Review: Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul

Title: Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul
Author: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery, Nancy Mitchell
Pages: 344
Rating: 3.5/5

Every year, millions of women wait with anticipation as they watch their test strip change from white to pink, thus beginning the awesome adventure of becoming a mother. This latest Chicken Soup book will find a place in the loving hearts and anxious minds of expectant mothers (and some fathers, too!). Written by expectant mothers, veteran moms and fathers-to-be, these stories tell of the physical, emotional and spiritual joys and challenges of each stage of motherhood, from "barely showing" to the awkward last months, from labor and delivery to watching and caring for Baby. There are stories that offer hope when the pregnancy isn't medically perfect; others offer light-hearted humor to cope with weight gain, morning sickness and other pregnancy woes; and still others offer words of wisdom for the seemingly daunting responsibilities of choosing a name, going through labor and bringing a new life into the world. With stories that relay the insecurities and triumphs of all sorts of different moms and moms-to-be-including multiple births, premature births, adoptions, and single-parent families-this book will tug at the heartstrings and ease the fears of all expectant mother. Chapters include: Special Moments, Delivery Day, Challenges, On Adoption, Advice from Others, For Expectant Fathers and The First Few Years. Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul is a must-have on every baby-shower gift list, and an essential requirement for every birthing bag (http://www.amazon.com/).

When I was younger, I was obsessed with the Chicken Soup books.  I read the one's for the Teenage Soul, the College Soul, the Teacher's Soul.  I read all the one's just for anyone's Soul.  Everyone new that the Chicken Soup books were the perfect gift to get me for almost any occaision.  And then, life got busy, I got married, and I fell away from the Chicken Soup books.  However, for my birthday my mom surprised me with this copy of Chicken Soup and I again devoured it in a matter of a few days.

I do think that this edition of Chicken Soup needs to come with a warning - "This book will induce massive amounts of tears and crying in pregnant woman.  Proceed with caution."  There were more than a few times that I had to close the book, go and find a massive box of tissues and cry in a corner for a few minutes before I could go back to it.  Then again, I've found myself tearing up at Hallmark commericals lately, so it's probably just me!

I thought this book had some great stories, but I didn't feel that it was as well rounded as it could be.  It seemed to focus a lot on "miracle babies," and some of the stories themselves scared the bejesus out of me.  There was a lot of talk about premature births, emergency births, babies with near fatal diseases, and the like.  As a first time mother waiting for my baby to be born, it was almost more than I could handle at times.  There were simply a few stories that I started, and then skipped once I saw the content of them.  I may appreciate those stories more after the baby is born and we know all is well and ok.

All in all, this wasn't a bad book and some of the stories touched my heart and a few had me laughing pretty hard.  If you like books like this, I don't think it's a bad one to pick up, but some people may want to wait to read it until after their babies are born!

Audio Review: Something Like Fate

Title: Something Like Fate
Author: Susane Colasanti
Listening Time: 5 hrs and 31 mins
Rating: 4/5

Lani and Erin are bonded for life. One thing that connects them is their fascination of fate. Lani wonders how much of our lives has already been decided and how much we can actually influence. Since the Unknown can unexpectedly change our lives forever, how much can we really control?
 
From the minute Lani meets Jason, she can't deny the intense connection they share. It feels like she's known him forever. She's not sure if he feels it, too. But it doesn't matter. Because Jason is Erin's boyfriend. Lani is determined to ignore her feelings for Jason, no matter how powerful they are, rather than risk hurting her best friend.
 
What if the boy who is your destiny is the one person you can't have (susanecolasanti.com)?

I've heard great things about Susane Colasanti all over the blogosphere, but had yet to take the time to read anything by her.  When I saw the library had Something Like Fate available for download I jumped at the chance.  I am extremely happy that I did.

Something Like Fate told the story of Lani, who somehow manages to fall in love with her best friend's boyfriend.  The story is a bit cliched, but Colasanti's use of fate made it more original.  I loved the different references to horoscopes, palm reading and the like.  I also liked how Colasanti created such a strong emotional bond between Lani and Erin, making the events that happen later in the novel that much worse.

One of my favorite things about Colasanti is her character development.  Each character in Something Like Fate was distinct with a strong personality.  My only complaint was that at times, I found Lani to be a bit whiny and at one point I did want to hit her over the head with a saucepan for being so dumb.  However, that may just be me and my hormones :)

I have a few more Susane Colasanti books hanging out on my TBR pile, and I'm hoping the library has a few more on audio that I can borrow. 

Are there any other young adult authors out there with similar writing styles to Colasanti's?  I'm definitely open to suggestions :)

Audio Review: Love You Hate You Miss You

Title: Love You Hate You Miss You
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Listening Time: 5 hrs and 8 mins
Rating: 4/5

It's been seventy five days. Amy's sick of her parents suddenly taking an interest in her, and she's really sick of people asking her about Julia. Julia's gone, and Amy doesn't want to talk about it. No one knew Julia like she did. No one gets what life is without her.

No one understands what it's like to know that it's all your fault.

