Books I've read in the past month

I decided it was time to tally the books I've read lately. I was having trouble remembering and was going to make a list so why not be a critic at the same time? I have enough opinions!

Lovely Bones - By Alice Sebold. This book is about a girl who tragically gets murdered. Then she journeys with her family through their grieving process. It's fascinating actually, both her view of heaven and how different members of her family deal with the loss they've had. She is very matter-of-fact about all the things that happened to her and that she witnesses after she's died. This makes it a lot easier to take actually. Reading about a girl who has died is not ever fun but this book was much more than I thought it would be. I definitely recommend it, especially if you're going to see the movie. Read the book first, it will help you be less stressed I think.
Side note: Stanley Tucci as a bad guy....scary and love it at the same time.

City of Bones - The first book in the Mortal Instrument Series by Cassandra Clare. Here we meet Clary and are introduced with her into a world that has demons, vampires, werewolves, faeries, and most importantly Shadowhunters; those that expel demons from our world and keep us safe. It is the classic save the world from the evil Father, but this story seems a lot more fresh than other versions. And the characters are witty and sarcastic and dynamic. You have a love story like trilight but a brand new world like Harry Potter. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and series. I read this book in two days.

City of Ashes - Book two of the Mortal Instruments. Characters still trying to save the world (sorry I can't add much to the plot here) but you get to know them better and feel their struggle even more. Read in one night.

City of Glass - The last book of Mortal Instruments where the great battle takes place and Michael the Archangel arrives at the climax. Read in 5 hours. (Can you tell my obsession level that I can't just put books down)
Side Note: I love series that end. I know that we all love characters and I do love the stories. But I'm an ending girl. I spend the entire series worrying that everything is going to end up as I think it should (which is what is important). This fuels my need to read books quickly but also my need for them to end. Harry Potter really tested my limits. Usually three is all I can take and four for Twilight was a lot.

The Rising Tide - My true love genre - historical fiction. This book is by Jeff Shaara, an amazing amazing amazing historical fiction writer. This book is about the US beginnings of WWII, specifically everything we did wrong in Africa. He uses journals and first hand accounts and then writes from those characters' perspectives. You hear first hand what Eisenhower thought about Patton, and what a paratrooper was thinking as he went behind enemy lines. I love this stuff. It pulls me in. It doesn't however addict me as much as emotional books like Twilight so I don't have to finish it in one night (holy 700 pages). This book actually took me 3 months to finish but I loved every page.

Hunger Games - Okay this description I completely admit is screwy. I was told to buy this book long before I did because I read the summary and thought I had the wrong book. This book is by Suzanne Collins about a girl who gets 'drafted' into games where 16 children fight to the death. The one left standing gets to go home. This girl is a survivor and tries her best to do only that and not care about anyone else. This book is also a series so you know it doesn't end (shock = sorry). The main character though is dynamic and you get to take her journey with her as she grows up and learns the difference between being alive and surviving. This book also took me a night.

Catching Fire - The second book in the Hunger Game series we continue following the same character (again sorry). Where she tries to understand and control the many changes that have happened since she was forced into the Hunger Games. 4 hours done.
Cry Wolf - This is a book by Patricia Briggs about a werewolf pack. Werewolves have come out into the public and one girl who was changed against her will realizes that she is different from the other wolves. This book explores something we haven't really had before in a werewolves. It isn't amazing but it definitely entertainment. Cor and I call it fluff but it does its job of distracting me from the world. Two nights I think....I restrained.

Blood Bound - This book is another by Patricia Briggs that involves werewolves. It follows a girl who is a mechanic who has kind of been sucked into the world of the supernatural. Not the most deep book but it is entertaining and the perfect escape from whatever it is that I do in grad school. 3 hours if that tells you anything.

The Shack - This book by William Young is one of my most favorites in a long time. I love books that make me think about the world and the people around me and this does just that. In the book a man has lost his daughter to a tragic abduction. He is bitter and mad at the world and God. Then he gets a personal invitation to spend a weekend with God at a shack. So he does. No matter your religion (trust me on this) the things he brings up have relevence and put God in a way that makes him accessible to everyone. I think Ab might be writing more on this later so I'll stop now but definitely READ IT. If you read nothing else on this list of randoms that I've read over the month read this one. This book took me a week to read. I had to go slow to absorb and ponder.


Some other books I am currently reading (sorry I get bored so I need more than one at once): Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara about the Revolutionary War. And I Was Born on a Blue Day about an autistic sevant. So watch out for those reviews!