Audiobooks

On our 3 day cross country drive we had some audiobooks to listen to, so I thought I'd do a little review of the ones we had.

First we started off with a book, you might remember I loved.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Story: This story is about two young magicians who are in a long term competition with each other and their arena for their secret duels is a traveling night circus. They have both been trained since children by their instructors, just to compete with each other. They are unknown as competitors to each other, but they both have to find ways to express their magical abilities within the circus in an attempt to win the competition.

My Thoughts: The guy who read this book was amazing. He was really really good. But on tape, this story was really hard to follow. It is a complex story, and it was hard to follow by listening when you're sometimes distracted and miss things when driving. Hal had no idea what was going on most of the time, so we started listening to a different book.

I give it: 3 stars for the audiobook, but 5 for the real book.

Matched by Ally Condie

The Story: Cassia is matched on her 17th birthday. When you are 17 you are matched with the person most compatible and perfect for them in their society. She just so happens to get matched with her best friend. But when she looks at the information they gave her about her match, a different match shows up on the screen, and soon she finds herself falling for this boy she wasn't matched with.

My Thoughts: This book was terrible. The reader wasn't particularly good, she was a bit whiny for the story and many times we found ourselves just laughing at the ridiculousness of some of the lines in the book. We actually had the other two books in the series, and didn't start them because we disliked this one so much. We thought about listening to them when we were driving to the beach last weekend, and as I reminded Hal of the story he said "now that I remember the story I want to listen to it even less."

I give it: 1 star

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

The Story: Hazel's body is filled with cancer, but she's stable  thanks to a cancer shrinking medicine. Her life is pretty unexciting when she meets a boy, Augustus Waters and he turns her entire world upside down.

My Thoughts: We downloaded audible after the horrid Matched, and I specifically wanted this book. This book is fabulous, really really fabulous. The reader was perfect for this story, and it was a great story to listen to; easy to follow. The characters was so funny and real, and both of us loved the book.

I give it: 5 stars

Books I've been reading

I read a lot. I have a job where I'm constantly looking for things to entertain myself with because there's not enough work for me to do. I've had a few people ask me to post about what I'm reading, so I thought I'd start with some books I've read recently that I really enjoyed.

And please, feel free to give me your recommendations.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

By Mindy Kaling

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The Story: This book is about Mindy Kaling's life growing up a child of immigrant parents and everything she went through to become the comdey writer that she is today.

My Thoughts: I really liked this book. It's not bossy pants, but it's still a really funny read. I like Mindy Kaling, I like her new TV show, I liked her on The Office, I think she's funny. Not everyone gets her humor, but if you do, you'll really like this book. The pictures and the stories she shares of being a chubby kid are the best.

I give it: 3 1/2 stars

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

By Rebecca Skloot



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 The Story: This book is about the author, Rebecca Skloot's journey to find about any and all information of Henrietta Lacks, the woman behind the first cells able to live and multiply in culture. Her cells were taken from her as she was dying and her nor her family were notified or ever compensated for everything her cells have done for science. Her cells are responsible for the polio vaccine, the ability to clone, IVF and lots lots more. Rebecca Skloot wanted to find out about the woman behind the cells since very little was known about her, so this is her journey to find out what the cells have done for science and the woman behind the cells.

My Thoughts: Please go read this book. Please. This book was very interesting. Although it could be slow at times, it's worth it to finish it. What she discovers, and who she meets, and her interactions with the family of Henrietta Lacks are worth the read. I feel like everyone should read this, if only to gain more information about your rights over your own cells.

I give it: 4 stars

Wild (Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail)

By Cheryl Strayed



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The Story: This story is about Cheryl's life. As a young woman Cheryl came home from college to take care of her dying mother. After the death of her mother her family all separated and grew apart. Her life began to spiral down from here. She got divorced, was addicted to drugs at one point, and had an abortion. Then one day she saw a guide book to hiking the pacific crest trail and the idea stuck in her head. She ended up hiking the pacific crest trail from southern California to the border of Oregon and Washington, about 1,100 miles of it. The story is mainly about how hiking the trail led her to heal and process things from her past, mainly finally dealing with the death of her mother through her struggles on the trail.

My Thoughts: I heard about this book when the author was being interviewed on Fresh Air on NPR. I immediately wanted to read the book. Her story was facinating. At one point she lost both of her shoes and was hiking the trail in sandals. This story was identifiable to me, as someone who lost their mother at a young age, but it was more than that. It was about proving to herself that she could do this, that she was a strong person who could withstand whatever she wanted to do.

I give it: 4 1/2 stars

The Night Circus

By Erin Morgenstern



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The Story: This story is about two young magicians who are in a long term competition with each other and their arena for their secret duels is a traveling night circus. They have been both been trained since children by their instructors, just to compete with each other. They are unkown to each other, but they both have to find ways to express their magical abilities within the circus in an attempt to win the competition.

My Thoughts: It's hard to tell you about this book without giving things away. This book kept my enthralled 100% of the way through and is one of the best books I have read in a long time. There are a few great twists in this book that keep you on your toes.

P.S. I start my doula class tomorrow and I'm a bit nervous, so wish me luck that it will go well and I'll learn a lot.

Books to read

I'm a big reader. Ever since I graduated I've been reading all of the book that I wasn't able to read when I was in school. A few months ago my mother-in-law gave me a stack of like 10+ books to read and unfortunately, I've now read all of them. I really enjoyed most of them, especially:

And right now I'm currently reading this book:

And today I'm going to finish this book. I've been reading like crazy because I woke up sick on Sunday and need something to occupy my mind since I haven't done anything other than just going to work. So, I'm at a loss. What should I read next? What are some of your favorites that you have read before? I know I'm going to finish this book tonight and need another one to read, so please give me your recommendations. I enjoy pretty much any genre of book, with sci-fi probably being my least favorite, but I'll pretty much read anything, so give me your suggestions of where I should go next. I do get some recommendations from Good Reads, but I want some from you guys, what have you read and loved? What have you read and hated? What are you reading right now? And let me know if you want any recommendations, and we can swap book stories.