the end of national book month

We are coming to the end of October and thus the end of National Book Month! I have loved reviewing a few of my favorite books and I hope a few people out there give them a try. You won't regret it! (Especially if you tried A Long, Long Time Ago). National Book Month inspired me to update my Goodreads profile and get back on track with my reading lists. Sometimes I get lazy and just walk around the library and pick something with an interesting cover (this can be disastrous) or go to my favorite fall backs like the Harry Potter series or something about Abe Lincoln.  

Because I have really enjoyed reflecting on some of my favorite books I have decided to create a monthly blogger book club. Thinking about writing a review makes me more aware of what I'm reading and I think that makes me enjoy and appreciate it more. I will list the book of the month the first Tuesday of the month and then review it the last Thursday of the month. I would love to have you all read along and then link up with me at the end of the month with your own thoughts. For the month of November I'm going to be reading The Book Thief. 

Maybe you have a reading list of your own? Add my pick to your list, or link up and tell us what you read for that month if you choose a different book or suggest a book on your list for our monthly book club! Grab a button, grab a book and link up with us on November 29th!

Happy reading!

                                                                                  

Book Review

Today, just two books for you! Both of which involve the medical field but in a way a Humanities student can eat up.

First, a book I read at the recommendation of my other-in-law. Mark Salzman, made famous by The Soloist, also wrote Lying Awake. Lying Awake is a gorgeous book about Sister John's experience with disease, visions and faith. Sister John experiences visions of the divine that are accompanied by terrible headaches, leading her to seek medical advice. The doctor concludes that the visions may be responsible for her visions, leaving Sister John to make a heart wrenching decision. Salzman words are gorgeous and thought provoking, making Lying Awake a personal favorite. 

I would rate this novel Family Friendly.

My second pick for today was the assigned book for all incoming Freshman at Utah State my year. 

Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawand, is a medical book but a definite page turner. I tend to hate science and can't stomach blood but this book was amazing! Gawande gives a candid account of his own medical cases while exploring the limits of medicine. Offering a view straight from the surgeon, Gawande creates an intriguing look into medicine. Danny also loved this book and I would recommend it for everyone but especially as a gift for your pre-med school goers.  

I would also rate this book Family Friendly.

What are you reading?

Read America

Today I'm going to tell you about one of my favorite book series! It is called The Hunger Games. Just kidding. Even though that is one of my favorite book series, I know everyone has read it, loved it, seen it. (Seriously, how great is the casting for the movies!) 

One of my favorite book series was a recent discovery. Did you ever read The Giver by Lois Lowry? You probably did and hopefully you loved it like I did. Did you know it was the first book of a series? Maybe I'm the last person on Earth to discover this fact but I'm so glad I did! The girls in my family drove through the Midwest recently and on the way home we read The Giver. My mom hated the ending and pointed out that it must be a part of a series. I googled it and to my great surprise, she was right. How did a teacher new tell me that? The series consists of The Giver, Gathering Blue, The Messenger, and Son. 

I won't go in to detail about each of them but I will say that this is a beautiful series and a unique one. It isn't like Harry Potter or the Hunger Games because it isn't the continuation of a single story line. New characters,  new settings, new plots, same theme. I LOVE them. They are all really quick reads not only because they are short but because they are hard to put down. I'm still undecided on which of the books are my favorite, The Giver has been a long time love so it has an unfair advantage but the other books are putting up a good fight. 

These books are young reader fiction but a few things in them are a little disturbing so I would rate them Family Friendly.

Because of this new discovery I am moved to have people share their favorites. Don't let me go another 15 years not knowing one of my favorite books of all time belongs to a series! Reading a book you love? Have a favorite that you want everyone on the planet to enjoy? Link up so we can read it too!

get the InLinkz code

                                                                                             

A Few Favorites

As I mentioned last week, October is National Book Month! Each week this month I will be chatting about a few of my favorite books as well as a few new books I'm reading this month. If you want to join the movement you can grab our "Read America" button  to share on your blog. 

