March Books

Thank goodness for Audible, or I would've completely failed at reading this month!  It was a very busy March, and I had things going on every weekend.  So I really just didn't have much time to sit down and actually read a book.

Alas, here's what I did "read" in March:

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really loved this book! I think it might be tied with FanGirl for my favorite Rainbow Rowell book.

I also listened to this one on Audible. I was thrilled that the narrator from FanGirl and Landline was back to read Eleanor's sections of the book. I liked that this book had a male narrator for Park's sections of the book.

I honestly don't have anything specific that I liked or disliked about the story. I just really enjoyed the book! Really deep, I know. But that's how it is. :)



Tarnish by Katherine Longshore

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I can't say that I loved this book, but I did like it. Tarnish is the story of Anne Boleyn before she becomes fully entangled with King Henry VIII.

I have read book after book on Henry VIII English court, many of them by Philippa Gregory, and I've read many others about Anne Boleyn. I felt like this one didn't quite "fit" with what I feel I've learned about her through other authors. Of course, this is historical FICTION, and a lot of what is presented in the books I've read is speculation. I think that overall, the other books I've read by different authors have paralleled each other more.

Since I listened to this book on Audible, I can say that I did enjoy the narrator.

February Books

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I was actually pretty disappointed with this book. I've LOVED the last two Rainbow Rowell books that I listened to on Audible, and this one just fell flat with me. I listened to it pretty quickly mostly because I just wanted to know what happens so I could move on. So I was interested enough in the story line, but I just didn't love this book. I guess I didn't hate it either, so there's that.

I didn't enjoy the narrator of this book. Since the majority of the actual story line was from the perspective of the male character, Lincoln, I think having a male narrator--at least for Lincoln's parts of the story would have made MUCH more sense. I also found the e-mail segments between Beth and Jennifer to be annoying at times. Perhaps, if I had read the book in print, it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but having a narrator constantly saying "Beth to Jennifer" or "Jennifer to Beth" after short one line emails got pretty irritating. It was like having someone read the script to a play while reading each character's name before speaking. While I also understand that this is fiction, I found the ending to be a bit ridiculous and far-fetched.

I did enjoy some of the interactions between characters in the book. The interactions between Beth and Jennifer actually reminded me of myself and a friend. I did have a few moments where I briefly laughed aloud at some of the things that the characters said and did, but ultimately, I didn't feel truly invested in them.

I went with three stars instead of two because I think some of my dislike of this book was due to it being the audio version, so I felt like it was a bit too harsh to go with two stars.


Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman by Dorothy Sterling

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I am currently searching for a nonfiction novel to add to my 6th grade classroom repertoire for the coming school year. Freedom Train by Dorothy Sterling is the first book that I have read, and it is DEFINITELY a contender.

I enjoyed reading the story of Harriet Tubman. Of course, I have heard of Harriet and her role in helping slaves escape along the Underground Railroad, but there was so much about her that I didn't know! She played a major part in not only helping slaves escape but in the Civil War. I found this book to be incredibly interesting, and there are so many possibilities for making this an exciting and enriching experience for my students!


All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


If I could, I would give this book 3.5 stars. I was torn between a 3- and 4-star rating on this one, and I think that 3.5 is EXACTLY how I feel about it.

I did enjoy this book, but I didn't love it. As I neared the end of the book, I became much more interested to know what happens to Werner and Marie-Laure, and I finished it very quickly. If you want a true World War II story, I don't know that this one really qualifies. It's more about what is taking place with each of these characters that happen to be living in Europe during WWII. I did like both of these characters and wanted to know how things would turn out for them.

One of the things I did not like was that the book jumped back and forth a lot. Not only are chapters switching between the stories of Marie-Laure and Werner, but they are also jumping back from the present setting of the book (1944) and things that happened leading up to that point. Sometimes, I got confused and had to go back to find out what year I was reading about. I think I might have enjoyed it more with a more chronological telling of the story.



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What did  you read this month?

January Books

So I'm off to a great start for my 2016 Goodreads Book Challenge.  I have already read 4 books in January, and I'm 2 books ahead of schedule.  My goal this year is to read 40 books since I read 36 last year!

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved this book! I listened to Landline on Audible. The narrator was the same as my first Rainbow Rowell book, FanGirl. At first, I had a little trouble adjusting to her as Georgie and not Cath, but I quickly got over that!

