The Wonders of Tolkien

Sansa had to resort to sleeping because I couldn't put these books down!

Currently Reading: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

As part of my 50 reads for 2014 I read the Lord of the Rings series and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. As you can see by my photos of the books and my dog Sansa, I read the books released when the movies came out. I purchased these for $1 or $2 at my used book store. I hope to get nicer versions one day for my collection, but these are the ones I read. First, why did it take me so many years to read these books? I recently got into the fantasy genre. Up until a few years ago the books I read were always fiction, chick lit, classics, etc. I read Stephen King in high school, but I steered clear of the fantasy section. I didn't have anyone pushing these books into my hands. I knew they existed and had something to do with dwarves and hobbits but I wasn't interested. Then I read Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin and became hooked and read the rest of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. So I became more open to different genres and decided that I wanted to read Tolkien's books.

Now, what can be said about these beloved books that hasn't been said already? Not much, I'm sure. I loved these books and couldn't put them down. I laughed and cried along with them. The landscapes were so vividly painted that you feel like you are walking, fighting, riding along with the characters.

The relationships and interactions between the characters are given such attention as well. You could very well be sitting at the table along side them in conversation. The friendships are given so much care and attention. You end the book yearning for someone who would follow you to Mordor and back to help you with your impossible task. Oh, how I love these books. These will be books I will reread throughout my life. This has to be the greatest adventure ever told and I am so, so thankful that I read it.

Four Reads I Wouldn't Recommend

                      


Unfortunately, for me, my 2014 reading started out with several books that didn't thrill me. Sometimes you go through a slump when choosing books and these four represent mine at the beginning of the year. What was the reasoning behind each choice? Allegiant I read as a third installment of the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. Her Kind and The Madman's Daughter were quick kindle reads I went to when The Rules of Engagement became too boring. I am not one to tell someone to definitely not read a book, because everyone is different and enjoys different reads, but these four books are nowhere near my favorites.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

I had mistakenly come across some chatter that the third book in this series had a disappointing ending. The words heartbreaking, unfair, tragic were used. I managed to miss the cause for the upset readers so as not to spoil the ending. I won't spoil it for you either. This series what a bit of a different feel for me. Usually my favorite book of a series is the second or third book in. For example my favorite book from The Hunger Games series is Catching Fire. My favorite book from A Song of Ice and Fire is Clash of Kings. I think this is because the important characters and places and storyline have been introduced and you get to really enjoy the dialogue, drama, action, etc. The set up is over and it's time for the show. When it comes to the Divergent trilogy it turns out that the first book, Divergent, is my favorite. Divergent hooked me right away. The world and characters Roth created were so interesting. I sped through the book hungrily to see what would happen next. Insurgent was an enjoyable read but had started to lose some of the shine that the first book had. By the time I read Allegiant I felt my excitement for the series had stalled. Roth's choice to alternate point of views between Tris and Tobias was also frustrating. After reading exclusively from Tris for two books it was a bit confusing. The most troubling part of this was that the two narrators had identical voices. I regularly had to look at the beginning of the chapter to remind myself which character was telling the story. Their voices were so similar and difficult to distinguish from once you were in the middle of the chapter. I read numerous books with alternating narrators and never had that problem before. Allegiant had other issues. I think the scope became too large and she was trying to tell too much. It felt stretched and strained. It was a relief and a disappointment when I finished this book.

Her Kind by Robin Throne
This book was recommended to me by goodreads.com. I picked it up on the kindle store for $3. I was intrigued by the description of a 90 year old woman compiling a journal reflecting on her family's history. The book was put together with reflections and newspaper clippings. Nothing was really explained and I found myself rereading sections trying to figure out which generation was being described. I was lost most of this book and didn't enjoy the writing style. I'm struggling to remember details because it didn't leave that much of an impression on me.

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
I wanted to like this book, oh how I wanted to like this book. This book was inspired by H.G. Wells' book The Island of Dr. Moreau. I looked for this book at my local bookstore for a few months before buying it on my kindle. I was thinking it would be the next series I could really get into. Juliet Moreau is an interesting character and narrator and the premise of the book is interesting. There are several mysteries, what is her father doing on this island, how much is her love interest involved, what's the deal with the new guy? Once the love triangle is introduced and a few other, for lack of a better word, silly things happen it lost me. When you top the ending off with an out of character and disappointing choice you lose me as a reader. I read some reviews of the second book in the series to see if it improved and gleaned from the reviewers that the second installment was worse. So I won't be wasting my time on delving into more of that story.

The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner
I found this book at my local used book store. The description promised a tale of friendship, jealousy, and love. It didn't deliver on any. The narrator seemed to glide through her life in apathy. She didn't seem to have much love or care for her husband, friend, or the man she was sleeping with. I didn't particularly like or feel for any of the characters. I became frustrated with the narrator for her choices and actions. It didn't interest me or hook me but I kept reading hoping it would. With this book, I gave myself a goal of a certain number of pages per day so I could finish on time. After I finished the pages I would pick up another book to read. It didn't interest me and I think it will be a long time if I ever read another book by Brookner again.

Slump
Those are the books that were the slump that began my 2014 reading. But they would all quickly be forgotten as I started on my journey to middle earth.

Review of The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

My dog Sansa enjoying a relaxing read.

