Farmer Boy Goes West Review

 

Farmer Boy Goes West Review

If you know me you will know this is one of my favorite stories when I was growing up.

This book is about Almanzo Wilder and his family. It talks about his time in Spring Valley, Minnesota. It is only about his first two years there. They go there to help his mother's brother on his farm. He is ill and is unable to keep up. His father is liking the area and decides he wants to move there. His older brother and sister are in Malone, New York taking care of the farm there. As they wait for his uncle to get better (which he doesn't) they make a home there in Minnesota. He gets interested in a girl from school and tries to court her but finds out things about her to change his mind. He makes friends and enjoys being close to town to have fun with the other boys. There is a lot in this book and the author tries to keep the information true to his life even though it is a fiction book. I would say you need to read this book to learn a little more about Almanzo if you enjoyed the little house books.

September 2017 thrift store haul

 

Arc Book Haul

These are the books that I picked up at the thrift store we call The Arc.

Every Saturday the store has 50% off on certain colored price tags.

I also bought some yarn that they had besides the books. I only go about once a 

month. Out of the seven books I have only read two of them. I read the books by Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carol. I am trying to gather all of Sue Grafton's books in this series before I read them. I don't like waiting for books in a series. Memoirs of a Geisha I wanted because several people have read it and liked it so I decided to pick it up and give it a go. I enjoy looking for a good bargain on books. Sometimes when I go there I don't find anything and sometimes I find a lot.

I probably have a big problem books but I enjoy holding them in hands and anticipating the story within.

September 2017 Barnes and Noble Haul

 

Barnes and Noble Book Haul

Here is my first book haul for the month of September.

I bought them on the Labor Day Week-end when I got an extra 20% off.

Three to get Deadly is another book to the Stephanie Plum series.

Siren is a book I didn't get from Barnes and Noble but from Walmart instead last month.

I heard about it from Book Tube and wanted to give it a try. 

Paper Towns is another book I heard about from Book Tube that I wanted to try. I have read another of his books called Faults to the Stars and that was a good.

Dress Codes in Small Town got some great reviews and I want to read it. I am curious to see if it is all it has been hyped up to be. I have discovered that I like books that others don't like and vice versa.

The last book is another book for one of Aryans series he is reading. It will be a Christmas present. 

You have probably noticed that I like to give books or gift cards to book stores as gifts.

Gemina Review

 

Gemina Review

Again you need to ignore the date on the photos. This is the last group with the wrong date.

 This is the second in the series. The first book is called Illuminae. I read that book in two days. This book took me longer. I didn't like it as much which seems to be the pattern for me in series. Different characters are involved and going through a different challenge. The spaceship is hijacked and things happen to the people who hijack it. The characters from the first book don't involved in this book until around page 500. There is a twist to this book which is different and finally makes the book interesting but it took until around page 500 to do so. Book three comes out in March of 2018 and we will see how that one is. I would recommend this book but be prepared to struggle for a while.

Rush Revere and the Presidency Review

 

Rush Revere and the Presidency Review

Here is an interesting way to learn about our history. It has a few issues which aren't 100 % correct but only someone who knows a lot of history would notice the errors.
There is a history teacher Rush Revere who teaches history and he has a horse named Liberty who can time travel. There are three students whom he takes back and forth through the time portal to speak with famous people from our history. The three students name are Cam, Freedom and Tommy.
 In this book Cam is trying to become the student body president. Rush takes him in time to talk with the first three presidents of country to help give him advice.
It is interesting on what the presidents have to say and comparing the beginning of our president and where they lived to our current president . I did enjoy this book and it is a middle grade book. Like I said it is a great and fun way for our children to learn a little bite about history and comparing to the then and now.

The School Mouse Review

 

The School Mouse Review

I just finished reading this book to David tonight. I know it is a little young for him age wise.
In previous post I have mentioned David's learning disability and so this is actually at his reading level. This book is Bekah's which she received from her teachers in 2002. I can't remember which grade she was in.
This book is about a mouse who lives in a school. The mouse's name is Flora. She decides that she wants to learn to read. So she hides and starts watching the children being taught by their teachers. The words start making sense when pictures are involved. Like when Helen Keller learn what her teacher was signing when the water poured over her hands from the pump.
Her knowledge saves her life and her parents live one day.
Each quarter she decides she has learned enough from a certain grade level and decides to move up.
She meets a pet mouse who has escaped from his master and decides to stay with her.
She teaches him and her parents and youngest sister how to read.
You have to read this book to find out about their adventures in the school.
It was an easy book to read out loud and fun. I think this is a good book for an elementary child to read or one with reading disabilities. This book has mainly a female subject but there is enough male influence for a boy to enjoy also.

