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

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Dear Readers,
Recently I am finding things not intended to be comical, funny. This book is included in that category. In the book store it was under the Horror section, but that is not very accurate. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is a wonderful mash up of a historical biography and a horror/fantasy book.
The book starts out with 6 old leather bound journals and various other old documents given to a young store owner in Illinois. These journals turn out to be Abraham Lincoln's account of his vampire hunting days.
When Abe was a young boy he watched his mother die. She was murdered by a vampire when given a small amount of vampire blood. Abe was furious. He was filled with a strong hatred for the creatures that murdered his beloved mother. While Abe grew so did his hatred. He researched, planned, and prepared to kill vampires. He first attempt was not successful. In fact if it had not been for the help of another vampire he would not have survived.
Abe was knocked out in the fight and when he awakes he finds himself in an underground house. Henry Sturges introduces himself. Abe finally puts two and two together and comes to the conclusion that Henry is a vampire he tries to move and escape but it too weak and also is restrained. Once well and in less of a rage Abe is released from his restraints. Henry begins to teach him the proper way to hunt and kill vampires. He sends Abe off with his new skills and promises to send him names of those how need to be visited.
When the first names come he sets off to kill. The names continue to come and Abe continues to hunt.
The book follows Abe through his life. He meets the love of his life, then she meets an untimely death. Again Abe falls in love. He is married. He also begins his study of law and politics.
The book follows Lincolns life very accurately with many events and actions explained by his drive to ride the world of the creatures that take so many loved ones from him. When Lincoln finally becomes president and begins the civil war it is explained that he is doing so to win the war against vampires who intend to take over the U.S. The vampires have allied themselves with the Southern Slave Traders with promises of freedom when they enslave humanity. Of course the book ends with Abe's murder, but it is explained that John Wilkes Both is a vampire.
This mash up of two genres that really should never work together is fantastic. Seth Grahame-Smith writes with such accuracy it makes you almost believe that Abraham Lincoln really could have been a vampire hunter.
Lindsey

My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

Dear Readers,
This book makes me want to be an artist, a desire that is not common to me. I enjoy life, but normally have no desire to put what I see onto canvas. Painting and drawing can only capture one sense (not even my favorite sense). My Name is Asher Lev made painting more interesting. It made it into something I almost wanted to try. Almost.
I must again say this book was different than what I thought it was going to be. I find that is true about most books, which means I need to stop judging them before reading. In my defense I heard many book review and such high praise about this book that it altered my view before reading. The book lived up to the praise. In many ways it actually exceeded my expectations.
Again I did something with this book that I do with too many. I thought the book was above me and it was going to be hard to read. For some reason when people tell me that books are great and have a deep meaning it translates to difficult and boring. Asher Lev, the narrator of the book, turned out to be very personable and well spoken without be lofty.
Asher Lev was from a Jewish family in New York. His father and mother came from very important Jewish families. Asher was next in line to be very important. Instead of following his father into working for the rebbe he fell in love with art. From a young age he was said to have a gift. He would paint or draw everything he saw. His father did not approve. Many times he was told to stop this silliness and grow up. Asher was told that God did not approve of his drawing and it was a sin to continue on with something so childish. The rebbe however had different ideas.
The rebbe says Asher is to learn to paint. He is to be taught by a prominent Jewish artist. While studying the different types of art Asher learns to turn his passion and raw talent into beauty.
What else can I say but read it?
Enjoy!
Lindsey  

God is Dead by Ron Currie Jr.

