Take Time for Your Life - Book Review 4 Stars

Take Time for Your Life by Cheryl Richardson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In all honesty, I would rather rate this a 3 1/2. However, Goodreads does not allow that option and I am leaning more towards the 4 mark. While the main principles Richardson uses to guide the readers into taking care of themselves are basic, they are practical none the less.

The biggest thing that helped me was identifying my energy drains and setting my "must do list." With a world in which faster is better and quantity often beats quality, it is nice to reaffirm yourself that you do not need to do/have it all. Taking stock and setting your priorities allow you to get the most out of life without stressing yourself to the point that you cannot enjoy it.

I recommend this book for people who feel that there life is moving to fast and have a difficult time juggling everything all at once. Set all of those balls you are juggling down, grab your spouse/partner/child/friend, and focus on them. Your relationships will give you a satisfaction that cannot be obtained by material objects (yes, I mean money too!)

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100 Book Challenge is within reach

I was a bit leary at first when I signed up to read 100 books in 2010. I read alot, I mean I read more than alot. At times I feel like I am cheating on my husband. Is it wrong that on some nights I dream of getting under the covers with a good book?

Even with taking 2 grad courses this semester I am still able to get some decent page time in and have been enjoying a ton of good books. The tough part is that I have been reading so many at a time when my wireless card decides to go on the fritz. So now I am going to attempt to "catch up" on reviewing my books.

If you like Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Paranormal, and Epic Fantasy then you may want to bookmark me. I have read some fabulous books and am looking forward to encouraging your reading habits!!!

The reviews I have on deck include:

Soulless

Captain's Fury

Princeps Fury

Back Up

The Edge Chronicles

Uglies

Pretties

Specials

Extras

I also got around to reading a few self-help books from my bookshelf. Since I am hosting a genre challege, I figure it would be a great time to knock those out as they have been collecting dust for the past 8 years (I was preggos with my daughter!). They were interesting/helpful, but mostly I would rather pick up an entertaining read. Does anyone else do that to?

Dear John - Nicholas Sparks - 4 Stars

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Tug at your heartstrings kind of books are not my typical cuppa tea. I usually go for fantasy, sci-fi, or even the occasional contemporary fiction.

Give me blood, guts, chilling humanoid or even nonhumanoid creatures that threaten the common good or societies constructs. Give me blood oozing out of crypts, 30 foot poisonous spiders waiting in anticipation around the corner, vile war lords that oppress, plot, and scheme. Anyone that knows me will also attest that I am a sucker for the underdog and the unexpected.

I need an escape. I deal with enough "real world" stuff to fill my day (and even beyond). Needless to say, the drama and heartbrake that I encounter as I help others leaves me drained and desiring to go far far away.

So far I have ranted for 3 paragraphs about why I should not like/typically would not chose to pick up a book like Dear John. The story came into my possession through a book giveaway on one of my fellow book worshipers blogs. Having won an audio version, I figured it wouldn't hurt to pop it into my cd player on my hour and a half trip (each way) to grad school.

I have never listened to a book on tape/cd (elementary school doesn't count). I wasn't sure what to expect, but thought I could at least listen to the first disc and go from there. My initial thought was that they should have gotten a female to portray Savanah. That was my only grip.

I was easily dragged into the story. Wanting to hate it and chalk it up to the evil, despised "chic lit," I was left with wanting to know how it was all going to work out.

While some of the story line was transparent, it was interesting. Like I said, I made it through all 8 cd's not just the first one. And yes, I admit...I cried on multiple occasions towards the end. That is precisely the reason why I tend to avoid these types of situations.

Overall, I was treated with a good story line and found out that I really like books on cd.

Happy Reading!

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Masquerade by Gayle Lynds ** 2 Stars

Masquerade by Gayle Lynds


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
In a nut shell, I would say that if you are at one of those camp grounds that has a lending library and you are without a really good book, this book is finishable.

In it's honor the last 1/3 was pretty good and did keep me coming back to the end. If a book is all out horrible I quickly move on to something better. However the good part was working to wrap up and make sense out of the first 2/3 of the book.

For me a book revolves around the characters and the plot. While the book did start off as promising, the characters seemed too random as the story tried to include them all for the big reveal at the end. To me it seemed as though the book was written with the end in mind and then the characters were worked in through out the book so they could be used later. As the ancillary characters pop up in the book, it's not very clear as to why you would even care about these people and then they get dragged into the whole conspiracy at the end.

The plot has an interesting premise, but was not fully executed in a way that builds much suspense or great intrigue. Scenes seemed a bit pat and already done and lead me to understand much of it in the first half. However, it was an easy read and I was curious to see exactly how it would work out. Although I was hoping for a surprise ending (which I didn't get) it wasn't the worst book I have ever read.

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Challenge Stats:
100 Book Reading Challenge: 1
Mystery/Thriller Challenge: 1
Read Your Bookshelf Challenge: 1 (gave me the inspiration to keep going, typically I would have jumped ship)
Genre Challenge: 1 Mystery

2010 Genre Book Challenge *Updated with Rules*

First off, let me just say how weird it is to type 2010. It just looks and feels futuristic to me. Am I the only one? Anyway...drum roll please...I am hosting my own reading challenge!

I often get stuck in a rut of reading out of the same genre. Soooo....I started this challenge to encourage me to break out of the same ol' same ol'. Anyone care to join me?

Here are a few ideas to get you started:


Action/Adventure
African American Literature
Autobiography/Biography
Christian Classics
Comedy/Comics
Court Room Drama/Lawyers
Detective/Spy
Family Drama
Fan Fiction (e.g. Star Trek)
Fantasy
GLBT
Graphic Novels
Historical
Horror
Indigenous People
Local History
Literary
Medical/Forensic
Mystery
Picture Books
Poetry
Police
Romance
Romantic Comedy
Science
Science Fiction
Sports
Suspense
Thriller
War
Western

I have heard concern over what to do with this challenge. It is ment to be as flexible as you wish. You can set your own goals. I'm personally shooting for 15-20.

I should have known however that there are those of us that find comfort in guidelines. So in the name of adding a bit of spice into it how about some extra things you can do and interact with the challenge?

Sign up below and come and join my group at bookblogs. I added 2 Amazon gift card giveaways


The fine print:
Have fun and enjoy!