So Many Books, So Little Time

  Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews .   I picked up a couple really good books this week!  I can't wait to get started on them!   For Review:   Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell This is for a blog tour and was so good.  My review will be posted on Thursday and a guest post from the author will be up on Tuesday.   From the Library:   Kiss of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning     The Lady's Slipper by Deborah Swift   Won in a Giveaway:     The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman Many thanks to Melissa at Confessions of an Avid Reader !

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish .   This week's topic:  Top Ten Series I Haven't Finished    1.) A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin -I loved A Game of Thrones and I can't wait to continue with the series, I just have a ton of other books to read first. 2.) Eve series by Anna Carey 3.) Delirium series by Lauren Oliver       I read both of these books around the same time and I feel bad for not continuing with either of these series but I didn't love them enough to feel like I HAVE to read the next book right now. 4.) The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare- I was very disappointed with book 4 and have heard mixed reviews of book 5.  I will read it eventually, I just am not ready to be disappointed again. 5.)Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire- I have read 3 of the 4 books and have checked out the 4th book twice from the library. I really want to read it but obviously not eno...

Because Les Miserables is so long, I have decided to read and write about it in chunks.  So far, I have read through page 300 and I am enjoying it.  Most of what I have read so far has been about Fantine and Jean Valjean and I have to say that I really like Jean Valjean as a character.  He was not a very nice person at first but as the story progessed, he completely redeemed himself. I don't know much about Victor Hugo but it seems to me as though this book is a social commentary.  Hugo includes his opinions on poverty, the legal system and society in general.  He talks a lot about how poverty affects people and the lengths they will go to in order to stay alive and feed their families.  He also discusses the injustice of the legal system and condemns the harsh punishments inflicted on the poor by the legal system.  He definitely has some strong opinions regarding the society at that time and I am eager to see what he else he has to say....

  Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews .   I am trying to limit the number of library books I have waiting for me so I only picked up one book this week.   From the Library: (Click on picture for link to goodreads.com)   This book looks really good and I can't wait to read it!!   Did you get any good books this week?

From Goodreads:  England's Tower of London was the terrifying last stop for generations of English political prisoners. A Dangerous Inheritance weaves together the lives and fates of four of its youngest and most blameless: Lady Katherine Grey, Lady Jane's younger sister; Kate Plantagenet, an English princess who lived nearly a century before her; and Edward and Richard, the boy princes imprisoned by their ruthless uncle, Richard III, never to be heard from again. Across the years, these four young royals shared the same small rooms in their dark prison, as all four shared the unfortunate role of being perceived as threats to the reigning monarch. My Thoughts:  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  I really wanted to love this book.  Alison Weir is one of my favorite authors and I usually enjoy her books.  This time not so much.  It's not that I disliked this book, I just didn't connect with the story very well.  I...

From Goodreads:  Mary, Katherine, and Jane Grey–sisters whose mere existence nearly toppled a kingdom and altered a nation’s destiny–are the captivating subjects of Leanda de Lisle’s new book. The Sisters Who Would Be Queen breathes fresh life into these three young women, who were victimized in the notoriously vicious Tudor power struggle and whose heirs would otherwise probably be ruling England today. Born into aristocracy, the Grey sisters were the great-granddaughters of Henry VII, grandnieces to Henry VIII, legitimate successors to the English throne, and rivals to Henry VIII’s daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Lady Jane, the eldest, was thrust center stage by greedy men and uncompromising religious politics when she briefly succeeded Henry’s son, the young Edward I. Dubbed “the Nine Days Queen” after her short, tragic reign from the Tower of London, Jane has over the centuries earned a special place in the affections of the English people as a “queen with a public heart.” Bu...

  Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews .   This week I picked up a couple of ebooks.  They all look pretty good and I am excited to read them.   Purchased ebooks:      Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati     Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith     The House at Riverton by Kate Morton   Have you read any of these?  What books did you pick up this week?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic:  Top Ten Books That Make You Think Some of these books I read a long time ago and some I read more recently.  They are all excellent books and each of them made me think a little bit more about my life, other's lives and the world at large. 1.) Columbine by Dave Cullen 2.) You Know When the Men are Gone by Siobhan Fallon - 3.) Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson 4.) Kolyma Tales by Varlaam Shalamov 5.) Night by Elie Wiesel 6.) A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah 7.) Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert 8.) The Pregnancy Project by Gaby Rodriguez 9.) The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams 10.) Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser What books made you think?  Have you read any of these?