Dear Readers,

Ron Currie Jr. is an interesting author. I enjoyed all of the books I read of his. Everything Matters was my favorite. I found meaning and incite in that book. His other books I have read intrigue me and make me think, but I am not exactly sure what to say about them.
God is Dead was good but quite horrifying to me. To some who are not religious and not believe in a God this book may not seem horrifying, but to those who find purpose in religion it might send a shock wave through their beliefs. Thinking about what would happen if something you believed in your whole life suddenly stops being true is a real mind trip.
I was raised in the Christian church. The Missouri Synod Lutheran Church to be more exact. When thinking about my religion it seemed to be a tall tower built off blocks. If one of the foundation blocks was suddenly removed the whole thing then seemed lucrative. Age has helped expand my beliefs and they are no longer restricted to tottering tower of blocks. Still thinking about what would happen if God was entirely removed from the world shook me.
The book is told from many different views; these views help show how all different sorts of people were affected. It unites the world and tears it apart at the same time. Suddenly everyone is in the same boat with no idea what the future holds. This should unify people, but instead violence breaks out. Then things keep going and people realize the they have to keep on living. Somehow the world keeps spinning. The unique stories in this book make you think about what happens to the human race after disasters of all types.
So many different points could be discussed from this book, but I really cannot do them all justice. Read the book and then you will see what I mean. It is a quick read. Short book, but it will provoke more thought than books triple its length.
Lindsey

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkekes

Dear Readers,
Romance and Chick-Lit are the comfort food of books. They are the bowl of chicken noodle soup on a cold day. They are the old baggy pair of sweat pants that you own. You love them because they are so comfortable, but you would never be caught dead in them in pubic. Something about the improbable stories sucks the reader in and even if they want to leave it won't let them. It doesn't matter if you know the end from the first page or if you have no emotional attachment to the characters, it is impossible to stop.
Perfect Chemistry was recommended to me a few years ago. I read a description of the book and thought 'hey that sounds like something I would like to read'. I instantly put it on my to-read book list. It has been on there for a while and I decided I should finally read it.
Perfect Chemistry was predictable and implausible like most teen romance novels. The plot was quick moving, almost to quick moving.The characters were slightly boring. A gang member who has a heart is not the most original character, and having him fall in love with the 'perfect' pretty girl with a hard family life was almost comical. The theme was pretty nonexistent, but I guess that is when you get from romance.
To young teen age girls living far from the big city and all of its bright lights the idea of a Mexican gang member with a soft side is probably very enticing. Just like pirates once where to love hungry ladies no where near the water. People have been gobbling up the same story forever. The bad guy falls for the good girl and she goes against everything she knows and falls for him. They both have secrets and they share them. They finally found someone to understand them and it was the complete opposite of who they thought it would be. Blah Blah Blah. It goes on and on.
Both of the main characters have secrets that they think make them special and set them apart. The pretty girl has a disabled sister and wack-a-doodle mother. She longs for something besides being perfect. The extremely hot bad boy gangbanger wants a quite life with no violence and safety for his family. They find each other thrown together and grudgingly they start to interact. A wall breaks down and they see each other for the first time. Its pretty much down hill from there. A cookie cutter romance novel.
I do give props to the author for actually killing a character. Some real suffering happened. Some people got the shit beaten out of them a few times. The gang violence wasn't all empty threats and missed bullets.
If you are looking for an escape you can find it here. It wasn't a long one for me. Only took me an afternoon to read, and then it was back to thinking about the very real mean Chicago street. Its cute. The ending is cute. I don't want to spoil it because there are so many possibilities.
Lindsey
P.S.
This book makes me happy because it makes me realize we are one step closer to this exciting future.
If gangsters can be love interests then they are on their way to being harmless just like pirates.

Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles by Ron Currie Jr.

Dear Readers,
I am stumped. Normally after reading a book I am filled with so many thoughts, questions, and revelations that it is hard to put it all in one blog post. For some reason Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles has left me with nothing. Not that the book wasn't good because it was. Not that is didn't interest me because it did. I just don't think there is anything I can say about it.
I am trying hard to give you a good review. I am trying to tell you what to expect, but I don't think I should. I think that you should enjoy this one for yourself. The writing style is very interesting. It switches between different streams of thought so you will never get bored. The story it intriguing. The characters are complex and relatable.
All I have left to say is read it. Enjoy it. It left me with something. Something that I really can't put into words. Hopefully you find something in this "true" story, too.
Lindsey

