Archive for the Category »Reading «

Jan
15
02.52: Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
Manda

I read this book because before we went to see the movie last year, I was CONVINCED I’d read it. The movie started, and I was like “Oh, they must have changed this part.” LOL. NO, dude, I hadn’t read it yet. I liked the movie, and I liked the book. In true Nicholas Sparks fashion (at least from what I know of the few Nicholas Sparks books I’ve read), it’s really happy and really sad. Or happy with an air of sadness.

The book is different than the movie, but I like them both equally. The differences between the book and the film aren’t enough to ruin anything for me (ahem, Twilight), but I wish I would’ve read the book first. I kept picturing the characters as the actors who portrayed them in the movie & I think that kind of took something away. I like to be able to picture my own characters, and I just couldn’t.

4 out of 5 stars. All in all, I’d recommend this book to just about anybody, especially if you like to read great love stories. Have a box of tissues handy, though.

Category: 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Entertainment, Reading  Tags: , , , , ,  One Comment
Jan
13
Two of My Favorite Things
Manda

013.365: Lunch break

This is how I spent my lunch break today. Knitting & reading. I love that I’m working on something simple & mindless enough that I can read a book. I wish the book would stay open a little easier… there’s a lot of fidgeting involved with trying to read this book while I knit, but I’m not willing to give it up. lol. :) The book is pretty good. There are differences from the movie, but not enough (at least not yet) that I can say one is better than the other. I guess I’ll come to that conclusion when I’m done. I’m about halfway through, and to keep on track for the “52 Books in 52 Weeks” challenge, I have to finish it by tomorrow. I don’t know if that will happen, but you never know. :)

I finished the Binder of Doom, finally. It ended up having to be TWO Binders of DOOM, and I almost had a party when they were done. I MAY have danced a little bit. Today was playing catch up on all the stuff I got behind on last week, and I got done with everything that should have been done through yesterday, so not too bad. I was a typing fiend today. The next few days will hopefully be quiet, and then we get to do it all over again next week.

BTW – I spent most of today thinking it was Wednesday. I didn’t start out thinking that way, but by the time I got off work, I was really excited that tomorrow would be Thursday & I would get to go to Knit Night. I was so excited, I even told Joe, and he’s like “Umm, yeah, it’s Tuesday.” Oops!

Category: A Day in the Life, Entertainment, On the Needles, Project 365, Reading  Leave a Comment
Jan
04
01.52: The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts
Manda

I finally finished my first book of the year, and I think it was kind of a dud. It was nice to have closure on the trilogy, but it all just seemed to end sort of.. abruptly, especially considering all they had to go through to get that far. It just seemed a bit anticlimactic.

It was nice to see the last couple come into their relationship, and a lot of it was kind of predictable, but it was a nice entertaining read. This trilogy is much darker than the other romance trilogies that Nora Roberts is known for, and I think it was an interesting change. I just wish the final book was as good as the first two.

2.5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it if you’ve read the first two books, Blood Brothers and The Hollow to finish out the series.

Category: 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Entertainment, Reading  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment
Nov
04
Big Book Day
Manda

Not only is tomorrow a big day historically, it’s also a big day for Books!

Books are usually released on Tuesdays, and this Tuesday is going to be a big one. Two of the series I read are releasing their next installments.

Ever since I started knitting, my reading has really gone by the wayside, but the “In Death” series by JD Robb always brings me back to it. Where will I be tomorrow? At the book store, picking up the next one! :D

Check out the latest installment, Salvation in Death. If you’re a Nora Roberts fan, the final installment of the Sign of Seven trilogy (The Pagan Stone) is out later in the month, too. I also read Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry and Anita Blake series (serieses? lol). Swallowing Darkness, the latest installment in the Merry Gentry series, comes out tomorrow, too! I’m two books behind on that series though, so I don’t know if I’ll pick that one up, but this month seems to be a great month for new releases if you like to read. :)

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Jul
16
All About Books
Manda

I don’t remember which blog I stole this from… I was reading in bloglines, and I just copy/pasted to an email so I’d remember to fill it out. I forgot to note the blog where I saw it! Sorry!

