Haven't read this weekend

Sorry I haven't read this weekend. I've been pretty busy. Had Thanksgiving at my to-be in-law's house and then I needed to catch up on a bunch of writing for NaNoWriMo because I fell behind, and I will be doing the same today, lots of writing. And tomorrow I have a Thanksgiving meal with my family. So I don't have a whole lot of time to read. But starting Monday I should be back on track with reading and such. Hope you all have had a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Happy reading everyone :)

Continuing "Family Furninshings"

Today I read the short story Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro. This is her 5th story in the collection. This story was interesting as well. It had a similar feel to the previous story in the collection.

This story is told in several different points of view, which I enjoyed. I felt the Munro did a wonderful job writing these different points of view and she did another great job at creating realistic characters. The first point of view of of Johannah, who the story revolves around. It starts with Johannah making arrangements to ship furniture and buying a train ticket followed with her buying a new dress for herself. Then the point of view changes to the man she works for. She is a housekeeper and cook for an older man who's wife past away and his daughter has passed away as well. Through his point of view we discover that the furniture Johannah has arranged to be moved is not in fact her furniture to sell, which puts the man in a sort of frenzy and is uncharacteristic when speaking with his friends around town.

Then the POV changes to two young teenage girls. One girl, Sabitha, is the granddaughter of the man Johannah works for. Sabitha writes to her father who does not take care of her, but her aunts do. Her friend becomes curious about the extra letter that Johannah has been adding to the envelope that Sabitha sends her father. Eventually they begin writing letters to Johannah that her father, Ken, had not really written. The last letter, however, evokes Johannah to pack up and go to him. This is where the beginning of the story started.

Then we go back to Johannah's point of view and her experience when finding Ken. I don't want to go much further because I do not want to give away anything. But I really am enjoying Munro's writing style and her ability to bring these characters to life. They are all so realistic and jump off the page. I haven't encountered any characters that are similar to each other so far. She writes anything and everything and does it well. I can't wait to continue. I probably won't get much reading done this coming weekend because of the holiday but I will try and read a few stories here and there. Happy reading everyone :)

"Family Furnishings"

I read the fourth story, My Mother's Dream in Alice Munro's Family Furnishings collection of short stories. And so far this is my favorite story. It was sad and compelling at the same time. But it felt so real. The characters were realistic and Munro's writing style is absolutely marvelous. She gives us enough detail to see the surroundings and understand the way some of the characters are. Its absolutley beautiful.

I've decided that I'm going to give a review of each story since this collection is pretty long and at the end I will give an overall review of how I feel with the collection as a whole. So today I will begin with the short story My Mother's Dream. At first it is difficult to tell who is telling the story, but after about 2 or 3 pages we discover that it is in Jill's child's perspective. Jill is the main character of the story but it is told through her child's point of view, even right before she is born. But we still get somewhat deep insights into Jill's life and her sister-in-laws. Jill gives birth to her daughter shortly after she receives the news that her husband has been kill in WWII as a pilot. But the story is not really about her late husband. It is more about the early relationship, or lack-there-of, with her new born daughter.

Jill tries to breast feed her daughter, but the child refuses to par
take in it. So Jill's sister-in-law, Ioda, feeds the child a bottle of formula. From then on the child takes to Ioda instead of Jill. Anything Jill does makes the child cry and scream until Ioda comes and comforts her. Jill does not seem phased by this. She is worn from the birth and becoming a widow all in such a short time span that her thoughts and body are strained. I think she is glad that Ioda has taken a fondness of the child and that the child likes her as well. But the Ioda and her sister have to go on a small trip for a weekend, leaving Jill and the baby alone.