My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme

Dear Readers,

What can be said about Julia that hasn't already been said?
Her life was full of love. Whether in the kitchen or on television or with the people she loved, Julia Child put her heart into everything.
This love for food, also life, was one of the many influences that pushed me into the culinary industry. Before reading her auto-biography I knew very little about Julia. I thought that I knew her life story, but I really knew nothing until I heard it from her. Her quirky, informal, and personal voice leaves no guessing on how she became an instant success as a cookbook writer and television personality. Her voice and very interesting life make "My Life in France" feel nothing like a dry, traditional biography.
"The France Book", written with help from her great nephew, begins when Julia first discovers her love of France and French food. For every chef out there a story lurkers behind their love. The first taste of excellence never leaves a person. For Julia is was a bite of Sole Menuiere in the Norman countryside her first day in France that set her on the path to becoming the "French Chef". One can only become a great cook after becoming a great eater. Julia and Paul became fantastic eaters their first year in Paris. With a new taste for the rich and wonderful French cuisine, Julia longed to learn to cook the dishes. She started with many disastrous attempts, but eventually with enough practice and confidence grew into an accomplished cook.
These first mess ups and flops are what separate the real go getters from the rest. After messing up and messing up only the ones who will truly make it keep trying. Confidence is key in the kitchen. Julia said it best  when she described her vile eggs Florentine.

"I don't believe in twisting yourself into knots of excuses and explanation over food you make. When one's hostess starts in with self deprecation such as 'Oh, I don't know how to cook...,' or 'Poor little me...,' or 'This tastes awful...,' it is so dreadful to have to reassure that everything is delicious and fine, whether it is or not. Besides, such admissions only draw attentions to one's shortcomings (or self-perceived shortcomings), and make the other person think, 'Yes you're right, this really is an awful meal!' Maybe the cat has fallen into the stew, or the lettuce has frozen, or the cake has collapsed- eh bein tant pis! Usually one's cooking is better than one thinks it is. And if the food is truly vile, as my ersatz eggs Florentine surely were, then the cook must simply grit her teeth and bear it with a smile- and learn from her mistakes." 

 I shared my own flops and failures in the kitchen, and I can guarantee more are coming. Julia's knowledge though rings true. When mistakes are made in the kitchen and in life they must be made into learning experiences.
Julia Child lived a life filled with love and good food, and that is all anyone can hope for (it is most certainly what I am striving for). Reading about her passion has made me think more about my own passions. I have chosen a field where I do what I love everyday. If I did not love baking the burns on my arms and dough under my nails would never be worth it. I leave for work happy every morning and come home thoroughly exhausted but happy. For a very short while I worked at a bakery where I was unhappy; it showed me a few things. Life is to short to do things you dislike. What is the point in waking up everyday to work somewhere that make you miserable? Some may say that I am to young to be thinking about these things. Is there really a better time though? I now have my whole life ahead of me to fill with passion and love.
Julia wander in life for a while. She herself said she was lost in life. Until she met Paul and found a passion for food Julia was not the Julia we all know and love.
Julia taught many how to cook, but she has taught me this... A life lived in the purist of good food and passion is a life well lived. So dear readers have no fear. Go wholeheartedly into anything you love. Make no excuses for your mistakes, instead learn from them. And above all enjoy every morsel you eat!
Lindsey

