1. Yes, Please - Amy Poehler
Several years ago, I read Bossypants by Tina Fey (if you haven't read it, please go purchase/rent/check it out now). I love memoirs, and I doubly love funny ones. When I found out that Amy Poehler had written one, it wasn't even a question of whether I was getting, rather a question of when I could go get it. I flew through it, laughing, nodding, and noting great quotes from it. It's honest, hilarious, and just a fun read. If you're a fan of Amy's or if you love a good, funny book, I highly recommend this one!
Favorite Quotes:
"Great people do things before they're ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you're afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that - that's what life is. You might be really good. You might find out something about yourself that's really special and if you're not good, who cares? You tried something. Now you know something about yourself."
"The only way we will survive is by being kind. The only way we can get by in this world is through the help we receive from others. No one can do it alone, no matter how great the machines are."
2. The Best of Me - Nicholas Sparks
So...yes, I am a Sparks girl. I have grown up reading his books. I remember reading The Notebook on the school bus in middle school. There are only a couple of his books I haven't read. I enjoyed this one. It wasn't his latest release, but one I had been meaning to read for awhile. It was pretty typical Sparks, but I am a sucker for him. Good story line - old loves rekindling their flame. I will say, I really liked the characters in this story. And honestly (this probably seems ridiculous), I did not see the ending coming!! Good beach or lazy day read!
3. Half Broke Horses - Jeannette Walls
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Wow...that's all I can say about this book. I am a HUGE Jeannette Walls fan, and I was worried that I wouldn't like Half Broke Horses because of how much I adored The Glass Castle. I was pleasantly surprised right from the start. It is a perfect companion to The Glass Castle. It tells the story of Jeannette's grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. It's billed as a "True-Life Novel". Many of the events in the story are surrounded by the actual life that Lily led. It goes throughout her INCREDIBLE life and has the perfect amount of colloquial dialogue and history. I think I loved it more because I got to see how Jeannette's mother, Rosemary, grew up. She plays such a vital role in The Glass Castle. Lily might be one of my favorite heroines I've read about. She is gutsy, smart, brave, brilliant, and courageous. She was a teacher, farmer, maid, mother, wife, daughter, horsewoman, rancher, and all around stunning woman. I HIGHLY recommend this book, especially if you loved The Glass Castle as much as I did!!
Favorite Quotes:
"The women I know with strong personalities, the ones who might have become generals or the heads of companies if they were men, become teachers. Teaching is a calling, too. And I've always thought that teachers in their way are holy--angels leading their flocks out of the darkness."
"You can't prepare for everything life's going to throw at you. And you can't avoid danger. It's there. The world is a dangerous place, and if you sit around wringing your hands about it, you'll miss out on all the adventure."
4-7. The Selection Series: The Selection, The Elite, The One (and other novellas)
(Source)
Several years ago, I read Bossypants by Tina Fey (if you haven't read it, please go purchase/rent/check it out now). I love memoirs, and I doubly love funny ones. When I found out that Amy Poehler had written one, it wasn't even a question of whether I was getting, rather a question of when I could go get it. I flew through it, laughing, nodding, and noting great quotes from it. It's honest, hilarious, and just a fun read. If you're a fan of Amy's or if you love a good, funny book, I highly recommend this one!
Favorite Quotes:
"Great people do things before they're ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you're afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that - that's what life is. You might be really good. You might find out something about yourself that's really special and if you're not good, who cares? You tried something. Now you know something about yourself."
"The only way we will survive is by being kind. The only way we can get by in this world is through the help we receive from others. No one can do it alone, no matter how great the machines are."
2. The Best of Me - Nicholas Sparks
(Source)
So...yes, I am a Sparks girl. I have grown up reading his books. I remember reading The Notebook on the school bus in middle school. There are only a couple of his books I haven't read. I enjoyed this one. It wasn't his latest release, but one I had been meaning to read for awhile. It was pretty typical Sparks, but I am a sucker for him. Good story line - old loves rekindling their flame. I will say, I really liked the characters in this story. And honestly (this probably seems ridiculous), I did not see the ending coming!! Good beach or lazy day read!
