when we first moved to san diego i was desperate to get involved in something- anything- and so when a good friend of mine invited me to her book club, i jumped at the opportunity. looking back, it's one of the best decisions i've made.
growing up, i read a lot. i was the kid who had my nose in a book at all times & loved getting lost in riveting stories. as i got older and life became more complicated my love for books never went away, but reading definitely took the back burner. if i read 2-3 books a year i was lucky.
so now, being part of a book club with required reading, has forced me to make time for reading. not everyday and maybe not for long periods of time, but enough that i have to finish reading one book a month. at first i thought the pressure to find more time in my day was going to drive me to the brink, but as it turned out, slowing down and taking those much needed reading breaks really helped me recharge.
some of the books i read over the past year were awesome- like affected my life and inspired me big-time awesome- and others...well, not so much. we have 10 ladies in our book club and each month (with the exception of the 2 breaks we take during the year) everyone picks one book during "their month." this creates so much diversity in what we read- and i love that. it gives us opportunities to experiment with books or just pick something we've been wanting to read for years. but it also leaves room for some seriously dry novels.
i don't want this post to be a giant book report but i thought it would be nice to share some of what i've read over the past year (and maybe a couple opinions!) with you (and your book club perhaps). i'll try and make some time to share with you what i'm reading this year, but for the time being, i've broken up these books into a few categories: must read, library rental, and snoozefest. (please note, these reviews are totally my opinion. also, i have nothing against renting from the library- i just tend to buy the books i love!)
must reads:
the girl who fell from the sky- a heartwarming story of loss and love.
the happiness project- definitely one of my favorites. there's a lot of great goal setting ideas and interesting to get started on those things you've always wanted to do).
the kitchen house- an amazing novel. you can't help but build a love/hate relationship with so many of the characters.
mary coin- a beautiful novel that does an amazing job bringing a single photograph to life.
wild- my hands down favorite book. i laughed, i cried, i yearned for adventure. this was the book my friends- the book that affected me to the core.
the fault in our stars and start- a total tear jerker. i love a book that makes me cry.
smart- great read. mostly because it's totally inspired me to find my awesome. i'll be re-reading this one for regular inspiration.
library rentals:
gone girl- predictable but entertaining
still alice- an interesting perspective on alzheimer's
the seven spiritual laws of success- love the concept of this books and the applying daily laws
snoozefest:
atonement
persuasion
so there you have it. the books of 2013. if you take me up on any of these reads, i'd love to know your thoughts. also, what are you reading now?
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