Lauren Henderson

I did not finish this book.

I was really looking forward to learning more about the Dalai Lama's spiritual journey. I love his whole Lo-ove is my Religion outlook on life, and I feel like a lot of Christian's can learn a lot from him. Especially after learning that there are so many parallels between the Dalai Lama and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series (one of my favorite cartoon series), I became extremely interested in how he discovered that he is the Dalai Lama and how he became who he is.

This book promises to answer those questions and provide insight into the Dalai Lama's life, but sadly it was more of a “how to live your life” preachy book. That would have also been enjoyable, and I probably would have kept reading if it had been well written. I know that it is non-fiction, but I still expect there to be some depth and visualization with the story. Not just “I did this.. then this happened” type writing. Mundane writing, no matter the subject, just makes me bored. I can't do it.

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley.

I really like this book. I liked the way it was told. I liked the character development. I think it is a great debut that wasn't too predictable!

To Tuscany with Love starts out with an invitation to a reunion for a group of friends who shared a summer studying in Florence 30 years prior... then the story immediately goes way back and tells the story of the summer primarily through the eyes of Bella but also through the eyes of the others in the group (the chunky but spunky girl, the beautiful blonde twins, the womanizer, the country boy, and the quiet guy << Maybe that all sounds like it can get cheesy but not to worry, it only happened once or twice). The summer is left with a lot of unresolved love issues... which leads to a lot of suspense later.

From there, you get glimpses into everyone's lives about 10 years later... then again 20 years later... then again at the reunion in the present. Some have suffered loss, some have suffered regret. And you are kept guessing as to what decisions everyone will make until the very end.

The story is extremely chick flicky, but I knew that going in and was not dissapointed. However, the story was not primarily centered around the love trianlge aspects. The theme that really came through was not wasting your life... and if you feel like you are, then change something (even if you are 50).

There are also extremely vivid and beautiful scenes of life in Florence. The setting is wonderfully described and used as a magical place for lives to be changed.

There were just problems in a couple places where a side story seemed a little disjointed and then guys' banter didn't really fit with how most guys really do act. Sometimes as a reader, you could not get a true picture of their feelings and motives.

I still believe this book is worth a read and would reccommend it those who enjoy books about friendship and happy endings.

Don't ask me why I ever even read these books.. I was in Junior high and thought I was being sneaky because it was the kind of book my parents wouldn't let me to read. They cussed in it and therefore, I was a badass. Lol.

I received a copy of this book for free from Oxford University Press via NetGalley.

This is the only version of The Iliad that I have ever read. (Somehow, I missed that boat in high school.) Therefore, I cannot compare the translation difference, but I can just give you my honest opinion.

The story is a classic. Everyone knows it at least from seeing a movie or reading a synopsis or from history class in high school. I decided it was time to become enlightened and actually read the book. I chose this one because it is a new version. Honestly, I felt like I was reading the equivalent of the King James version of the Bible. The translation is supposed to be one of the most literal translations from a lifelong scholar, Barry Powell. There's a lot to be said for all of his hard work at this literal translation, but it really isn't as easy to follow as I thought it would be. I had to re-read a lot of parts.

But... the introduction that he provides is very lengthy and interesting. It goes into the history of the Greeks and Homer and the Iliad itself - a lot that I have never spent much time learning about. Also, there are footnotes as you are reading that are extremely helpful and insightful.

I would recommend this version of The Iliad to people who are interested in history and who are interested to specifically study the Iliad and the meanings behind the story.

I have a confession... I've always been somewhat anti-romance – not necessarily a romance basher, but just someone who always passed by the romance section in search of better books. I've only read a couple in my life, and I thought they were poorly written and super cliché/cheesy. I, therefore, assumed that the entire romance genre is not for me. So when Lisa from TLC Books Tours asked me to join the tour for Beyond Coincidence, I was hesitant but eventually decided that I should maybe give romance another try. And well... I learned that I should take it a little easier on the romance genre. So thank you to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Beyond Coincidence is the story of Lucy who takes a solo trip to France after being heart broken by the man that she thought was the love of her life. While there she discovers that she is the only person who can see Freddy, a dead soldier whose remains have recently been dug up and who needs help having his remains identified so he can finally be laid to rest and have peace. He says to Lucy that he doesn't quite know why but he feels like she was meant to be the one to help him. Freddy goes back to Australia with Lucy and begins the journey of learning about the life he never got to have. Lucy is able to track down Freddy's last remaining relative, Nate – his great grandson, who has recently had some heartbreak of his own. They are immediately drawn to each other and up being inspirations to each other and to Freddy.

