"Words Are Life"

Yes…indeed they are:) (Shameless plug for The Book Thief, because I just finished reading it and you need to obtain a copy as soon as is humanly possible.  But, ahem, more on that later.)

As I am having trouble finding inspiration for a post, I thought I'd just let whoever happens to be reading this have a peek at my reading aspirations for the summer.  

I'll admit, I haven't been able to plow through all the books I have planned as quickly as I thought I would.  I suppose I read more slowly than I used to (can't think why…), in addition to the longer books, and all the other *ahem* pressing demands on my time in the summer *cough* like Leverage and movie nights and the ongoing obsession with LotR *cough*.

But anyway, here's just a little glimpse at what I've already completed this summer (and my thoughts thereon), and what I hope to complete before school starts back up.  (Note:  This list will be shortened considerably, for reason's sake:D)

Let's get started, shall we?:)

Completed (but in no real order and with an out-of-5-star rating):

~ Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott

(Totally ADORED it!  'T'is one of my new favorites!:D  A sweet, happy story with great lessons.  Rating:  5/5)

~ Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

(*sigh*  Oh, dear.  Should I dare to write down - that is, type out my honest opinion?  Okie-dokie.  I didn't enjoy this book as much as I expected to.  Since I LOVE the musical, and even manage to tolerate the non-musical film with a little enjoyment, and had heard such glowing reports of the book…I was honestly a little disappointed.  But that's all I'm going to say for right now; I'll write a more thorough review later, never fear!  Rating:  2/5.  Sorry, peeps.)

~ Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

(I do like this book, but I think it was an unwise decision to decide to read it immediately after the movie;D Rating:  3.5-4/5.  Still deciding!)

~ The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

(*grins, winks, and does her typical oh-my-it's-LotR thing*  I started this book earlier in the school year, took a break, and then picked it up this summer determined to get through it.  Yes, yes, I had to plow my way though some parts, but on the whole, the second half of TFofR was FABULOUS!  All the songs and poems and descriptions and character development and epic locations and all the FEELS!:D Rating:  4.8/5)

~ Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
(I thoroughly enjoyed this book, this time around.  A few parts got a little long, and a few small ones were of…questionable legality, er, magicky stuff and theology, but on the whole, it was great.  Not that it surpasses Ella Enchanted, of course.  Though I will say that I liked the heroine of Fairest, Aza, better than Ella.  I empathized with her a lot more.  Rating:  3.5/5)

~ The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
(Oh.  My.  Word.  Cannot even.  Having trouble.  So good.  Just…yes.  Rating:  4/5.  It would get a 5/5, but unfortunately, Mr. Zusak seemed to feel the need to flood his book with totally unnecessary, FREQUENT language.  If you so choose to read the book - and you should, if you can get past the language and a couple annoying references to anatomy and such - don't say I didn't warn you.  In fact, let me finish going through my book with a black pen, and then borrow it from me:P)


Whew!  Now, I had hoped to read a lot more than this over the summer, but again, progress has been slow and honestly, I'll probably only manage to get these read during the remainder of summer:

~ The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien (almost done with this one!)
~ The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
~ Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (not almost finished with this one, but making progress!)
~ and hopefully a couple, if not all, of the Song of Acadia series, by Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn (which, just an FYI, is incredible.  And I don't usually even like Janette Oke a whole lot.  My favorite is the first book, The Meeting Place, but they're all fantastic.)


So, there you have it!  There's what will be occupying my reading schedule for awhile:)