Weekly Reads

Having last week off was brilliant and gave me quite a bit of time to get some reading done. I loved every darn minute of it! Now if I could just find a job where I could get paid simply for reading books, that would be fantastic!

Last week I read.....

Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek. Confession: I'm a bit biased when it comes to this book as I have a ridiculous rockstar crush on him. Seriously though-I really enjoyed his book. His writing was open, honest and very approachable. As a new runner, it was really encouraging to read his story, about his training/races and his advice on running. Not once did I feel like he was talking down to his readers or making it sound like running ultramarathons (or any distance for that matter) was reserved for a select few. The vegan recipes at the end of each chapter were a nice bonus, too. There are definitely a few that I can't wait to try out for myself. 

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James: I just.....I can't....every time I try to think of how to explain how much I hated this book, words fail me. I just don't understand the fascination with this series. A friend told me that I "have to enjoy the porn part of it and not the plot". That doesn't make me feel any better about the book---it was dull, repetitive, and and just downright annoying.  Between Christian's constant need for control, Ana's inability to formulate a sentence and and the predictability of every scene, is was enough to make me want to toss my Kindle. I know diaglog can be tough--I struggle with it when I write, but the characters never really talked to one another, they murmured--277 times. Nearly every time they actually did have a conversation where they "were getting to know one another" (not in the physical manner) the author just skipped over it. And the one time when I thought we were actually getting somewhere, going to learn about Christians deepest darkest secret that was going to make Ana run for the hills, it was a total let down and I'm not sure there could have been a more obvious reason. This book just didn't deliver for me on any level except total annoyance. I think my friends will be happy to hear that I am not going to read book 3. I just simply can't put myself through that.

South of Bixby Bridge by Ryan Winfield: This book randomly showed up as a suggested reading title from Amazon. Talk about intense. I think I spent the last 70 pages or so in tears. The story is told by Trevor, who has just completed rehab and his quick rise and even swifter fall back into society. Parts of the book were quite hard to read because of what Trevor experiences and what he learns about himself (and his past along the way) but it was definitely worth it. Winfield did a wonderful job telling Trevor's story. I definitely felt more like reading Trevor's journal instead of a book about Trevor which made it easier to connect with his character. Despite all of his faults and how frustratingly self-absorbed he could be at time, I found my self rooting for him, hoping he would figure it out and find peace from the demons of his past. I am really looking forward to reading more books by this author.

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One for the Money by Janet Evanovich: I don't know why it took me so damn long to start reading this series. I LOVED this book. If you follow me on Twitter, then you've already had the unfortunate pleasure of listening to me complain about a lack of strong female characters in the books I have been reading. Stephanie Plum has filled that void. While she isn't perfect and some of the situations she gets herself into are a little hard to believe, but that is what adds to the fun of it all. The relationship between Plum and Joe Morelli was fun to watch as it played out as was the relationship between Plum and Ranger. I'm hoping Ranger will play a bigger role in the books to come. And let's all be honest, I'm quite certain I would have sold my canolli to Morelli in high school, too.