Review: Water for Elephants

I downloaded this book a while ago and read the first two chapters.... then forgot about it. Luckily, I decided to give it another shot a few days ago and finished it within 24 hours!

Jacob Jenkowski is a former Cornell Veterinary Sciences student.  After the sudden death of his parents he finds himself homeless.  He catches a random train and unknowingly becomes part of the Benzini Brothers' Most Spectacular Show on Earth.  Hired on as the show's vet, Jacob struggles with the rules of the circus, the reign of Uncle Al, the show;s ringmaster, his boss August, and his feelings for August's wife Marlena. 

The book kept me interested and was constantly changing. It switches time periods between Jacob as a young adult to Jacob a 90-something year old man in a nursing home reliving his life through memories and dreams.  His job on the circus provided enough action and his sparks between Marlena give it just the right amount of romance I crave :) I would definitely recommend this book!

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Dead Until Dark

It appears that vampires are taking over the world. After reading the Twilight Saga four times I decided I needed a different dose of these blood-sucking beauties. (No worries, I will never abandon Edward, or Dr. McSparkly, or Emmett, or Jasper. or........).

Dead Until Dark is the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse Series. Sookie is a waitress at a bar with a unique gift. She can read minds

Wait. That sounds vaguely familiar... keep reading.

Vampires have finally been accepted by the government as people and are free to roam at night. When one walks into Sookie's bar, she gets a nice suprise. She can't read his mind.

(I sooo didn't see that coming.)

(In case you couldn't tell, the previous comment is swimming in sarcasm.)

Anywho, Sookie takes interest in the Vampire named Bill. When murders begin occurring in her small town, though, Sookie finds herself trying to defend her vampire lover against the occusing eyes of her neighbors and keep herself alive in the process.

My thoughts: Overall it was a good and easy read. I had no clue who the murderer was until it was revealed to me, which hardly ever happens and was a nice change of pace. I don't want to compare it to Twilight vampire wise... story wise though, it was a lot less romance and a lot more lust. This series is definitely for adults whereas Twilight is more teen oriented. I'm not completely hooked, so I haven't decided if I want to read the rest of the series yet.

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Wicked

I am disappointed to have discovered that a summer with the state lends a lot less time to reading than a summer as a nanny. My reading time has been greatly hindered to my lunch breaks (except for the rare occasion when I am on switchboard duty and get to read for an hour and half total during the work day). That is why my poor book list to the right has barely changed over the past two months (holy crap summer is flying by…). So there is the excuse. It’s not a very good one, but better than nothing I suppose.

With that said, last week was one of those weird weeks when I was on switchboard for hours a day. It was during this time that I made my fourth round through the Twilight Saga… well, almost. I’m on the second book in Breaking Dawn, but it is only a matter of time. This week has been very slow, so I was also able to get in some reading yesterday and earlier today. I finally finished the last book in the Wicked Series (which wasn’t suppose to come out until July 7th, but I discovered it on the bookshelf at Walden Books July 5th *squee!*)

These books were… interesting. Yeah, I guess that is the word that I want. They tended to be quite dark, but I found it nearly impossible to put them down. The book centers around three girls who one day discover their heritage as witches. The “Cahor Witches” as their house was called, had spent centuries battling the handsome and smooth warlocks of the House of Deveraux. Within the five books you can find action and love, jealousy and lust, and the struggle of good vs evil and right vs wrong.

Like I said they are pretty dark. I don’t agree with most of the content, but neither do I believe in vampires (Edward… if you are reading this, I’m just kidding…) and werewolves (You too Jacob!) or the content of Harry Potter.

They are easy reads with the chapters broken up into sections. It flips back and forth between different characters and time periods, but each flip is clearly marked and easy to keep up with.
I would recommend these books if you really enjoy exploring alternate worlds and fantasy.

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New Kicks

Today was the $1 flip flop sale at Old Navy. All the cool colorful flip flops that are usually 2 for $5 were only $1 a pair! So of course the bestie and I were crazy enough to try to get some :)

There was a limit of five pairs per person, so we brought along her aunt just in case we needed more than five (which we did haha). We were there for an hour and a half. We grabbed what we could (black and silver colors) then got in line to check out while her aunt hunted down the more colorful pairs. I ended up with six pairs to go with the five or so I already have in my closet! I just love flip flops, and it was definitely warm enough for them!

While waiting in line and fighting with the woman who tried to cut in front of us, I realized that I had not written my book review yet... so here it is!

Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger

I discovered this book in the clearance section of my local bookstore (and by local I mean big chain-store that I'm too lazy to google and link to). I read the back and thought it would be interesting (this is how I usually pick out my books). It was a relatively easy read with a predictable story.

