Dreams of Stardust

Have we ever read a fantasy or sci fi book for book club? I love fantasy! Dreams of Stardust is a good book--enjoyable plot, desirable characters, etc. It involves time travel between 2005 and medieval times; the man is from the future and finds his true love in the past. I would have to say that maybe its downfall is that its characters are a little too perfect. Hmmm. Oh well. It's a good fantasy read with a sweet romance. I would definitely recommend it to all of you. (BTW, I liked it better than the 1 or 2 Anita Stansfield's books I've ever read.)

My favorite fantasy book is Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. Check it out!

The November reading looks good. Our library here is not the best. i will try to get it. I'm in the middle of a 3 book series right now (i'm on the 3rd book) I'm totally enthralled. It takes place during the civil war. I'll tell you about them soon. They are fantastic!

LOVED Uglies!

So when Laurel and Sarah came to visit Chicago (WE HAD SUCH A BLAST TOGETHER!!!)I got Uglies-- and I couldn't put it down. I want the next one! It was such a fun read. What did you guys think?

November Reading

November Reading Suggestions:
I capture the Castle: by Dodie Smith
This is a book that Laurel suggested and said that both she and Marcy enjoyed it. It is about a seventeen year old girl who lives in poverty within a castle. She is trying to perfect her writing skills and captures stories of things that go on within the castle walls. She fills notebooks of stories and even tells a love story about herself. So by the end of the book she has "captured the castle." This book sounds enchanting.
I thought it would be a good match to a book that I just read, so I decided to put them together this month and you
can choose which one or both to read.




Towers of Brierley: by Anita Stansfield
I read this book over the summer and thought it was fun and romantic. It is a love story of two people who were raised in the castle of Brierley. Anya takes care of Gavin in the beginning because he is wounded, and slowly they fall in love. There is a lot of suspense and secrets that I can't give away but I really thought it was a cute book. This teenage girl recommended it to me at the library while I was looking in the young adult section- my favorite genre. I couldn't put it down, it was fun!

So, here are the suggestions - happy reading! I'm sure you can find them at the library, or order them on amazon or ebay for very cheap!

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning

This is a clever little book. I especially like where the narrator defines difficult words with pithy explanations. I also like the size of the book; it's comfortable to hold. I'm serious; it may be the perfect size. Not to mention that Lemony Snicket is the coolest name ever.

I'm afraid it didn't capture my interest enough to go on to the second book. Maybe I've seen too much Alias lately, but it seems like there should be some butt-kicking going on, or clever deceptions (on the children's part). The children are a little too fragile for me, though very endearing. It seems if this Count Olaf were gone most of the day it shouldn't be too hard to figure out a good plan of escape. And why are the adults all so dumb? Where is DCFS (or British equivalent)? What do you think?

Hard-won Wisdom

I love this book!
Its by, Susan Arrington Madsen & Ruth Harris Swaner. You can pick it up at Deseret Book, or Seagull Book. It has many subjects like: lessons learned from parents, marriage and parenthood, prayer,testimony, and many others. The stories are from the older generation. It even tells a little about each contributor. Any way, its just good advice for us.

Becky

A Heart Like His

I had a nice experience today. I finished this book and felt like opening my heart, as the book illustrates, to someone whom I have not had an open heart toward. I did and felt great peace afterward. I know that's cryptic. What I really want to say is that this book's message is wonderful. It's about how we should have open, soft hearts toward everyone we meet. Virgina Pearce challenges her readers to experiment with going about their regular lives with softer hearts and more loving attitudes. It's not about baking cookies for neighbors or giving tons of money to charities or spending hours serving others. It's about making a difference in one's own life as well as others' by treating others like they matter and like they are an important part of this world. Like they are a son or daughter of God.

I guess the message that I most needed to get from this book is that all relationships matter, and that I DO have the time to nurture relationships because it's not about the time. It's about the state of one's heart during interactions.