Timeline Review

 

Timeline Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlUCRwvxxbM
 
The link above the book cover will hopefully take you over to the trailer of the movie to this book. This is the first time I have done this so I am hoping it will work. I put the movie on hold at my local library. I would like to see it to see how close it comes to the book. I listened to this book. I was told by my daughter, Tara and her fiancé John that it was a good book. I will have to agree with them. Even though it is listed as a sci-fi/fantasy book and we know that isn't my favorite. I liked it because it did time travel. It went back to the time of knights. It was interesting on how he betrayed that time period. My daughter did a blog review on this book back in January of 2014 so I will leave that link here. I am pretty sure this is right one; The Biggs Book Review.blogspot.com. She goes into more detail and she does a great job so I don't want to repeat what she said. This is also the first book I have read by him. I have seen his movies about his Jurassic Park book and it sequel, but haven't read them yet. I like how the book breaks down into time sections to keep you going and their count down on when they need to back. There are somethings that happen once they get to the time period they need and it talks about their adventures whether be up or downs. It also talks about the issues in the present time. Please read my daughter's review she is a lot better at this reviewing than I am.
I am trying to do better on my reviews but I am afraid of giving spoilers and I know a lot of people don't like that. I for one don't care if there are spoilers or not.
 Until the next time.

The Kite Runner Review

 

The Kite Runner Review

I just finished this book tonight. I have been reading it for a while. I can't remember the reason I picked up this book but I saw it the DI when we were there in May and recognized it as a book I heard about. I read another of his books called And The Mountains Echoed. I have to say I am not a fan of his writing, they aren't bad but they are not for me.
This book is about his childhood going up in Afghanistan and then immigrating to America. He came over just before the war broke out over there. He goes into great detail which makes it interesting and gives you the knowledge about what life is like over in another country but in areas it was kind of over doing it. I like detail but don't over do it where it gets to boring and one can't use their imagination. Some people like that but I don't. I would recommend this book because it does give us some background of the country and how he did when he arrived. I liked how his father didn't like being on welfare and return the food stamps to the welfare worker and figured out a way to make a living without knowing the language. There were a few twist in this and in the end it tells how he confronted them and was able to come to grip with what he did when he was younger. This was his first novel so it wasn't bad; the other one I read was like his third and maybe if the story was different I might have liked it. Would I read his other books I can't say either way. I would have to see what other people have to say but I probably won't at this time.

The Borrowers Aloft Review

 

The Borrowers Aloft Review

I just finished reading this book to David last night. This book is the fourth book in the series. We have read a least two others in this series. I try to read them as they come into the library but they don't always have complete series.
Well, onto the review. This book talks about a family of borrowers named Pod (Father), Homily (mother), and Arrietty (daughter) Clock. The story explains that they don't want people to know that they exist so they keep to themselves and stay hidden. They come out early in the day or when it is late. Somehow they are discovered by an odd couple and they come up with a way to capture them. Their plan works and they take them to an attic and are well taken care of. I don't want to go too much more in detail but it talks about their ideas on how to escape and what the couple plans to do with them. You need to read the book to find out. I enjoyed it. I always recommend reading a series in order that they were written but in this series you don't have to to understand what is happening.
It is great as a read aloud book.

August 2017 wrap-up

 

August Wrap-up

First I need to let you know to go ahead and ignore the date on this photo. 

I am letting Aryan use my camera I didn't realize that he changed the date on the camera.

Also ignore the date on this photo.

And on this photo.

As you can see I read a lot of books for the month of August. Yes five of them were graphic novels and make for a quick read. I usually don't read them but I wanted to give them a try. They were ok but still prefer printed material. Four of the books were audio. In the above picture you will notice that one book is pictured twice that is because it is two volumes.

Also I have another book pictured twice because I didn't realize one was in Spanish and I can't read Spanish so had to check out the proper book from the library.

A couple of these books were started in July and finished in August. 

My total pages read in August 8318 and 30 books read.

It was a good month. Until next time.

September 2017 Book Outlet Haul

 

Friday, September 1, 2017

Book OutLet Haul #2

As you can tell from the title I bought more books from the outlet store.

Even though today is the 1st of September I wanted to post this before I do my August wrap up on what I read. The top book is the last book of The EarthSea series. I have enjoyed the other books so I wanted to read this one and the library didn't have the last book so I had to buy it,(which means I will probably buy the others). Ruby is on the Oprah list and she has done good so far recommending books. Scarlet is the 2nd book in the Lunar Chronicles series, Aryan got the first book from the library as a reward for reading five books, to be honest I don't know why he picked it because I knew I he wouldn't enjoy the series. I enjoyed the series. The next one will probably be a gift it is a Caroline B Cooney book. Ok if you know me you know that I like Laura Ingalls Wilder so of course I had to buy this book . The next is a book filled with short stories. The bottom book I heard a lot about some good some bad so wanted to voice my own opinion. I am hoping these hauls help you in deciding on what to read or buy or borrow from the library.