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Dear Readers,
"You don't put your life into your books. You find it there."
This quirky little novella provides much more insist into the mind of a read than is expected from only 120 pages. The Uncommon Reader tells the tale of an uncommon woman learning the wonder of books meant for common people.
When her unruly corgis find their way onto a traveling library by the castle kitchens Queen Elizabeth II feels obligated to borrow a book from Mr. Hutchings. Out of the same obligation she reads the book and returns it to him the next week. The young Norman, a kitchen boy, recommends the next book for the queen. After a few books she decides she likes this reading thing. Norman becomes her amanuensis.
The more books Norman finds for her, the more the Queen disregards her normal duties. While leaving behind what filled her time to read books, she finds one's life between their pages.
Alan Bennett's Queen has such a sense of finding herself in literature that relating was very easy and the 120 pages flew by. Books open the reader to a whole new world. Places inaccessible and people who are long gone are just a page away for anyone willing to read. The world is such a broad place for one person to experience everything is impossible. Even the Queen of England in this novel felt as though she had not experienced enough.  One evening she writes in her journal "I think of literature as a vast county to far borders of which I am  journeying but will never reach". Books can open up a whole new vast country with unreachable far off borders. So much knowledge and information can be learned from the books at the local library.
Not only do books open up knowledge of human kind with its triumphs, downfalls, wars, and times of peace they also open up the mind. They allow reflection onto one own's life. For the Queen her literature induced epiphany was that her interesting, wonderful, and extremely uncommon life would be left only in peoples memories. This acknowledgement of her current state drove the Queen to seek out ways of leaving her life as more than just a distant memory. The search is not for redemption but conformation  Through reflection and analysis she plans on confirming what she knows about her uncommon life. With the new found knowledge she means to write her story.
Few things can compare to reading. It is an involuntary reaction for most. We read the milk carton at breakfast, the ads on the subway, the billboards on the side of the road, and the multiple text message, twitter and facebook updates, and email on our phones. Finding one's self through words is not much harder. Picking up  a book is the first step to self discovery. Through literature passions can be found, interests can be cultivated, feelings can be understood, history can be relived, lessons can be learned, mistakes can be prevented. If that is not enough motivation to pick up a book the best advice would be to go see a doctor.
Lindsey
Postscript
Not only is this book a wonderful read, a road to self discovery, and an understanding of literature the writing is peppered with fantastic humor. It is one of those books that will leave you smiling. The wit is outstanding. For a taste here is my favorite passage.
These are lines exchanged between the secretary of the Queen and the secretary of the Prime Minister.
"'Yes. Lending him books to read. That's out of order.'
'Her Majesty likes reading.'
'I like having my dick sucked. I don't make the prime minister do it. Any thoughts, Kevin?'"
Go Out And READ!!

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Dear Readers,
So rarely is there a book that perfectly captures the transformation from  teenager to young woman. I Capture the Castle is one of those rare books. The teen shelves at bookstores are now filled with shit. Books that fill teenage girls' heads with silly notions that they will find the perfect man and then on top of him being perfect they will change into vampires and than live forever. Their romances are cheap and their characters transparent. These books are not empowering all of the female teenagers out there, instead they are teaching them that when they fall in love everything will magically work out and there will be no more problem unless they involve saving the world repeatedly, mistaken identities, or the worst of all they are separated from there boyfriend for more than 20 minutes. Life and love is hard. When  better to learn that than as a teenager.
Here is where someone could interject that learning everything from books is not good either. It is said that failure is the best teacher. That is true, but why are we sending girls out there to fail with high expectations of life. It only makes it so when they fall they fall further. They need a guide. I Capture the Castle can be that guide.
Cassandra the narrator of I Capture the Castle is a very well-spoken seventeen year old. She journals a year of her life living in a decrepit castle in the English country side with her family. Her father, who is a famous retired writer, feel in love with the castle while getting lost house hunting one day. He immediately signed a 40 year lease. When they move to the castle Cassandra and her family had it good, but soon things go down hill. Her mother dies, the house keepers dies, her father marries again, and slowly they are running out of money. By the time Cassandra starts her journal they are all out of work, wearing thread bare clothes, and living off their garden and the few eggs they can get from a neighboring farmer. Cassandra has adapted fine to the poverty, but her twenty-one ear old sister, Rose, has not. She still longs for the days when they had more than just enough food to go around and they could buy new clothes every year. Just when Rose considers selling her soul the devil to just get out, a light at the end of the tunnel comes.
The owner of the castle from whom Father is renting died, and his two sons have come to England to visit their estate and their mother. They wander into the castle and end up meeting Cassandra and her family. Rose is determined to make one of them fall in love with her. Both of them are rich and money is all she says she needs. The two families are thrown together.
While her sister is content to fall in love with whoever Cassandra sits to the side and watches. She nudges her sister along knowing that if she marries they will no longer be poor. What she did not expect was how deeply she was going to fall for the man who fell for Rose. After a secret kiss Cassandra falls head over heels in love with the man her sister is suppose to marry. Since her feelings are not reciprocated she is very unhappy in love. She searched for happiness through other means. She tries to push away her feelings.
When she finds out that Rose is not love with her fiance Cassandra has the small hope that they will break it off and he will fall in love with her. They end the engagement, but Cassandra does not get her wish. The man she longs for is still in love with Rose. Cassandra still loves him and even though he asked her to come to America with him she declines. In the end she is happy though she has grown out of her youthful stage and now understands what being in love is about.
That might be an awful and quickly written explanation of the book. It made the book sound silly and only about how much she longed for a man. The meaning in this book is one of those things that is hard to describe in words. Words are no match to my feeling for this book. I related to it so strongly. I have not been unhappy in love to many times, but every high school girl has her share of heart break and unrequited love. The relation to the book went much further than anything about love. Cassandra thought her life was going one way. She planned, she dreamed, she hoped for this one thing to happen. It was all she wanted in the world. For the man she loved to love her back. When it finally came she felt different more adult about her feelings. She declined his offer to leave the country with him. When something you have wanted for so long finally happens it sometimes does not meet your expectations and you are left feeling much different.
I moved to Chicago a year ago longing for freedom from my parents, my town, my old life. I left thinking that I was going to live the most exciting life in the city. I was going to be doing something I had wanted for so long. I had practically begged my parents to let me go. Now after I have been here I find that I want nothing more than to be home with them. Its such an odd feeling. I must grow up though. The saying goes that you sleep in the bed you made. The hardest thing I find with growing up is expectation verses reality. I have recently gone through that just like Cassandra and just like many young girls will go through. It is something not many are prepared for. I know that all life lessons cannot be learnt from the pages of a book, but it is better to be prepared.
I would like to close with one final statement about the book and its importance, but I really can't find the words. For me there was so much more in the book than just a teenage girl longing for love. The best I can do is to say read it. Maybe Cassandra's story will help you grow. Maybe it can help you capture the castles in your life. I know it gave me a good eye-opening.
Lindsey

