What I read in May

This month I did not find as much time to read as I would have loved too, however I picked a big book this time:
I have read "Eclipse" (3rd book of the Twilight Saga) by Stephanie Meyer.

It just drew me in, and after seeing Twilight and New Moon in the movie theaters, I knew the characters already.
I never thought that I can finish such a huge book - but I eagerly read every page...

The story is so good, but I don`t want to reveal anything - I just want to say, "it got me"...
I bought the newest saga on DVD (Breaking Dawn - Part 1), and it just stays as excited as it was.
And now I am counting the days for the final part... :)

So cool, I would recommend anyone reading any book of this incredible saga.

I loved it!!!

Books I have read in April

Here are a few books that I have read in April:

A few classics - retold (for simplicity)

01) Pocahontas (John Smith`s original: Retold by Tim Vicary)

02) Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe: Retold by Diane Mowat)

03) The Wizard of Oz (Lyman Frank Brown: Retold by Rosemary Border)

04) The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde: Retold by Jill Nevile)

My first Graphic Novel:

Coraline by Neil Gaiman (illustrated by P. Craig Russell)

And then one more book:

The Perfect Holiday by Cathy Kelly


I also read some non-fiction books.
However I rather seem to find time to read but not much time to post reports.
This will hopefully change in May.

I picked two books - and hopefully I will finish both - and find time to post my comments.

Until then, happy reading :)

Out of Sync - A Memoir by Lance Bass

How unusual is it to pick up a book from an NSYNC`er as a HARD-CORE BSB-Girl...but the truth is: I liked his book. It can be an eye-opener for the fans who did believe (ME - back then at least) that NSYNC was the worst that could have happened to the Backstreet Boys.
He gives details about his career before the group (and he worked just as hard as a Nick or Howie) and how things all played out with two groups under one mogul [with that I mean the well-hated (which is well-deserved, if I may add) Loius Pearlman].

I got to appreciate his brave step of coming out, while being able to keep private things private indeed.
I liked seven out of eight chapter (Chapter seven describes his path to become a trained cosmonaut - which was not the most interesting chapter to read for me)...so, well done - but I cannot reveal if reading Lance`s book did (or will) actually make me listen to an NSYNC song...[I keep you guessing on that one]

L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad

Here is a summary of the book taken from the following website:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4758093-l-a-candy

"In L.A. CANDY, nineteen-year-old Jane Roberts moves to L.A. and unexpectedly becomes the star of a reality T.V. show. With fame comes wealth, hot clothes and even hotter love interests -- and Jane′s lapping it all up with her eclectic entourage of pals who are always up for a wild night out and the chance to get a piece of her spotlight. But soon Jane realizes everyone wants something from her, and nothing is what it seems to be.

L.A. CANDY is a fast-paced, honest and entertaining fictional account of what it′s like to come of age in Hollywood while starring in a reality TV show, written by a girl who has experienced it all firsthand: Lauren Conrad."


I really loved this book a lot - I have seen it in stores for a long time but was not interested in fiction books then.
I am lucky that I picked it up because it was not only fun to read - I mean who does not love to read about celebrities and their gossip-filled but glamed-up life ;) but it had a great story in it.
The main character Jane has to learn who to trust and the old saying works here a lot: `keep your friends close but your enemies closer`

I think Lauren Conrad did an amazing job in writing this book - she just gained one more fan - and that is me.

Diary of a Teenage Girl - Chloe No.1 - My name is Chloe

This was the next book that I chose to read by the author Melody Carlson.
Since I loved her style and the first book about Kim, I had to get that one.
We (the reader) learn more about already existing characters like Tiffany and Ceasar and Jake, but also get to know the start of Chloe (who becomes an influental character on Kim`s journey to find/love/understand God).
Chloe is a musician and finds two friends who join her in making a band called Redemption. At first Chloe is more of a punk kid but later on finds that even with Jesus in your heart you can be who you are (and be true to yourself).
This was again a very inspiring book - and even though I had to take a few more days to finish, I still got drawn into it...