This creates the usual stress of being a new mother and trying to calm a child that does not like you. Jill begins to feel her patience growing thin and wants to sleep. The child only stops crying to feed fora few minutes, or decides to take a small break from crying. But the child cries at anything Jill does. It is this scene that really made me like this story. It is such a realistic occurrence. I myself am not a mother, but I can only image the kind of stress and unease this kind of situation would case a new mother. But the way Munro wrote this weekend of Jill and her child together was absolute marvelous and capturing. I could feel myself in the house with her as she tried to figure out a way to deal with the child and to help herself as well.

Now I won't go too much into the ending because I don't want to spoil anything. It is an interesting ending that also kind of ties into the beginning scene, but it was unexpected for me. I didn't see it coming, but once it happened I connected it to the beginning scene. I will only say that it changed the relationship between Jill and her new daughter, and for the better. I really enjoyed this story and I hope the others continue to be this great. I am really enjoying this author's work and I am so glad I was able to win this book in a goodreads.com giveaway. Tomorrow I will write about the next story in the collection. Happy reading everyone :)

Haven't done much reading...

Sorry but I haven't done much reading. Yesterday was my fiancee's birthday so I was doing things with him and his family, and today his kid brother is here for the day so I probably won't get any reading done either. I'm hoping to get back on schedule on Monday with reading. This collection of short stories is a long one so it will take me awhile regardless. Hope you all are having a great weekend and happy reading :)

Started "Family Furnishings"

Well, I've completed the first two stories in Alice Munro's short story collection Family Furnishings and holy cow are they long. This collection of stories is comprised of 24 stories. But the two that I have read are absolutely wonderful. The first story was very long though, about 50 pages. For me a short story should top off at about 20-30 pages, but I did really enjoy this first story. It was creatively written and it was difficult for me to put it down because I wanted to see where the story was going. It was divided into several sections that were in different points of view that revolved around the same event, but not at the same time. I thought that was great for the story.

The second story I read, which I read today, was a little more challenging. It was difficult for me to keep up with the point of view and I think the time period as well. But it was an interesting story of what I took as adults trying to cope with change that happens in their lives and what not. Even though I did have trouble following the point of view a little, it was still a fun read. I don't know if I just wasn't concentrating enough and my mind was wandering to make me confused or what, but it was still enjoyable.

Alice Munro has a wonderful writing style and is very detailed and vivid, but she only shows what you need to see. I don't think she has really over done it, even with the first story being a fairly long short story, it was still very enjoyable and not dragging. I really like her style of writing, she creates these worlds with just elegant words and interesting characters. I'm excited to read the rest of the stories. Happy reading everyone :)

"Baptisms and Dogs: Stories" by B.L. Tucker

Babptisms & Dogs: Stories by B.L. Tucker was an enjoyable read. I won this collection of short stories in a goodreads.com giveaway and it did enjoy this collection. It is a collection of 12 stories that are all based in the town of Seton Kentucky. That is the one commonality that ties the 12 stories together. The stories are all very different. The first one starts with a baptism and a tragic accident, there is a serial murder in the middle, and a bar fight at the end. The stories were not difficult to read at all. Very easy and fast paced.

The only thing that I did not like is that not many of the 12 stories gave me an ending feeling. I believe that short stories should leave you with a certain emotion, or make you think about what you had just read. Many of these did not do that for me. They were pretty straight forward and did not leave me with a certain emotion or have some ironic ending that left me speechless. A few of them I felt were even unfinished. Some of them were really good starts and had great potential, but then they just end, leaving me with a 'that's is'? mentality. I think some of them could have been amazing if they were just a little bit longer and had some kind of ironic ending or something like that. That was my only disappointment from this collection.

I did like that they were all based in the same town. I am not sure if they are all based around the same time or not, but I liked the commonality spread through the stories, tying the stories together. I think it makes a collection of short stories that much stronger when there is a commonality spread through out them.And the characters where all very strongly written. I really enjoyed that. They were very realistic and came to life in their short time in the collection. They were all different in unique, but very believable, which I enjoy. This author has a great way with creating characters and having them feel like they could be real people.

