Favorite Books of 2010

I'm always getting asked for book recommendations, so I thought I would put together a little list of my favorite reads from 2010.

Picture Books:

Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester

Poor Rodney is made fun of at school because he can't pronounce his Rs. In the end he saves the day with his speech impediment and becomes the hero. Funny read and I think I loved it so much because Chase has the same problem.

Princess Pigsty by Cornelia Funke

A cute story about a Princess who doesn't really like acting how a Princess is supposed to. Aria loved it!

Kid's Books (Ages 9 and up):

The Ranger's Apprentice Series by John Flanagan

I'd heard about this series a long time ago and I even purchased the first book at a book fair, but never got around to reading it. It turns out I had been missing out on a great book. I've now read quite a few of the series and can't wait to hand them over to Hunter. Lots of adventure, great examples of friendship, loyalty, and courage.

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Quirky fun book about a girl who is about to turn 13 and receive her magical savvy. Mibs, two of her brothers, and a couple of friends go on a crazy adventure while they try to get to the hospital where her Dad is in a coma. Michela had a lot of fun reading this book too.

Young Adult Fiction:

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

After reading the Warrior Heir series a couple of years ago I fell in love with the author's writing. This new series is every bit as good, but with a lot less violence. A story about a country in peril as the magicians try to take over the queendom. Interesting characters, lots of action, and lots of twists and turns.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

I really enjoyed Westerfeld's Uglies series, but this is a total departure from that kind of story. A bit of Steam punk thrown in with an alternate reality. A war adventure with some strong characters, a lot of spunk, and some good laughs as well.

Fiction- Mystery:

Lemon Tart by Josi S. Kilpack

I thought I had this one figured out, but the author threw in a little twist in the end. I love surprises. A fun quick read with a fabulous heroine. And the icing on the cake is the wonderful recipes sprinkled throughout the pages.

Fiction- Romance:

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

I love this author's writing. Her books all seem to have a little magical element to them. Her writing is magical as well. This story centers around a teenage girl living with her grandpa in a quirky little town. Here she befriends the next door neighbor who has some secrets from her past that she has been trying to run away from.

Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Patillo

If you love Jane Austen's books, you'll have fun reading this book as well. Our modern day heroine is going through some trials which end up bringing her to England. Here she is on a quest to get a look at the "lost" letters of Jane Austen. But before she can see them, she must go on a treasure hunt of sorts through the life of Jane Austen.

Fiction:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Amazing historical fiction that takes you back to the 1960s during the time of the Civil Rights movement. So many strong characters that you can't help but fall in love with. The writing is wonderful and it makes you feel like you are there with these incredible women. It really made me think, how would I have acted in these situations? A definite must read!

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

This book takes place around the same time as The Help but has a different tone. CeeCee has lived a hard life and after her mother dies she is taken in by her Great Aunt. The book is full of amazing women who help CeeCee come to terms with her past and work through her grief. I found myself crying and then laughing out loud all on one page.

Guilty Pleasure:

The Gallagher Girls Series by Ally Carter

My friend introduced me to these books saying she had bought them for her teenage daughters but ended up reading them herself and loved them. Fun reads with laugh out loud moments and lots of adventure. What isn't there to love about a boarding school for girls that ends up being a spy school training the spies of tomorrow.

Toy Story 3

Yesterday I was feeling a little down so I decided I should do something fun with the kids. We went and saw Toy Story 3 and it was the best way to cheer me up. It was such a cute movie! Usually by number 3 in the animated movies you aren't expecting much. I liked this one better than the second and just as much as the first. There were lots of exciting moments, funny moments, sweet moments and even some nail biting moments. I must admit I cried at the end of the movie. I'm such a sucker for those tender scenes. The fact that I'm 9 months pregnant probably added to the tears but I think I still would have teared up regardless. There were also a lot of laugh out loud moments where the kids and I were totally cracking up. Lets just say that Buzz stole the show quite a few times. Perfect activity for you and your kiddos. I highly recommend this movie and we all gave it two big thumbs up!

The Lightning Thief

I just took the kids to go see "The LightningThief" today. I was forewarned that there was a little language and a couple of mature scenes before I went. I was afraid that it was going to be a horrible mistake to take the kids, but I'm glad I did. It wasn't as bad as I had imagined. There were a couple of swear words, which they could have done without, and the one scene in Las Vegas shows the kids eating some food which turns out to be mind compelling drugs. There were some mildly scary scenes which had Chase covering his eyes (he is 6 1/2) but he was fine. I had to do a lot of explaining to him about the Greek Gods and Godesses but he seemed to follow it pretty well. I would probably recommend this for kids over 8 or 9 though.
Let me just say that they left out some major parts of the story and added in some of their own ideas. If you are the kind of person who is disappointed if the movie isn't just like the book then you might want to skip the movie. Of course the book is way better, but try and show me a movie that is ever better than the book! I was also disappointed that they decided to make the kids so much older than the books. Book 1 starts out with Percy being like 12 years old. It totally changes the tone of the movie. I would have liked the movie to be aimed more at the age group of the kids who read the books, probably 8-14 years old instead of teenagers.

On it's own though, the movie was a lot of fun! There was plenty of action, it was never dull for a moment, and the characters had great friendships and loyalty towards each other. My kids loved it and on the way home they were fighting over who got to be Percy and who was going to be Grover. Michela is already excited for a sequel and Hunter is ready to dive into the books.