I would love to hear what you have read or bought lately.

Until next time. 

Book Haul

 

Barnes and Noble #2 haul 

This is wait I bought at my second trip to Barnes and Noble this month.

The Sandra Brown book was a pre-order since it is her newest book. She is one of my favorite authors. The Wing of Fire book is the eighth book in a series that Aryan is reading. There are 3 more books to get him in this series.

The other four books are books that I heard good things about and want to give them a try.

I had a gift card and a discount on all these books. I just love going to the book store and have to be careful with what I buy. There are many books I would like to get but I have to be reasonable when I am there. I take cash with me so it keeps me in tack.

Book Outlet Haul

 

Bookoutlet haul #1 

Here is my first book outlet haul for the month of August.

They were having a sale and I just couldn't pass it up.

If you spend $35 or more they ship for free.

The top book is one that I needed to replace for Tara so I bought it.

She will get it once I read it. I had to replace it because it was one of many that got destroyed when our well flooded our basement the first year we here.

The other two will be gifts just don't know who too yet.

The borrowed names is about Laura Ingalls Wilder and I like her and all the books about her.

Ghost Ship is by Mary Higgins Clark and she is one of my favorite Authors. This is the 2nd children's

book she has written. I have read this book.

Stars Above is part of the Lunar Chronicles series. I have read four of the books already. I will get this book read in September or early October.

I will post the next book outlet August haul #2 in about a week or two.

The Secret of Platform 13 book Review

 

The Secret of Platform 13 Review

Another middle grade book review. I finished this book last week during a middle grade read a thon.

I was glad I came across this read a thon because it let me read books that David wasn't interested in and that we owned. This is actually Aryan's book and he no longer wants it and David wasn't interested in it like I said before.

It is a fantasy book based in London. At the beginning of the book a young Prince is kidnapped by a woman who wants to raise a child.

There is a doorway to a magical kingdom where this Prince lives. On the day he is kidnapped the doorway seals. It will open again in 9 years. When the time comes for the doorway to open four people are assigned to find and bring back the prince before the doorway closes again in 9 days.

There are some twist and turns during their adventure. Do they find the prince? You will need to read the story. It is a fast read and enjoyable.

Gone Girl Book Review

 

Gone Girl Review

I didn't read this book, I listened to it.

The first thing you need to know is don't listen to it with little ones around unless you don't mind them hearing swearing. There is quite a lot of it especially the f word.

The two main people in this is Nick and Amy Dunn, who are married.

At the beginning of the book it talks about how they got together and a little about them.

Near the end of part one Amy goes missing and the police are investigating.

They think Nick has something to do with her disappearance.

All the clues lead up to him being involved with the disappearance.

Part Two you find out what is happening with everything. I really can't go into much detail because this gives away part of the story. All I can say you will be surprised and you will probably not like one of the main people.

Part three which really isn't covered much in the movie is just a little extra.

Which will really make you dislike one of them.

I did like this book and really wished that authors didn't have to use so much swearing to get their point across, but I know that is what sales now a days.

You need to read the book before watching the movie because the book gives you a little more back ground into each person. The book also gives you a finally ending better than the movie. 

The Tower Treasure Book Review

 

The Tower Treasure Review

Who remembers reading these books in school. I did a reread on this because I had it around the house. This is the first book of The Hardy Boys' mysteries. There are many in this series.

This book introduces Frank the older brother and Joe the younger brother. The one thing I did forget was that their dad was also a detective, who use to be a police officer.

In this book the boys are trying to help out a couple of their friends. One who's car was stolen and one who's dad is being accused of stealing from the mansion he worked at. You will have to read the book to see if they solve these crimes.

Mystery books have changed a great deal since this book was written. It is also a quick read.

Book Haul August 2017

 

Book Depository Haul

I actually ordered these books in July but I didn't get them until this month.

I got a 15% discount on these. The reason they took so long was that came from the UK.

They are paper back and look like quick reads.

The Always and Forever book is part of a series so that will be a while before I get them read.

Be looking for them in a  future review, but can't tell when.

Wonder Book Review

 

Wonder Review

This is a middle grade book. I was suppose to read over a year ago for a book club I was in.

I finally got around to reading it early this month. I am trying to catch up on some of my back reading log.

After a rough start on this book it was a quick read and one that I couldn't put down.

It tells about a boy who goes by Auggie and he was born with a birth defect. This defect is so bad that his parent homeschooled him until his 5th grade year. It talks about his time in school and how the other children react to him. He is also bullied by one the children.