1. One book that made you laugh: Any books in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich make me laugh OUT LOUD… even if I’m in public. lol
2. One book that made you cry: Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson and Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
3. One book that you loved as a child: My favorite kids’ book is Go Dog Go! As an older child, I was a fan of the Nancy Drew series, and I read a TON of the Babysitter’s Club books.
4. One book you’ve read more than once: I don’t like to re-read books.. whenever I do, I remember what happens, and then I stop reading it.
5. One book you loved, but were embarrassed to admit it: I’m not really embarrassed to admit that I love books. I am a sucker for cheesy romance novels, and I loved VC Andrews books through the Ruby series.
6. One book you hated: Animal Farm. It’s the only book I’ve ever thrown away.
7. One book that scared you: The Shining was kinda freaky. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski was also kind of scary to me because it was just so odd. I don’t think I ever finished it, though.
8. One book that bored you: Every book I had to read in high school except the Great Gatsby. The Outlander also bored me until I started listening to it in audiobook form… now I’m excited. :)
9. One book that made you happy: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, even though the series is done. :(
10. One book that made you miserable: I don’t think I’ve ever had a book make me miserable..
11. One book that you weren’t brave enough to read: Most of the books by Stephen King. lol I don’t know why.
12. One book character you’ve fallen in love with: I have three! Roarke from the “In Death” series, Edward from the Twilight Series (and i am NOT afraid to admit it!), and Jean Claude from the Anita Blake series… I have a thing for vampires (except Roarke)… and series. lol
13. The last book you read: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer… the new one comes out in a couple of weeks, and I don’t want to ruin the magic of the last one by reading something in between.
14. The next book you hope to read: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer and The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

Category: Entertainment, Meme-ville, Reading  Tags: ,  Leave a Comment
Jun
04
Project 365
Manda

I don’t even know how many times I have started this stupid project, but I am determined. I started on the 1st day of the month so it would be easier to keep track.

Day 1: The Chronic-what?-cles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

001.365

Day 2: I finished half a pair of socks

002.365 - One down, one to go...

Day 3: Lunch Break with a sammich from Safeway and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. In this picture, I had about half the book to go. Now? Only about 30 pages. I am so BUMMED that I have to wait until August for the next one. I thought it came out this month.

003.365 - lunch break

Category: 101 in 1001, A Day in the Life, Entertainment, Project 365, Reading, Through the Lens  Tags: , , , ,  2 Comments
May
16
What a novel idea…
Manda

So, the last few days have been very busy, hobby-wise, and not with the hobby you THINK I’m going to talk about!

I don’t know what made me want to, but I started picking up books that I was in the middle of and finishing them.

I finished Strangers in Death by JD Robb, finally. I remember starting it off really quickly, but then things happened and I just never got around to it again. Well, I finished what was left of it on my breaks and at work during the day. After Strangers in Death, I picked up 7th Heaven by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro.

I was much further into this book than I thought I was, and honestly, I was sort of disappointed in it. The story lines just seemed to both come from outerspace, and the link between them was weak. It’s probably my least favorite of the Women’s Murder Club series.

After I finished that book, I decided to pick up Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. A bunch of my friends have said very good things about the book, and I do like vampire love stories, so I’m surprised it took me as long as it did to actually get into it. I read the book in about 2 days between reading at work and at home. I don’t have the next books in the series, so I’m having to appease myself with A Stroke of Midnight by Laurel K Hamilton. It’s the 4th book in the Merry Gentry series.

I am itching to start a few new books, but I can’t until I buy them. lol. I’m really wanting to start The Hollow by Nora Roberts. It’s the 2nd book in the Sign of Seven trilogy. Every time I see it at the store, I want to pick it up, but I’m trying to be good and read some books that have been collecting dust on my bookshelf! I also really want to start the next book in the Twilight series, New Moon.

It’s been fun, finding my old favorite hobby again. I’ve missed it, and I didn’t realize how much until I found it again. :)

What are you reading right now?

