Remembering 2013 in Last Minute Read-a-thon

As I look back on the reading I've done in 2013....I am still disappointed with how much I have accomplished.  So I'm not sure how productive this challenge will be...but I will give it my best shot..

1. Best book of 2013: I have said it numerous times but The Storyteller by Jodi Piccoult was by far my favorite of this year!
2. Worst book of 2013: Don't really have one....
3. Favorite new author. Charlotte Bronte....I know not "new"--but definitely new to me and I want to read more of her stuff!
4. Book that surprised you: Divergent by Veronica Roth.  I am traditionally not a huge fan of the dystopian type of things.  They are sometimes too much with the shoving down your throat about how life should be better or they don't create a believable universe. This one was great. Though I'm a little nervous about starting Allegiant...I have not heard good things.
5. Book that disappointed you: Mansfield Park is what I'm going to put on here...because I have yet to finish it! I love Jane Austen and I'm disappointed that this book is not at all enjoyable...at least yet--I'm going to keep trying!

Our hosts: http://vonniesreadingcorner.blogspot.com/2013/12/last-minute-2013-rembering-2013.html
http://anightsdreamofbooks.blogspot.com/2013/12/last-minute-read-thon-remembering-2013.html

My Progress

Very low...like I don't even want to own up to it. Spent the day hanging out with the husband--it was a great day to spend some quality time together!

Day 8 #ReadingCram with Movie Cast

So I had planned to have today be a big reading day with baking--but then I ended up spending my whole night writing school reports.  And I wanted to start Northanger Abbey on Jane Austen's birthday and everything...oh well!! But I did continue to listen to my two audio books during my morning routine and driving.

Today's challenge is to pick a book and cast actors/actresses to fulfill the characters.  I decided to pick The Storyteller because it really hadn't been done yet.  But there are soo many characters....so I am going to just focus on a few of the characters.

For Sage

For Josef...if he can do a good German accent

For Minka

Day 6 #ReadingCram and Book Recommendations Challenge

Continued reading Fablehaven 2 and the Book of Mormon today.  I am hoping to get some more of Insurgent done before bed, but I have been sucked into some Christmas movies tonight--so we'll see. I wanted to switch to the challenge from Book Briefs today.

Book for a Snow Day


Book for a Spooky Night


Book for a Rainy Day


Book for a Beach Day

Book Review: The Storyteller

This was the audio book that I finished this weekend.  I was so glad to-because this was a great book!

Title: The Storyteller

Author: Jodi Picoult

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 5 out of 5

Why Did I Read? I read My Sister's Keeper by the same author, and when I saw it on the shelf as a possible audio book to listen to and I read the back--it sounded great!

Summary: This is actually a really tricky summary to write...because I walked in knowing nothing and it was kind of nice because I got to guess as I went along. So I am going to do a first on this blog....I am going to copy and paste Amazon's summary in because it is a good one:

Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death. When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship. Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can’t, and they become companions. 

Everything changes on the day that Josef confesses a long-buried and shameful secret—one that nobody else in town would ever suspect—and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. If she says yes, she faces not only moral repercussions, but potentially legal ones as well. With her own identity suddenly challenged, and the integrity of the closest friend she’s ever had clouded, Sage begins to question the assumptions and expectations she’s made about her life and her family. When does a moral choice become a moral imperative? And where does one draw the line between punishment and justice, forgiveness and mercy? 

In this searingly honest novel, Jodi Picoult gracefully explores the lengths we will go in order to protect our families and to keep the past from dictating the future.

See why I wanted to read it in the first place?  I will leave it historical fiction which will give you another clue without giving it away.

What Did I Love: The amazing story and lesson that this book teaches.  The imagery was spectacular--you feel like you were there with these characters-experiencing what they experienced.  The end was very good--ahh the whole thing was soo good--which is why it gets a 5! Might be the first book ever on this blog to get a 5...I'd half to look.

What Did I Hate: Nothing to hate...except for the fact that its over

Final note about the audio--I would HIGHLY recommend it.  The narrators--Fred Berman, Edoardo Ballerini, Suzanne Toren, Jennifer Ikeda, and Mozhan Mamo--did a fantastic job and I love how they all took a character and really read them. I really think the audio book really pushed this book over the top for me. It was spectacular.

P.S. Can I also say that I LOVE that I'm actually reading a book that came out in 2013--in 2013--this like never happens.