I am rating this collection of stories 4/5 on goodreads.com only because of the "incomplete" feeling some of the stories gave me. But I would recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys short stories and is looking for something new. And  I would also like to thank B.L.Tucker for sending me the book and having the giveaway.

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The next book I am going to be reading is another collection of short stories. It is much longer though so it will probably take me awhile to get through it, but it looks great. I also won this collection in a goodreads.com giveaway. I am going to be reading Family Furnishings Selected Stories, 1995-2014 by Alice Munro.

About Half way

I'm about half way through Baptisms & Dogs: Stories and so far the stories have been interesting. A nice variety of subjects and many of their page lengths vary as well. I'm not going to say much yet because I am only half way and since it is a collection of short stories  I would rather wait until the end to give a good review. But so far I have enjoyed the collection and I'm excited to see what the second half of the collection has in store. I'm sure I will be able to finish to book by Monday, at least I'm hoping so. It's shouldn't be difficult. The stories are fairly easy to read. Happy reading everyone :)

Finished "Rain Clouds and Waterfalls" by Piper Templeton

I really enjoyed Rain Clouds and Waterfalls by Piper Templeton. It was a novel written in short stories. The time increments in-between each story varies but some times does pass. The whole novel spans from 1976 to what I believe to be the late 80's.

The novel is a coming-of-age story for a young girl named Ellen who doesn't fully understand why her brother left their family when she was young. But she uses her passion, and her brother's, for the Beatles to help her get through troubling times in her life. She always finds a way to relate their songs to her life and they help her escape her troubling thoughts about her life as she constantly is reminded of her brother and how much she misses him. There are ten stories that focus on a particular time period of her life. One is her first crush, her first job, another her first sexual experience, and her loss and regaining of old friendships along the way.

I really enjoyed the way this novel was written. I liked that they were short stories but it was still a novel at the same time. And I really enjoyed the incorporation of the Beatles. It gave the stories a connecting thread to hold them all together. And I absolutely loved the ending. It was heart-warming and sad at the same time. I don't want to give too much away, but I thought it was a great ending for this book. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different or new to read. It's a very easy read and very enjoyable.

I would like to thank Piper Templeton for the opportunity to win this book in a goodreads.com giveaway. I will admit  I wasn't sure if I would really like this book, and I found myself really enjoying it and it was hard to put it down. I am rating this book a 5/5 on goodreads.com

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The next book I am going to be reading is Baptisms & Dogs: Stories by B.L. Tucker, a book I won in a goodreads.com giveaway. Happy reading everyone :)

Already Half Way

I'm already half way through Rain Clouds and Waterfalls and it is a wonderful book so far. I'm excited to right a full review for this book. It's a creative way to tell a coming of age story of a girl named Ellen.in the 70's and how she copes with things while listening to her Beatles' records. I think I should have the book done my Tuesday for sure. It's a pretty simple read but some of the 'stories' are a little long and I'll be distracted with football tomorrow and I still want to get a bunch of writing done for National Noel Writing Month this month. I'm doing a lot better than I expected so far so I'm going to really push myself to keep it going. Happy reading everyone :)

"Forsaken" by Keary Taylor; My final thoughts

I have finished Keary Taylor's book Forsaken. It is the second book of the her Fall of Angels series. It was slightly different from the first book. The biggest difference was that we get a few sections of the story from Alex' point of view. However, I felt most of them were unnecessary for the book until perhaps the last one in his view. The rest of them did not really do much for the story except change it up a little. I think if there were more sections of Alex' perspective it might have helped, but there were only a hand full of sections by him. The rest was heavily Jessica's perspective. Adding Alex' perspective did not ruin the book, but I think if it was a little more balanced it might have helped add to the importance of Alex' perspective instead of just Jessica's like in book one.

