As per the definition on the sleep screen of my Kindle… kindle means:
‘[v.trans] light or set fire. Arouse or inspire (an emotion or feeling): a love of art was kindled in me. [intrans] (of an emotion) be aroused; She pressed on, enthusiasm kindling within her. [intrans] become impassioned or excited: the young man kindled at once.‘
And in that definition I totally understand why they named their ebook the way they did. Books have that effect on me… good books anyway. I leave off reading with emotion and feeling, inspired in many ways. Sometimes I’m inspired to create, let’s say from a camera manual or a cookbook. Sometimes I’m inspired to tell my hubby I love him, let’s say from a book that focuses on how short life can be. And sometimes I’m inspired to just keep reading. I really appreciate a well written book and immerse myself in them often. Especially the classics! I love me some Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte!! :)
On our trip to China I knew I would have some downtime since hubby had to work. So in effort to keep my packing small I downloaded a significant number of books for my Kindle. The best part: they were all FREE! (note… i mentioned i love classics and thankfully the kindle does offer a significant amount of classics for free… BUT i’ve read almost all of those already and i wanted some books a little lighter so if i got distracted by the trip it wouldn’t matter as much) (another note… even though i downloaded these recently I cannot guarantee they are all still free, it seems to change rapidly what books are free or not)
I was going to just review the cookbook I downloaded since it had to do the most with our little blog, but I figured what the heck…. here’s a little review of the 6 books I read on our trip. (I’ve attached the links to the books and their descriptions, to avoid being too lengthy I haven’t recapped the plots… just what I thought about the book)
1. The Milestone Tapes by Ashley Mackler-Paternostro. Review: 4.5/5 for this category of book. Good story, in the chick-lit category DEFINITELY a book I would recommend. The best I think of the 6 books I read on my trip. It had heart and a good plot even during a trying life situation. I laughed and cried along with the characters. Having said that I want to note that I was slightly put off by the amount of typos and sentences that were just plain missing words… it needed one more thorough proof read. Still worth reading though!
2. Twenty Weeks by Melisa M. Hamling. Review: 3/5 Also good, although for a book that deals with such a deep and controversial subject I was left still wanting it to be a little more real life. The characters seem fairly well developed, you get glimpses into their thinking… but the teenage boy ‘hero’ of the story just seemed a little too good to be true.
3. UnEnchanted: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale by Chanda Hahn. Review: 3/5 This was the first book I read followed by Twenty Weeks, and between the two I was seriously starting to doubt the ability of simple things such as spell check. While riddled with spelling and grammar issues I still give it 3 stars because amidst the fairy tale craze, the concept of this book is still rather fresh and interesting. Currently contemplating whether it is worth buying the sequel (only 2.99) because I was interested in where the plot line could go.
4. Down the Memory Hole by Bonnie Turner. Review: 4/5 Good smooth reading (no glaring typos or writing style issues) and a very quick and easy read. My lasting impressions of this book are something of nostalgia. But I give it 4 stars because it is just lacking… something. I can’t quite put my finger on it, a good story for sure (if I went back I’d read it again), but maybe the character development might not have been as strong and complex as I would have hoped.
5. Swim by Jennifer Weiner. Review: 4/5 My only complaint about this short story is that it really felt like the first few chapters of Jennifer Weiner’s next book, not a short story in and of itself, the ending seemed a little abrupt. However, the writing and character development even in that short period of time were well executed. Expect to want to read The Next Best Thing which is the novel that develops after this short ‘story’.
6. Quick Fix Healthy Breakfasts Under 300 Calories by Corina Tudose. Review: 5/5 HOWEVER… I still haven’t actually made anything out of this cookbook. I’ll come back and update this post once I do… but I am thoroughly convinced I won’t be disappointed. The recipes are simple and quick, as promised. The nutritional information is available. While all the ideas aren’t completely original, there is something unique about each of them that warrants its place in the cookbook. The topper on the cake: the tips at the end of each recipe… usually another way to mix up the recipe, so you basically get two versions of each one! Right now, I’m most excited to try the ‘Pumpkin Pie Taste-Alike Parfait’ that comes in at only 219calories!
If I had to pick ones for you to go read right now I’d choose The Milestone Tapes and the Quick Fix Cookbook. But keep in mind when I got them they were free and I was going for more easy-read type of stuff. I read pretty much the whole gamut of books, from classic lit to chick-lit to fantasy to self-help to the occasional mystery. Plus DIY and Cookbooks! If you ever need a book suggestion, let me know! :)
Sam
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