Diary of a Teenage Girl - Kim No.1 - Just Ask

This book has been written by Melody Carlson, an award-winning author of more than ninety books for teens, women, and children (http://melodycarlson.com/diary.shtml)

On her website you find all of her books, as well as this summary of the book I picked from her:

What's a girl to do when caught between a rock and a hard place? The "hard place" — losing her car; the "rock" — her immovable dad. In order to regain driving privileges, Kim Peterson's dad talks her into writing an advice column for teens in his newspaper. Kim reluctantly agrees. She answers letters about stuff that's everyday and stuff that's not: parents, piercings, dating, drugs, depression, and people who are just users. Nothing Kim can't handle.
But when a classmate is killed, the letters turn to questions about life, death, and what it all means. And Kim starts to wonder if she really does have all the answers — and if not, where to find them. The Christian faith of her adoptive family? The Buddhism of her Korean heritage? Who can she turn to — to just ask?

I loved this book a lot and I got drawn into it so fast and read it at once - in one day (very rare for me).
I got to know Kim and her friends very well, and I loved her transformation from being more of a Non-Believer, her struggle to make sense out of Buddhism (since she was adopted from a Christian family from the US, but she was born in and came from Korea), before finally turning to God and experiencing inner peace by becoming a (better) Christian.
A very inspiring book, with many interesting characters.

I do not want to reveal the end, but it was not `the biggest surprise`, in a way - even though it was sad - it was still filled with the hope that Kim had found throughout the book.

This book is for young adults, but I have to say it still got my attention as a 26 year old - sometimes we all have to find someone who goes through the same thing and then we see how they turn out before we give it our (best) shot.

I have to admit that I did get hooked by Melody`s writing style that I now have the first two parts of the Chloe series, and I did start the first one already...
Stay tuned

An important note

Here is an important note about my postings from the books that I read:
I do not intend in any way to steal the authors work - I just add summaries that appear on the books so others can decide if they like to read them as well.
Also, my opinion should be respected and if you absolutely do not like (meaning hate) any books that I love - feel free to tell me (if you like) but do so in a polite manner.

Thank you very much.

And as an extra to my first two books that I chose I would like to add the link to the website from Mrs. Lisa McMann.
Go check it out: http://lisamcmann.com/index.html

Fade - by Lisa McMann

As soon as I finished the book Wake and read a preview about the sequel I had to get the second part of the trilogy.
Fade starts where the first book let you off.

But first a brief summary again from the back of the book:
For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck. Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open--but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over her head, and Cabe's shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.
Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability. And it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a Dream Catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd even feared...

At the very end of the first book Wake we learn that Janie has started to be an undercover cop (just like Cabel) for their boss who they simply have to call `Captain`.
We find out that Mrs. Stubin has been working for Captain for many many years too (until she got really sick and passed away). Captain knows about Janie's ability from the beginning - and when a phone call gets into the station Captain does not hesitate to ask for Janie's help in that case.
Janie got better with controlling her appearance in the dreams of others - she can pause and look around in the dream to find clues, she can also speed up or slow down the actions and most of all she can help have a positive turnout for the dreamer.
Because he is still in love with her, Cabel volunteers his dreams for Janie to practice.

But how can the crime that occurred at Janie's high school be solved if she does not know into which dream she has to fall into to find all the evidence that is needed to bust the bad guy(s)???

If you read this book who will find out...

Again, I loved this book and I got drawn into it from page one - I love that.
Unfortunately I did not find the third installment of the trilogy - which is titled Gone.

Wake - by Lisa McMann

The first book that I chose for this New Years Project was Lisa McManns book Wake.

I will copy a brief summary from the back of the book:
For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.
She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

What made me interested in this book is its theme about dreams - and in this case Janie can attend the dreams of others.
Also I chose a young adult writer because I need to get into a good habit of reading regularly again, and those books are easily written.
I did love Lisa's way of drawing you into the character from the first page on and having a great descriptive language, yet she gets to the point really fast and sometimes telling less adds to the already existing suspense factor.
I loved it and it was an easy read. A good start for me.

Now here are a few more details I would like to add (just to prove that I did read it and know the story with its characters):
1. I enjoyed the starting relationship with Janie and Cabel (who is helping her; even though she appears in his dreams too, since he is in love with her), at the end we also find out for whom he is working for...
2. Mrs. Stubin (an old lady at the retirement home where Janie works) has a deep secret that will be revealed to Janie and so she has a lot more help to offer than Janie thinks at first...
3. Attending someone else`s dream does have its benefits too (so Janie knows a few secrets about her classmates - who dose off every once in a while - and they have no idea about that)...

But being a dream catcher does have consequences too, and although Mrs. Stubin does help Janie, she ultimately knows what Fate awaits for her...