So Many Books, So Little Time

From Goodreads:  After his confrontation with the man in black at the end of The Gunslinger , Roland awakes to find three doors on the beach of Mid-World's Western Sea—each leading to New York City but at three different moments in time. Through these doors, Roland must "draw" three figures crucial to his quest for the Dark Tower. In 1987, he finds Eddie Dean, The Prisoner, a heroin addict. In 1964, he meets Odetta Holmes, the Lady of Shadows, a young African-American heiress who lost her lower legs in a subway accident and gained a second personality that rages within her. And in 1977, he encounters Jack mort, Death, a pusher responsible for cruelties beyond imagining. Has Roland found new companions to form the ka-tet of his quest? Or has he unleashed something else entirely? My Thoughts:  I can't believe I put off reading this for so long!  I read The Gunslinger about a year ago and then bought The Drawing of the Three soon after.  I wasn't a huge fan of T...

Stacking the Shelves is a new feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews .  It's a great way to showcase the books you picked up during the week. Hello Everybody!  I hope you are all having a great weekend.  I went kind of crazy at the library this week and wound up bringing home 7 books!  I really should be reading the books I own but I just couldn't help myself. Here is what I got:   The White Russian by Tom Bradby The Law of Dreams by Peter Behrens The Wolves of Andover by Kathleen Kent Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare The Second Duchess by Elizabeth Loupas The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster Did you get any fun books this week?  Leave a link in the comments so I can check out what you got!

From Goodreads:  Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. Like the fingers on a hand--first headstrong Olga; then Tatiana, the tallest; Maria the most hopeful for a ring; and Anastasia, the smallest. These are the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II, grand duchesses living a life steeped in tradition and privilege. They are each on the brink of starting their own lives, at the mercy of royal matchmakers. The summer of 1914 is that precious last wink of time when they can still be sisters together--sisters that link arms and laugh, sisters that share their dreams and worries, and flirt with the officers of their imperial yacht. But in a gunshot the future changes for these sisters and for Russia. As World War I ignites across Europe, political unrest sweeps Russia. First dissent, then disorder, mutiny, and revolution. For Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, the end of their girlhood together is colliding with the end of more than they ever imagined. At the same time hopeful and hopeless,...

From Goodreads:  Winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize, The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton ’s masterful portrait of desire and betrayal during the sumptuous Golden Age of Old New York, a time when society people “dreaded scandal more than disease.” This is Newland Archer’s world as he prepares to marry the beautiful but conventional May Welland. But when the mysterious Countess Ellen Olenska returns to New York after a disastrous marriage, Archer falls deeply in love with her. Torn between duty and passion, Archer struggles to make a decision that will either courageously define his life—or mercilessly destroy it. My Thoughts:  Hmmmm, I don’t really know what to say about this book.   I had to do a little bit of online research to see if I figure out what Edith Wharton’s point was when she wrote this book because I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be a critique or not.   Evidently, it’s not supposed to be a critique but a description of the customs of the tim...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish . This week's topic:  Top Ten All Time Favorite Characters in Books 1.) Claire and Jamie from Outlander- I don't know how anyone can read the Outlander books and not come away adoring Claire and Jamie. 2.) Tatiana and Alexander from The Bronze Horseman- Tania and Shura are much like Claire and Jamie, I can't help loving them. 3.) Kira Argounova from We the Living- I think Kira is a fantastic character; I may not have always agreed with her actions but she did what she had to do no matter what other people thought.  She also stood up for her beliefs when it was definitely not the time or place to be doing so. 4.) Guy Montag from Fahrenheit 451- I loved watching Montag's transformation from a book burner to book enthusiast; seeing him realize that what he had been doing was wrong and then taking a stand against it was awesome. 5.) Katniss from The Hunger Games- Katniss is a total BAM...

I did it!  I can't believe it but I managed to complete a Half Marathon and I didn't do too bad.  2:04:20 was my chip time and 2:05:28 was my gun time which averages out at 9.5 ish minutes per mile (I was so glad to get across the finish line that I didn't pay that close attention).  My goal was to stay under 2:10 so I am pretty okay with how I did.  I wish I could have done better but I really hit a wall between mile 11 and 12 and was just ready to be done.  I was so nervous before the race; I was worried I was going to get there and throw up because I was nervous.  It was chilly morning and a lot windier than I expected but I was glad that I still wore shorts and a t-shirt because there were spots where it was pretty warm.  The wind sucked (!) especially on the last big hill we were running and on the last mile.  I hate running into the wind.  Otherwise the course wasn't bad and I have run most of it at various times since I have liv...

From Goodreads:  First published in 1955, A Night to Remember remains a completely riveting account of the Titanic 's fatal collision and the behavior of the passengers and crew, both noble and ignominious. Some sacrificed their lives, while others fought like animals for their own survival. Wives beseeched husbands to join them in lifeboats; gentlemen went taut-lipped to their deaths in full evening dress; and hundreds of steerage passengers, trapped below decks, sought help in vain. Available for the first time in trade paperback and with a new introduction for the 50th anniversary edition by Nathaniel Phil-brick, author of In the Heart of the Sea and Sea of Glory , Walter Lord's classic minute-by-minute re-creation is as vivid now as it was upon first publication fifty years ago. From the initial distress flares to the struggles of those left adrift for hours in freezing waters, this semicentennial edition brings that moonlit night in 1912 to life for a new generation ...