Bette Robinson is a Manhattan girl working a monotonous job at a bank that she really doesn't like. One day she decides she has had enough and quits. Months later she finds herself in a brand new job for a PR firm. Soon, her public and private life balance dangerously on a very thin line, with her job pulling it one way and her heart pulling it another.

I won't give away any more info so as not to spoil it for anyone. There are a lot of characters, which can at times be difficult to keep up with. Some times I laughed out loud with Matthew looking at me like I had finally lost it. Other times I was just ready for the chapter to end. If you liked the Devil Wears Prada, you will probably like this book as it follows the same kind of plot since they are by the same author.

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Summer Reads

If there is one thing I love about summer, it is having the time to read. Don't get me wrong, I love the pool and the beach, but I never have time to read for myself during the semester. A couple of days ago Matthew and I made a trip to the bookstore, and he insisted I purchase some books I had been eying. I did as told, and picked up four books:

1. Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger
2. The Host by Stephanie Meyer
3. Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin
4. Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot

I plan on reading these as well as a few others. I've made a list on my sidebar of my summer reads. I will probably add to it over the summer, as well as mark off the ones I have finished. I may even include a little summary in a post when I finish one... we'll see how that goes :)

I'm also up for suggestions. I tend to have a lot of down time, and I don't imagine the books I have listed will last very long!

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Freezing!

I'm so over this cold right now. It's in the single digits, with wind chills below zero. RIDICULOUS! And of course I had to go out, even though today is my day off. Naturally, I got a text this morning from missing bookexchange girl (I'll call her MBG for short haha). MBG wanted to meet at 11 on campus. I got the text at 9:50 while snuggled up toasty warm in bed. Not a happy camper. I got up staring at MBG's text message saying "I hate you" (I'm not really a morning person, obviously). So I get myself up, throw on some layers and head out the door. At least she showed up early and I got all of the books. I then headed down to the bookstore and returned the books I had bought already for that class, and the book for the online class.

OK, now for that story. After waiting 5 days for a response to my request for an override, I get this message yesterday:

"Kirsty, I typically do not provide overrides as it is offered Spring, Summer, and Fall + there is another section of the course available. If you have a compelling reason, I will entertain it."

What... the...crap. Now, perhaps some of it is my fault for not telling her my life story in the email. She doesn't know that this is my last semester... and that the other section is a night class. But her class is a freakin online class. Surely she can fit in one more without complaint right? My tuition pays her salary... how in the world does she have the audacity to talk to me like that? "I will entertain it?" ????????? I've decided that while I do have a compelling reason, I am not responding to this message. I do not want her grading my stuff for the class. So I'm keeping my schedule, taking the writing class as pass/fail, and hoping for the best.

On to better news, I watched the little girl on Wednesday. I want to be able to talk about her, but I don't want to use her name so I'll have to think of something to call her. I'm open to suggestions! Anyway, she was an absolute doll! When her mom left she started to cry, but I sat down and held a toy up for her and she immediately stopped. It... was... amazing! She has started modeling, so she repeated a lot of the things that Matthew and I did. For one, Matthew was taking a nap on the couch. She pulled herself up to look at him, then she sat down, then laid down on the floor! She didn't fall, she did in intentionally! How cute is that? She also repeated some sounds I made while feeding her. I don't see a lot of problems except that she likes to be in the kitchen and open cabinets. I'm going to have to fix them so she can't get into anything. It's a small fix though, so I don't mind.

I plan on enjoying the rest of my friday indoors where it's nice and warm. I hope everyone has a wonderful friday and an even better weekend. Stay warm!

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A little better

One problem down, who knows how many more to go. I got my textbooks today. I went ahead and bought the ones for both of those classes since I still have not heard from that professor. Classes start TOMORROW, so it would be nice to hear something before then... or maybe that's just me. I ended up canceling one of my orders from ukbookexchange, and the other one finally emailed me. She offered to sell me the rest of the books she had for that class. Now I'm waiting on a price and a meeting time. To prepare for the chance that she didn't have all of the books, I went ahead and got the ones for that class that were available used. With all of that, I still spent less than $150, so not too bad.

Today I also got to meet the little girl I will be watching wednesday evenings during the semester. She is absolutely adorable! She has the chubbiest little cheeks and the cutest babbling I think I have ever seen/heard. I start watching her tomorrow, so I'm a little nervous but excited at the same time.

