Let's pretend my absence the last week didn't happen. I might have been binge-watching season 5 of Game of Thrones and was a little too pre-occupied. {grin} I have a million pictures worth sharing, but a certain 6 year-old {who is dangerously too close to 7} has my phone listening to a book snuggled in my bed, so I thought we'd do my April reads!
Let's get the embarrassing out of the way. I read A Shade of Vampire and A Shade of Blood because one of the girls in our book club said she read 7 books in the series {of 25 books!} in less than a week. She said they were dumb, but she couldn't stop reading them. I am a sucker for YA and series and loved Twilight. Guys, these are TERRIBLE. The first one ended with a cliffhanger so I got the second one. By the end of it, I didn't care. Terribly written, stupid plots. They all have high ratings on Amazon which proves people are idiots.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - This could easily end up as the best book I read of 2016. So glad I had it to counteract the brain cells I lost while reading those stupid vampire books. Set in France in WW2, this tells the story of 2 sisters who are just trying to survive the war yet manage to be heroes. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like this is what I learned about World War II in school: Europe got into another war with itself because of Germany. Hitler was horrible and wanted to take over Europe and kill all people not like what he considered to be perfect. America wanted to stay out of it because of The Great Depression. Then Japan bombed us at Pearl Harbor, and we got involved. We kicked butt, saved Europe from the Nazis, got ourselves out of The Great Depression, and became THE Super Power.' I have read several books in the last handful of years that give a European perspective on WW2, and it has been so fascinating. I have several books on reserve at the library for similar type books. LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Damaged by Cathy Glass - This was a true story written by a foster mother of the toughest child she had as a foster child. This story broke my heart at the travesties this young girl endured with her biological parents and the system that failed her. It was also a story of hope of how people can come together and make a difference. Cathy has written several other books that I can't wait to read.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - One of the first Dystopian novels {written in 1985} about the U.S. after being taken over by religious zealots who interpret the Bible literally. It was an interesting read, but I found it tedious at times and felt it could have been so much more. This was our book club book for April, and we definitely had great discussion after reading, but it wasn't my favorite.
Any good reads worth sharing?