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

Dear Readers,
It would be nice to say that this book left off exactly where Ender's Game ended. That the story of the young boy who the world hated but you fell in love with is right exactly were is it was left, but that is not true.
The Speaker for the Dead begins about 3,000 years after Ender's Game is finished. Ender and his sister, Valentine, are still alive because of their countless journeys traveling at light speed. Ender and Valentine are traveling from planet to planet to speak for the dead. They end up on a a planet mostly filled with water and Valentine falls in love with a seaman there.
This book though does not start out with these familiar face. The reader is first taken to a unfamiliar planet named Lusitania. A colony of mostly Portuguese speaking Catholics has been set up to study the planet. An alien species has been found in the forests of Lusitania. Instead of interacting with this new species and sharing knowledge the Starway Congress (the government of the Hundred Worlds inhabited by humans) tasks a member of the colony to study them.
Pipo is the xenologer (alien anthropology) at the beginning of the book. He and his teenage son Libo go out into the forest once a day to talk to the new species. The aliens are know as Pequenios or more commonly "piggies". The Starway Congress has told the xenologers to gather information about the piggies but to not give them any information about the human worlds. This process makes learning about the piggies very slow going. Until one other person from the colony joins in on their research. 
Novinha's parents died when she was very young. Her parents were the biologist for the colony. They discovered a cure for a disease that was crippling the colony, but not before they themselves were stuck with the sickness. She had been living alone and in silence for many years. At the age of thirteen she wants to take the exam to become the new biologist. Pipo is charged with the task of figuring out why this young girl wants to take the test. Novinha explains that she wants to learn more about the piggies. She wants to be able to speak their story and know their past. Pipo agrees to let her take the test and help him and Libo with the research about the piggies. 
Years go by with more and more things being found out about the piggies. Rooter is one of the piggies that commonly converses with the xenologers. During the years of supposed peace Rooter get murdered by the other piggies. His chest is cut open and his organs are spread out onto the ground. There is also a tree planted inside of him. All three of them are confused. They know that it is some peace to a puzzle they cannot figure out. 
One day Novinha was looking over slides from all of the animals and plants on Lusitania and she finds a connection. Pipo looks over her research and figures out something about the piggies that they had not previously known. He rushes off the ask the piggies if this is true. He ends up just like rooter. Cut open with his organs spread out. Libo and Novinha are crushed. Libo wants to know what made Pipo go out into the forest and Novinha will not show him because she does not want him to end up the same way. Novinha is crushed and calls on a speaker to come help make sense of Pipo's death. 
This is where Ender comes in. He hears about the death and decides to go to speak the death of Pipo. He knows this time Valentine cannot come with him. She is having a child and found the man she wants to spend her life with. He leaves on a journey that to him will only seem like weeks but to Valentine and to the people on Lusitania it will be 22 years. When he arrives things are much different than when he left. 
The already exciting plot takes off from there, but the fantastic plot is not the only reason to read this book. The characters are so interesting. They are not the most complex characters ever written. Their motives are often easily seen and the truth can easily be found because most of what they do is out of love. Just as the humans in the book have to decide if the piggies are aliens or people the reader also must decide. Thinking about what actions of the characters I found most interesting I starting thinking about the piggies first. Their actions have reason. The piggies are not mindless animals. When they killed Pipo and than later Libo they have reasons. There is motivation behind every characters action in this book. 
Speaker for the Dead, just like Ender's Game, will mess your mind a little. Both books show humans going to point of extreme in the human mind. Ender's Game was more about what people could be pushed to do when trying to save their own race. It showed how impersonal and uncaring the human race can be. Speaker for the Dead showed how compassionate and understanding the human race can be. Ender and so many other's on Lusitania risked everything they had to help the piggies. They defied the Starways Congress to come to the aid of a race that many people did not even consider anything but animals. After reading Ender's Game I was stuck wondering how far I could go. How many people I would harm to ensure that my life would stay safe, which are not very happy thoughts. After Speaker for the Dead I am stuck wondering if if I can stand up for the things I find morally right if they will cause harm to me. I can only aspire to be like Pipo and Libo in all situations that require sticking to what I believe. 
Speaker for the Dead is one of those books that I think everyone would enjoy. Yes it is Science-Fiction which is not always up everyone's alley, but it is very approachable. When I first read Ender's Game the way it was described to me I was afraid. I was worried that it was going to take hours of reading to just understand one chapter, but it turned out to be just the opposite. At the beginning for Speaker of the Dead I felt overwhelmed with all of the new information about this distant planet, but it got better. Keep going. The plot will pick up after about ten pages. The book is well worth even the work. 
Enjoy and Read On!! 
Lindsey 