Amy's shrink thinks she should keep a journal but instead, Amy starts writing letters to Julia. As she writes letter after letter, she begins to realize that the past holds its own secrets--and that the present deserves a chance (goodreads.com).

This is the second Elizabeth Scott novel that I've either read or listened to and I was blown away by this story.  Scott is an extremely talented young adult author, and I was again drawn into the story that she weaves.

Amy is a young, troubled teen dealing with the loss of her best friend Julia.  To help deal with her problems, Amy begins writing Julia long letters telling her about how she feels, her frustrations with school, how alone she seems.  These letters truly allow the reader to feel the pain that Amy is struggling with, and my heart truly broke for her.  Listening to this novel on audio seemed to make it all the more painful, because I could hear Amy's heart breaking with every word the narrator read.  By using Amy's letters to Julia, we are truly let into the mind of a teenager that struggles with decisions she made in the past.  We ride along on her road to discovery, traveling every twist, turn and bump.  It's an emotional rollercoaster but one I very much enjoyed taking.

Audio wise, I thought the narrator of this book was great.  It took me a few minutes to get used to her reading style, but once I did it was almost like watching a movie.  I almost felt like was eavesdropping, that how powerfully she read this novel, and how much she made it seem as though she truly was our main character Amy.  The power in an audio book is awesome, and I'm really enjoying them.  Plus they have completely doubled the amount of reading I can do in a week. 

If you are looking for a smart, entertaining, and sharp read Love You Hate You Miss You is definitely the book for you.  I'll be looking for more from author Elizabeth Scott in the coming weeks.

What are you reading (19)?

It's Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event now hosted by One Persons Journey Through a World Of Books. It's helpful way to take a look at what you have read and what you want to read!

What a great week it's been.  I had a three day weekend which was wonderful, and it was my birthday yesterday.  The big 29!  Hubby and I went to an early dinner and then saw Red with Bruce Wilson and Helen Mirren.  It was a pretty good evening and it was nice getting out and doing something just the two of us :) Today, we went to my mom and dad's and I helped pass out candy for trick or trick and then my mom had made a huge dinner.  Plus, she surprised me with the best gift ever.  When I was little, my dad had made my brother and I wooden giraffes for our rooms.  You could hang clothes on them and they were also a little bench.  When I was about 14 years old, he gave mine to his uncle to use for a pattern.  Since then, his uncle passed away and there's been a lot of strife within the family.  My dad did not feel comfortable calling his aunt to ask for the giraffe and told me he'd make a  new one for the baby.  I was upset because I really wanted him to have the one I had growing up.  My mom being the most wonderful mother in the world, called and spoke to my dad's aunt and was able to go and pick up the giraffe.  She did this about a month ago and has had it hid in their basement since then.  I wanted to cry when I opened the door and saw it there.  There was nothing that could have made me more happy or made me mom love her even more for being such a kind and loving person.  She's the best :)

This was a great week for me reading wise.  I discovered audio last week, and used it to its full advantage this past week.  I listened to Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson (you can see that review HERE) and The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff (that review is HERE).  I also finished the most wonderful book ever: The Thorn Birds.  I can't say enough good things about it and I'm so glad I took the time to read it.  That review is HERE.

Winter is setting in so I tend to do more reading in the evenings, so I'm hoping for another good reading week.  Here's what I have coming up:

Love You Hate You Miss You Audio by Elizabeth Scott

Something Like Fate Audio  by Susane Colasanti

The Alchemist's Daughter by Katharine McMahon

Second Honeymoon by Joanne Trollope

Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul

That's my week.  What do you have planned?



Review: The Thorn Birds

Title: The Thorn Birds
Author: Colleen McCullough
Pages: 673
Rating: 5/5

One of the most beloved novels of all time, Colleen McCullough's magnificent saga of dreams, struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian outback has enthralled readers the world over. The Thorn Birds is a chronicle of three generations of Clearys—an indomitable clan of ranchers carving lives from a beautiful, hard land while contending with the bitterness, frailty, and secrets that penetrate their family. It is a poignant love story, a powerful epic of struggle and sacrifice, a celebration of individuality and spirit. Most of all, it is the story of the Clearys' only daughter, Meggie, and the haunted priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart—and the intense joining of two hearts and souls over a lifetime, a relationship that dangerously oversteps sacred boundaries of ethics and dogma (Cover Blurb).


I've let the size of this book intimidate me for much too long.  Coming in at just under 700 pages, The Thorn Birds is one of the most amazing pieces of literature I have ever read.  Chocked full of dram intrigue and scandel, it has consumed my life for the past week and a half.  I've been fighting sleep at work because I can't put this book down to go to bed at night.  The story of the Cleary family draws you in, making it difficult to think of much else.

The Thorn Birds is told in seven parts and covers a bit more than 50 years of the Cleary family's life.  Most of the story centers around Meggie, the only daughter of Fee and Paddy Cleary.  Meggie is only a young girl when the family first moves to Australia, and it then that she meets Fr Ralph de Bricassart.  Ralph is a young Catholic priest struggling to find his place in the church and among men.  The reader watches as Meggie continues to grow into a beautiful young women and her relationship with Ralph also grows.  To tell more would almost be a sin, as all readers should experience this tale themselves.

