Anthony's Book of the Week

I'm going to need to update the picture of the my little guy soon.  This one was just after his first birthday, and he'll be two here in a few days.  Maybe I can get him to sit still for a few minutes this weekend!!

Each week, Anthony and I pick out a new book to read throughout the week.  He's two, and honestly has the attention span of a gnat sometimes.  Some nights we may only get through one or two pages before he's off and going again. 

However, he's been completely enthralled this week with Bad Dog, Marley by John Grogan and it's proving to really hold his attention.

Summary from Goodreads:

Make way for Marley!

Mommy, Daddy, Cassie, and Baby Louie welcome Marley, a lovable puppy, into their home. But Marley doesn’t stay a pint-sized pup for long. He grows and grows, and the bigger Marley gets, the bigger trouble he gets into. Big, bad-boy trouble. Will this family have to find a new home for their misbehaving pooch, or will he prove he can be a good boy?


First off, not only does Anthony love this book, but so do I.  It's an adorable story, and I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Marley.  The illustrations in this book are wonderfully colorful and hold Anthony's attention and he loves to point and talk to the characters. 

I'm pretty sure that's there are a few other Marley books out there written for children, and I'm going to be looking them up in the next few days.  Marley seems to be a great way to get Anthony to connect with a book, and I'm not giving that up for anything!

Review: The Notebook

Title: The Notebook
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Pages: 213
Challenges: Nicholas Sparks Reading Challenge
Rating: 5/5

Summary from Goodreads:

A man with a faded, well-worn notebook open in his lap. A woman experiencing a morning ritual she doesn't understand. Until he begins to read to her. The Notebook is an achingly tender story about the enduring power of love, a story of miracles that will stay with you forever. Set amid the austere beauty of coastal North Carolina in 1946, The Notebook begins with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner returned home from World War II. Noah, thirty-one, is restoring a plantation home to its former glory, and he is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together, Noah is content to live with only memories. . . until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again. Allie Nelson, twenty-nine, is now engaged to another man, but realizes that the original passion she felt for Noah has not dimmed with the passage of time. Still, the obstacles that once ended their previous relationship remain, and the gulf between their worlds is too vast to ignore. With her impending marriage only weeks away, Allie is forced to confront her hopes and dreams for the future, a future that only she can shape. Like a puzzle within a puzzle, the story of Noah and Allie is just beginning. As it unfolds, their tale miraculously becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments, and fundamental changes that affect us all. Shining with a beauty that is rarely found in current literature, The Notebook establishes Nicholas Sparks as a classic storyteller with a unique insight into the only emotion that really matters.

For years, I have considered The Notebook to be one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.  I've read it multiple times, and each time learn a little something more from it.  It's the type of love story that is meant to be savored, and thought over.  The story of Noah and Allie will stay with me for days.  Because of this, there was no question in the fact that it would be one of the Nicholas Sparks books that I would choose to read for the 2013 Nicholas Sparks Reading Challenge.

Sparks has always been one of my favorite authors, and I'm always shocked that such love stories can come from a man.  For me, Sparks has a way a creating characters and love stories that reach the soul.  Every time I read one of his books, especially his earlier ones, I feel this warmth and love surround me.  And, I need about a dozen tissues to get through the end...

This is probably the first time I've read The Notebook in about four or five years, and this time it felt different, deeper and more meaningful.  I'm not sure if those changes are because in those five years my marriage has grown in love and strength, or if it is because I've became a mother.  Because being a mother changes EVERYTHING.  I found that parts of the story that never really affected me, now had me in tears.  I felt joyful at different parts, and happier at others.  It was an odd sensation, to have such a different reaction to the book, but one I'm glad I was able to enjoy and savor.

It's been almost 17 years since The Notebook was first published.  It's a major motion picture (well worth sitting down to watch, by the way) and the first in a long line of books by Nicholas Sparks.  And still, even after all this time, it is one of my favorite books of all time and definitely my favorite from such a well liked author.

Review: Stuart Little

Title: Stuart Little
Author: E.B. White
Pages: 131
Challenges: Pre 1960s Children Classics
Rating: 3/5

Summary from Goodreads:

Stuart Little is no ordinary mouse. Born to a family of humans, he lives in New York City with his parents, his older brother George, and Snowbell the cat. Though he's shy and thoughtful, he's also a true lover of adventure.

