Catching Up On Some Reviews

Hello Everyone,

I know I said sometime in the summer not to expect me back for awhile! Unfortunately, I still am crazy busy and not getting enough reading done to be blogging lately, or even considered a book worm! Hoping that is going to change soon, as at the end of this month I won't be working 2 jobs anymore! I will be back in school, so I won't be where I used to be, but should still be picking up books a little more often!

I have quite a few reviews to catch up on again. I was posting 3 in each, but I didn't really like how that was going, so I'm going to do some separate, short ones to get caught up.

In other news, 5 things that are going on in my life that I can tell you about:

1) As I said, I will be going down to one job and back to school. People are very surprised about this, but I have quit my full time job! I will be working at the restaurant as much as possible, and will be taking 2014 to finish my MBA and am also going to complete a Masters Certificate in Supply Chain Management and Procurement. SO that will be a big change for me!

2) I joined a book club! Our first meeting was last week, and we read 'The Husband's Secret'. Our next book is The Glass Castle, which I already read, so I don't think I'll re-read it, but I like being a part of it. More on the Husbands Secret later.

3) Next week I am going on vacation!!!! Yay!! I can't wait. 8 days in Las Vegas will be a blast!!

4) I have hurt my back :( I'm actually in  a great deal of pain right now and had to give up my shift at BP tonight in favor of making a massage appt to see if I can get it fixed. Not good times.

5) And lastly, I am almost caught up on watching Dexter, we are set to watch S08E05 next, so I will soon get to find out how the season finale is do disappointing. Its still a good season, so it sucks to know it ends poorly. Oh well!

Anyway, over the next few days some book reviews will get posted, so take a look for them. Maybe there will be some you haven't read!

The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls

Goodreads Summary: Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.

Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.

Why I Read This Book: I decided to pick this one up because a friend had told me she thought it was good, and I read the book at the book store one day, and said "why not?"


Review: I really enjoyed this book, with its short scene descriptions of a trio (I don't really count Maureen as she is much younger) of children growing up with a set of parents who have no clue what it means to care for them. The book was shocking, and I enjoyed that you could see the progress of Jeannette's ability to "get it" and make the right choices she needed to with what she had available to her. In the book you can see that she never really stops loving her parents, just accepts that what she wants from her life is different than what they do. My only complaint with this book, and why it got 4 stars is that there is no emotional reaction about what happens, just the facts of the story. That was a little disengaging at times, but I also understand that she wanted to get the story out there without being too revealing/forcing people to pity her.


Rating: