Wednesday, October 9, 2013

book butterfly reviews -- september

Good gravy, I haven't blogged since last month's book butterfly review!  This working mom thing really takes some figuring out!  The house is clean and there are groceries in the pantry, but we're still figuring out how to do carpool and get kids here and there.  Last night I had two separate people come and offer to take my boys to scouts--and neither one ended up going!  Miscommunications, my error, late planning, etc.  FAIL!  Oh well, we'll figure it out.  Maybe.  :)

On a personal note, life is good.  I really like my job.  I don't know that I love it yet, but I'm very comfortable, getting good at it, familiar with doctors and policies and how things work.  I have to admit I'm pretty good with patients--they all seem to be very comfortable with me.  I was just thinking about how I'm 5 months in. . . that at 6 months I could attempt to transfer (to OB?), but how scary the thought was to move somewhere else, learn all new ways of doing things, new doctors, new assessments, etc etc.  I'm still in love with OB, and I do hope to get there eventually, but I do not know if I am brave enough to try a transfer just yet.  I might wait until my year mark.  Who knows?

Our pool is up and running.  I think it took a grand total of 33 days to build, start to finish.  Bananas!!  So fun to watch it step by step.  Yes, we're swimming in it.  Yes, it's cold.  But we gotta get in as much as we can before it's miserable cold outside.  The kids love it.  The house (outside at least) is really coming together.  We just got solar panels put on a few days ago and next week we're getting a shipment of rock for the back landscaping. Now if I could just figure out what to do with my inside walls and such.  :)

School is going... I'm past half-way, so that's beyond awesome.  I don't care so much about it, really, not putting in much effort, and still getting pretty easy As, so I think I'm finding my niche as to how much work is necessary for this program.  (and the answer is, not much)  I'm just tired of it.  Dan and I have been in school since 2008 this time around, and I'm ready to be done.  DONE!  Five 5-week classes to go, I think!?

I said this last month, but I *love* audio books now.  It's all I use/read/listen to.  I hate the radio and always have a book going on.  At night, I'm too tired to read, so reading actual books isn't much happening unless it's in my bathtub, but even those are rare occasions these days.  I got through so many this month, all because I discovered the Overdrive app in association with the library districts.  All audio books checked out for free using my phone.  Modern Tech.  Gotta love it.

Here's what I read in September:

The Peach Keeper

"The Peach Keeper" by Sarah Addison Allen

4 of 5 stars false

An old mystery, some old grudges, thirty-something-year old friends return to town--four individuals come together centered on the restoration of a historic property and it's grand reopening. Willa is the reformed trouble maker who "settled" into a some-what life of Blah. Paxton is the Prom Queen who is still living under her parents' thumb. Collin is her brother who can't sleep, can't stay in town, and only has eyes for Willa. And Sebastian is the mystery whom everyone labeled very early on as Different. The girls' grandmothers have their own secrets about the property, hidden since the 30s.

The love stories are the best part. :) I listened to this on audio and highly recommend it. Couple parts are PG-13. Loved the mystical/magical qualities, loved the old story thrown in with the modern, loved the depth of the characters--want them to be my friends!

 

6275218

"The Hope of Refuge" by Cindy Woodsmall

3 of 5 stars false

Cara returns to her Amish roots to escape some bad situations back home in NYC. Immediately, she is labeled as a thief and a drunk, but there is one person, a childhood friend, who believes and protects her.

It was... Ehh it was just ok really. I lost interest in it off and on, some parts seemed pointless, some parts seemed like another book/story entirely, which makes me think the author was prepping her audience for a sequel. The end was cheesy and predictable, as these Amish stories often are. Nothin earth-shattering here, but it was a nice audible book to pass the time.

 

11149

"The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis

4 of 5 stars false

This book takes the form of one of Satan's minions writing instructional letters to a demon in training. It is very theological in nature, and offers a great glimpse at how Satan works, what his desires are, and how each little sin, whether by omission or commission, is a delight to the Destroyer's heart.

I found it very interesting, and could totally see the way Satan uses rationalization and justification to sway us little by little towards the darker side. This really got me to thinking, and stayed with me long after I finished it. I'm not a huge CS Lewis fan, I did not care for the "Lion Witch and the Wardrobe" series, but I can very much tell that he was a religious and educated man.

The afterword explains how the writing of this book came very easily to him, but that he did not enjoy it at all. He also said that if he had intended to write much more, that writing from the perspective of a dark Angel would have really gotten to him, and into his soul. This is basically a how-not-to-do: if Satan is happy with our choices, then we are obviously not in the right. I'm very glad I read this.

 

The Lying Game (The Lying Game, #1)

"The Lying Game (The Lying Game #1)" by Sara Shepard

4 of 5 stars false

This is a really hard book to summarize and describe because it's kind of convoluted. Sutton wakes up as a ghost and is staring at someone she realizes is her long-lost-separated twin sister. The twin sister, Emma, sees a youtube video of someone who looks just like her getting murdered. Through the course of the book, she ends up taking her long-lost twin's place, lives her life, and finds that Sutton was part of a club who carried out some big time mean pranks...perhaps going one step too far and making the wrong person mad? She spends the book trying to figure out who her twin's killer is.

This ends mid-story, and I am now excited to find the next in the series. The writing and story have just enough intrigue and suspense to be mildly scary, especially since you never quite know 'whodunnit'. The added mystery of Sutton as a ghost witnessing everything Emma is doing is an interesting addition, but at this point I'm not sure it's necessary. I'm sure this will come into it more in future books, but for right now, it's only useful for the occasional flashback and distraction.

The same author wrote the Pretty Little Liars series...has anyone read those?

 

Never Have I Ever (The Lying Game, #2)

"Never Have I Ever (The Lying Game #2)" by Sara Shepard

3 of 5 stars false

This second installment of Pretty Little Liars wasn't as good as the first, but it was development for the series. We're learning who the killer ISN't, and delving more into the characters' intricacies.

I liked it, mostly listened to this one all in one day. Fun light romance, little bit of suspense and thriller, way too much B-word. :(

 

Two Truths and a Lie (The Lying Game, #3)"Two Truths and a Lie (The Lying Game #3)" by Sara Shepard

3 of 5 stars false

Twins Emma and Sutton are delving more into the mystery surrounding Sutton's murder. Sutton is still in ghost form, and Emma does not know she is even there. Romance blossoms in this one, and we rule out another suspect. I've had an idea since the first book of whom I think the killer is. We'll see if I am correct!

The nice thing is, these books are brainless and really easy to read. (Of course I'm listening to them, which makes it very easy to get through a couple a week.) I may take a small break from the series to try something else though.

 

Not bad, huh?  Bunch of 3s and 4s, I'll take it.  What are you reading?

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