From the summary on the back of this book, I was somewhat scared that Lucy was going to fall in love with a ghost and then end up with a tragic, cheesy love story that would just make me gag. But it's apparent after the first couple of pages that that is not the case. Also, after the first chapter, it's pretty easy to guess what's going to happen, but then again... that's what I'm looking for in romance – a feel-good story, but one that's real life without the romantic scenes being forced. Jacquie Underdown does a wonderful job of focusing on plot development while still delivering the romance. She also does a fantastic job with the magical realism of Freddy's ghost – I completely believed that Lucy speaking with Freddy was something that was absolutely normal.

What really kept me interested in the entire story was the slight suspense of what Freddy's and Lucy's actual connection would end up being and if Freddy would find the rest that he was seeking. And everything connected beautifully in the end. This is definitely a cozy story of different types of relationships that make us who we are and enrich our lives. The only reason I give this book 3 instead of 4 stars is that the dialogue seems a little bit forced at times, but not so much that the story still didn't feel sincere.

I will definitely be giving Jacquie Underdown's other books a shot whenever I need to take a break from all my long fantasy series and read something a little lighter. I would recommend this book to anyone who is overwhelmed with a longer series or needs a quick genre switch to break up the monotony.

This book. This book. It is amazing. It turned me into a Linda Dillow fan. For all of you women who enjoy Bible Study/self help books, this is extremely thought provoking - at times not what you want to be asked, but what you need to answer. So great. This book is about finding your fulfillment in God. I read it at a time when I desperately needed to check where my head was. Linda Dillow is so insightful. Her words are strengthening but tender. I still pick up this book now and then when I need a check.

This story has everything I love.... flowers, a little whimsy, beautiful character development, emotion, and a little bit of romance as a side note.

This was the perfect book to pull me out of my 3-month reading slump.. a beautiful story of healing for a girl whose only solace in her life has been through flowers. This book is real - no cheesy romance, just pure emotion. I LOVED IT!

Bold Women in History is a beautiful and bright book for young readers. The author did a great job of highlighting interesting facts from these women's lives in short chapters. It is written in a very conversational and easy-to-follow tone.

I especially like how many of the women in this book were connected to each other, and that is mentioned where applicable but is never redundant. Some of these women all lived around the same time and even KNEW EACH OTHER. Showing how these stories are related really brings history alive to me.

I love the “Explore More” and “Did You Know?” excerpts at the end of each woman's story as well. I think these are great details for those who are interested in going deeper and a great way to incorporate some exciting/random facts. A lot of these grabbed my attention, and I learned a few things that I didn't know!

This would be a great book for teachers to use in their classroom one chapter at a time for a unit study and also a great book for young readers to read through at their own pace for an extra dose of history.

*Thank you to the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book. The dedication is “To all those who have grown old enough to read fairy tales again”. I was immediately hooked. It's a very unique and heartwarming story, and the illustrations (by the author) are fantastic!

(Let's bring back books for grown people with illustrations! You know.. one every few pages.. like Roald Dahl or The Secret Garden.)

This book also made me realize I love stories that use telling vs. showing. In the writer world, it's all about “showing” these days. But telling in the right context is so soothing and nostalgic. This story is an excellent example of “telling” done well!

There are also many nuggets of wisdom throughout this story. I love when an author deliberately weaves in their personal experience and what they have to say to the world, and it's done really well in this story. I feel like I got to know Teresa Agnes just a little bit.

Thanks, Teresa, for sharing your heart.

As usual, the Sword of Truth books never disappoint. This one was very action packed and never slow. I was actually amazed that it could get more exciting at the end. This might be my favorite in the series. It's a great book about magic that still involves a love story but focuses on saving the world... the medieval-ish old world.

I'm only giving this one four stars because it left so much of the plot unresolved. It is a series, so it's understandable to leave some things for later, but I wish it had wrapped up a stronger so that I could take a palate cleanse break. I'm too excited though, so on to the next.

