I love books.
When I was making my 2012 goals, I wanted to set a few personal ones, in addition to the business goals I set for myself. One of my personal goals for this year is to read 50 books. It doesn't matter the type of book: business, mystery, romance, self-help... whatever the genre, these will be books that I get to read for fun, for me.
In January, I read these 5 books:
October Fest by Jess Lourey
*This book is the 6th book in the Murder by Month series by Jess Lourey. I stumbled upon this series at my library when I read all the books written by two authors in the same aisle, and needed to find new material to read. I am so glad I found this series. The books are set in rural Minnesota, and are full of Minnesota humor.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I am a little late to the game in reading this book. I actually saw the movie earlier this year and loved it. Typically, I read the books first, but I loved the movie so much, I wanted to give the book a try. This is the one book/movie set that I think are equally good. The book is amazingly written and I was captivated the whole time. Plus, having seen the movie before, I had a better visual of the characters than if I was making them up in my mind. It's hard for me to believe those things in the book happened in the early 1960's. My parents were kids then; it wasn't that long ago!
The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks
I'm a long time fan of Nicholas Sparks books, and of his movies too. I got this book from my mother-in-law, after she had bought and read it. I loved this book. It was raw, real, and because it dealt with high school sweethearts, it tugged at my heartstrings especially much. The book ended in the typical Laura-with-a-soggy kleenex fashion, like most of his books do. A definite must read.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This book has been out for a long time now, and I don't know why I just got around to reading it now. I was a little skeptical of whether I could get into it or not, because I have a hard time with fantasy, sci fi, non-realistic stuff. I thought this book was going to be more like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, but I had clearly never read the blurb for the book. I LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down. The circus has never been more intriguing to me and I was fascinated by everything in the book. I haven't seen the movie yet, but it is now on our Netflix queue.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
This book is from 2002 and I know there's a movie out now too. I haven't seen it yet, and am not sure if I will. I heard mixed reviews about it. This book was heart-wrenching. The opening sentence for this book just hooks you and pulls you right in. I couldn't put it down and read voraciously for 2 days straight. As I read the last several chapters, I felt a sad longing in my heart, for Susie because of the crime that took place. For her family, to have to learn to carry on without her, learning to let go. I dreamt about the book all night last night, and honestly, didn't sleep very well. Only the most well written and moving books do that to me.
I've got a stack of books waiting for me to read them, so I'll be continuing with these recaps as I move through my 50 [or more] books in 2012. Do you have any great books you've just read? I'd love some recommendations!
