I have built up my library over the last four months in preparation for this summer. I frequented good ole DI and Savers in order to find crazy deals. Over those few months, I spent about $50 and got 35 books! All of them are newer titles that I have been wanting to read for ages. Thrift stores are the way to go to get great deals on books! I've decided to write a little bit about each book I read throughout the summer so that if you're trying to find a good book, you'll have my opinion.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
(For a summary of the book: click
here )
The little girl in the book is raped and murdered and it broke my heart. However, this book is precious because it is from Susie's view in heaven, she can see and hear everything that is happening on earth. The book follows Susie's family and close friends as they learn to cope with her disappearance, the gruesome evidence of her murder, and the discovery of who the criminal is. This book is written so well that you can feel the intense grief that the family feels, but you can also feel the peace that eventually comes to them when they come to terms with the reality of the situation. You can see how they carry on with their lives after Susie's death and see how many people were effected as a result of her death. Each member of Susie's family dealt with her death differently and the way that they each coped with the tragedy affected the rest of their lives. This book is very powerful.
Harry PotterI know I'm a little late in the game, but I finished all of the Harry Potter books last week! I listened to the first Harry Potter book on my 30 hour solo drive to Georgia last year. I read books 2-5 throughout the summer (among many, many other books). I planned on reading books 6 and 7 during the school year but I laugh at the thought of having time to actually read for fun either of my last two semesters! Book Six was GREAT, but it wasn't very action packed. It gave a lot of much needed detail and background leading to Book 7 and it was suspenseful in the end, but Book 7 was my favorite by far. I read all 828 pages in two days. I'm excited to start a Harry Potter Movie Marathon because I have not watched any of the movies. I guess I knew that I would read the books eventually and I didn't want the movies to give away the plot!
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
(For a summary of the book: Click
Here)
While on Earth, Eddie felt like his life was unimportant and a waste. He always wished he had moved away and amounted to more. After his death, he is scheduled to meet 5 different people that his life effected in order to help him come to terms with his life and make sense of his death. This book is really short (200 pages) and can be read in a day.
I highlighted my very favorite quotes/ideas from the book:
"No life is a waste. The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone."
"...He wakes up in the morning and he has a fresh new world to work with, but he has something else , too. He has his yesterday. The way I see it, that's what we're getting here. You get to make sense of your yesterdays." (I love this. Today is the day that you makes sense of your yesterday. Take the mistakes that you have made in your "yesterdays" and help them make your "today" better. Learn from yourself.)
"Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else."
If you have read any of these books, let me know what you thought of the books!
The next book on my list is
"The Time Traveler's Wife" and
"The Secret Life of Bees," and
"The Lost Symbol". If you have read any of them, let me know what you thought!!!
