Books, books, books!

So with having surgery I have had quite a bit of free time and therefore I have read a lot. I LOVE READING :) and feel so blessed to have books in my life (and the education needed to learn how to read). I decided to count how many books I have read, mostly for fun ;), since the start of Fall Semester in August. Here are the books that I have read/listened to and little snippets about them. I apologize that it is kind of a long post, but I hope that you enjoy my feedback on them! (I tried to put them in the order that I read the books, just for fun :)

All three "The Hunger Games" books: the books were super intense. I would say a really intriguing story and an honestly addicting series. I read all three books in the matter of a couple weeks, which with school and work is pretty impressive for me. I won't tell you much about the books, but I would definitely RECOMMEND. (Thank you Cara and Derek for letting me borrow your books and recommending this series to me!)

All three "The Mortal Instruments" books: I probably read these books in a couple weeks as well (mostly over my trip to New York for both my parents' surgeries. The books had a great story and a nice twist on the classic fantasy stories about angels, demons, vampires and werewolves. The only caution I would give for these books is that in the... I think first and third book, maybe second and third book there is a lot of swearing (at least more than my preference goes), and there it goes into some teenage chastity topics, but it doesn't delve very deep with the description. The story is awesome and the romance in it is pretty intense!! I really did love these books and would definitely RECOMMEND as well. (Thank you Kasey and Emma for letting me borrow the books and recommending them to me :).

"Food Rules" by Michael Pollan: This is a very short read (maybe 80-130 pages with only part of each page filled) and gives an interesting insight into the classic question, "what foods are healthy to eat?" I can't say that I have the will power to follow all the rules that Pollan lays out, but I did appreciate his insight and research. This book has caused me to make some health changes in my life. If you are looking for a deeper read by Michael Pollan,  "In Defense of Food" goes deeper into his research about why people should eat a certain way. I have read some of "In Defense of Food" and found it a really interesting read, I just never finished the book. (Thank you Daniel for letting me borrow both "Food Rules" and "In Defense of Food," plus for recommending the books to me. Also, thank you for putting up with both my preliminary and following debates about the contents of the books :).

"Pursued - A Maggie McKenzie Mystery": This is the second book in a two book series by Lynn Gardener. I would recommend this book and the first book in the series. The story is a murder mystery that is pretty intense. You always get into some weird murder mystery with overly zealous women reports ;). Both books have some pretty creepy characters in them, but nevertheless are a good/intense read. The first book will be addicting and you will finish it fast. This book is not quite as intense but I still loved it. The love story in the books (because of course murder mystery books need a love story) is wonderful. I LOVE the love story. It is a more mature love story because the books are meant for an older crowd than most the teenage novels which a read, so that is very refreshing. (Thank you Mom for letting me borrow the first book on CD for my road trip and for recommending the books, and also thank you Alisha for listening to the book with me and being as excited as I was when I stumbled upon the sequel to the book!)

"Home Again at Last": Borrowman does a great job at keeping this book emotionally charged throughout each page. The book covers a lot of elements because it is a historical fiction novel. I felt many emotions as I read (I guess listened to the book on CD) the book. The story is extremely accurate according to my study of history and my previous historical fiction reads. It covers an LDS family whose father is in the British... parliament I think... he has a "Lord" title and is involved in politics. Anyways, his son is a naval commander and is put into many life-gripping situations. The book gives a good glimpse into what families and soldiers had to deal with during WWII, especially in the LDS realm. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would RECOMMEND it to you. (Thank you Mom and Dad for letting my borrow this book on CD and for getting me hooked on the story in the first place. What a great Christmas break I had!! I love you!)

The first three "Fablehaven" books: I am still going through this series but am already caught in the series' addictive grasp!!! Brandon Mull lives in Utah and went to BYU (Go Utah writers and BYU students :) !!) and if he is LDS he has joined my list of top LDS writers, which includes Stephanie Meyer (famous for writing the "Twilight" series) and Orson Scott Card (famous for writing "Enders Game"). The first book in the series was a little slow to begin but got better as the book went on. The second book in the series added a whole new level of... absolute craziness to the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it!! I finished all the 450 or so pages of the third book in a matter of a two days or so. I hate to use the word intense again, but the third book was intense!! The story was all about darkness verses light. I am excited to get my hands on the fourth book. I would absolutely RECOMMEND this series! If the first book seems slow just push past and you will eventually find yourself in an enchanting magical world. (Thank you so much Rachel for recommending these books and letting me borrow them! You are wonderfully feeding my addiction :) )

Book ?: Two weeks ago when I had my sinus surgery I listened to a book on CD that my parents recommended and mailed to me (Thank you guys!). To be honest, I don't remember the name of the book and I don't have it on hand because I let a friend borrow the book who just had a surgery herself. I will add the review of that book when I get the book back.... I guess I was more out of it that week on my pain medications than I thought since I can't even remember the name :)

My current reads:

"The Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ": This is a book that I try to study out of every day in addition to the "The Bible." This book has truly changed my life and I love reading its words. I feel comforted and happy every time I study the stories or the scriptures themselves. The book covers is exactly what it claims to be - another testament of Jesus Christ. If you haven't read "The Book of Mormon" before, please pick it up and try it. This is the book I would RECOMMEND above all others along with "The Bible."

Talking Hands” by Margalit Fox: I originally bought this book… about 3 to 5 years ago and I sadly haven’t gotten around to reading it until now. The book happens to work perfectly into a research paper that I am writing for my ASL Linguistics class this semester so now I finally have motivation to read it! The book is a linguistic study about a Bedouin village that creates their own form of sign language. I have been enjoying the book thus far due to its intriguing take on the formulations of language. The front of the book says, “In a remote village where everyone speaks sign language, scientists are discovering the essential ingredients of all human language—and uncovering the workings of the human mind.” I will probably do a formal review of the book once I finish reading it, but I would recommend it as a good, slower read if you are interested in either sign language or linguistics.

“The Lightening Thief,” first book in the “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” series: I picked this up since I don’t have the fourth “Fablehaven” yet. My sister Rachel highly recommended this book and I am excited to get more into it. I have only just started. I watched the movie recently so hopefully this book will live up to my expectations! I am excited to see!

“65 Signs of the Times – Leading up the Second Coming”: I have also only just begun this book, but have found it very enlightening thus far. David J. Ridges has definitely done his research on the upcoming Second Coming! The book is filled with prophecies about the Second Coming from scriptures and words of modern revelation. I am enjoying the book and learning a lot.

"Deaf in America - Voices from a Culture": Carol Padden (one of the authors) is a great linguist and scholar. I have enjoyed other studies that she has done. This is an older book written in the latter 1980s, but it still gives a good insight into the deaf and Deaf worlds. If you don't know much about Deaf culture or about their history, this could be an interesting read for you.

I have a couple other books on my shelf that I want to read during the Summer as well. I must say that I really enjoy reading and feel blessed that in 4^th (or maybe it was 5^th) grade my family encouraged me to pick-up the first “Harry Potter” book even though I wasn’t much into reading at the time. I loved the book and suddenly became addicted to reading!!