From Goodreads:  Plain and dutiful and a passionate Catholic, Mary Tudor is overjoyed when she becomes Queen of England. After the misery of her childhood, when her father, Henry VIII, rejected her and her mother, Mary feels at last that she is achieving her destiny. And when she marries Philip of Spain, her happiness is complete. But Mary's delight quickly turns sour as she realizes that her husband does not love her--indeed, that he finds her devotion irritating. Desperate for a baby, she begins to believe that God is punishing her. Her people are horrified at the severity of the measures she takes and begin to to turn against their queen, who is lonely, frightened, and desperate for love. Rafael, a member of Philip of Spain's entourage, reluctantly witnesses the tragedy that unfolds as the once-feted queen tightens her cruel hold on the nation. As Rafael becomes closer to Mary, his life--and newfound love--are caught up in the terrible chaos. My Thoughts:  This book was...

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews . This week I received one book for review. I loved The Forgotten Garden so I am hoping I will enjoy this one as well. From NetGalley:  The Secret Keeper  by Kate Morton What books did you get this week?

From Goodreads:  Shy, plain Lady Jane Parker feels out of place in Henry VIII's courtly world of glamour and intrigue--until she meets the handsome George Boleyn. Overjoyed when their fathers arrange a match, her dreams of a loving union are waylaid when she meets George's sister, Anne. For George is completely devoted to his sister, and cold and indifferent to his bride. As Anne acquires a wide circle of admirers, including King Henry, Jane's resentment grows. But if becoming Henry's queen makes Anne the most powerful woman in England, it also makes her highly vulnerable. And as Henry, desperate for a male heir, begins to tire of his mercurial wife, the stage is set for the ultimate betrayal... My Thoughts:  This was a nice change from the usual Tudor books.  I have never read a book told from Jane Boleyn's point of view and it was kind of refreshing to see something different.  This book tells Jane Boleyn's story through 5 of Henry VIII's queens.  Jan...

Ugh, August was such a crappy month.  I hardly read anything, work was insane, dealing with the new place sucked and I kind of turned into a giant slug.  Now that September is here, I am feeling much better and decided to set some goals to try to get back on track.  I usually try to keep an unofficial reading list for the month but lately I have kind of been reading whatever sounds good at the moment so I don't have a list for this month. Reading Goals: 1.) Read one challenge book this month.- I only have 4 books left not including Les Mis , if I read one a month for the rest of the year I will be able to finish my challenges. 2.) Read at least 300 pages in Les Miserables.- I definitely won't finish this in a month but if I try to break it down, I should be able to get through it. 3.) Get caught up on Library Books- I need to decide which I will read and which are getting returned because I am overwhelmed. Personal Goals: 1.) Exercise at least 5 day...

  Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish .     This week's topic:  Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR List   I have a ton of books that I want to read this fall but here are a few of the ones that are at the top of the list.   1.) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - This will probably take me the entire fall to read but I am going to get it done before the end of the year. 2.) Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn - I bought this last year but still haven't read it.  I have seen so many bloggers rave about it that I think I should finally make time for it. 3.) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - This is for one of my challenges and I am really curious about it. I know it's long but hopefully I can get to it. 4.) Monster in My Closet by R.L. Naquin - I just bought this book and it looks pretty fun, I can't wait to read it. 5.) A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin - I've missed all the Game of T...

From Goodreads:  The sheriff's deputy at the front door brings hard news to Ree Dolly. Her father has skipped bail on charges that he ran a crystal meth lab, and the Dollys will lose their house if he doesn't show up for his next court date. Ree's father has disappeared before. The Dolly clan has worked the shadowy side of the law for generations, and arrests (and attempts to avoid them) are part of life in Rathlin Valley. With two young brothers depending on her and a mother who's entered a kind of second childhood, sixteen-year-old Ree knows she has to bring her father back, dead or alive. She has grown up in the harsh poverty of the Ozarks and learns quickly that asking questions of the rough Dolly clan can be a fatal mistake. But along the way to a shocking revelation, Ree discovers unforeseen depths in herself and in a family network that protects its own at any cost. My Thoughts:  For the past two years my local library has sponsored 'Read Across Town'...

  Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews.   This week I picked up two more books from the library.  I officially have way more library books than I have time to read.  It's no wonder I own so many books that I have yet to read.   From the Library:     The Highlander's Touch by Karen Marie Moning     Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell   Have you read either of these?  What books did you pick up this week?