Monday, March 30, 2015

Catching up

So once again, I fall behind. I believe I just have to accept that I'm not going to post on a regular basis and live with it. I have good intentions but they just don't pan out. Oh well, if you are still out there, thank you for hanging in. If not, then I'm writing for myself and that's okay, too.

I found that I was creeping up on the 25 book goal so quickly that I needed to rethink that. I adjusted it upwards to 50 books. Just have to see how that works.

Since my last reading post, I have read 3 books and failed to take a photo before removing them from my Kindle. See how my mind works? I am either rushing, rushing, rushing, or dragging, dragging, dragging. There is no consistency with me. :)

Miramont's Ghost by Elizabeth Hall

This book was a freebie from Amazon and it sounded interesting so I got it. Amazon has a selection of First Books and the first of each month they send an email highlighting 4 books that are being published that month. You are allowed to select 2 at no cost and I have found several really good books through this.

The story is about the life of a French girl who has the gift of premonition. Her grandmother was also gifted with this and was hidden because people didn't understand. She died after giving birth to her second daughter who is Adrienne's mother. The story follows her as she grows up with a loving grandfather, loving governess and a distant mother. There is also a spiteful aunt in the mix with a self serving cousin thrown in for good measure. It follows her from France to America when her aunt takes her to live with her as a maid.

It was a good story and the ending was a surprise which always makes me happy.


The One That Got Away by Simon Wood.

Another freebie from Amazon. It was a really good book even if some of it was a little too far-fetched. It's the story of a girl's struggle to return to normalcy after she and her best friend are  kidnapped. She is able to get out of her bonds and sees her best friend being tortured. She manages to get away and suffers from survivor's guilt as she tries to live her life on her own terms. Unfortunately the person who kidnapped her finds where she is living and starts stalking her, determined to finish what he started. Action packed. A good read.


The Lost City of Z, a Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

A total departure from my normal type of book. First of all, it's non-fiction and I don't usually enjoy that genre unless it's a biography or autobiography. Secondly, it flips back and forth between the 1920's and the 1990's. However, I was totally engrossed and could not put it down. The background story of P. H. Fawcett, the explorer the story is about, was complete and allowed me to understand his obsession with the Amazon forest and his determination to find Z. This was his name for a large civilization he believe existed at one time in the jungle and he spent his life searching for it. Most others call it El Dorado. On his last trip, he took his son and his son's best friend. They were never heard from again. The author goes to the jungle to try to trace his steps and to hopefully, find out what happened to Fawcett. I found this book very interesting and intriguing. While it had lots of information and facts, they were presented in a cohesive form that didn't feel like a struggle to understand.

Reading will probably slow down a bit.  I joined a CAL on Facebook through The Crochet Crowd and I'm working to get caught up on that. I am only able to crochet for a little while each time as I'm finding it makes my hands, arms and shoulders hurt. I learned that lesson the hard way last Thursday. There are 20 squares to do for the first week. Easy, peasy granny squares. I made 15 between Tuesday and Thursday.  By Friday, I couldn't move my arms and was in a lot of pain. So Friday was spent sitting in the recliner doing absolutely nothing, no crocheting, no cross stitch, no playing on the computer, nada.  All I could do was read. That's how I finished 3 books in 2 weeks. I finally got all the squares done going slow and taking a lot of breaks. Now I'm up to Clue #2. 

By the way, there are 10 clues altogether and this Tuesday will be Clue #8.  Did I mention I'm a little bit behind???  Oh well, the point of the thing is to learn new stitches and finish, right?

2015 Reading Challenge - 50 books
Read to date - 14

Hugs,
Sharon

6 comments:

  1. Yep, yep. I'm still here. No worries. We all get caught up in life sometimes and this blogging is one of the smallest things we have to deal with. We'll be here waiting when you have time to blog. I've never read any of your books today but I enjoy what you have to say about them.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  2. Well,free books is always a good thing. At least you are accomplishing something even if it isn't everything you'd like to do. Good luck with the CAL. I'm never ever to keep up. Best wishes, Tammy

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  3. It is always a delight to hear from you. Perhaps we could form a club dedicated to those who think about blogging, but never seem to actually get it done. I will have to be President because I am much more "behinder" that you are! I feel quite embarrassed about my absence!
    Sending love and good wishes your way..and thanks for the notes on the books. That's pretty much where my nose is always..in a book. No wonder the blog suffers.
    xox, Ellen.

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  4. Well, I think you are very accomplished! Do you know how many books I have started and not finished yet....I don't ...but it is a lot :) And as for my aim to post once a week....well I am behind. And you are so brave to have joined a CAL. I am so pokey I don't dare even try. Wishing you blessings always xx

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  5. Hi Sharon! At least you're out there commenting on other people's blogs, while I've had my nose in a skein of yarn and haven't visited around in weeks. This comment is for your last three posts....

    You are getting a lot of reading done! All the books sound interesting. I tend to stick with the same authors and read them over and over again. It's good to get recommendations from friends on what to read.

    I hope you and Hubs are both feeling better now. Here's to better spring weather. A blessed Easter to you all.

    P.S. Tell Jellybean to watch out. He's so cute somebody may try to nibble on him, especially this week. :)

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  6. So I started to write a comment here two days ago and got distracted by a two-year-old... now's the first chance I've had to sit down at the computer!

    Voracious readers must run in the family. I feel like we've read 25 books over the weekend! I am very glad that Jellybean loves to read, though!

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