I really enjoyed how the story moved between Georgie's past and present. When she first used the landline to call her husband, I was so confused. I actually rewound the book because I was sure that I had missed something. I was annoyed at first, but then I kind of liked that I was just as confused as Georgie was.

This book had me hooked and kept me wanting to know what would happen and how things would work out! So glad I gave it a listen!


Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I don't even think I can say how much I am loving this series. Drums of Autumn has so many ups and downs in the lives of Jamie, Claire, and now adding more focus on Brianna and Roger. I cannot wait to continue reading more!



The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read this book very quickly. I don't know that it lived up to all of the hype that it received, but I definitely enjoyed the book!

I liked that the story was told from three points of view: Rachel, Megan, and Anna. Even though the story definitely focused on Rachel, I believe that the other two women are essential to developing the story. I had a lot of sympathy for Rachel and her broken heart and struggle with alcohol addiction. It struck me how she had difficulty with her credibility due to her drinking and blackouts.

I can truly say that I didn't find this story predictable, and as the end unfolded, I was actually coming to realizations right along with Rachel.

Definitely a good read!


The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have been obsessed with the Tudor court since I read "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory. Since then, I've not only devoured ALL of her other books on the subject but also those on the Cousins' War.

With that being said, I am always looking for more historical fiction on this topic and am willing to give any author a chance! "The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn" did not disappoint. I love making connections between other speculation I've read about this time period. The story shares Anne's thoughts from a perspective that I haven't experienced before, and I enjoyed the connections it made with Queen Elizabeth I during her reign.

I wasn't thrilled with the voice of the narrator on this Audible listen or I might have given this 5 stars.



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December Books

So technically, December is not over, but I will not have any more books finished, before the month is over.  I thought it would be fun to go ahead and wrap up this month by sharing my December books today!

I was annoyed that I didn't finish this first book in November.  I finished it on December 1st.  I almost cheated and made it a November book, but I didn't.  I kept it real.  ;)

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I listened to this book on Audible. And it was LONG. It was over 30 hours, and I had hoped to finish it in November, but that just didn't happen.

Overall, I found it interesting to hear about Jobs's life. As a consumer who loves both my iPhone and iPad, I was interested in knowing more about the founder and person of Steve Jobs.

At times, though, the narrative was confusing and dull. There were times that Isaacson jumped back in time after we'd progressed years in the future. Or he jumped ahead in time to mention a future event that would occur with a person in Jobs's life at that moment in the biography. I didn't really care for this style. As Jobs was a very significant business man, there were numerous people coming in and out of his life both personally and professionally, and it was hard to keep it straight! Jobs was also a jerk, and sometimes it made me angry to hear about how he treated people!

I didn't really care for the narrator much, and since Isaacson himself recording the introduction and epilogue for the book, I wish that he would have performed the whole reading.

My final thought is that this wasn't a great book, but it wasn't awful either.


Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a refreshing "read" (aka listen) after my last book on Audible. For starters it wasn't 30 hours long, which got things off to a great start.

I wanted to keep listening to this book. I really liked Cath's character, and I could sympathize with her freshman year of college struggles.

I will say, though, that I was disappointed with the ending. The story just seemed to stop. I didn't feel like there was really a resolution. It ended with a piece of Cath's writing, but I don't feel like it wrapped the story up. This is why I gave it 4 stars.

Overall, though, I really did like this book!

The Chimes by Charles Dickens

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This was a free gift from Audible to their subscribers this year. It was a short listen (under 4 hours), and it was free, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I was feeling pretty tired when I was listening to this story, and listening to this on my commute was not the best of ideas. I found myself struggling to stay awake, and since I was driving, that was a bit of an issue.

I found this story incredibly confusing. The main character is referred to by two names, and a lot of times, I got lost in what was happening. When "Trotty" goes up to the bell tower, I got completely lost and the story made essentially no sense to me until the very end. So I would say that overall, I get what took place in the story, but I didn't enjoy it.

Dickens should have stuck with A Christmas Carol.


Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Another great book in the Outlander series! This one kept me riveted from start to finish, made me laugh, and moved me to tears.



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Not only does that wrap things up for December, but it also wraps up my books for 2015!  I set a goal to read 30 books this year, and I actually knocked it out of the park and read 36!

Based on that "performance," I'm going to up the ante in 2016.  My goal is going to be 40 books.

How did you do with  your reading goals this year?