Graceling........

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book. It took me a little time to get really involved in it but once I did I could not put it down. I loved the development of the characters, the writer's voice, and the female heroine. The story has intrigue, adventure, and romance. I highly recommend it.

About the Book

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.

View all my reviews.

Twilighter....

It's official I am acting like a teenager. I love Twilight. I have read all the books (and reread them). I was crazy over the movie coming out. So when Thursday came I was all over the midnight showing. We headed out and brought our books to discuss at dinner, a very long dinner. After that we headed out to the movie. It was packed to the rim! Thank goodness my theater always only does reserved seating. I was glad to see there were grown women a lot crazier than me dressed up in Prom dresses (that would never be me) etc ...

I loved the movie. Every minute of it. The only thing I would have wanted as well, more... Having read the book you know what is missing (isn't that always the case). So some of my favorite scenes were missing, moments gone. I figure those having not read the books would not have such high standards.

I'll be back.

Is there anyone out there as juvenile as me? Well, considering the crowd of adult women at the movie, I think I have my answer. I think I love Twilight book series because it brings me back to high school, to those feelings of young love the excitement of it all. I once read that Twilight was about finding first love, New Moon was about loosing it, Eclipse was about choosing it, and Breaking Dawn was Life with true love, I agree with that description. I know a lot of people did not love New Moon but having been through a painful break up I fully related to Bella and her feelings.

Waking up the next morning at 7am after getting to bed at 4am was a good way to remember who I am and that my life includes little ones and not much time to be so silly.





Thanks girls who joined in on the fun!

Nothing quite like a good book...

I have recently finished several good books (either listened on my ipod or read).

I already raved about Twilight here and then went on to read New Moon and Eclipse. I liked Twilight so much I reread it (partly because I felt I missed a lot listening in my ipod- and I did). Breaking Dawn will be out next week and I can't wait. I highly recommend these as good easy reads. Totally fun.

A thousand splendid suns. This is a really wonderful book. While a lot of it is a little hard to read (meaning it was harrowing). I found it so interesting and educational. I really felt I finished the book and knew a lot more about another place in the world. My perspective on life had changed.

The Host. This book is another book by the author of Twilight. I wasn't sure at first if I could like it as it seemed to have a very science fiction plot. I am here to tell you that the girl that hates Star Wars and Star Trek (hiding now) loved this book. I liked it almost as much as Twilight. If not for different reasons. Wonderful read. Stephenie Meyer has such an amazing imagination. Her descriptions and stories are truly spellbinding. I highly recommend this one.

The Kite Runner (by the same author as A Thousand Splendid suns). This book like his other book is truly heart breaking and amazing at the same time. Since some of the book was set in California where I grew up I felt I could imagine being there and seeing what they were experiencing. It really changed my whole perspective on so many things. I had no idea what was going on as I was growing up in California and my only worries were going the mall and sleeping late. I feel lucky to have read this book and realized, even if only in a small part, how very blessed my life has been. The world can be a very different place than the happy experiences I have been dealt.

Sadly when I listen or read I find myself always anxious to finish a book to know the end but dreading it to be over. It's hard for me to finish a great book and then get into another. Anyone else have that problem?

I also have to give a shout out to the local library. If you haven't taken advantage of your library lately you are missing out. I love my ability to go online and search for book, put them on hold and then wait for an email saying its in. When my book arrives I just go to a shelf, pick it up. I also receive emails reminding me of its due date. The Electronic world makes this so much easier. It makes me so happy to get so many books on cd (for my ipod) and to read for free. What a wonderful resource this is.

Good read...

At the risk of repeated what you have heard or read on every other blog out there. I am going to share my opinion of Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer.
First off if you don't like it you can stop reading now. I read Twilight (or in my case listened to it on cd) a month ago. I really liked it. It was a quick, easy read. I loved the story and I liked that it was just enjoyable and not heavy. I was hesitant to read it at first because of the sci-fi element to it but decided to believe my friends who LOVED it. I am so glad I did. I highly recommend it. I think it really appealed to me because the thoughts and feelings bring me back to my high school years, young love.
A few weeks past and I finally got a copy of New Moon (yeah I am too cheap to buy the books). This time I read the book instead of listening to it on my ipod (while I work out or clean). I found it much easier to read this way. I missed a lot less! If I liked Twilight I loved New Moon. This was bad week for me so I decided to force myself to not read it too fast. So I got the most exciting part (the whole book is pretty exciting) and then I made myself wait to finish it till after the funeral etc... This way I had something to look forward to. I finished it on Thursday. It was great! I am officially an now addict too. I am actually rereading Twilight because I think listening to it made me miss a lot of it. My sister was buying the third book today so I hope to read it soon. I just haven't decided when to read it. Book 4 does not come out till August! It is also being made into a movie that comes out in December.

Anyway... thats my two cents on the series. Love them.

I wanted to answer a few comments. First on the bear in yellowstone. He was NEVER that close to me or anyone I loved. Holy crap no. That picture was taken with a nice ZOOM lens. If you look at the pictures with my kids you can see he is down a ravine. That was close but not dangerous.

Thank you again for all your sweet thoughts about my Grandma. It makes me feel so good to share her with you and know that she is remembered in some way. Stay tuned for my contest. I have been overwhelmed for a while and I promise its coming! School gets out next week and then summer will be in full swing. I wonder if the sunshine and warm weather is here to stay? It's really been a cold wet spring around here.