Original thoughts:Nope. Just nope. I'm pissed at this book. I'll tell you why when I calm down.A couple weeks later:SPOILER ALERT... but not really... this book is not about hiking the Appalachian Trail... it's about hiking a tiny section and then hitching a ride to a hotel to spend the night in a cushy bed and then quitting to go on a book tour and then coming back and deciding to quit again... and then... well you get it. And this book is also about how much Bill Bryson hates the National Park Service. I did learn a lot of random facts about the hand America has had in killing nature, but there is very little about the soulful experience of hiking the trail.Hiking the Appalachian Trail is something that has always been on my bucket list.. one day I will. When I pick up books like this, I want to be inspired to go out there and experience it for myself. I don't expect it to be all rainbows and sunshine. I know it's a hard thing to do a thru-hike... but damn - Bill Bryson and his friend are just QUITTERS, BIG BABY QUITTERS. I was not inspired by this book at all. It really just makes me mad that he wrote a book like this and made a lot of money off of it and it's now being made into a movie... for nothing.Don't waste your time on this one. Go read [b:Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail 12262741 Wild From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail Cheryl Strayed https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1354159655s/12262741.jpg 17237712] instead. It's a great example of a hiker's inspiring journey... maybe I'm just spoiled by it.

DNF. This book is probably the most boring outdoor adventure book I've ever read. I mean I'm sure she had some pretty awesome experiences while on the Appalachian Trail, but she's horrible at emotionally conveying her experiences. This book reads more like a step by step process, there really is no emotion. Her writing even comes off as somewhat snooty. I really did try to like it... I read about 25% just to make sure that it wasn't going to get better.

I think the problem is that I love Wild. It also has the same premise - a woman decides to hike a long distance thru hike by herself. However, Cheryl Strayed is able to capture all of the emotion and convey the trail magic in a way that inspires and makes you feel like you could do this too. Becoming Odyssa just doesn't even compare. If you want to read a good adventure memoir just go read Wild. It's much more worth your time.

Loved it. Super funny, cute (but not too cute) story of discovering your own worth and discovering a person who sees it too. I loved all the nuances of the way that people think when they are interested in someone and the things that they will do instead of actually talking to that person. Because let's all be honest... who hasn't done some of these things? (Maybe not going through personal emails... but you know you've done something somewhat creeper-ish at some point in your life.)

This book is a phenomenal, personal look into Nancy and Ronald Reagan's marriage/life. What a beautiful life they had... it actually made me cry a few times. This is definitely a new favorite.

DNF at 50%, so I'm marking it read. I loved this book at the beginning, but after the spirit came into the story not as much. I kept trying to read it, but the spirit stuff interrupts the whole story and feels forced. So I called it quits. Jesmyn Ward's writing style is beautiful though, so I'm going to try her other books.

This review is also posted on Great Minds Read Alike.

If you've heard of A Monster Calls, then you've most likely heard the story behind it: Siobhann Dowd began the story after she was diagnosed with cancer but died before she was able to finish. Patrick Ness finished it after finally giving in to the request of her publisher. In the introduction, Ness says that he was reluctant until he read her notes and felt her saying “Go. Run with it. Make trouble.”

Stories don't end with the writers, however, many started the race. I usually adamantly stay away from “cancer” books, but the story behind this one was so moving.. I checked it out from the library the day first I heard about the book.

A Monster Calls is truly a heartwrenching story - simply but powerfully told. After Conor's mother begins treatments, a monster in the form of a yew tree visits Conor and tells him three stories, with the deal that at the end Conor has to tell him his story.. his TRUTH. At first, Conor (and the reader) has a hard time figuring out if the monster is real. Then Conor comes to expect the monster and finds comfort in his presence, in his stories, which are leading Conor to actually face his truth. Everything in the story is tied together so perfectly... there is beautiful symbolism with the yew tree, the monster's timing, and Conor's dreams.

The story is about grief and how people handle it so differently - how people make themselves believe something else when the truth is too hard, how they think things they wouldn't normally think. I think the true message of this book is to let yourself feel and then to give yourself a break. It was truly touching - not to mention, tearjerking.

You do not write your life with words, the monster said. You write it with actions. What you think is not important. It is only important what you do.

Nancy Drew books were my favorite as a middle graders (ish). I re-read this one for nostalgia's sake after getting my collection from my parents' house. It still held up for me, even though the story line and writing are pretty simple. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Nancy!

I'm so mad at Tana French... her writing is so great, but her endings SUCK. SO. BAD. So much that I'm done reading her books. This was my third try for her but we have to break up now. Sorry Tana..

Happiness is a risk. If you're not a little scared, then you're not doing it right.

Yet another great story by Sarah Addison Allen! This one focuses on the bonds of women and friendship through the story of Willa and Paxton, two girls who grew up in the same town but never had anything to do with each other until the remodeling of the Blue Ridge Madam. Together, they discover family secrets and break through barriers that they didn't know were there.