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Dear Readers,
Can there be a more appropriate time of the year for me to read a Jane Austen novel? Valentine's day is coming up and this book fits the romantic bill. The book is mostly about love, but it is the better kind of romance novel. It is not all sex and lust. It is about love, about longing for the other half of your heart, about finding the person you are meant to be with. Miss Jane Austen did romance the right way.
Anne Elliot is the main character of this fantastic book. She is one of those characters that do not act like main characters. Miss Anne is the youngest of the three Elliot daughters. The middle sister is married, the oldest takes care of the estate and helps their father, and Anne takes more of a back seat.
At the beginning of the book her father decides to rent out their estate because money is running short. Sir Walter Elliot and Miss Elizabeth Elliot are to move to the exciting city of Bath. Anne has no desire to move with her father and sister. Instead she goes to live with Mary for a few months until a family friend, Mrs. Russell, is back in town to take her in. While visiting Mary she is thrown into the social circle of the Mussgroves. Included in this circle is the man she once loved, Captain Frederick Wentworth.
Eight years previous Captain Wentworth was not a captain, had no money and no land, but had a heart full of love for Anne. Anne was persuaded to break off their engagement because of the lack of money. She has secretly regretted the decision. Seeing him again puts her in quite in a conundrum. Now that he has money and a title Captain Wentworth is looking for a wife to spend his life with. Who Captain Wentworth ends up with is no surprise. It ends the way most romance novels end, but the way it gets there is interesting, exciting, and full of suspense.  
Besides the wonderful love story to book contains excellent commentary on the sexes. One of the main points of the novel is whether men or women remember past love longer. A few suitors for Anne in the book lost wives with in a few months of meeting her. The question of whether they can move on that fast is brought to light. During one conversation between Anne and Captain Harville this is discussed at length. Eventually Anne comes to the conclusion that men love "so long as you have an object. I mean that while the your love lives, and lives for you. All the privilege I claim for my own sex (it is not a very enviable one, you need not covet it) is that loving the longest, when existence or when hope is gone." Women will be in love even when there is no hope of being with the man they love. Anne after being persuaded to leave the man she loved was still in love with him. She knew that after rejecting Captain Wentworth he may never take her back but even with little to no hope she still loved.
Love is a silly thing. Sometimes we cannot understand it, but Miss Austen did a very good job of explaining lost love and rekindled flames in Persuasion.
Lindsey

