My favorite book reads this year:

Okay, I was just on goodreads. By the way, if you aren't a member yet, you should join! I'd love to hear updates on the books you've read and liked as well. So, I was just checking out my reviews and decided to share a few of my favorite books here as well.

Life of Pi: Student Edition by Yann Martel

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
What, I haven't even commented on this, the most amazing book I've ever read. Probably because there are so many other reviews that sum it all up so much better than I can. The first part of the book is hard to get through, but if you can get past that, get ready for the ride of your life such as no other book has taken you to before. Right to the very ending! No other book I have ever read has had such an ending. And that's why this book has had such a huge impact on me. I still don't know which ending I like best, I'm going to have to go back and read it again!


View all my reviews.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
A book about a hermaphrodite, hmmm, why would I want to read that? Well, finally I picked one up at our library book sale and I'm so glad I decided to start reading it. Possibly one of the best narrated books I have ever read. I love how the author addresses the reader several times in the book, it's as if he's telling me the story face to face. I just love everything about his writing style, a breath of fresh air! It is now one of my all time favorite books!


View all my reviews.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Hmm, this book sort of has me speechless. I don't really know what to say about it, except it had me from the beginning. IF this book were ever made into a movie, I don't think I could stand watching it, with the way humans have become....but it's the way the author tells the story of a man and his boy, and how and why they are trying to survive a post apocalyptic world, that drew me in. I wouldn't want myself or any of my loved ones living in a world such as this. It also makes you wonder about God's role in all things, and what reasons he would have for letting the world go to pieces.


View all my reviews.

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
It's always nice when one of those 5 star "It was amazing" books comes along. I love the authors writing style! So eloquent, yet so easy to read. It was also nice to have such a clean young adult fiction book that my girls can read too. The only change I would have made for myself was to realize that this is based on a fairy tale with Mongolian roots and I kept imagining from the beginning that the characters were Caucasian. That messed me up a bit in really understanding the characters. The drawings would always bring me back a bit, but I couldn't change my first misconception. The characters had already been formed in my mind.


View all my reviews.

Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed reading this book, and couldn't wait to see how things would unravel.


View all my reviews.

Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Well written, light, easy read. I'm most impressed that I don't even think there was a swear word in it. Not quite often found in books anymore. I take that back, I went back and found one, LOL! Still would recommend to anyone!


View all my reviews.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I absolutely loved this book, if anyone wants to borrow it, it's on my bookshelf with all my other favorite books!


View all my reviews.

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another book I'm keeping on my bookshelf for good! My favorite part was of course, Italy!


View all my reviews.

This one isn't from this year, but it's amazing, so I had to share it as well:

Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
One of the best books I have ever read. I could just pore over these pages for hours. Really eye opening to the world around us. A must read for every family!


View all my reviews.

The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well, I ignored this book for awhile, because I'm not really a dog kind of person. But this book is not a story about a man and his dog, it is the story of a man and his wife. How they came to meet, what their relationship was like, and why things ended up the way they did.



There were 3 parts that I REALLY loved about this book. Let me just quote the first part of Chapter 20, "When I was a little boy, my mother, who was given to hyperbole, used to tell me that if the world were to come to an end, her last thought would be of me, and she would fling my name out to the heavens as the mortar of the earth burst apart and the ground fell from beneath her feet." That's had me thinking of how our own stories will end. Will we die in the arms of the ones we love right now, or will we have long been separated by time or distance?



Next, I love a game he used to play as a little boy, breaking apart a name and finding what other words could be found inside of it. I decided to try that on my own name: Clarice Applegate, and came away with some interesting words, words like: care, great, grace, peace, real, clear. Try it on your own name! That was an interesting exercise.



But finally towards the end, when he finally discovers his real wife, the moment is so poignant. Why? Because I believe every woman feels a little bit like Lexy did sometimes, and isn't it amazing when a husband can finally see into our minds, and feel how we feel on some level. He finally "gets" it. And that's a wonderful thing!




View all my reviews.