Category: Entertainment, Reading  Tags: , ,  3 Comments
Feb
03
My First Completed Book of 2008 .. oh, and the Super Bowl
Manda

I finished reading my first book of 2008… Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts, which is the first installment of the Sign of Seven trilogy. Leave it to Nora to get me in a book-reading mood again. I still need to finish Creation In Death by JD Robb/Nora Roberts because the next one comes out in a couple of weeks. James Patterson’s newest book in the Women’s Murder Club series comes out on Monday or Tuesday as well. Can’t. Wait.

Anyway, the book was a pretty good book. I’m a fan of her trilogies, even if they are completely predictable in a sense. It was scary and romantic and full of fantasy, and I wish I didn’t have to wait until MAY for the next one.

–
Also, I love that living on the West Coast means that the Super Bowl starts at a decent time, so even if it takes forever, we won’t be up all night watching football. And the House episode that’s on after the game should be on at a reasonable time, even if the game does take forever. I don’t care who wins, though. Both scenarios kind of give me warm fuzzies…. Undefeated team of the year kicks ass and remains undefeated or the Underdog kicks the Undefeated team’s ass and looks like heros. I have to say, the Patriots looked a little bit like bullies when they came out onto the field. lol.

Oh well, I’m going to knit and wait for the commercials to come on. :)

Category: A Day in the Life, Entertainment, Reading, Television  2 Comments
Sep
24
Fall Into Reading 2007
Manda

Dude, look at me being all posty-post. Fair warning, this will probably be the last post until my birthday. ;) hehehe

I found a link to this “readalong” from my friend Elizabeth. She’s a good knitting buddy friend of mine from DFW. Reading was my Hobby Numero Uno until I started knitting, and with having a job where I have NOTHING. TO. DO, I’ve found myself with a lot of reading time. I think since I’ve started working there, I’ve read about 10 books. Give or take a couple. In fact, in the last week alone, I finished 2 James Patterson books. TWO, people. TWO BOOKS in SEVEN DAYS. I haven’t read that quickly in… I don’t know how long. Anyway, if I read hard cover books that will keep themselves open, I find that I can knit and read at the same time, and it’s been the best thing ever. I’ve gotten a lot of books over the last few weeks, so I’m going to try to knock some out over the fall season.

My fall reading goals are:
1) Finish Danse Macabre. I really, really, really, really, REALLY am tired of LKH’s books being nothing but one big orgy, but I keep reading in hopes that she will bring back the STORY part of her books. I only have maybe 200 pages (probably less) to go in this one, so hopefully I’ll be able to do this.

2) Finish Honeymoon. I read You’ve Been Warned last week, and I picked up The Quickie (an aptly named book because I finished it in no time!) and Honeymoon. The Quickie is finished, and now I’m onto Honeymoon.

(One thing about James Patterson’s books. I LOVE the way he writes. I love that his chapters are maybe three pages long. It makes it so much easier to get through them, because I’m always just like “ohh, one more chapter.” “wait, just one more.” and the next thing you know, the book is finished! lol)

3) Peony in Love“>Peony in Love by Lisa See. I really loved Snow Flower & The Secret Fan, and I’m hoping this one grabs me like that one did.

4) Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

5) A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde, as previously posted about… thanks to DailyLit. It’s due to come to me in 29 parts, so it’ll take about a month or so.

This doesn’t count, but I also have some audiobooks I’d like to get through.

Size 14 is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot
Humble Pie by Gordon Ramsay (LOVE! him!)
Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

I also very highly recommend the book Garden SpellsGarden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. I can’t remember if I blogged about this book or not, but it was just an enchanting story. It was a story of family, and of love, and I just could NOT put it down. Normally I end up giving my books away or taking them to Half Price Books or some similar shop, but this one? This one is a Keeper. I even emailed the author to tell her that I loved her book, and she replied back with a very sweet note. How awesome is that? Her second book is due out in 2008, and I can’t WAIT!

Check out Fall into Reading 2007, and post your Fall reading goals! Leave me a comment if you decide to participate. :D

Happy reading!

Category: Entertainment, Reading  2 Comments
Jul
21
This is what I’ll be doing for a while…
Manda

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows

I just opened it and read the book flap: “We now present the seventh and final installment in the epic tale of Harry Potter.”

Reading that makes me sad and ALMOST makes me not want to read the book. Almost.

Category: Reading  7 Comments
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