THIS AND THAT AND BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Has it really been that long since I blogged last?

Life is on full speed. Five kids.

count 'em.

1.2.3.4.5.

That is a lot of kids.

And I am so outnumbered!!

To be honest, I've been going through this crazy funk. I just don't want to do anything. I don't want to clean. I don't want to cook--let the kids have cereal every night. There's some nutritional value in there, right? I think I'm just trying to tread water these days but it's not that it's been bad, in fact, it's been good, it's just crazy.

I need to take the moments to just record life. Before it's gone. Because I will forget.

And in this crazy, chaotic life, I've found time to read. {A-MAZ-ING huh?!}

I am always up for book recommendations, so I'll give you mine.

*Divergent, by Veronica Roth

Amazing! {Thank you, Kari friend!} I don't want to write a novel, so just go to Amazon or Goodreads and read the customer reviews. I am eagerly awaiting book 2, Insurgent, coming out in MAY!!

*Birthmarked, by Caragh O’Brien

LOVE. And I'll tell you why. The protaganist isn't your usual chick. She's a strong, independant heroine, but she doesn't know that she is. I love that her...physical ailment...isn't a limitation. She doesn't allow herself to be marred by it. She accepts herself for who she is--and how brave the author is to write a lead role the way Gaia has been written. She doesn't fit the typical mold that all heroine's fall into. I wish there were more lead characters like her out there. And I LOVE that the first book isn't a love triangle. She likes one boy. And that is refreshing. AND he loves her for who she is. Inside and out. He overlooks her imperfections and loves her. And can I say yummy and swoon-worthy leading male to boot? Go to Amazon and read the reviews to find out more. I am loving this trilogy!

*Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

This one surprised me! I actually fell in love with this! I haven't read the second book--but the first book is good. I was torn between the two guys and who to root for. This one deals with angels--and I haven't read anything with angels, so it was refreshing from the typical paranormal vampire/werewolf/whatever-the-crap- paranormal-thing-is-wrong-with-them-to-make-them-super-covetously-awesome.

*Dustlands, Red Blood Road, by Moira Young

Okay. This dystopian was a mixed bag for me. In hindsight, I. LOVED. IT.

Warning: It reads like no other book you probably have ever read before. The first 50 pages were so obnoxious, I closed it and refused to read it. But all the reviews boasted how "awesome" it was and that left me in a stupor. Why? Why freakin' why was this book so great?

I couldn't place this book. I waited for dialog. I thirsted for it. And then 20 pages into it, I realized, it's full of dialog, it just didn't have the "quotation marks" I am so used to seeing to know when a character is speaking. So it confused me. {Which is an understatement}. I thought they were aliens on another planet and speaking to each other through their minds. I though the author didn't know how to write past a 3rd grade level. I thought she never cared to go through her manuscript and check "spellcheck". I thought the author somehow published the book without getting the manuscript edited and cleaned up. And then I became envious because if she could get a book in print without spellcheck with rave reviews and be on the bestseller's list--then that lowered the bar for my standards--not to mention it somehow elevated my hope--that I could get a book published!

Then I realized--her writing, her prose--it was intentional.

This makes you want to run out and read it right?

But I was wrong. Way wrong!!

I picked it back up and FORCED myself to page 50. And then something happened. I figured out the lingo, toughed it out--and you know what? It's probably one of my all-time favorite books! No, really! It was so hilarious, so fun--I want to read it again. Saba is a strong, independent heroine. The romance in it had me laughing all the way to the end. Jack just knows how to push her buttons. And he's good at it!

Seriously. Read this book. It is so incredibly good! Once you get past the page 50 mark, you forget everything and can just enjoy the read. I'm so glad I did! And I finished the book realizing the author is a sheer genius.

I highly recommend it!

I'm anxiously awaiting book 2! And the cover page is yummy, I won't lie. :)

Does anyone have awesome book recommendations? I'm always trying to add to my library! Which books are your favorites? Which book do you always go back and read over and over again?