The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This book was amazing. It is a mystery, romance, thriller, horror all in one. Zafon is a Spanish author and this translation by Lucia Graves is wonderful. His descriptions make you feel as if you are walking down the street in Barcelona in the late 1940s. Very easy to read.

The story is about a boy who picks a book out in the Cemetery of Forgotten books (this huge library of books that is in this underground cellar). He wants to read more books by the author but lo and behold he cannot find any books by the author anywhere! A strange man finds out that he is looking for the books. The strange man wants to burn them all, but we just don't know why. Thus begins an engrossing tale that intertwines many characters lives.

Highly Recommended!!!

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Oh thank God for Nicholas Sparks! He was put here to melt your heart and remind us what the feeling of a first love is like! This book is being made into a movie (I believe his 4th book to be made into a movie after Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember and The Notebook) so of course I had to read the book before I see it.

Savannah is a young co-ed who meets John after he rescues her bag when it falls off the pier into the ocean. What could be more romantic? (OK are you saying "gag me with a spoon" yet? jk) It is a fast-paced love story about John who is in the army and Savannah. The unbearable-ness (is that a word?) of being apart, writing old-fashioned letters back and forth and young love. Savannah gets John to see his dad for who he really is (the relationship between father in son is ok, just seems strained). Unfortunately there is a bit of heartache on both parts. I won't spoil it for you all. It was a nice love story in which I remembered what it was like to fall in love for the first time and get so caught up in those emotions--so powerful! If you're a fan of N. Sparks, you won't be disappointed by this one.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Happy New Year!

Over the holidays I read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. This will be discussed by my book club on Jan 30th however one of my NY Resolutions is to be a better blogger.

One of the most striking thing about this book is that the heroine is very different from the others in Jane Austen's novels. Fanny Price is timid, meek and sometimes utterly annoying! She doesn't have the spark that Lizzie Bennett has or the wisdom that Ann Elliott has. That said, she does her job in moving the plot of the book along. She has a suitor whom she can't stand and is in love with her first cousin (gasp--that still takes some getting used to when it's still taboo today).

Austen has very developed characters in this novel. In some of her earlier novels this wasn't the case (Northanger Abbey is the book that comes to mind). Mrs. Norris meddles around in everyone's business. Mary Crawford is Fanny's "friend", the brother of her suitor. She seemed to have a lot of ulterior motives but you find out more about that at the very end so I won't ruin it for anyone.

I would think that maybe this is Austen's least popular book, but I did enjoy it. It is different than the others which is why I liked it. What fun would it be to re-tell P&P over and over again? ;)

Club Dead (book #3 in the Sookie Stackhouse series) by Charlaine Harris

I admit it. I've been reading total fluff lately. It must be because I needed it!

So Sookie is devastated when Bill, her vampire boyfriend, leaves unexpectedly to go do some business for the Queen vampire. Sookie goes on a mission to find him with the help from Alcede (a werewolf of course) and Eric (the other hot vampire that Sookie occasionally lusts after). In the end she finds Bill but she doesn't reconcile with him. So we're left wondering what's a girl to do?

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin and Something Blue by Emily Giffin

These two books were really fun. I liked the characters and was instantly sucked in. I will say that the plot is relatively predictable, but you kind of know that going in. At least with many of the chick-lit books you can guess where they end up. That said, I still enjoyed both of them. They have the same characters--Something Borrowed is written from Rachel's perspective and Something Blue is told from Darcy's perspective. In Something Borrowed, Rachel begins an affair with her best friend, Darcy's fiance. I'll just leave it at that. :)

Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish

This is the next book for the book club that I'm part of. This was such a fun book. Mildred Kalish is in her 80s and this book is the memoirs from her childhood. She grew up in Iowa. She was on a farm for the summer months and then lived at her grandparents house the remainder of the year. It was a different time in the 30s, and you made due with what you had. The kids didn't really want for more. They were content. I get the impression that in many ways life was easier. Although I think when you're a child a lot of things come easier.

This book brought back so many memories of stories from my Grandma and Grandpa. Especially the food chapter--I was thinking of all of the yummy recipes that my Grandma makes. The book reminded me to ask my Grandma and Mamo about their childhoods and stories that they remember. I am also going to encourage them to write them down so I can pass along to the next generations in our family.

Looking forward to the book club discussion. Definitely one to put on your list.

The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts

Book 3 of the Pagan Stone series. It was predictable, but an enjoyable series. It was fun if you need something light to take your mind off everyday life.