Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Dear Readers,

If you haven't figured it out by my reviews allow me to let you in on a secret.
I love reading.
Books probably take up and insane amount of room in this already cramped noggin. I love reading. I am happy reading almost anything but I am a sucker for reading about reading. Nothing relates to me more than a nerdier character who loves to read. That is exactly what you will find in Fangirl.
This may sound mean and I hate sounding mean in my reviews, but I cannot tell you that this book is amazing. Of course I loved it. I couldn't put it down. I laughter at many parts and my eyes stung at many too. But I cannot tell you that it is one of the best books I have ever read.
Let me launch into an explanation before those you haven't read it decide not to and those who have want to kill me for my blunt statement.
First off the book is young adult. I give credit to young adult authors. All of them. Even those who write stupid vampire paranormal romance shit. Writing is hard. Coming up with a world and filling all from your own mind is difficult. I like writing. I have written two novels. I doubt they will ever be published, but I understand the problems and difficulties when it comes to writing. The only qualm I have with young adult fiction though is that is meant for young adults. I love reading it and I have no doubt that I would love writing it, but it is not challenging. I guess that is the point right. When I read young adult books I tear through looking for something complicate the plot or the characters and I hardly ever find it. Some outstanding YA books exist, but most of them contain flat characters with uninteresting plots that are usually a love stories with cheesy and common lines and predictable ends. And yet through all of my problems and sort of hatred YA is my guilt pleasure. I read the books with lust and happiness and once I reach the end I am usually filled with emptiness and longing for something more substantial. It is like eating you favorite candy bar when what you really need is steak. You love the candy bar and it tasted really good when you ate it, but after your stomach still rumbles and the sugar begins to taste flat on your tongue.
The characters in this book were so relatable it was scary. The whole book was to way for me. It takes place in Lincoln, Nebraska the place I was born and grew up. Now that I live in the big city of Chicago the small boring state is a distant memory, but the book mentioned things I had almost forgotten and pulled back those memories. The main character is a girl named Cather. She is a hug fan of a made up fantasy series. The series the author created so closely resembles Harry Potter it is comical. Hopefully that was the intent. Cather writes fan-fiction about this "Simon Snow" series. If you have never read fan-fiction I would highly recommend it. I would start with Twilight shit. Some of them have potential sure, but most have so many grammar and spelling errors that reading them is a challenge with only the reward of knowing there are people more stupid than you out there. Cather is not like one of those fan-fiction writers though. She is good. She has a following. She is also going to college to become an actual fiction writer, so I give her some props. Even though she is fictional she is more an actual writer than I am. Cather begins the story as unsure freshman who is not confident in her abilities, looks, or thoughts. I guess over all it is coming of age story. A writer finding her voice. Relateable and lovable.
While reading it I was sure that this book was a main course. I was almost full to the brim, but once I reached the ending I found out that it was just an appetizer. Now I am hungry for more, and I can't decide if I need another candy bar or some steak this time. I enjoyed the book. I will go as far as saying I loved some of it, but that is for the references to my home-state and how relatable to main character was. Oh and the exerts of the fake fan-fiction were wonderful. There is a book you should write Rainbow Rowell. The gay wizard book. I want to read that one. Overall good book. Read it if you want to. If you are nerd I am sure you will enjoy it, I know I did. So read it or don't the choice is yours.
Lindsey
(P.S. I don't mean to offend those who loved it or the author although she will never read this review I was just being honest. It was good but it wasn't great. I don't set myself as a gudge above everyone. Sometimes though readers you need to be better than YA fiction. You need some challenge and you won't find it here.)
(P.P.S. I apologize for all of my awful food analogies. I am getting kind of hungry.)