Willa was the high school prankster who tried to grow up and calm down like she thought her family wanted her to. Paxton was the girl who did what everyone wanted her to for her entire life and never took any chances. They both finally embrace who they truly are and find a deep and lasting friendship, while also opening up to love.

I identified very strongly with Paxton as the girl who grew up being the person that people expected her to be. It was fun to see her journey and realize that I have been through some of the same. Mainly learning not to control every aspect of my life and not to worry.

The magic element is not as strong in this book as in Allen's other stories, but it was still a fun read because of the nostalgia it causes. It made me miss my mom and all of my high school and college girl friends. I have spent the entire day texting and catching up with all of them. It gave me hope to find those types of friendships as I move along in life wherever I am.

Overall, there are a lot of lessons learned in this book all wrapped up in a sweet happily ever after.

Oh... and Claire Waverley from Garden Spells makes an appearance!

Although I read this a while ago, I still remember how awestruck I was. This is one of the best Christian fiction books I have ever read. If you are someone who God speaks to through symbols and visions this is for you. It is an amazing story of love and loss and passion and believing. It's truly inspiring.

This was a good mystery, but definitely did not live up to “And Then There Were None”. I wanted to start reading about Hercule Poirot from the first in the series, and I'm definitely not disappointed. I like Poirot a lot. He's hyperactive and intuitive. But there was still the extreme suspense missing. This story was a little more slow-moving, I think because Hastings really got on my nerves. I just don't like him, not even a little bit.

Overall, this was a clever story that tied up very nicely at the end, even after everyone was suspected in some way or another.

I remember how much I loved this book when I was about 10 years old. I would sit in my corner in my bean bag and read for hours. But now it seems like a distant memory that I can't quite reach. I don't really remember the story anymore... therefore I must re-read it soon. And possibly on to the entire series.

April 2020 reread: This was such a good reread to pull me put of the COVID blues. I couldn't handle anything heavy, so turned to this and it was perfect. It's so magical. And just made me remember a lot about how I felt as a child.. because I truly identified with Anne. I'm not that little girl anymore and not 100% like Anne, but I do remember that little girl who felt so understood by Anne. It was lovely to sit with her for a little while.

Since we all already know what the story is about, I'll just get on with what I think.

At the beginning of Mockingjay, I was appeased because the story line is actually different from the first two books in the series. And the story picks up right where Catching Fire leaves us and takes off running. There's a lot of hope for Katniss to end up being the outstanding badass leader that we all thought she could eventually become. I liked the pace and the slight mystery of whether or not the rebels truly have noble plans. I liked the development of Finnick's and Prim's characters. Things even started getting a little exciting when Katniss finally went into combat to take the Capitol.

Then about 75% through, I think Suzanne Collins just got tired of writing and everything went into super-hyper-wtf most-undeveloped-plot-ever speed. I did not like the ending, but it would have been ok if the story immediately leading up to it had actually been told.

Now I'm just MAD. This series as a whole is actually not well developed in my opinion. There is a lot of action, but hardly any character development... no lessons learned, etc. Katniss, in the end, ends up being just as empty as she was in the beginning. Humanity has no development.. just different groups manipulating and using other groups. And the love triangle... GAG!!! Katniss never even really had to make a decision.

I do not get why this has become the end all, be all for YA dystopian fiction. I've never been a huge dystopian reader, but now I think I will be on a mission to prove that there is better stuff out there... STAY TUNED.

Rant over for now.

January 2015: I finally did it!! Emma does become so good about halfway through. I think I was working on the first half for about 3 weeks, but the last half I read in 3 days. This is my first Jane Austen book I've read by choice... I think that's a lot of the reason that it took me so long to get into. I find that when I read classic authors, they each have such a unique language and style that it does take some time to get used to. So hopefully my next Jane Austen book won't take so long to get into. Or maybe they just drag at the beginning. We will see. Either way, they story in Emma is lovely. I mean we've all heard of Mr. Knightley, but I do truly love him in this story.

Previous: I love Jane Austen's writing style. This is the first Jane Austen novel that I read by choice and not in an english comp class... and that wasn't until I was about 21 (don't judge me). I really like Emma. She's a strong female character. I always love those type. But there's a part where the book just gets slow. I've started reading it twice and never finished. I will not give up though. I will try again so I can give a real review.

I love this series. This one was more philosophical until the end, but THE END was FANTASTIC. A definite unexpected twist that definitely makes me want to jump into the next book of the series.

Review to come.