfamiliar lifestyles and religions have always piqued my interest. I am definitely one to watch documentaries on strange or unconventional families on channels like the late Discovery Health (may it rest in peace) or TLC. So that show, "Sister Wives," is no exception.

My aunt was actually the first to introduce me to the show. We both share a common interest in this particular type of reality TV shows and she knew I would be as interested as she was.

As expected, I quickly became fascinated with the everyday life of a family who practiced a lifestyle I was completely unfamiliar with. And when my aunt was visiting recently, we watched the two hour season finale together, our eyes glued to the screen. At the end of the finale, they advertised their book that neither of us had known existed. Of course, we were both interested. So a couple days later we went out to the bookstore and she bought it. She promised me that when she finished, she'd send it to me from Utah.

It arrived at my apartment just a few days ago and I picked it up immediately! It was a fairly quick read and, although it didn't reveal too much more than what I know from the show, I give it a solid three stars.

It has always been my belief that, as long as the lifestyles of some do not affect the lives of others in a negative way, they have the right to live their lives as they please. This idea applies to many realms such as general religious tolerance and gay rights. And while I can never fathom either myself or anyone in my life living a polygamous lifestyle, I feel that it is our job as a progressive society to be generally more open-minded and accepting of those who aren't like ourselves. If being polygamous makes these people happy, and their happiness isn't threatening the happiness of others, why be hateful?

#10 (and #2 nonfiction): Expecting Adam - Martha Beck

It's been an incredibly busy and fun couple of weeks, all the while little of my summer list getting accomplished. But I still managed to read a book. Yay for me!

I had lots of family visiting for the past couple of weeks, and the crazy amounts of family time was nothing short of wonderful. There's nothing like going back to your roots and spending some good old-fashioned quality time with the people you love!

UPDATE: Just had to share this picture. Cutie patooties! My baby cousin on the left, and her brother (my other cousin, but also my Godson) in my lap. Love them more than life itself! 

Anyway, while my aunt was here, she gave me a book of hers to read. I had such a long list of my own piling up on my desk, but it intrigued me, so I cracked it open, often unable to put it down for an hour or two.

It's about a young, intelligent Harvard married couple expecting their second child and finding out he has Down syndrome. It doesn't really read much like a nonfiction which was interesting. And the writing style has a touch of humor. I loved it. Reading it was also a somewhat spiritual experience, as the mother walks you through her own experiences learning to reject everything she'd learned about "The Meaning of Life" at Harvard. It gets you thinking about what really matters and what doesn't.

I loved it. I give it 4 stars!

#9: The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

There's nothing like being so engrossed in a book that you stay up impressively late flipping the pages until the end. And your eyes are so tired of being open that your contacts are all dry and sticky.

I've read a lot of good books, but it's been quite a while since I've experienced the above.

Good God, even the cover is beautiful.

Green's "The Fault in Our Stars" far exceeds my expectations. And I had high expectations (due to the extreme praise in word-of-mouth reviews) despite its classification of a young adult novel. Which shouldn't be any reason to hold it back. Although I occasionally enjoy picking up books geared toward a younger audience, I've stayed away from those lately because their authors simply tend to lack respect for their readers (a concept put into words by a friend of mine as we discussed modern teen novels).

What makes John Green unique in this sense, is that he doesn't write something that is fluffy and happy and shallow just because his audience is younger. But rather, he fully intends and expects his younger reader base to understand and appreciate mature musings of the world.

"The Fault in Our Stars" is a heartbreaking story that pulls on heartstrings. But it's also much much more than that. Instead of just a compelling story, it is a compelling story that's written beautifully. I found myself on several occasions rereading some of my favorite lines, just because the way the sentences are put together is brilliant. I couldn't possibly adequately convey the beauty that are the words on those pages.

And it is beautifully written during the humorous parts, the more somber parts, as well as the thoughtful parts. Not to mention, the balance between these three is perfection.

Extraordinary read! Five stars and two thumbs up for this one! Definitely the best of the year so far.

WIN!

More failure, but also some win! Also: incoherent ranting.

So I went with my friend to the library already a couple weeks ago now. I decided to try a little harder to honor a couple items on my (summer) bucket list and grabbed an "Italian for Dummies" book and a nonfiction (my goal is to read 5 this year, since this is a genre I'd like to read more of).

Let me give you a little summary of how those have been going....

I think I've now opened the Italian book twice, and that was right after I got it. Sigh. I would love to be able to say things in Italian, but I'm way too stinkin' lazy to actually go through the learning process on any more languages. After 7 or 8 years learning German, I'm all "languaged" out!

As for the nonfiction, I picked up a biography on Princess Diana. I was actually pretty excited to read it; I think the lives of royal families are fascinating, especially Di's. And, you know, it's not all that bad. In fact, I'd go as far as to say it's interesting. However, I've been chugging along slowly for a couple weeks and, at this point, I'm more interested in finishing so I can read my next book (one of the many I've bought irresponsibly) than because I'm enjoying it. I also know I will not be able to finish it by the time it's due at the library, so I'm calling this one a fail and moving on.

In other news, I started a new job at a cafe inside a book store and I love it! Perfect environment for me. It's taking some time to learn all the drinks, but I can't be too hard on myself because I've never worked at a coffee place before.

Anyway, on Sunday, the power in our entire half of the mall went out! It was a little hectic, until they told me I could leave a couple hours early! Which meant I got to get a head start driving down to my cousin's grad party (which was about 45 minutes away). It was a whole lotta win until my power steering went out... and then my AC (and OF COURSE it was sweltering out that day). Long story short I was able to drive it to a car place near my aunt and uncle's house, but I had to stay overnight with NO overnight stuff. Boo.

But. BUT! I ended up just being really glad my car broke down (my parents agreed to pay for it and it all worked out in the end) because I got to spend an extra day with the fam, which included my grandparents in town from South Carolina. It was so great. Reminded me of my childhood when the whole family (all 20 of us) would rent a beautiful house on the beach every summer. Good times!

Here's a gem from almost 20 years ago! Probably one of the first years of the traditional vacay. My cousin is plopping sand in my hair.... In typical Holden Beach fashion! (Fun Fact: the baby in the background is the one who just graduated. Time flies!)

I also scored TONS of yummy grad party leftovers. WIN!

Spending all that time with my aunt and uncle, grandparents, and cousins was so great. It hit me that I've been focusing too much on what I don't have for too long, and it's time to start appreciating what I do have. I grew up being really close with my extended family. It's tough sometimes that they live all over the country: Arizona, Delaware, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin. As we've grown older, it's been much harder to get together and we go much longer between visits.

Sometimes I feel sorry for myself that I don't have a huge circle of friends, the perfect roommate, or lots of family that lives close by. But I have much much more than so many people, and when I think of my friends and family, I think of each of them so fondly! I know I couldn't possibly be more lucky and blessed. Nobody's perfect, but my friends and family are all pretty great!