It tells how he works through this and what other children do and how some of the children don't care what others think.

I enjoyed this book after I got through the first part about how they described his defect. He is very comfortable with how life was for him and how he was able to cope. I liked how the author gave you a heading to each chapter so you knew what was going to be the topic or the next persons view.

I would recommend this book for anyone not just for kids.

July 2017 Book Haul

 

another Barnes and Noble Haul

I bought these book on the last day of July.

Bless Me, Ultima  is the book we are reading for the book club I go to at the library.

The Pueblo book is an up coming event that the DAR is getting ready for and the authors will be attending so I want to get the book autographed.

The book The Girl Who Drank the Moon is the newest Newbery Award winning book and I am collecting them . The Sandra Brown  book is one I don't have yet. The Other two are books that I heard about and want to read.

I have started reading Bless Me, Ultima and I am not enjoying it. It might be because there is a lot Spanish and I didn't take that language in school so it is hard for to read. I have to skip over a lot of the writing and I am probably missing some of the information. I will continue on with it and hopefully it will get better.

Until next time.

July 2017 wrap-up

 

What David and I read in July

This is a young adult sci-fi book. I am not into sci-fi much but this book was great. It has 599 pages and I read it in 2 days. It was a quick read because of the writing. It is hard to describe the writing but it isn't your normal writing which makes it different and in my opinion a great read.  

I listened to the Princess X another Young adult book. It was good.

The magic tree house book I read to David.

The End of Oz is a retelling of Wizard of Oz. This was the fourth book in the series. It was a nice series. If you like the Wizard of Oz you will like this book. The audio was a book that David listened to.

This book was a book club read. I read it in a day. I really like this book. There were a few who didn't like. If you pick this up to read beware that it talks about child abuse.

Colossus is a book of poems it took me less than a day to read. The magic tree house book I read to David.

David listened to these. 

David read this book to us for his summer read. It took him most of the summer.  

I read both of these. Once and for All is another Young Adult book.

Yes I did read some Christmas books this month.

The book with the wreath didn't  get read.

Two more books that I read.

The Rick Riordan book was one of the books that Aryan picked up. I finally got it read.

Yes I even read some graphic novels. These are quick reads.

Another book that I read to David.

Yet another book that I read to David.

This was a funny book.

A book given to David when we were getting tests done to figure out his disability.

Listened to this.

Another book I listened to.

Read this didn't like it. Three short stories.

Didn't realize it was sci-fi. I'm not into sci-fi much, didn't know it when I checked this out at the library.

I liked this book even though it is now a banned book.

If you read this it does talk about suicide

July 2017 book Haul

 

July Book Haul

Books that  I bought at Barnes and Noble.

Started reading the poems of Emily Dickinson.

The bottom book is Aryan's. He finished the books that we bought in June.

I found the picture of the books I bought from Book Outlet.

The Nest is going to be the book we read for the book club I am in for December.

Not much bought this month but enough to keep me busy.

Until next time.

June 2017 wrap-up

 

books that David and I read in June

Listen to this on our camping trip. Will write about that trip later.

I really like it. You don't get to choose when you listen.

Read this to David. I am not a fan of Ray Bradbury.

 Read this one plus the two below in a 24 hour read-a-thon. I borrowed them from Bekah

 Listened to this during the 24 hour read-a-thon.

 This is the only book out the 4 book series that I got read in the 24 read-a-thon. Borrowed from Bekah.

 Listened to this in the 24 hour read-a-thon.

 Another book I borrowed from Bekah that I read in the 24 hor read-a-thon

 This is an e-book I have on my kindle. It is the third book in a series it is the only one the library didn't have.

 Another book that I borrowed from Bekah. I am finding out that I am not a Jane Austin fan.

 Read to David

Read this to David.

Read to David

 Read this because I needed to finish it. I used this when I was homeschooling David

 Accidently put this in twice

 Read this one and the one below for a duo read-a-thon week-end. I love my mysteries

 Finally got this one read. I have had this book since I moved away from Texas. My best friend gave it to me since I was born in Hawaii

 Decided I needed to finish this series before Bekah came for the 4th July. Didn't get it read in the 24 hour read-a-thon. Same with the other two down below.

 Listened to this on our camping trip.

 Listened to this at home while working on the computer.

 A book my mom loaned to me when we moved her. Again finally got it read. This one took me a while. I am not into these types of books anymore.

 Listened to at home while working.

Needed something to read while waiting for David at the library. He was playing minecraft with some friends.
As you can see I read a lot of books this month. I did some read-a-thons to get myself out of my reading slump. I had a lot of fun doing them. Until next time.