A Most Dangerous Profession by Karen Hawkins

Dear Readers,

Can I start out by saying I am sorry. I have let you and myself down. I read this book. I didn't want to. I didn't mean to, but it was sitting on my shelf and in my moment of weakness I cracked it open. I was fiction starved. I have been reading a very lengthy in-depth biography of Julie Child and my mind needed some mindless, meaningless fiction. It was kind of like a one night stand with a book. I liked it while I was reading it. I couldn't put it down. I was engrossed in the total fictitious setting and characters. After reading it however I felt kind of dirty and used. I didn't want to admit that I liked it and even wanted to read the other books in the series. All I can do is sit here and shake my head at how stupid I feel now. So stupid...
How this book ended up on my shelf and in the reach of my fiction needy hands is kind of a funny story. I gave it to a friend as a gag gift for a play about a year ago. She was the old and lonely music teacher in the play. We joked that she would stay in her room and read these kind of novels for fun at night. She read it and laughed so hard at how bad it was. She read me a passage one day and I said that I just had to read it. With no reluctance she handed over the paperback. I kept saying I would read it. She kept asking me about it. Joking that once I finished we would have a book burning and rid the world of one copy of this book. So day, months, and eventually a year went by without me reading this "novel". I was so fiction hungry that even this worked to get me going. Such a shame. Guess we can have the book burning now.
Time for a little review of the book. I don't want to offend the author to much, but really?  I have one question. Why do people write things like this? Is there really a need? Maybe they write them just for the fiction starved who would devour anything resembling a novel. I just think that if you are going to write and you have some inkling of creative talent you should funnel it into something a little more important. Maybe they write them because really they have no inkling of writing talent. That's probably it because that is the vibe I got from "A Most Dangerous Profession".
Language: meh. Plot line: meh. Sex scenes: meh (come on there were only three. I should have just read 50 Shades for my romance novel slip up). Characters: meh. Really the book over all was meh. It was unrealistic. The characters were both gorgeous, they both had dangerous jobs, and they were married already even though they hated each other.  So the super attractive main female character Moria is a spy/con artist. The attractive main male Robert was suppose to catch her in the act like seven years ago. Instead of taking her in he has sex with her. She gets prego and instead of telling him she arranges a shame wedding and marries him. She leaves, has the kid, and then lives in peace for 7 years. Some dickhead who I can't even remember the name of takes the kid and blackmails Moria to find some box thing for him. In a surprising twist Robert is looking for the same thing. They rekindle there hot passionate love making from the years past. After having some long over due sex (it was like page 50 already and they hadn't gotten it on yet) they decided to work together and get the box and get their kid back. Robert has never met the child, but he feels a fatherly connection already. They get the box and almost get killed/raped by some crazy lord/duke/annoy dude. They have the box try to get the child and Robert gets hurt. The child is fine though. They all reconvene at Robert's house that he coincidentally bought and fixed up near Moria cottage where she raised the child. Robert decides that he wants his wife and kid to stay and they say yes and everyone is happy after all.
It was kind of one of those plot lines that everything falls in place just a little to easily. I guess for the lonely old ladies who these books are meant for they want that. This book emulates what they wanted to happen to them, but clearly didn't. They want a man in shinning armor to come and sweep them off their feet and have amazing sex with them. A Most Dangerous Profession was not for me though. It did satisfy the fiction gap I had, but it wasn't filling. I am still wanting more fiction. It was like a appetizer that you really didn't want but you ordered because you were hungry and didn't think that you could wait for the main course. I would just like to say don't read it dear readers, Just don't even try, unless you want to join in on the book burning with me.
Lindsey