iPad update!

Okay, I'm looking at my last post from April 19, 2010 and I just got my iPad. I told you about the 1,000 page book I purchased "Cathedral by the Sea". Update: I am now on page 535 of the ebook. Do I usually read this slow? NO Is the book boring? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I have to ask myself then, why am I reading so slow on my iPad. I finally figured it out. I don't want to damage my ipad or leave it out or forget it somewhere. Isn't that crazy? Isn't the whole purpose of this to be on the go??? What do I take with me instead? My banged up copy of Jodi Picoult's book that I got at the resale shop for 50 cents. Yes, I'm reading another book at the same time. Despicable! The book I'm reading is "Perfect Match" from 2002. GREAT! I never used to read Jodi Picoult, but while browsing the Best Seller display at my local Borders, I saw the "House Rules" book and took a chance and couldn't put it down. Needless to say, I'm a Picoult fan.

Back to the iPad, anyone else having this same issue???

Got my iPad

Okay, I said I'd never get one and I did. Well I got it for my birthday. I love my iPad. I bought a book. I am reading Cathedral of the Sea by Spanish author Ildefonso Falcones. It is a Spanish bestseller. It reminds me of Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. So if you loved that, chances are you'll love this.

Back to the iPad. I must say that I love it. I think I read faster on it. Thank you Apple.

Girl Scout Cookies!!!

It's that time again and my daughter is selling Girl Scout Cookies. If you're interested in purchasing some, please contact me! The link for the types I'm selling is:

http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/cookiepages/thinmints.html

Thanks!

1st Signed UK Edition Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale

Okay, I've set up an Ebay account to start selling some great books at GREAT prices. If you want to check out the signed 1st edition, follow this link!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320471136997&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

What to read - what to read

Can't decide what to read next. Spent 2 hours at Borders yesterday just walking around and looking at the NY Times Bestseller list. I hate that it's always the same authors. Where are all the NEW authors??? Any suggestions for new books??? Anyone??

Finished my book!!!

Well, I did it, I finally gave in and finished the last of Half Broke Horses and it didn't disappoint. I fell in love with Jeannette's grandmother Lily. She was smart, strong, independent, resilient, and surprisingly, everything I found her mother not to be. I may need to re-read The Glass Castle to get a better look at this again. I want to read to better understand her life. It's like when you read a self help book and apply it to your life or you have a major breakthrough about something from the past and you try and understand who you are now and why you were that way. It's the same thing with this book, I want to go back to the glass castle and figure out her mother. The end of the book briefly covers her mother and the end notes explain why she wrote about her grandmother and not her mother which is great. I definitely suggest reading this 1st and then the Glass Castle. Thank you Jeannette Walls for a fantastic book!

Half Broke Horses - Almost done

I love it when you can't put your book down. Last night I finished Julia Alvarez's book and then picked up Half Broke Horses and only got about 10 pages into it before I fell sound asleep. I then woke up at 2am and couldn't fall back to sleep and picked up the book and then couldn't put it down. I had to force myself to stop after I was up to page 167. I am purposely stopping because I don't want it to end. I love it when that happens. If you loved Jeannette Walls' book The Glass Castle, then you will love this story. The story of her grandmother and mother. What resilience these women had. It makes me want to re-read The Glass Castle. They are must reads for sure!

Finished my book!!!

Okay, I just finished Saving the World by Julia Alvarez and loved it. It was my first Historical Fiction book and I found it to be filled with history yet captivating with its fictional story line. I highly recommend it. In an earlier post, I shared a story review from Amazon so please check that out. Onto my next 2 books, Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls and Harry Potter - Book 7 (2nd time around) by J.K. Rowling.

Top 10 Reading List

Looking for readers to post their top 10 reading list. I have posted mine. Let's see how many people we can get to post theirs!

Tonight on PBS - Little Women Louisa May Alcott

One of my favorite childhood books was Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I'm sorry, but not one of the movies could even compare to this beautiful story of sisters. This is a story that everyone, at any age, would love. I remember reading it 2x when I was around 10. I absolutely recommend it. Tonight on PBS on American Masters is Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women. I am in Northwest Indiana Central Standard time so please check your listings! Hope you enjoy it as much as I'm sure I will. I'll post tomorrow about it.

Merry Christmas - The best gifts of all

Okay so for Christmas I got the book I really wanted. What was it? Jeannette Walls' book "Half Broke Horses". I cannot wait to read it. I loved her first book, The Glass Castle. What a book. It made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me ANGRY! I kept wondering, what is wrong with that mother??? The life Jeannette Walls lived with her brother and sister was amazing. The fact that her parents lived as homeless people was just unbelieveable. I kept thinking, how could 2 intelligent people allow their children to live in squalor? After the book ended, I still had so many questions. I wanted to know why her parents were the way they were. I saw an interview with Jeannette and she said that a lot of people wanted to know why her parents were the way they were, especially her mother. Hence, Half Broke Horses, which is the story of her mother and her childhood. I am so excited to read it.

