Book Review: Little Altars Everywhere and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

These two books get one post because they're a series! And I'm lazy!

I had seen the movie based on these books a long time ago, so I was curious about them. For some reason it took me a ridiculously long time (over 2 months!) to get through them, but not for lack of good writing. There were just always other things to be done first. 

Anyway, the books were pretty good! It's a really sad story right up until the end. A daughter has a hard time being happy and forgiving her mom for a hard upbringing, but then in the end (spoiler alert!), she does forgive her and is able to be married finally. It's set in the South, which was fun. I enjoyed reading about the Ya-Yas and their long friendships with each other- made me miss some people I would consider my own Ya-Yas! The characters and stories were pretty funny sometimes, all deeply flawed but that's the whole point of the book: that life is and can be beautiful even though it's never perfect.

Book Review: The Happiness Project

For the record, this is the second time I've read this book. I really like it! When I made the goal to read 24 books this year, "The Happiness Project" was the only one that I wrote down specifically (the rest I'm picking as I go). 

What I love about this book is that the author's project is all about being happy in her own life! I never read "Eat, Pray, Love" because I heard it is the exact opposite. I think a big part of life is learning to be happy in your own skin! I don't necessarily agree with all of her goals, but it's a great springboard for setting my own. I love this book and I don't think that will be the last time I read it!

Book Review: The Middle Place

Sorry about the Amazon button- clicking that picture will not take you "inside" haha

I didn't expect to be done with this book so quickly! It was a good and quick read, only took me a couple of days. This book is about a woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer, and her father is diagnosed with cancer also. Kelly Corrigan talks about the place between being a mother and a daughter, and balancing those relationships I guess. It was a good book, very relatable. If not for the frequent use of a specific naughty word, it would be a great book.

*Note: I am not specifying in these book reviews whether or not I recommend a book, because I don't want to be responsible for anyone reading something I've read and then having negative views of me because they didn't like a book I liked! So read at your own risk.*

Book Review: The Reading Promise

This is the first book I've finished so far this year, as part of my resolution to read 24 books in 2013. I am so glad I started with this book! Many thanks to my mother-in-law Gretchen for recommending and lending it to me. 

This book is about a girl whose father read to her every night for a long time. Literally for thousands of nights! Pretty amazing. Her life experiences are shaped by the books they read together and her imagination is awesome, making the book really funny sometimes. I loved thinking about Millie during this book and hoping she has a mind like Alice and that she loves to read! It has a list of the books they read in the back- I wrote some down so I can remember to read them to Millie someday. This book was awesome!