For the rest of the day, Matthew and I are going to his parent's house for dinner, then we will come back and start reading Alice in Wonderland. I'm still waiting for my copy of New Moon, and it's his turn to read anyway. There is a new movie coming out directed by Tim Burton, so I want to be ready for it (even if it won't come out until 2010...). You can find a little more about it here, and I'm totally excited about Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter.

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Another rant... sorry

So now I am really stressed out. I despise the first week of classes because they bring nothing but pain and that horrible sound of an empty wallet. I have to get my textbooks tomorrow. This in itself is bad enough, but when you consider everything else it just keeps getting worse. To start, I want to drop one of my classes in exchange for an online course (with a much cheaper book), but the professor has yet to reply to my email asking for an override since the course is full. Honestly, how does an online course fill up??? Anyway, so now I can't decide if I should buy the books for the first class, buy the book for the online class, or just get them both and take back whichever one(s) I don't need. I want to be sure to get them used, but I'm not sure I can afford them all at the same time. AAAHHHH! Also, I have requested books off of ukbookexchange and the people have yet to get in touch with me about them. The books are super super cheap, but if the people are not going to follow through, I'll be left buying those books new from the bookstore (I can hear my debit card whimpering at the thought). I hate having to rely on total strangers for things like this, especially when they can't seem to hold up their end of the bargain.

To add to this, I found out yesterday that my cousin has picked out the dress I'm suppose to wear in her wedding this summer. This was also the time I found out that she wanted me in her wedding. I found out from my mom. My cousin has not called to ask me, she just assumed I would. Of course I will, but it's the principle. This part I don't mind, though, as much as the dress. Apparently it is pink.....and green.... in camo form! I have nothing against camo (at least when one is hunting or such), but I have never worn it in my life, and never thought the first time would be during a wedding. I'm kind of freaking out over it. I guess I will just have to deal though. If that's what she wants, then I guess that's what it will be. I'll get over it in a day or two I'm sure.

Sorry about all the ranting. It's been a long day. I hope to have a much lighter post tomorrow. On a happier note, though, I'm glad to have readers now! I was starting to feel a little crazy just typing away to myself. To all my new visitors, welcome! I hope you enjoy what you read, and feel free to stop by anytime and leave me some love :D

*update: I just got the email about the lab meeting on thursday. I'm totally shocked!

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Some "us" Time

What better way to relax from a long day that hanging out on the couch with your honey? Matthew and I decided a couple of weeks ago to spend some "us"time together for a little bit each day.

What do we do during this "us" time you may ask?

Why, read Twilight of course! (c'mon... I know you saw that coming!)

We cuddled on the couch, and I read Twilight to him. We tried to read at least one chapter a night, and occassionaly we read two, but last night I read 5 chapters so we could finish it. Seriously, that book gets better and better each time I read it (up to 3 now...). He seemed to really enoy it. The only downside is I got him to see the movie with me again in an attempt to make him like it, and I failed. After reading (or listening to I guess you could say) the book, he was super critical of the movie for all the things they left out. Oh well.

Of course that wasn't the main reason for reading it. I really enjoyed that time we could spend together. I have gotten lost in the Twilight world many times, but this time I got to take him with me. We laughed together, and awwed together while we went through the complexities of first love and a romance like Edward's and Bella's. I'm excited to continue on through the rest of the journey, hand in hand with Matthew. Now, all I need is my copy of New Moon returned to me, and we will be good to go!

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I'm not obsessed.... well, maybe a little....

Since I finished reading the books, I can't stop thinking about them! It's a little scary actually. I spent those two weeks living vicariously through Bella Swan, and now all I can do is keep wishing Matthew would turn into Edward, and everything I hear or see I can relate to Twilight. Poor Matthew is so annoyed with me! I'm sure he will get over it eventually, but he will definitely have to wait a couple of months after the movie is released....

I think the reason I am so in love with these books is because of the story of true love between Edward and Bella. It is every girl's dream to find a man that will risk his life for her, and love her truly and unconditionally. We want to be the damsel in distress who finds her prince charming, and this is exactly what happens in these books. Edward says all the right things at all the right times, and is the perfect example of what a man should be to the woman that he loves. It has actually made me reassess my relationship with Matthew (as sad as that may seem). Luckily, I have come to the conclusion that Matthew is not that far off from Edward, and he even has some of the better properties of Jacob as well (2 for 1!). So here is why Matthew is my Edward(or Jacob):

1. He is pale, and has fangs. I know Edward doesn't have fangs, but at least give me that much lol.
2. He does sweet random things that remind me why I fell in love with him in the first place. Exhibit A is the beautiful bouquet of roses he brought home for me this weekend when I was in a sour mood. He also leaves me cute voicemails when he goes to lunch. It's no "take care of my heart I've left it with you" but it will do.
3. He is absolutely in love with me, and I'm pretty sure that he would do whatever it would take to keep me safe, even battle a hoard of vampires if so necessary. Also, he has already told me that he refuses to live without me. (it's scary actually, but for this purpose it pushes him towards the Edward side....)
4. He is always running a temperature. He just naturally runs hotter than the regular 98.1. He isn't quite a "toasty 108.9" but I would be scared out of my mind if he ran that kind of a temperature.
5. He is fuzzy.. at least when he doesn't shave he kinda looks like a wolfman.
   