The Best Books I Read in 2009

Well, it's almost February, but I wanted to do a post on my favorite books that I read last year. If you don't know me too well, then you don't know how much I like to read. When I was younger you would often find me back on my bed reading instead of playing with friends. I loved rainy days because it gave me an excuse to curl up with a good book. I still love rainy days just for this reason. :) People are always asking me what I've been reading lately so I thought I would just put out a little list.

I've been reading a lot of young adult fiction the last couple of years. I like the fact that they are usually clean and without a load of swearing. Mystery, romance (not the smutty kind), adventure, humor, fairy tales, sci fi, historical fiction,... I like it all! So here is my Top 10 List for 2009.

10. The Time Travelers by Linda Buckley Archer- A fun children's book about these two children who go back in time. They have to find a way to adapt as well as try to find a way home.

9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak- A fictional book set during the holocaust narrated by death.

8. The Summer Kitchen by Lisa Wingate- Her books are very uplifting and inspirational.

7. Ink Death by Cornelia Funke- The final book in the Ink Heart series. Beautiful series!

6. The Frog Princess Series by E. D. Baker- Not your typical Princess in these books. She gets into some pretty funny situations. A joy to read.

5. Star Garden by Nancy E. Turner- The third book of the These is My Words series. Once again I was amazed at all this poor woman had to go through. She is one tough cookie though and this book was a great story.

4. The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester- I loved this children's book about accepting ourselves, tolerance and friendship. Piper McCloud is pure spunk and sunshine, with a little X-Men thrown in.

3. Graceling by Kristin Cashore- Lots of adventure, action and romance. Graceling is part Heroes, The Thief and Alias wrapped into one story.

2. The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins- I can't wait for the third book to come out in this gripping series. These books are serious page turners full of action, suspense and heart.

1. The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and the King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner- I adored these books and read the three books in about a week! A new one is coming out in March, can't wait. I loved the characters, the humor, and the action. I especially loved that they weren't too predictable. Loved the twist and turns. Definitely my favorite books of the year.

Chuckathon

No, this post is not about throwing up or anything like that. If it was it would have been titled"Up-Chuckathon". No, I am talking about the show "Chuck". I had heard about this show from various friends and family but my plate was full and I don't like to jump into a show midseason. It's kind of like starting a book from the middle. Not recommended. I finally Netflixed the first season this summer and I fell in love with the show. It is so funny! If you haven't seen it I highly recommend renting the first season. The premise of the show is that this guy, named Chuck, works as part of the Nerd Herd at the local Buy More Store. His best friend from college, who ended up betraying him, is a CIA agent and sends Chuck this computer file with all of the different secret service intelligence information that the U.S. has accumulated over the years. Chuck ends up "downloading" it into his brain, it's all in pictures, and now he has to be protected so that another country doesn't capture him and get all of that info.

This is a spy show, but Chuck is anything but a super spy. He is a lanky, kind of geeky, sweet guy who lives with his sister and doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. Bottom line, it is hilarious! There are so many funny and crazy characters that you'll fall in love with. His best friend Morgan has some of the best lines in the show.

So the third season starts on Sunday, but they didn't release the 2nd season on DVD until Tuesday. My sister and I started our Chuck marathon last night by watching the first DVD in the set. I needed a good laugh so badly and this had me cracking up. We are hoping to watch the rest of the season by Sunday, but we don't know if we'll find time to do it. Thank goodness for the DVR because I could record the new shows and save them until we are done. Isn't modern technology grand. And from the previews I've seen of the 3rd season, the show is only going to get better. Thanks "Chuck" for putting a little much needed happy silliness into my life.

My New Favorite Show!

I have been so excited for this new Fall season of TV to get started. I heard some buzz about a few new shows and I was anxious to see if they were any good. Plus I couldn't wait for my favorites from last year to return. Heroes, Project Runway, So You Think You Can Dance and Castle were among my returning must sees. The new shows I wanted to watch were Glee, The Forgotten, Accidentally on Purpose and Flash Forward.

Glee is so funny and I love all the song and dance routines. Accidentally on Purpose was cute but they crammed so much into the first episode it was like a race. I'm hoping a slower pace will ensue over the course of the season. The Forgotten was really good. Lots of mystery, clue hunting and crime solving. Plus it has Christian Slater in it. For all of you girls who loved "Heathers", "Pump up the Volume", "Robin Hood", "Bed of Roses"... you know you loved him at one time. I guess I always kind of digged the bad boys. :) He had a new show last year called "My Own Worst Enemy" and I really liked it, but of course the network axed it like a bunch of other good shows with potential last year. Don't even get me started. So I'm excited to see where this show goes.

Now for my new FAVORITE! "Flash Forward" was so awesome!

It was a killer of a pilot. It totally reminded me of when I saw the pilot of "Lost" and I knew I was going to love the show. "Flash Forward" has lots of characters which lends itself to lots of good and interesting stories. The premise is that the entire world blacked out for like 2 minutes at exactly the same time. All this mayhem happened because of it. Think of all the car accidents, people falling, doctors in the middle of surgery, planes, helicopters, ... you get the picture. While everyone blacked out they all had a vision of their future. This show is part drama, action, sci fi, mystery, conspiracy theory, a lot of what I love in "Lost". So if you are into this kind of stuff I highly recommend the show. Does anyone else have any new favorites?