Now to the actual plot. I must say this book fell way short compared to the first book. It was honestly hard for me to keep my interest and finish it but I was hopeful for the end. And I must say, even the ending was kind of a let down. Yeah they solved the problem with Cole and found Emily finally and a few other things were resolved but there was nothing at the end that is making me want to read the last book. I don't think I'm going to purchase it to read it. If the series actually ended with this book I thought it would be just fine. But like I said, there is nothing really driving me to get the last book so I'm not planning on it. At least for now. Maybe if the price drops on it on Amazon I might consider it more.

Ok I got a little distracted. Now more about the plot. 80% of this book was Jessica being angry at Alex for not proposing! Like seriously? That was why it was so hard for me to get through most of this book. It barely had anything to do with the angles except that they needed to find Cole and get him to go back to the afterlife and that Alex was still adjusting to being "dead". But other than that it was all Jessica complaining that Alex was restraining from proposing to her. And the only reason she was was because she knew about the proposal just before she got kidnapped by Cole in the first book. If Cole had not told her about he proposal, she would not have been arguing with Alex this entire book. And because she is so caught up in this debate, she doesn't even really start to worry about Emily until A MONTH after she has been missing! A WHOLE MONTH! Like seriously, that is probably the most unrealistic things ever. Emily is Jessica's best friend who she has been through a lot with and can fully open up to about everything. And even after a week of Emily missing she barely says anything about it. But after a month, when Jessica finally goes to Emily's apartment to check things out, Jessica finally starts to really worry and decides to go after her. If my friend was missing for a week I would be searching frantically. I wouldn't wait a WHOLE MONTH to finally realize that shit isn't right. I just found that utterly ridiculous. I was also kind of sad that Sal was not as involved in this book. I really enjoyed Sal in the first book. She was almost like a comic relief but she was enjoyable and helped Jessica rethink things. And in this book she only really confronts Sal with her problem with Alex once. And it's near the end of their long dispute and she finally goes, "Oh wow. Maybe he does have a good reason" and it took Sal to make her realize that. I think if she had seen Sal about it much earlier in the book it would have been better.

So I got a little ranty about this book. Sorry about that. But I was really disappointed with this one compared to the first one and I doubt I will be reading the last book. I am going to be rating this book a 3.5/5 on goodreads.com.

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My next book that I will be reading is called by Piper Templeton. I won this book in a goodreads.com giveaway. It's a novel told in short stories so I'm not exactly sure how I will review the book. I'll see once I start reading it. Happy reading everyone :)

Rain Clouds and Waterfalls

Almost There

According to my kindle I am about 80% through Forsaken. I think I should be able to have it finished tomorrow, but if not I will for sure have it done Friday. But right now I really don't know if I"m going to buy the next book. I mean I probably will, but if the ending to this book isn't that great I might not finish the series. I don't know...this book is a lot less exciting than the first one. But it will depend on how it ends. I'll explain it more in my final review either tomorrow or Friday. Happy reading everyone :)

About half way with "Forsaken"

I'm almost at the half way mark of Forsaken by Keary Taylor. Things have certainly heated up now. Jessica and Alex need to find a way to deal with the still missing Cole. Alex has encountered a traumatic experience with the angels who are trying to find Cole and bring him back to where he belongs. Jessica is also dealing with her younger sister showing up in the middle of the night running from her abusive boyfriend. And Emily is still missing, and Jessica hasn't said much about that yet which really surprises me. Sometimes Jessica's priorities shock me. If my best friend was still missing I would be panicking and do whatever I could to find her. But Jessica almost seems fine now that Alex is back. I don't know, sometimes I feel Jessica is kind of selfish and lacks empathy but then other times I can understand why she is like that. I think that is kind of a good thing though because it helps create a more complex character. But there are moments where I question the way she deals with things and what problem she puts more focus on.

But like I said last time, I haven't been reading as much because National Novel Writing Month has started so I have been doing a lot more writing and will be until the end of the month. I will try to keep up on reading, but who knows what will happen. Happy reading everyone :)