At it's time of publication, The Thorn Birds created quite a scandel within the United States, especially with Catholics.  Catholics found huge scandel in Fr. Ralph and the journey he choice to take with his life.  Also, this book was seen to be a bit racy for the times, especially around the "older" generation who first read it.  In fact, I can remember when the mini-series was first on TV, that my mother banned me from the room when it was playing.  She said it was nothing that I needed to be seeing.  However, it did not stop her from watching it...lol.  Now as an adult, I understand her misgivings, especially considering the fact that we come from a very strong Catholic family.  My Great Uncle served under the Pope in Rome for almost 30 years, and my younger brother is currently in seminary studying for the priesthood.  I talked to him about The Thorn Birds, and he still finds it to be very scandalizing to the Catholic Church. 

To me The Thorn Birds is one of those books you can sink your teeth into.  The pages take you away to a far off country, to a time when life was slower and almost seemed to have more meaning.  I often found myself lost in the pages, loosing track of time and reality.  This book is most definitely one of my top ten favorite books, if not my favorite book of all time.  I am so glad that I took the time to experience this story for all that it is worth.

Audio Review: The Replacement

Title: The Replacement
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Listening Time: 10 hrs 34 mins
Rating: 2.5/5


Mackie is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess.
He is a Replacement - left in the crib of a human baby 16 years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world.
Mackie would give anything to live among us. He just wants to play bass guitar and find out more about an oddly intriguing girl named Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the slag heaps and find his rightful place - in our world, or theirs (theaudiobookstore.com).

In one word, this book was just - WEIRD.  I had high hopes for this one.  The cover was creepy as could be and the description sounded amazing.  I haven't read any books on changelings and the idea was quite new to me.  I figured with Halloween right around the corner, this would be a great read for the week.  I was wrong.

The audio for this book was good - having it read to you with different voices made it all the more creepier.  However, despite all this, I thought the book was boring and much too long.  I just felt like it took forever in between things happening and then the ending was extremely drawn out.  A few times, I almost felt like stopping the audio and moving on to something else, but the reader in me just wouldn't let it go.  I guess I kept hoping it would get better.

One of my main issues with the story was the language.  While I'm not a prude, I just felt like The Replacement had an overwhelming amount of the F word mingled among its many "pages."  I think if I hadn't been listening to this on audio, I probably wouldn't have noticed it as much, but I found it to be distracting and out of place on the audio.  I also found the few sexual situations to be a bit disconcerting.  Again I just found them to be a bit awkward and unjustified.  They almost seemed to be used as a bit of a filler.  It bothered me how front and center they seemed to be in a book aimed at young adults.

I do feel that what the book lacked in action, it definitely made up for in creepiness.  That's why I did rate it at least 2.5 stars.  I definitely didn't want to listen to this one after dark.  The narration helped emphasize this fact, and I found it to be very chilling.

All in all, this book as gotten pretty good reviews around the blog world.  It may have just been the wrong type of book for me, I'm not sure.  Has anyone else read this, and if so what are your thoughts?

Audio Review: Twisted

Title: Twisted
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Listening Time: 6 hrs 25 mins
Rating: 4/5

High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background—average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn't believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father's boss's daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy—and Tyler's secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world. In Twisted, the acclaimed Laurie Halse Anderson tackles a very controversial subject: what it means to be a man today. Fans and new readers alike will be captured by Tyler's pitchperfect, funny voice, the surprising narrative arc, and the thoughtful moral dilemmas that are at the heart of all of the author's award-winning, widely read work (penguingroup.com).


This was my first experience with audio books and I have to say I'm extremely pleased.  I was able to listen to this all day at work, and managed to finish a book in one day, and still got all my work done! 

Laurie Halse Anderson is quickly becoming one of my favorite young adult authors.  I finished Speak last week, and was completely blown away.  Twisted was almost as powerful.  The only reason why I didn't rate it quite as high as Speak was because I didn't connect with the main character as much as I did Melinda.  This was probably due to the fact that in Twisted, the main character was male, and being female some of the things didn't connect as well with me as they would a teenage boy.

Again, Anderson tackles some tough topics in Twisted including emotional abuse, bullying, and suicide.  One difference though, I feel, is that the issues where handled a bit more roughly in Twisted than they were in Speak.  This again, is mostly due to the difference in characters.  Also, the language and situations in Twisted are a bit more "vulgar," or rough around the edges.

My favorite character in the novel was Yoda, who is Tyler's best friend.  He's super obsessed with Star Wars, and has a habit of quoting Yoda and talking like a true Jedi Warrior.  I just thought he was cute...and a little dorky.  I've always had a bit of soft spot for guys like that :).

Audio book wise, I thought the narrator of this was amazing.  He was one of the reasons why I continued to listen to the book all day, rather than shutting it off here and there to listen to something else.  I felt he truly brought the characters and the situations to life.  I'm extremely glad I started with this particular novel as my first audio.    I look forward to see if I can find more audio books read by this same narrator.  I can see now why narrators can make all the difference in an audio book!

Next up for me is The Replacement.  I've heard great things about this particular book and I'm excited to see how it is for me :)