⭐⭐⭐

I finally finished Changeling.  I say finally because it was a short book (250ish) and it took me several days to finish.  The book started strong.  The character introductions were solid and made me interested in who these people were, how they would meet, and where the plot would unfold.  Overall it was just boring.  It should not have been boring!  There were "possessed" nuns in an abbey and a werewolf terrorizing a village!  A gang of teenagers and one cranky adult were set to find the truth!  This could have been 1400's Scooby Doo!  That would have been awesome!  I feel like the premise of this book was great.  The problem was that everyone took themselves too seriously.  There was very little humor or camaraderie.  The group wasn't really working together to solve the mysteries.  We didn't get to know the characters enough to care. The only character I enjoyed was the only one with a sense of humor and he was generally thought of as an idiot by everyone else.  I really can't see myself continuing this series which makes me sad.  It had potential.  It really did.

It's been a while.  I don't know why I stopped blogging back in 2012.  I would understand if I stopped in 2013 because that was a year of great changes but 2012 was status quo.  I was working at my old job, no big changes, I was reading a fair amount.  No reason to stop. But I did stop. 

I always intended to get back to it but then life did change dramatically and two jobs and a masters degree later, I'm finally ready to try again. And of course I decide to try again when I need to leave the house in 20 minutes, haven't done hair or makeup and I haven't made my lunch!  Sooo I'll probably go to Subway.  Let's be honest.  I've got to wake up the dog that's currently on my lap, post this and I'll come back to review some recent reads.  Lets do this!

Solomon’s Oak is a lovely novel of three wounded people who find each other.  Glory is a recent widow in her late 30’s that is trying to keep her head above water financially while also feeling buried by grief.  Juniper is a fourteen year old who has been abandoned by her father after losing both her mother and sister.  She is in foster care and living with Glory.  Joseph is a wounded former police officer who is trying to recover from a horrific injury.  

The three find each other and form a type of family.  The story is moving, frustrating, and terribly realistic.  It takes place somewhat locally and it’s fun to read about places I know of and that are part of my community.  I can’t say that I love the story or was blown away, but I will say that it’s good.  There’s nothing wrong with it.  It’s slow moving and emotional which can be frustrating for me if I’m not in the right mood!  I do recommend this book though.  The characters will stay with you.

Hero by Perry Moore

I didn’t read Hero, I listened to the audio book, and I loved it.  Thom Creed is a super hero.  His powers are new, not quite controlled, and he is on probationary status with The League.  He’s also gay and a teenager.  All those things mixed together cause a bit of angst.  

I love superheroes and I think that Thom makes a great addition to the genre.  He’s growing and learning, becoming more powerful all the time, and is scared to tell his father that he’s gay.  He’s so absolutely human.  He wants his father’s approval so badly and I think many of us can relate to that feeling.  

The book is emotional, hilarious, and exciting.  Pretty much everything that a good book needs.  I definitely recommend Hero highly.  Just a note, it’s a young adult book but really should be read by older teens.  The language can be raw at times and there is one scene that might not be appropriate for younger readers - even though it’s very tame.  

I’d like to mention that the audio book was read by Michael Urie and he did a fabulous job. 

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

If you look over my past reading history, you’ll notice that Infidel is not a book that I normally would pick up.  Ever.  But that’s the funny thing about book clubs, they get you to read books you normally would avoid.  Infidel is the story of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former member of Dutch Parliament who grew up a Muslim home.  She was born in Somalia and moved from there to Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya, back to Somalia, back to Kenya, and finally to Germany and The Netherlands.  She now lives in the United States

Without a doubt, Ayaan is a strong woman.  She overcame unbelievable hurdles to make it to The Netherlands and start her new life.  She is someone to admire in that sense.  I don’t agree with all the choices she made in her life but I see that for her, there were no real choices.  

This is a great book for very interesting discussions.  It hits on tolerance, religion, culture and politics.  Consider it for your next book club.

Wow. 2012.

At some point I lost my blogging mojo.  It was not a good year for me keeping up with this blog.  I'm just going to put it behind me and move on.  And try to catch up?  I have a ton of reviews that I didn't do.  Some I wrote for other places but never posted here.  And some won't ever get done.  Let's face it, life happens, things get busy and I let things (like this blog) go.  We'll see how 2012 goes. 

To close out the year (although I still need to get to some reviews), here are the facts. 

I read 58 books this year.  I listened to one audio book which brings my total to 59.  That's not as good as last year but I'm not surprised. 

I did meet my goal of reading at least 25 books from my existing stash.  I more than met that goal, so that's awesome.  Of course I acquired more books than I read so that was kind of a waste.  So maybe my goal this year will be to read more and acquire less.  Probably won't happen but it could. 

I did update the listing of the books I read in 2011.  The link is here.  If I've written a review, the book will have a link that will lead there. 

My top 10 books this year are. . . (in no particular order)


1.  The Search by Nora Roberts
2.  Across the Universe by Beth Rivas
3.  The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
4.  If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster
5.  What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarity
6.  Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
7.  The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
8.  The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (Audio Book)
9.  Night Road by Kristin Hannah

Okay, that was only 9.  I read a lot of good books this year but I'm having a hard time being "in love" with any of them.  Those top nine are probably the closest.  I really want to be obsessed with a book again.  I'm on the hunt.  Let me know of your obsessions.

I also joined a book club.  Yes, it's online so I still don't have to interact with real live people, but it's still a book club.  The first book was Frankenstein.  Okay.  Well then.  I had no idea the monster was such a chatty guy.  That book was completely unexpected.  I am very glad I read it but I'm never going to read it again. 

So that brings us to 2012.  Hooray!  I hope to fall in love with a good book this year.  I hope all of you do too.

Books Read in 2012

January:

1.  Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
2.  Hero by Perry Moore (Audio book)
3.  Solomon's Oak by Jo-Ann Mapson