Why In The World Did You Read That ?!?!

Book list 191-200

191.The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan  (3/8/2011)
192.For One More Day by Mitch Albom  (3/8/2011)
193.Abigail Adams: First Lady and Patriot by Pat McCarthy
194.The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott
195.Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan  (3/23/2011)
196.The Paris Wife by Paula McLain  (4/17/2011)
197.Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen  (4/29/2011)
198.Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom  (5/3/2011)
199.The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
200.The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
201.The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
202.The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
203.The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Well this is the end of my list as it stands today.  I'm reading #204, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, right now, and hope to add it to the list by tomorrow.  After that I'll be reading Cold Mountain.  I'm trying to finish that one by Tuesday so I can take it and #'s 203,204 back to the library.  Unfortunately I'm notorious for overdue fines which is ridiculous since you can call the library and renew your books by phone.

My reading seems to slow down in the summer.  I know that seems like it's backwards, but that's how it is for me.  My daughter's home, it's pretty outside, and there's lots of fun stuff for us to do.  That leaves mostly night time reading for me.  Now my husband is in the middle of his vacation.  We're at the end of his first week, but we've got 8 more days to go before he has to go back to work.  When I've got him home all day, I'm afraid my reading ends up being mostly bed time reading, but books can wait because my time with him is precious.  He works between 70 to 90 hours a week, and when we've got him home with us, we take full advantage of it.

I thought in this post I would take each book from this portion of the list and tell how I came to read it.

#'s 191, 195, and 199-202:  The Percy Jackson Series and The Lost Hero all by Rick Riordan
These books are the favorites of my daughter, and I read them at her suggestion.  There's lots of action, mysteries, and brave friends trying to save the world.  I'm so glad I read these books because I really enjoyed them.  I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the Heroes of Olympus Series, The Son of Neptune.  It's due out in the Fall.

Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
Source:  http://www.rearrange-inc.com/

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Source:  http://www.rickriordan.blogspot.com/

The next book in the Heroes of Olympus Series
We can't wait of this one!
Source:  http://www.rickriordan.com/

#'s 192 and 198:  For One More Day and Tuesdays With Morrie both by Mitch Albom
Both of these books were suggested to me by my sister, Beth.  She owns both of these and let me borrow them.  I enjoyed both of these books and I'm very glad to have read them.

From http://www.mitchalbom.com/...
"Mitch Albom mesmerized readers around the world with his number one New York Times bestsellers, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie. Now he returns with a beautiful, haunting novel about the family we love and the chances we miss.   For One More Day is the story of a mother and a son, and a relationship that covers a lifetime and beyond. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?   As a child, Charley “Chick” Benetto was told by his father, “You can be a mama’s boy or a daddy’s boy, but you can’t be both.” So he chooses his father, only to see the man disappear when Charley is on the verge of adolescence.   Decades later, Charley is a broken man. His life has been crumbled by alcohol and regret. He loses his job. He leaves his family. He hits bottom after discovering his only daughter has shut him out of her wedding. And he decides to take his own life.   He makes a midnight ride to his small hometown, with plans to do himself in. But upon failing even to do that, he staggers back to his old house, only to make an astonishing discovery. His mother -- who died eight years earlier -- is still living there, and welcomes him home as if nothing ever happened.   Albom has said his relationship with his own mother was largely behind the story of the book, and that several incidents in “For One More Day” are actual events from his childhood."

#193 is Abigail Adams: First Lady and Patriot by Pat McCarthy

Source:  http://www.amazon.com/

According to the National First Ladies' Library, http://www.firstladies.org/, Abigail Adams was born on November 1, 1744.  She married, John Adams, who would become our second president, when she was nineteen years old.  She was 5'1" with brown hair and brown eyes.  She was First Lady of the United States of America from March 4, 1797 through March 4, 1801.

#194 and 196:  The Inheritance and The Paris Wife are both books I just stumbled onto while browsing through the library shelves.  I liked them both, but The Paris Wife has become one of my favorites and led to lots of Ernest Hemingway research.

Source:  http://www.librarything.com/

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

#197 is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  I bought this one from Wal-Mart because I saw the preview for the movie and thought it looked really good.  I ended up not seeing the movie, so I guess I'll have to wait until it comes out on DVD.  I did read the book though, and I liked it.

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

# 203 is The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and I came across it when I was reading a blog that I follow called Susie's Blog.  This is a book that I would never have read on my own.  I really like her blog, and she seemed to realy love this book.  I had to check it out, and I wasn't disappointed.  It's a dark, staightforward look at what people can be capable of and how one decision can affect the rest of your life.

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

If  you've read something on my list, comment and let me know what you think.  If there's a book that you love, please tell me about it.