New Blog...

So yep, I'm moving blogs...I haven't been active really on this blog since I had Maddie a year and a half ago. So I'm changing it up and I've created a new blog which is here... thereadingknitter So go find me there...

Updating for Bout of Books...

So I've really been loving the Bout of Books this time I'm doing it. Although I'm not on the computer as much as I'd love to be and I'm not blogging as much I'd like to, I have been reading each and every chance I get. Which brings me to the updates...

Monday
Earth: pages 32-38
The Knife of Never: pages 161 to 200
Total of 45 pages

Tuesday
Earth: pages 38-67
The Knife of Never: pages 200 to 237
Total: 66 pages for Tuesday.
Combine pages: 111 pages

And I'm still working on today's pages. So I'll probably update with today and Thursday's page counts on Friday afternoon. :)

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

My Review - this book kind of drove me crazy with the way the language was. It was something you have to get use to. But other then getting use to that it was pretty good. I really liked Todd, Ben, Manchee, and Viola. I'll be reading the next book in the series for sure!

Updating a little...

So Bout of Books Read-a-thon starts today! I'm reading as much as I can between work and regular life. I'm not sure if I'll stick to my goals or be able to update every evening but I'll try.

Starting off I'm reading Earth by Shauna Granger & The Knife of Never by Patrick Ness.

Monday
Earth: pages 30 to ?
The Knife of Never: pages 161 to ?

I'll try to update again later.

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

My Review - So glad I read this book after it was recommended to me. It was so good! I couldn't imagine living in a world like that and being as strong as those kids were. East River was freaky to me, especially Slip Kid. I liked Liam, Chubs and Zu though. I'll be on the edge of my seat waiting until book #2 comes out in October.

Goals for Bout of Books...

So the Bout of Books starts Monday, May 13^th. I’m excited because I’m hoping to get some massive reading done. I plan on reading as much as I possibly can, anytime I can. So for this reason I’m going to refrain from my knitting except when hubby and I are watching TV. (Sorry but I can’t just sit and watch TV. I gotta have something to do with my hands.)

As for my goals….HUM….I’d really like to finish two or three books but I don’t know if that’s even possible having a 17 month old and working full-time. So my legitimate goal is to finish one whole book this week.

Here's the list of possible books:

1. The Knife of Never Letting Go (currently reading)

2. The Ask and the Answer 

3.  Sketchy

4. Vigilante Nights 

5. Odd Thomas 

6. The Thorn 

I was going to pick just 5 books that were "possible reads" but I figured the first one is the one I'm currently reading so it doesn't count. So I'll come back and try to update daily but I may just be updating on my goodreads profile! :) Which is here...

 

I'm BACK!!!

So I haven't blogged in a REALLY long time...SO I thought I'd use the Bout of Books to return to the blogging world. I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to blog for this or for any other events because life is so busy these days.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

So a little update before I start the Bout of Books...

Maddie is now 17 months old! WOW, hard to believe. She’s a feisty, sassy little one for sure. But gosh I love her. We celebrated her birthday in November with a Hot Pink and Zebra themed party. She soaked it all up of course.

In December 2012 my sweet Momma was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastasized Breast Cancer. The cancer has spread to her bones. So it’s in her hips, shoulders, and spine. She did chemo for a while and then last week she did another PET scan and the cancer wasn’t as intense as it was previously. But still if you would keep her in your prayers please and thank you!

I started knitting back in June of 2012 and I’ve become quiet addicted so if I’m not reading I’m usually knitting. And I’m hardly ever on the computer anymore cause I’d rather be knitting! Haha. My current addiction in the knitting world is dishcloths. I love making them cause they go fast and are super easy to make.

My beloved Chubby aka Mr. Chubs passed away in April 2013. It was super hard cause he was for sure my kitty. I didn’t think at first that I’d want another cat right away. But after coming home on lunch one time to an empty house I told my husband we had to get another cat. So about two weeks after Chubby passing we adopted Hattie from the local animal shelter. She’s a sweetie! :)

Anyhow, hopefully I’ll keep up with this blog more in the future. But if not know that I’m spending my time with my family!

Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon

** spoiler alert ** Claire Randall is leading a double life. She has a husband in one century, and a lover in another...

In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an "outlander"—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire's destiny in soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidden Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life ...and shatter her heart. For here, James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

My Review - Whew, this book took me long enough, 39 days to be exact! I think if I'd had it in Nook Book format that I would have read it MUCH faster. But still I started it and it sucked me right in. I was glad when she made her decision at the stones when Jamie took her back to them. Me personally I couldn't imagine being transported back 200 years. Some of the clans and historical stuff dragged for me but I know it's just because I don't know much about it. Even though this book took me over a month to finish it wasn't one of those books I was ready to be finished with cause I was tired of it. The characters were well written and it was good until the very last page. Everyone these days are raving about the book Fifty Shades of Grey and while this book wasn't exactly like that book, I would compare it to that book. The difference is it was less vulgar and graphic details. I will be reading the rest of the series sometime, but it won't be the next book I read. And the next book in the series, I will definitely buy on my Nook, even if it is $9!

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Do twins begin in the womb?
Or in a better place?

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family -- on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that's where their differences begin.

For Kaeleigh, she's the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites -- and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex.

Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept -- from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it's obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is -- who?

My Review - so I'd read reviews from others before about a twist at the end so I was kind of expecting the twist! haha. I liked this book pretty good and kind of semi-guessed the twist before it happened. I didn't like it more then her Crank Series. I couldn't imagine going through what Kaeleigh went through. I loved the ending of this book and Ian in the book was pretty cool too. Overall it was a pretty good book and I gave it 3 stars.

I'm behind...

On Maddie's monthly pictures...Sorry, life just gets in the way sometimes...Enjoy! She's growing up quickly!