My sister-in-law introduced me to one of my very favorite books last summer. It's called A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka. It is a book surrounding two main story lines and it flips back and forth between them. The story is based on two women (a grandmother and a granddaughter) that live in Poland before WWII and then modern day. I usually don't like reading books based on or near WWII because they make me sad and can tend to be really graphic. This book is gorgeous! Seriously, one of the most moving and gorgeous books I have ever read. Here is the description from the back of the book:

"On the eve of World War II, in a place called Half-Village, a young man nicknamed the Pigeon falls in love with a girl fabled for her angelic looks. To court Anielica Hetmanskáhe offers up his “golden hands” and transforms her family’s modest hut into a beautiful home, thereby building his way into her heart. War arrives to cut short their courtship, delay their marriage, and send the young lovers far from home, to the promise of a new life in Kraków.

Nearly fifty years later, their granddaughter, Beata, repeats their postwar journey, seeking a new life in her grandmother’s fairy-tale city. But instead of the whispered prosperity of the New Poland, she discovers a Kraków caught between its future and its past.

Whimsical, wise, beautiful, magical, and at times heartbreaking, A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True weaves together two remarkable stories, reimagining half a century of Polish history through the legacy of one unforgettable love affair."

This review is beautiful but it also makes the book seem like a major love story. It is an amazing, amazing story about love. But it is a story about real love, trials, a torn up country and a family trying to put itself back together again.  I'd rate this book adult for language, drug reference and a violent scene (though not graphic or excessive).  

Book Number Two:

The second book I would highly recommend is My Grandfather's Blessings by Rachel Remen. Rachel Remen is a doctor that spent her career treating cancer patients and counseling terminally ill patients. Remen grew up in a scientific house of doctors but at a young age was heavily influenced by her spiritual grandfather who was a rabbi. Remen connects the experiences with her patients to not only the teachings of her grandfather but to ancient Hebrew beliefs and stories in order to weave a beautiful and moving book full of inspiration. This book is not a plot line but a makeup of hundreds of experiences and stories from her life that she uses to underline those blessings her grandfather spoke of. Chapter by chapter Remen unveils the blessings in our lives we don't receive, the gifts we we give to others, and how we all bless life. 

Danny read this book before me and he was so moved by it he bought a copy, wrote me a beautiful inscription and asked me to read it. I generally don't like books that come off sounding like "self-help" books or that don't have a plot line but I'm so grateful he gave me this book. It is gorgeous in its prose but mostly it makes me more and more grateful for the blessings that I never realized I had. 

I'd rate this book family friendly.

                                                                                      

                                                                                                 

National Book Month

Why do I love October? Pumpkins, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin rolls.....oh and, fall leaves, jeans, boots, sweaters, the air, apple cider, Halloween, and pumpkin carving.

But another reason I love October is because it is National Book Month! So in honor of this beloved month, I'm going to post about one of my favorite books each week.

(I will just say now that the Harry Potter series is my all time favorite. I read the entire series every year. This past year D and I have read them together and it has been so much fun. Every night we read a chapter but we also read them on our drives to see our families. If you travel a lot or just feel like you and the husband are stuck in a rut of watching TV all the time, seriously pick a series and read it together. You will love it.)

Now, that I have made my HP obsession known, I will move on and not just pick a different HP book to talk about each week. I will pick a book I personally love, a book that's fun and a book that is on my list. That being said I will also rate the books for you content wise so no one gets surprised.

• Child's Play: No language, no sex, no fun. Just kidding. Seriously, I'm just kidding!! (Ex: The Chronicles of Narnia)
• Family Friendly: mild/suggestive language or violence (Ex: Harry Potter)
• Mature: medium language, violence or drug use (Ex: Their Eyes Were Watching God)
• Adult: extreme language (F Bomb) on more than one occasion, graphic sex/violence/drug use        (Ex: Bossy Pants by Tina Fey)

One really great thing about being graduated is all the reading time I have for books I have been waiting to read for years! I signed up for my local library card and I visit it between 3-4 a week. Not always to get a new book but sometimes just to read in the atmosphere and get out of the house since I work from home. Books have been a long time escape of mine and I plan on a life long love affair.

I'm excited to get posting and to hear what your favorite books are! This is the month! You know that book you have been "meaning to read" for the last eight months? Pick it up, go to the library, download to your fancy kindle, borrow from a friend, get your hands on a great book and join me in celebrating National Book Month!