Here is a link to Amazon's page for The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Castle-Memoir-Jeannette-Walls/dp/074324754X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262012966&sr=1-1

Guilt

Is it that Hispanics experience the feeling of guilt more than other nationalities? Is it because we're mostly Catholic? I don't know. I feel guilty if I say no to something I don't want to do. For instance, my ex husband has this way of asking me for things, but in such a way that he's not asking. Does that make sense. It's kind of like he is telling me. Yesterday I finally said No to him and I felt so guilty like God was going to punish me. I don't understand why I feel guilty when I say NO to things that I know are not in my best interest. Therefore, this leads me into my next self help book. It is "Good-Bye to Guilt: Releasing Fear Through Forgiveness" by
Gerald Jampolsky. I am on my final chapters of Marianne Williamson's book "Enchanted Love", but hope to have this new book by then. I always try and order from Amazon. I got this new book for 1 cent plus shipping. I looked on Barnes & Noble and it was $16 new. Can't beat that. I like to highlight my books so I like to own them, otherwise I would say go the library. I also like Amazon because you can sneak peak in a book and read the first 10 pages or so. Interestingly, this book also refers to the book "A Course in Miracles". Marianne Williamson refers to this book too. I'm on the lookout in my resale shops. I could kick myself because I saw it once in my Goodwill store and thought for a second, I should buy that, but didn't and now really regret it! Well, that's it for this morning. Have a blessed day!

Julia Alvarez's Saving The World

There it is. My new book selection by Latina author, Julia Alvarez. In Saving The World, Julia Alvarez tells 2 different stories. The book starts with Alma Huebner, an author who receives a call from a former lover of her husbands. Alma receives some devastating news. Alma is also working on a novel about renowned Spaniard, Francisco Xavier Balmis. who in 1803 undertook to vaccinate the populations of Spain's American colonies against the smallpox under the ruling of the King. This part of the story, which is woven among Alma's story is told through the eyes of Isabel Sendales y Gomez, director of an orphan house. Francisco and Isabel meet when he comes in search of boys to carry the live vaccine overseas. I am on page 40 of the book and am already hooked.

Julia Alvarez has written other books. Most familiar is the movie made "In The Time of the Butterflies" and "How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents", among others. She just recently started her own website. www.juliaalvarez.com

I would love to discuss this book with someone!

FINISHED my book!!!!

Just now, 6:24pm CST, finished In the Woods by Tana French. Overall, I give it a 8-1/2 out of 10. I don't want to give away the ending, so I must say I am a little disappointed. I feel somewhat jipped. The story was good. I cannot say the ending was boring. The last 100 pages totally kept me enthralled and I didn't want to put the book down. That's a good thing. Would I recommend it? Yes, I think if you like mysteries, police stories, you'll like it. The main character was interesting and complex. You'll love and hate some characters which I always like in stories. At the end, I don't know if I liked the main character, but I think that's what made the book good.

Okay, now what to read next. My next post will be the answer!!!

Self Help Book on my nighstand

I am currently reading Marianne Williamson's

Enchanted Love The Mystical Power of Intimate Relationships

. I absolutely love it. If you enjoyed

A Woman's Worth

then you'll love this book. I am going through some challenging times and this book has brought me back. I highly recommend it to those Marianne Williamson fans. Anyone else reading it or read it??

In the Woods........

Okay, on page 325 of 429, just over 100 pages to go. This is my last day on this book. HELP!!! I shouldn't say that because I liked it, I just miss the beautiful writing of Carlos!!!!! I'm so excited to pick my next book I just want this one done. H E L P !!!!!!

Latio Artist

Check out my husband's website. He is a Latino artist from Chicago. Know of another Latino artist, let me know.

www.mmcastroarts.com

Favorite Book

I was just at one of my resale ships the other day and I love going through the books in resale shops. It made me think though. How many GREAT books are out there that I don't even know exist. What's your favorite book? Tell me why? I am big on picking books up where the cover catches my eye. Any book that has a book like cover on it, I'm a sucker for. For instance, the 13th Tale, Shadow Of the Wind. They both have dust jackets that are a book cover. I don't know why I always fall for those books or is it that they just catch my fancy. Please tell me what you favorite book is!

Embarrassed .....

Okay, I'm still on In The Woods. I'm soooo embarrassed! It's not that I don't like the book. It's great. I love it, okay, I like it, but I just read way too many at one time. What else am I reading??? I am so into Marianne Williamson's books. I am reading one on intimate relationships and it is really really good. I highly suggest it. It's about picking the right partner and finding love. Really it's more about finding love and holding onto the good ones! Is anyone out there???

My first mystery book

Okay, I have been off the radar lately, but back in full gear. I picked up my first mystery book and it was In The Woods by Tana French. Okay, I'm a little behind on the best seller list but it was at my favorite resale shop! I have fallen in love with this book. It is great. I have NEVER really been a big fan of mysteries, but this has really been a great experience. One of those books where you love the characters, Detective Rob Ryan. The story begins with a mysterious murder/abduction (you don't really know) of 2 kids. Then the story picks up 20 years later with another gruesome murder. It's a must read if you love mysteries and a great starter for your first one. I'm on page 172. So far, so GREAT! What's on my nightstand? In the Woods and I'm a little embarrassed to admit and slowly drudging through, Twilight. Sorry to all those Twilight fans, but I'm just having the hardest time getting myself through it! Next on my list? The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks and The Book Thief (my son's high school's book club has it on their list of books to read this year!).

Tell me what you're reading - someone please!