Stuart's greatest adventure comes when his best friend, a beautiful little bird named Margalo, disappears from her nest. Determined to track her down, Stuart ventures away from home for the very first time in his life. He finds adventure aplenty. But will he find his friend?

I honestly can't remember if I read Stuart Little when I was growing up or not.  I think it may have been read to me at some point, but even that is a little fuzzy.  Because of this, I thought Stuart Little would be a great choice for the Children's Classic Challenge I'm participating in.

Written in 1945, by famed author E.B. White, Stuart Little tells the story of a small mouse with grand ideas.  Born to human parents, Stuart is only 2 inches tall and must adjust to life where everything around him is ginormous.  Stuart loves his life and family, but soon finds himself on a great adventure, as he tries to find his best friend, the missing family bird.

All in all, Stuart Little wasn't at all like I suspected, and I actually found it to be a bit boring.  I feel horribly guilty even saying that, but to me the story felt disjounted and I can't believe it would hold the attention of a younger reader.  But, I've found out before that sometimes as an adult, the books I thought were so amazing when I was six, don't hold the same spark now as they did then.  Almost like a lose of innocence, and I find that to be sad.  But anyways, despite my thoughts, I'm still glad I read Stuart Little and look forward to reading some more children's classics throughout the year.

Review: Red Lily

Title: Red Lily
Author: Nora Roberts
Pages: 351
Challenges: Women's Challenge; Mount TBR, Color Coded
Rating: 4/5

Summary from Goodreads:

A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night...

Hayley Phillips came to Memphis hoping for a new start, for herself and her unborn child. She wasn't looking for a handout from her distant cousin Roz, just a job at her thriving In the Garden nursery. What she found was a home surrounded by beauty and the best friends she's ever had--including Roz's son Harper. To Hayley's delight, her new daughter Lily has really taken to him. To Hayley's chagrin, she has begun to dream about Harper--as much more than a friend...

If Hayley gives in to her desire, she's afraid the foundation she's built with Harper will come tumbling down. Especially since she's begun to suspect that her feelings are no longer completely her own. Flashes of the past and erratic behavior make Hayley believe that the Harper Bride has found a way inside of her mind and body. It's time to put the Bride to rest once and for all, so Hayley can know her own heart again--and whether she's willing to risk it...

Oh Nora, I hope you haven't already spoiled me for the year!

I can't say enough good things about this trilogy!  I absolutely loved and adored each and every one of the three novels.  There wasn't a single character that I didn't completely fall in love with, and Red Lily tells the story of my two favorites Harper and Hayley.

Harper and Hayley made a great romantic match.  From their very first meeting, they made me smile, and I loved that we got to see them grow throughout the first two books of the trilogy, and that we knew they were in love with each other long before they did.  It made their union that much sweeter.  Plus, Harper is my new book crush for the year 2013.  He was adoringly sweet to Hayley and I loved the fact that he was so in love with her daughter Lily.  Since becoming a mother myself, and seeing my husband with our child, there's just something that makes me all mushy and gushy inside when it comes to a doting daddy.

However, the best part of this whole book was the conclusion of the Harper Bride.  It was jaw dropping, and I didn't see it coming from a mile away.  Perhaps I'm naive, but Roberts really threw me for a loop on this one, and I loved it!  It was all so shocking and scary and absolutely perfect.  I just couldn't get enough of it.

Red Lily, and the entire In the Garden series will definitely be books that I'll turn to when I need to read something that I know I love.  These books were a great way to start out 2013!

What are you reading??

I love this meme posted by Sheila over at Book Journey.  It's a great way to reflect on the week just finished and the days ahead.  You can check out her blog here.

This past week was a busy one for me, with the new year starting and everything that entails at work.  Plus, I came down with a horrible cold the day after Christmas and it stuck with me through the new year.  I'm finally feeling better, and it feels wonderful to sit down tonight and type up a few posts here on the blog.

This week I read and completed:

Both were absolutely phenomal books.  The review for Black Rose is up here, and the review for Red Lily should be up tomorrow.