The Ender Quintet by Orson Scott Card

Dear Readers,
I might have written a review on these first two books before, but now that I have read the last two and finished the series I thought it would be better to write a review of the series in its entirety.
Here is the link my review solely of Ender's Game. http://ilurvebooks.blogspot.com/2012/05/enders-game-by-orson-scott-card.html. If you haven't read that book do it. If you think that science fiction isn't your thing and it sounds boring do it anyway. It is honestly one of my favorite books and it changed my opinion of science fiction completely.
The Ender Quintet deals with the story of Ender Wiggin himself. Ender's Game, the first book, is about his lost childhood. At the age of five a boy named Andrew Wiggin  was taken from his family and sent to battle school. Battle school prepared the smartest and brightest young minds on Earth for command positions latter in life. After the Earth was attacked twice by an alien species known as the buggers humans began to take precautionary measures. These precautionary measures went too far when the adult who taught Ender tricked him into destroying the bugger's home planet by making him think he was playing a simulation.
After the final war on the alien race Ender leaves Earth to colonize a far off planet. On this planet he finds the sole remaining bugger. The last hive queen. The hive queen tells Ender their story through communicating mind to mind. Ender writes the story and publishes it. With that act he became the first Speaker of the Dead and created a some what religion.
The next three books in the series take place three thousand years after the first. Ender and his sister Valentine use light speed travel to jump from planet to planet so Ender can speak the dead of many others besides the hive queen. Because of the light speed travel Ender and Valentine are only in their thirties three thousand years after their birth. In the beginning of the second book Ender and Valentine are on the planet where Valentine finally found love. She is married with children. Ender is called to speak the death of a Xenobiologer on a planet thirty light years away. Ender leaves and Valentine stays.
On this new planet Ender finds more than just a strange death to unravel. The young girl who called for Ender years before is now older with children and an abusive husband. Humans are not the only ones on the planet. There is an alien species called Pequininos, nicknamed Piggies, that lived on the planet before the human colony. In their genes the Piggies contain a disease that is deadly to humans. The disease is necessary for the functions of the piggies life. 
Noviha, the now woman, studies this disease. Her parents found the way to save the humans from it. Her and her family are closely tied with not only the disease, but also the piggies. The man Ender was called to speak the death of was Noviha's segregate father. He was murdered by the piggies, but he death was not what is seemed to be. Noviha figured out on of the reason for it, and she was determined to keep it from his son and her lover Libo. It was all for not because Libo died in the same way as his father. 
When Ender reaches the planet everything is changed. The reason for the deaths are revealed. The planet rebels. The disease gets smarter. And the hive queen is introduced into the world again. 
Because of the rebellion and the disease the planet is scheduled to be destroyed. The rest of the books follow to lives of the people on the planet. Valentine and her family leave their home to help with the problems on the planet. Noviha and her children adopt Ender into their family. The bugger, piggies, and humans all begin to work together to prevent the destruction of their planet. 
From beginning to end I loved this series. In the first book you grow to love the characters and then you are able to grow up with them. I can not more highly recommend these books. Not only is plot riveting the themes are wonderful. Humanity is strong through out all of the books. All I can say it read them. They are wonderful. 
Lindsey 

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Dear Readers,
If you haven't heard of this book yet you are probably living under a rock. An HBO series came out of this book series. It is a really good show. I watched in like three days. It was wonderful. As much as I loved the show I love the book even more. It was great. If you haven't read or watched the series I would recommend reading the book first. Reading is always better when you don't know the out come.
So I am going to go read the second one and have no time to write the review. So I all I can say it read it. Just read it.
Lindsey

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Dear Readers,
Some how I managed to not read this book until now. I must admit I have watched the movie about a million times and know just about every line. But yet I had not the read the book. After reading Sense and Sensibility I wanted more Jane Austen romance. Going out and buying this book was one of my best decisions. Sure the book is just about a silly romance but that is exactly what it is suppose to be.
To paraphrase on of my other favorite movies, I was constantly in agony if Elizabeth would actually end up with Mr. Darcy. Of course I knew that ending. I knew who would marry who, but that did not stop my stomach from fluttering every time Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth exchanged their witty words.
Over all I loved this book. Sure I think the need for these sisters to marry gentleman before their lives mean anything is ridiculous. If you don't want to be a burden on your parents go get a job. I know that is not the times, but it still bothers me. Surely they can make somewhere besides marriage. They pay their servants and the people who run the shops. Go be a servant or run a shop. It seems simpler than marrying a man like Mr. Collins.
My dislike for the characters need for marriage will not prevent me from reading this book over and over again. It is a wonderful book and if you haven't read it yet do, dear friend, because I know you will love it.
Lindsey

"Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls" and "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris

Dear Readers,
A curious thing happens when people find out that you love reading. They start giving you their favorite books and forcing you to read them. Truth be told I was not forced to read these books as I have never been forced to read anything in my life. I was however give them by a co-worker to read.
Both of the books were written by the interesting and strangely funny David Sedaris. He has taken strange stories from his own life and told them in a manner that makes them comical. Normally there is nothing funny about a worm living in someones leg, buying a human skeleton, or living in a boarding home with a few crazy people but his voice makes them laughable.
It is nice to dive into someone else's life realize that you and your family are not the only crazy people on the planet. His stories actually make me feel a little more normal. That is probably the result of his numerous and different experiences.
I like to think that I have done a lot in my short life, but reading stories like David Sedaris's makes me realize I have done nothing yet. Through his scattered accounts you can piece together his interesting life. He has lived almost everywhere and done almost everything.
In one of his stories he actually talks about how he likes diving into other peoples lives. He received a call from a phone company trying to sell him their newest model, and after saying he was uninterested he began a conversation with the operator. It reminded him of the time he had a pen pal. That is what these stories remind me of. Having a pen pal who tells you numerous interesting stories. The best part is you don't have to think up interesting stories to send back.
They are both wonderful books I would recommend to anyone. Especially those who have tired of monogamous fiction books. These stories are short and refreshing. They jump from country to country and decade to decade. They will surely keep anyone's interest and leave you wanting more.
Lindsey

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquirel

Dear Readers,
Food and reading make up my existence. If I am not cooking or eating then I am surely reading. When I find books that both embody my passion for cooking and reading I get very excited. Like Water for Chocolate is the story of Tita, a women who lives to cook.
From the day of her birth Tita was in the kitchen. She was comforted by the smells of a cooking soup and the warmth of the oven. Her Aunt taught her the magic of cooking and from then on Tita was responsible for most of the cooking in the house.
Each chapter of the book and of Tita's life starts out with a new recipe. These recipe mark important events in her life. Her first love, her sisters wedding, her other sister elopement, many deaths, and many births. Her story is filled with up and downs in the meals that accompany them.
The book was originally written in Spanish and I believe a little of it was lost in translation. It reminds me of the numerous stories I read in high school Spanish class. There is a little disconnect in the English version. The magic the book speaks of reminds me of Mexican or Native American folk tales.
It is a very interesting book that tied together my love or food and reading. Tita's story is one of love for others and for the kitchen. I would highly recommend it!
Read on!
Lindsey

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Dear Readers,
This book had been getting such reviews that I thought I must read it. I liked it, but it was not the best thing since sliced bread. For a young adult book it was okay. It was cute. The characters were kind of interesting and the plot was intriguing enough to keep me reading it. I did not feel a instant attraction to it though. For me it was just okay.
The main characters have cancer. So it is a cancer book although it tried not to be. It's sad. People with cancer die and when you become attached to characters their deaths are sad.
People say they really loved the characters and here is where I mostly get lost. I liked the characters. They were funny at times, but at others they were cliche teenagers. The thing that really turned me off about the main female character was when she said V for Vendetta was a guy movie. Seriously could that me anymore of a stupid teen girl thing to say. I have not read other John Green books so I can not say this for sure but it felt like he did not know teen girls at all. The main girl was just very stereotypical. The main male character was cool, but he was just a teenage boy in love, something I have read many times.
Over all okay. Just like in the book they use okay instead of love or always my reaction to the book is okay.
Lindsey