Alright, so these may not be the best, and Matthew may not be an Edward, but he is mine and that is enough for me (for the moment at least :D )

In summary, I really enjoyed this book series (as if that wasn't obvious already). Curiosity made me start reading them, but the story kept me interested. I have a pretty short attention span when it comes to books, and it really says something when I can get through a book in less than 24 hours.

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sorry little blog!

Sadly, I have abandoned my poor little blog. I have been swamped with school and other stuff **cough cough** reading Twilight **cough cough**. I am working on Breaking Dawn, and so in honor of these books I decided to post the final Twilight Trailer off of YouTube. Enjoy!

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So Frustrating

Yesterday, I was counting down the seconds until I got to come home from class and find my wonderful books sitting on my welcome mat. I practically ran up the steps only to notice that my welcome mat was bare. I figured it just hadn't been delivered yet.... and that's when I saw the stupid sticky note I was dreading. Since no one was home the UPS person kept my package and left a note that they will make another attempt on Monday. What the crap??? So now I am without my precious books this weekend. It really sucks because I paid extra for two day delivery, and I still have to wait the 4-5 days for it! It isn't Amazon's fault I guess, but I should have been given an option to pick my delivery time or whether or not I wanted someone to sign for it. It ruined my day! Matthew wanted to go pick it up, but we couldn't find a number to actually talk to a person. Also, if I had wanted to go pick the books up, I would have just gone to the mall. So Anyway, I am sitting at home right now. I'm going to Frankfort in a little bit and am going to the pumpkin patch with Nina, then decorating pumpkins with Whitley, Kierre, and my little cousin. Hopefully that will distract me from my withdrawal :(

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Catch Up

Haven't posted in a couple of days, so I thought I would catch up. First, here are the pictures I promised from Matthew's birthday weekend.

Matthew showing off his ticket from the UK vs. Western game.









We attacked him with our Volunteer stickers lol









This is the birthday cake his parents had for him. I think the writing is cute :)









The cake I made. I used the same pan from Dad's birthday, but I did different colors, and I didn't have any help with this one. I think it turned out pretty well if I don't say so myself lol










I have not been doing too much. I have been busy with school, and Matthew and I have gone out the past couple of times. We needed some time to just hang out again without worrying about school or work. Also, I went on Amazon.com yesterday and ordered the last two books of the Twilight Saga... It was cheaper on there than at the mall, and they should be delivered Friday :D I'm so excited!!!!

I'm not really in the blogging mood right now, so maybe I'll have something better towards the end of the week :)

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must....resist.... temptation

So I finished New Moon (yes, I just bought it about 24hrs ago... your point??). I literally could not put it down for more than 5 minutes at a time, and poor Matthew got the evil eye every time he asked me a question or even made a comment in my direction. I couldn't help it I promise! lol Anyway, I have an intense desire to go out right now and purchase the next in the series, but I am resisting this urge. Sadly, I have other things to do that do not involve Edward, Bella, Jacob, or anyone else in the Twilight universe. My new obsession isn't safe, so I think a couple of days without will do me some good lol (assuming I can make it that long :D).

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Completely Addicted

I have heard a lot about Twilight lately, with the movie coming out in November and all. I'll admit, I was curious of what all the fuss was about, so I decided to check it out for myself. I finished it in two days (would have been one, but once again classes got in the way of fun.... lol). I felt that the story, while entertaining, was quite simple. It didn't involve a lot of thought, and answers to my questions came quite easy. Surprisingly, I ran out today to by the next one in the series, and am finding it difficult to not read it at this very moment. As simple as the story may be, it is good, and I can't help but want more. I want... no, need... to know what happens between Edward and Bella! I just can't help it... So I am off to read New Moon, with hopes that it will last because, well, I'm broke and can't afford the other two in the series that haven't been releases as paperback yet...

Oh yeah, I'm totally going to see the movie when it comes out. Against my better judgement, I've become a Twilight fanatic....

Check out Stephanie Meyer's website here for more info on the series, her other books, and the movie :D

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