Books

A friend of mine told me about a networking site for books... I've tried it, but really, not many people who read this blog are into that, so... I invite people who read this blog to say what is on their bookshelf.

I just finished a book called "the yada yada prayer group". Somewhat of an uncomfortable book, I must say. I have a hard time NOT finishing a book. I have only stopped reading a book a handful of times due to the content being too weird or too boring. So, I finished it. It was an easy read, which I need sometimes. I like books that give me a challange, I also like books that don't challange me at all (a fact that I had to tell justin is why there are romance novels in the world... For those of us who need an easy read, barely any plot, and all the lovey dovey stuff, ha ha). What this book did challenge me on was my thoughts. I was totally unprepared for was the contact of the religous talk in the book. I believe that I am a woman of faith. I know that my faith differs from others...I am ok with that, some people are not. Soom people have an all or nothing sort of view on faith. It's not to say that I don't have friends who believe in this way, I definitely do, and I love them all the same. Anyways, back to the book... a lot of hard core, evangelical, fundamentalist style of thinking, and it threw me back. Just a little too much talk on Satan as the cause for the bad and not enough responsibility being taken by those making the bad choices. I firmly believe that we are all given the gift of free will, which means, we are given choices and we choose from the possibilities. There was a lot of talk in the book about being sinners, I suppose that was part of the way of "taking responsibility" for the character's actions, but there was also a lot of talk on "don't let Satan in" to make these women do bad choices. Am I wrong in thinking that this is just another excuse? However, that aside, there were many many elements of the book that I did like. The whole idea of a prayer group appeals to me. especially a prayer group of a bunch of women, from different backgrounds, definitely appeals to me. I definitely wish I had a bunch of girlfriends that I got together with, at least once a month, if not once every other week, just to laugh, cry with, have a common bond, and pray together. I've actually been thinking on how I can get this started, but honestly.... I have "started" or "organized" so many things in my life, i'm kind of wanting to just go to something that I can just go to, and not "organize".

On to some other books. I must say, i'm being very eclectic these days. about 2 months ago or so, I read the Twilight Saga... LOVED it, and after seeing the movie for a 2nd time, I think I need to read them again. Yes, sort of transported me back to my teenage years... the movie is a bit cheesy in that way... the older I get, the more distance from being a teenager I get (i guess that is the whole point, right?) and the more i"m glad i'm NOT a teenager any more, but.... sometimes, you just need to go back in time! twlight and harry potter do that for me. but after reading this saga, I read the Golden Compass trilogy - didn't like the first book much... the style of writing just wasn't my thing, but I liked the 2nd one, and the 3rd book, well, it sort of ended weird for me... it just sort of ended. I then read another fantasy/vampire/witches sort of trilogy by nora roberts... the circle trilogy. I really liked it.... definitely more adult... I needed adult, instead of teenage drama at that point. :)

And what am I reading now? well, I"m onto a Bridget Jones sort of book... british, and well, if you've seen the movie, read the book, you probably know what I mean. the book is called "can you keep a secret" and it was free for me (i got it through a book trade that Curves was doing when I was going to the one in Arcata. So, it's not necessarily a spectacular literary read, im sure. I'm not that far in, but...well, we'll see how it goes.

here's to everyone who is reading this and their reading endeavors.

A few of my favorite authors:
Michael Crichton (did anyone else know that he died this year??? so sad, i loved his books)
Gail Tsukiyama
Carolyn G. Heart
Sara Hoskinson Fromer
Nicolas Evans
Stephenie meyer (how could I forget the author of Twilight!)

and many more, but i'm having troubles thinking.... :)