July wasn't too shabby

I did pretty well this month. 5 books at 2,566 pages. Admittedly, one of the books spanned last month AND this month. But still. I read the bulk of this month. So there. 

After You by Jojo Moyes (352 pages). The sequel to Me Before You. Want to know what happens to Lou AFTER Will?  Well, it's not that pretty for a while. Lou is completely lost without him. But one day, after an accident, her world begins to open up again. And she remembers that Will wanted her to live, something she hasn't been doing since she lost him. I liked this one just as much as the first one (but definitely wasn't in tears again!). It took me 2 days to to read it. Yep, 2 days. It was that good

The Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz (311 pages). Disney out out an original movie in 2015 call typed The Descendants. This was the prequel to that movie. Mal (daughter of Maleficent), Jay (son of Jafar), Carlos (son of Cruella de Vil) and Evie (daughter of the Evil Queen) live with their parents on the magic-free Isle of the Lost, where King Beast banished all villains. These four join forces on a quest that actually begins to establish a bond between them, something that villains don't do. It was a cute, super easy read. I finished it in one day. 

A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin (1128 pages). Book 3 in the series. I actually started this book in June, but decided to take a little break to read other books. If you've seen season 3 of the show, you remember what happened. Joffrey dies, the Red Wedding happens. And oh yeah, Robb's wife isn't there. Or pregnant. And Lady Stoneheart makes her first appearance. Don't recognize that name. Oh, it's just the reanimated Catelyn Stark. What?!  The craziness of the show is not even the same level as the craziness of the books. It took me 48 days (but only 10 days of actual reading time).  

The Land of Stories: An Author's Odyssey by Chris Colfer (438 pages). The fifth book in the series. The Land of Stories is still in grave danger, thanks to the Masked Man's evil plot. So Connor hatches a plot of his own- he and Alex will use their grandmother's potion to go into Connor's short stories and recruit the heroes to their cause. Alex is in awe of her brother's writing talent- she finds herself both literally and figuratively enthralled by his stories. But can they recruit all the heroes they need?  And will they be in time to save their beloved Land of Stories?  It took me one day to read it (yay for pool time!)

The Singles Game by Lauren Weisberger (337 pages). Instead of the world of fashion, the author of The Devil Wears Prada delves into the competitive world of tennis. Charlie Silver is ranked in the twenties when she plays Wimbledon. But an accident in her match makes her reevaluate her approach to her life. A new coach and a new image take her from girl next door to Warrior Princess, the number two ranked female player in the world. But is it really what she wants?  And how much of her new image is image instead of who she is?  Weisberger loves to show the other side of "glamorous" careers- the loneliness, the partying, the determination, the ruthlessness. I really liked this one. It only took me one day to read. That's right, two books in one weekend. Man, I love a pool weekend!

June was a bust all over (only true theatre people will get this one)

I did an AWFUL job reading in June. Literally, just the one book. I am half way through a 1000 page book though. Does that count for anything?  So here we go.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (369 pages). I decided to give this a read now that the movie has come out. I knew it was going to be a tearjerker. But holy smokes!  Louisa Clark is 27 and has never been outside of her small town. When she gets a job as a companion for Will Traynor, she's not sure what she's signed on for. He's 35 and a quadrapoligic.  And he's given himself 6 months before he travels to Switzerland to take his own life via assisted suicide. Louisa decides to give him a reason to live. In doing so, she actually rediscovers her own will to live. The ending was what I expected, but not what I wanted. And all I could do was bawl!  It took me 9 days to read it (but only 4 actual reading days). 

I MAY have had a slow month....

I did an awful job raiding again this past month. I blame my slip and fall. The pain meds had me more than a little loopy. But away we go.....

A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin (969 pages). Book 2 in A Song of Fire and Ice.  I can't tell if I've just forgotten things from the show or if they left stuff out. But I'm really enjoying the books so far. I feel like I know even more about the characters and their world than the show is able to actually portray. It took me 24 days (only 8 days of actual reading time)

So yep, one book. One measly book

April's lack of pool time led to lack of reading time....

April was a bit of a bust. I didn't really get a lot of reading done. Oh well. At least it was a long one. So here goes. 

A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin (807 pages). I bought A Song of Fire and Ice series about a year ago. The sheer length of each book was a little intimidating. So I held off. But finally decided to start reading it last month. And I'm glad I did. It was a great refresher before season 6 began this month. I had forgotten a lot of what happened in season 1. It was also kind of fun to read the way to spell all of those crazy names you hear on the show. Long story short- Dany is still my favorite. And I'm really excited to start the next book in the series. It took me 34 days to read (but only 8 days of actual reading time). The bulk of it was done by the pool in one weekend (yay for pool time!)