The first book I read in 2014 was The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. This book was recommended to me by gooodreads.com and I received it as a Christmas present. For the first half of this book I could not put it down. I was reading it every chance I had. But, I enjoyed it less and less as I got towards the end.

What I Liked
The background of this book is fascinating. Grissom and her husband bought and restored a plantation tavern in Virginia. This ended up being the inspiration for the book. She takes details found from local history as well as items plucked from her imagination while spending time on her property. I really like this premise and inspiration and the first half of the book is done so well. There are great characters and details and you just want to keep reading. The main character, Lavinia, was orphaned on her passage over from Ireland and ends up at a tobacco plantation in Virginia. She lives in the kitchen house and is cared for by Belle, the master's illegitimate black daughter. There are intriguing secrets and and twists that keep you wanting more.

What I Didn't Like
Lavinia is painted as an innocent girl. Because of this certain people in her life keep important information from her. This is a well-known theme for novels. Hide the truth to protect someone, someone finds out part of the truth and makes assumptions that are worse than the original truth. As a result of her innocence or ignorance she makes a series of bad decisions. She continues to make bad decision after bad decision. It becomes grating and frustrating. You want her to grow up and take responsibility. But she ambles through the second half of the novel right into the tragedy that's teased at the beginning. All of the unhappy events that happened throughout the book had wrung my heart and worn me down so much I had trouble caring about the tragedy at all. Done differently, I think the story could have built up better to the main event and it would have been a much more entertaining and engaging read.

Recommend? 
I gave this book 3 stars. As disappointing as the second half was, I live for books that have me hooked like the beginning of this book did. It's a thrill and one of the reasons I love to read. I wouldn't recommend to rush out and read this book, but if you happen upon it at a good price, give it a read!

Goal: Read 50 Books in a Year.

Currently Reading: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

Reading is a big part of my life. It always has been. My Mom began reading to me when I was very young, even though people teased her for it saying I wouldn't get anything from it yet. Now, with the advances in early childhood education we can see that she was correct. I've always been a reader and I owe that to my Mom. 

I use goodreads.com to keep track of the books I've read and want to read. This site has introduced me to so many books! goodreads.com has a reading challenge. You can decide how many books you'd like to read in a year and set it as your goal. goodreads will track your progress and tell you how many books behind or ahead of schedule you are.

For 2014 I decided to set a goal of 50 books. I reasoned it would be about a book a week give or take. Some books will take longer and some I will finish in a day or two. The picture of the stack of books above are some books that will be included in my 50 reads. I have a mix of genres and lengths. 

I was fortunate for Christmas and my birthday this year that my loved ones gave me books as gifts. When I finish a book I can easily pick up another. I am currently one book ahead of schedule. As of today I have read 9 books towards my goal of 50. In future blog posts I will give a short review of those 9 books to catch you up with me. 

My plan was to take each book's number of pages and divide it by 7 to assign myself a certain number of pages a day. This worked quite well when I was struggling through Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner. But once I got into the Lord of the Rings trilogy I was reading more than my assigned amount on most days. So for now I've put the assignment aside, but if I get behind schedule I'll pick it up again.

goodreads.com is a good motivator. I'm quite competitive with myself and I like to stay ahead of schedule. It helps to motivate me to read. I'm a reader and I love books. But sometimes after a long day of work or chores it is more appealing to veg out watching House of Cards on Netflix than to venture off into Middle Earth.

The 9 books I've read so far: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom, Allegiant by Veronica Roth, The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd, Her Kind by Robin Throne, Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. Reviews and tidbits on those coming soon!

Happy Reading!

The Fitted Sheet Merry-Go-Round

I imagine that many folks spend a lot of time deciding on the content of their first blog post. It should set a tone of what readers can expect. It should be witty and impressive. It should have to do with the title of the blog. 

Ok, well mine sort of has to do with the title of the blog since this could be classified as a "blonde moment." Growing up I always resented that I was a blonde. I became tired of blonde jokes and feeling like people assumed that I was ditzy or not smart because of my hair color. When in fact, I was quite a serious child. My silliness didn't bloom fully until I was in my twenties. Anyways, I learned to laugh at the blonde stereotype and embrace it. Sometimes it's ok to have a "blonde moment." 

From the first time I was told to make my bed I have had a sort of mental block about putting on a fitted sheet. You know the drill. Put a corner under pull it from the top right to the bottom right and it's too short! Ok, take a corner and put it on the bottom right and take it to the bottom left, it's too long! What happened? This is the fitted sheet merry-go-round. I am ashamed to admit how many times I did this over the years. I never looked for a solution because once the bed was made it flitted right out of my head as I promptly grabbed a book to read on my freshly made bed.

I'm here to tell you there's a quick fix. There is a light at the end of this tunnel! When I finally did it and stopped the fitted sheet merry-go-round I felt quite stupid for not doing it earlier. No, not make my husband do the laundry. Buy striped sheets! So simple! Vertical, horizontal, or some print that has a top and bottom will work. Do not buy plaid or you will be doing the fitted sheet merry-go-round: plaid edition. 

I know, it's sad it took me as many years as it did to solve this problem. But, this is me! I believe everyone has a similar issue now and then. We're human. Sometimes we have moments.