Coming up this next week, I'd love to finish up:

 

 

I'm really looking forward to reading all of these, especially The Notebook, which is one of my favorites.  It's always a nice re-read and then I can finish it off by watching the movie!

 

Hope you have a wonderful week and happy reading!!

Review: Black Rose

Title: Black Rose
Author: Nora Roberts
Pages: 291
Challenges: Women's Challenge; Mount TBR, Color Coded
Rating: 4/5

Summary from Goodreads:

A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night...

At forty-seven, Rosalind Harper is a woman whose experiences have made her strong enough to bend without breaking--and weather any storm. A widow with three grown sons, she survived a disastrous second marriage and built her In The Garden nursery from the ground up. Through the years, In The Garden has become more than just a thriving business--it is a symbol of hope and independence to Roz, and to the two women she shares it with. Newlywed Stella and new mother Hayley are the sisters of her heart, and together the three of them are the future of In The Garden.

But now the future is under attack, and Roz knows they can't fight this battle alone. Hired to investigate Roz's Harper ancestors, Dr. Mitchell Carnegie finds himself just as intrigued with Roz herself. And as they being to unravel the puzzle of the Harper Bride's identity, Roz is shocked to find herself falling for the fascinating genealogist. Now it is a desperate race to discover the truth before the unpredictable apparition lashes out at the one woman who can help her rest in peace...

Right before the end of the year, and in the rush of the holidays, I whipped through the first book in the In the Garden trilogy, Blue Dahlia and it was amazing.  I couldn't wait for the new year to begin and the parties to end, so I could settle down with Black Rose.  It was definitely worth the wait.

We were first introduced to Rosalind Harper in Blue Dahlia, and just the glimpses I saw of her in that book made me crave to know more.  I was so excited when I found out that the second book in the trilogy focused on her.  Roz is a tough as nails woman, who's had her share of heartbreak.  She was widowed at a young age, and left to raise three young boys on her own.  But she stood up to adversity, raised her boys, and eventually started her own garden center, which is now a thriving, wonderful business.  I wish we had something like it where I lived!  But she hasn't been without her share either.  Her second marriage was a sham, and her heart is closed off to love.  At least it is until she meets Dr. Mitchell Carnegie...

I love Mitch!  Something about him just had me cheering him on and I had his back every step of the way.  I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what would happen next and how things would progress.  He was a truly well written character and he had the backbone and strength to match Roz every step of the way.

The other thing that I absolutely adore about this series is the underlying story of the Harper Bride.  It's creepy and fascinating, and I couldn't wait to see what Roberts would do with her next.  I love finding out bits of her story, and seeing what the main characters do with the pieces.  I can't wait to get my hands on Red Lily and see how the whole thing finally comes together.  I definitely waited too long to pick up another Nora Roberts book, and I think I'll be making my way through her back list shortly!

I'm Back!!

Hello Everyone!! I know I've been gone for a long long time, but hopefully I'm back for good. This past year was a rough one, and I needed some time to collect myself.

In April, I suffered a miscarriage which was completely devestating.  We have such a hard time getting pregnant, and then to be so close was heartbreaking.  I pushed myself into different things to distract myself and found myself constantly working in the garden, spray painting stuff for the house, and cleaning.  I even got the basement cleaned and finally put together and now we have a family room and play room down there.  It was pretty productive summer. 

In August, I again miscarried.  This was the second of the year, and my third overall, and I was beginning to think we'd never be able to have anymore children.  Then, surprise, I found out in October I was pregnant again, and I'm due June 8th.  I went to the Dr. on Friday and everything is looking great, and besides some horrendous morning sickness, this has been a pretty low key pregnancy.  I'm currently 16 weeks and holding strong!  We're thrilled, and I am so looking forward to giving Anthony a little brother or sister.  We find out February 1st what we're having, but in all honesty,  all I want is a healthy little baby.  I'd be just as happy with a little boy, as I would a little girl.

I'm really looking forward to getting back to reviewing what I've read, and tracking all my reading adventures.  I've missed the blogging world, but I'm also glad I took the break.  With everything else, it just wasn't fun anymore and I felt like it was something I "had" to do rather than something I wanted to do.

I'm going to sign up for some reading challenges this year, probably way too many, and enjoy some reading this year!!