Reading!

So, I know this will all sound pretty lame to other's, but for me, I feel pretty dang proud of myself! Why? Because I FINALLY love to read!!

Background: I always wished I were a "reader". Growing up I NEVER read. In fact, reading was torture for me. During high school, I would always buy cliff notes on books because I hated to read. I just thought it was boring, a waste of time, and I just had better things to do like hang out with my friends. But, secretly, I always envied the person who LOVED to read and had read TONS of books and who just had a passion for it! The first books I really read and got into was the Twilight Series and the Harry Potter books. Now that is 11 books but you can only claim them as a series.

Anyway, I felt the need to extend my list of books to read. I had a New Year's Resolution to read one book a month during the year. So far, I have done great with this goal and have even read more books than I had set out to. And the best part of it is, it hasn't been torture for me at all! I have loved it! So far in the year, I have read:

• The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen D. Randle (it was a short read and pretty good)
• The Mortal Instrument Series (City of Bones, City of Angels, and City of Glass) by Cassandra Clare (I really liked this series)
• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (good but a little depressing)

And then over the past 3 week's I've read 4 books! Usually I am not this ambitious, but a majority of the books I have read are library books and have to be back at a certain time. Anyway, here they are and I enjoyed each of them.

• Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater: It was pretty good. It's a werewolf love story. The story is pretty interesting and nothing like Twilight like one would expect (which is sort of refreshing). In the beginning I thought the main female character was weird and I had a hard time relating to her. But the more I read, the more I understood her. Anyway, overall, it was a good and fun read but nothing I'd go around telling people they MUST read it. And I think there are sequels to this book, but I haven't read them yet.

• Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale: I actually really liked this book... way more than I thought I would! It was a little slow in the beginning for me but after that it really picked up and I couldn't put it down! The book is basically a journal of a girl serving as a maid to a girl who gets locked in a tower for 7 years because she refused to marry who her father wanted her to. And the maid has sworn to serve her and be locked up with her. So it's about their adventure and relationship. I LOVED the writing. The narrator is the main maid girl and she was hilarious and just very likable. Technically it's a children's book but adults would like it too.

• Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins: Okay, so I know I have already mentioned Hunger Games in an earlier post and how awesome it is but I also read the sequel and it was even better! Seriously, I could not put it down! And, as many love stories go, there is a love triangle. With the Twilight Saga, the love triangle is pretty basic and it really depends on what your personality is to decide who you would choose. But with this one, oh man! This one is legit! It's totally believable and every time I try to think about who would be the better choice, I just can't do it! I am at a total loss and my heart breaks for each character! Ahh!!! And the love story/triangle is just a side problem for what the whole book is mainly about. You really just feel like you are a part of the story. This book made me so mad, made me cry, made me laugh, and every emotion you could hope a book would bring up in you. Anyway, I don't want to give anything away but the whole story is SO FREAKIN' GOOD!!! The third book, Mocking Jay, comes out I think in August and I can't wait to read it! Oh, and the only problem I see with this book is if they made it into a movie, it would most definitely be rated R and the book is geared toward teens/young adults. I don't see how it couldn't be. Who knows though... it may be better if they don't make it into a movie. We'll see.

So yeah, I just feel pretty good that I really am beginning to LOVE reading! I have always wanted to love it and now I finally do! So, yay for me!