March came and went......

So I didn't do great last month. Only 4 books, 796 pages.  I just don't have tons of time that I'd like to devote to reading anymore. I know, that doesn't sound very much like me. But it is what it is. 

Below Stairs by Margaret Powell (212 pages). This was a memoir written in 1968 by a woman who started as a kitchen maid in a big house in England at the ripe old age of fifteen and eventually rose to be a cook. She spills the tea on all the behind the scenes (or below the stairs) events. The maids who were let go when they found themselves "in trouble". The crazy masters and mistresses of the house. It was a very interesting book, especially in light of this being the last season of Downton Abbey!  It took me 21 days to read (but only 4 days of actual reading time)

The Mother Goose Diaries by Chris Colfer (121 pages). This was an extra in the Land of Stories series. And it was super cute. Turns out Mother Goose has been around (and involved) for quite a few centuries. From fighting dragons to getting spurned by Henry VIII to fighting for women's rights, Goose has seen it all!  It took me just a few hours to read. So I decided to start the second extra in the series as well!

Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty by Chris Colfer (120 pages). Another extra in the Land of Stories series. It wasn't quite as much fun as Mother Goose's. But then again, Red isn't always my favorite character in this series. She's funny, but conceited. And more than a little delusional. Her book was the same thing. All about how she's the best queen ever, even though her subjects can't stand her. It was okay. It took me two days to read. 

The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain (343 pages). O. M. G. Loved this book!  When Riley was nearly 2 years old, her older sister committed suicide. The family was never the same. Over twenty years later, Riley's dad dies and she goes home to settle his estate. Little does Riley know that the sister she thought was lost might have actually started a new life.  Why?  Because she was an accused  murderer. As Riley digs further into her family's past, she realizes that her family's future is going to be very different that what she had imagined. It took me 5 days to read (only 3 actual reading days). 

February was a bust (and I even had an extra day)

I literally got one book read in February.  And I read it at the beginning of the month.  I need to cut back on the TV binge watching and get some good reading done!

The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms by Chris Colfer (419 pages).  This is the fourth of this series.  And for me, the most exciting!  The twins and their friends are searching for the Masked Man aka the man the twins believe is their long dead father.  The Masked Man has a plan.  When he was a child, the Fairy Godmother made a potion for him that would open portals into books.  So now he is going to enter every work of fiction and recruit the villains from the stories to help him destroy the fairies and everything they stand for.  So Alex, Connor and their friends follow the Masked Man into other worlds.  Oz, Neverland, Wonderland, Camelot, all of them are just as the twins imagined!  And the Masked Man begins to see his plan come to fruition.  Meanwhile, Connor's classmate Bree (who has been to the Land of Stories with Connor) learns a little more about her own Grimm background.  This one was a lot of fun.  It took me 4 days, but only 2 days of actual reading time (hurrah for plane travel!)

I did start another book, but just haven't gotten around to finishing it.  Even though it's really good.  Hopefully March will be a little bit better.....

2016 is off to a bad start....

After Alice by Gregory Maguire (273 pages). I've read almost everything Maguire has written. And his books are totally hit or miss. Some of them I've loved, some of them I've hated. This was one of the later. It literally took me all month to finish. I read "finis" on the 31st!  Yet I only actually read for 4 days. That should definitely tell you something!  Admittedly, I read half of it in one day. But I was going to finish this book before January was over, by George. Anyway, this story is about Ada. She is Alice's friend. And is on her way to visit Alice when she finds herself falling down a rabbit hole, right into Wonderland, mere minutes behind Alice. She has her own set of adventures in Wonderland. Meanwhile, Alice's sister Lydia (only briefly mentioned in Alice's adventures) finds adventure herself in Oxford. I enjoyed that the book showed what was going on Up Here while the girls were Down Under. But that's about all I liked. 

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn (62 pages). This was a short story.  And the first one I've read by her that I didn't wonder whodunit. There wasn't a real ending here. The narrator is a psychic, of sorts. She is hired by a woman who is terrified of her Victorian home. And her stepson. But is it the house, the stepson, or the woman who is true the threat here?  Who knows. It was an easy read- it took me about an hour. Thus endeth January.   2 books, 335 pages. Ouch.