March Recap 2011

Books
Books read to date: 15/50
Pages read to date: 3885


Finished

The Book Thief
Vision in White
Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban
Lover's Dictionary
Cryer's Cross

Juliet

Started
Safe
Delirium

Savings 

Monthly savings: $54.15

Year-to-date savings: $158.79

Book Journey

Germany, Connecticut, London, New York, Montana, Italy

Movies

Sadly we did not make it to one movie this month.
We did watch a few movies off the cable box though.
The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Both excellent movies. I never read the books. Couldn't get through the first one and after watching the movie, I'm not sure I would have made it through. There are some things that make me too uncomfortable to read.

Wedding Wednesday: March 30 Check-in

There was a major list of things we needed to get done in March. I haven't posted them all here as that would be overwhelming and unnecessary. A lot of them are all smaller tasks needing to be done for a larger task.
All of that has now shifted to April. I believe that Frenchie is starting to see how many little things we still have left to do. They are all just a phone call or email away to completion, but for some reason, never seem to get done.

Next week I'll have a new set of "needs to be done" to share.

What was accomplished:

• Get quotes for alcohol
• Decide what to buy as groomsmen gifts and ordered
• Booked pre-wedding massage/spa for Frenchie and I
• Got my dad to sign the Free to marry form required by the Catholic church
• Emailed caterer and one bartending company about prices

What needs to be done in March: 

• Ask family to do special readings and roles for the wedding
• Complete ceremony program and print
• Finalize reception music
• DATE NIGHT

It's Monday! What are you reading? (12 of 2011)

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is hosted by One Persons Journey Through a World of Books. 

This meme is a great way to start the week and add some great books to your to-read list. I love looking at what everyone is reading.

Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!!

What I Finished

Juliet by Anne Fortier

Review Here

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

Review Here

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Review Here

What I Am Reading

Safe by Aviva Bel'Harold

picture from Chapters.ca

I picked this book up when I met the author randomly at Chapters. She signed it for me!

I put it on the shelf and got pulled away from it by other books. I recently started chatting with the author on twitter and had some guilt pangs for not reading her book. She's a local author, so I feel like I should finally read it and pimp it out on my blog a little.

I have a bunch of close friends who are going to do a book tour of it as well!

What's Up Next

15/50: Juliet by Anne Fortier

Juliet by Anne Fortier

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received Juliet through a book blog tour started by Julie from Book Hooked Blog. My very first ARC (Advance Readers Copy). By the time it reached me, the book was released already, but I was still thrilled to have this edition in my hands.

Juliet focuses on Julie Jacobs and her discovery that she is a descendant of Juliet from Shakespeare's play. She goes to Italy in hopes of finding a treasure left by her deceased mother but ends up finding more than she bargained for. Not only does she find out about her family history, but she also finds her very own Romeo. (This is where I got hooked)She finds out that Shakespeare was not original, but wrote and modified the real story from the year 1340. I am a huge Romeo and Juliet fan so this storyline was perfect to spark my love for Shakespeare again.

It took me a long time to get into this book for some reason. It was slow and very detailed. There seemed to be a lot of extra stuff in it, that I could have done without. However, once I got about half way through, I was completed hooked. I liked the fact that the book alternated from the story of Romeo and Guilietta in 1340 and present day with Julie and Alessandro. I found that I would get sucked into the one story/chapter and have to take a break when it was done so I could digest. Once the 1340 story came to an end and everything was in present day I could not put it down.

Definitely worth a read. Even more so if you know the story of Romeo and Juliet.

WBC2011: Read a book about starting new - 15 points
Book Journey 2011: Sienna, Italy (updated map)

View all my reviews

14/50: Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I read the Wake trilogy by Lisa McMann so I thought I should read her newest book. Cryer's Cross has a good premise. Two teenagers disappear in a small town where everyone knows everyone and there are no secrets. Every town has a secret, the question is, what is Cryer's Cross hiding? Kendall is a friend to one of the victims and has severe OCD.

I liked Kendall. I was able to undertand her and sympathize with her. I understood her OCD and liked the routine she had. The rest of the characters were good, but I needed more. It's like every character was touched on, but not nearly enough.

The story sounded good, but it took almost the entire book for something to come of the disappearance. There was the mysterious desk and the writing on it. There was the voices, but none of this was enough. I'm not sure how else to explain it. There needed to be more than what was given. It took until almost page 200/233 for the mystery to start being solved and then it ended. 30 pages to climax and resolve left me wanting more than what the book offered.

If you want a quick read, this is one to pick up, but I wouldn't buy it or re-read it. I probably won't think about it again after I return it to the library.

WBC2011: Anything you want - 5 points
Book Journey 2011: Montana (updated map)

View all my reviews