3. Half Broke Horses - Jeannette Walls
(Source)
Wow...that's all I can say about this book. I am a HUGE Jeannette Walls fan, and I was worried that I wouldn't like Half Broke Horses because of how much I adored The Glass Castle. I was pleasantly surprised right from the start. It is a perfect companion to The Glass Castle. It tells the story of Jeannette's grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. It's billed as a "True-Life Novel". Many of the events in the story are surrounded by the actual life that Lily led. It goes throughout her INCREDIBLE life and has the perfect amount of colloquial dialogue and history. I think I loved it more because I got to see how Jeannette's mother, Rosemary, grew up. She plays such a vital role in The Glass Castle. Lily might be one of my favorite heroines I've read about. She is gutsy, smart, brave, brilliant, and courageous. She was a teacher, farmer, maid, mother, wife, daughter, horsewoman, rancher, and all around stunning woman. I HIGHLY recommend this book, especially if you loved The Glass Castle as much as I did!!
Favorite Quotes:
"The women I know with strong personalities, the ones who might have become generals or the heads of companies if they were men, become teachers. Teaching is a calling, too. And I've always thought that teachers in their way are holy--angels leading their flocks out of the darkness."
"You can't prepare for everything life's going to throw at you. And you can't avoid danger. It's there. The world is a dangerous place, and if you sit around wringing your hands about it, you'll miss out on all the adventure."
4-7. The Selection Series: The Selection, The Elite, The One (and other novellas)
(Source)
I always try to keep up with YA literature. I like to be able to give recommendations to my students and also know what they're reading. My county has a fantastic source called "Overdrive" that allows me to check out books from our school online. I was perusing through books and this series caught my eye. I LOVED IT. I devoured all of the books in a week!! The series is set in the future. Our country as we know it is not there anymore. There is a monarchy and castes (based on numbers). Within each caste, you can only do the jobs given to the particular number. Enter America Singer (I love the name). She comes from a low-middle caste. On the Prince's birthday, he must select a queen. It's like The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor! The "Selection" is the prince choosing his wife. There's a lot of other stuff going on within the new country. Rebels are upset and trying to take over, people are frustrated with the caste system, so on and so forth. America is entered into the Selection and the series takes off from there. It's broken up into three main novels and then there are two novellas (actually, there might be four now). I recently recommended it to a student who is a fellow book lover and she emailed me a couple days later and was engrossed in the series!! It's really a fantastic (and super easy) read!!
8. Wild: from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - Cheryl Strayed
(Source)
I have wanted to read this book for the longest time. I finally got motivated to read it when I saw that the movie was coming out. Again...strict rule...no movie before reading the book. I will admit that it's taken me a lot longer to get through it than I anticipated. It's a great book, but parts of the book when she goes into her descriptions of camping and the trail sometimes bored me. However, the other parts are fantastic. This is a memoir (which again, I love) written by Cheryl Strayed who decided to hike the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) after a series of devastating blows in her personal life. I love that it is her journey. It had a lot of parallels to Into the Wild, which is another one of my favorite books. Strayed is an incredible writer. The imagery and descriptions within the book take the reader to the trail with her. It's easy to identify with her as she discusses her pain and her need to reflect/revive/refresh her life. I felt like I was right there on the path with her. All the setbacks, all the triumphs, from the beginning to the ending...she takes the reader right there with her. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fresh start.
Favorite Quotes:
"I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me."
"How wild it was, to let it be."
I hope you pick up some of these books! I really enjoyed all of them. I'm reading a guilty pleasure series at the moment and then will continue on to the books mentioned below. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the above or below books! Happy reading :)
HOPE TO READ IN 2015:
It Was Me All Along - Andie Mitchell
The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins
Still Alice - Lisa Genova
The Silver Star - Jeannette Walls
1984 - George Orwell
Small Victories - Anne Lamott
Missing You - Harlen Coben
This I Know for Sure - Oprah Winfrey (actually about 1/2 way finished with this)
The Shack - William P. Young
Looking for Alaska - John Green
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Different Seasons (collection of 4 novellas) - Stephen King (also 1/2 way finished with this)
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen
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