What I've Been Reading Lately

Have you ever read a book (or books) in which you aren't really sure whether it's fantastic and obsession-worthy or just plain old bad...like really bad (yet still obsession-worthy)?

I have a love for all genres of books...from Harry Potter and Hunger Games to 50 Shades of Grey and The Pillars of the Earth. My love for reading knows no bounds and I've rarely met a book I didn't like.

I am also strangely drawn to young adult fiction...maybe because it requires a whole lot less thinking and because somedays I feel like an 80 year old in a 30 year old's body...yet on others I feel like a 15 year old trapped in a 30 year old's body. It could explain why I have been obsessed with Fleetwood Mac lately, yet reading a book series approved for high school reading. I dunno.

Lately I've been hooked on The Mortal Instruments series.

Has anyone else read this series? It totally falls into the category of 'I'm not sure if this is really good or really bad but I'm completely sucked in...'

After the first book, I thought it was good enough. Fantasy world? Check. Semi-engaging storyline and likable characters? Check. Solid love story? Check.

I liked it enough to keep on reading. Surprisingly, I've found that this series has gotten better with each book. By book 3, I was totally, 100% all in. And now, well...I just can't put it down. I've plowed right through the first 3 books and am currently on book 4.

The Mortal Instruments:

City of Bones

City of Ashes

City of Glass

City of Fallen Angels

City of Lost Souls

City of Heavenly Fire

The story follows demon slayers, called Shadowhunters, in Brooklyn, NY (obviously that is where they'd hang out...). It's chock full of vampires, werewolves, warlocks, angels and demons. I still am not sure that I'd tell you to run out and read these...but I'm hooked. Sigh. I supposed if I'm into it, then it must be good enough :)

Have you ever felt conflicted about a book or series as to whether or not it was solid reading?

What are you reading?

Comments

[Sherri]

Hey there!
1. The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, The Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts. I couldn't put it down when I was at the beach in July!!!!

"Harry de Leyer first saw the horse he would name Snowman on a truck bound for the slaughterhouse. The recent Dutch immigrant recognized the spark in the eye of the beaten-up nag and bought him for eighty dollars. On Harry’s modest farm on Long Island, he ultimately taught Snowman how to fly. Here is the dramatic and inspiring rise to stardom of an unlikely duo. One show at a time, against extraordinary odds and some of the most expensive thoroughbreds alive, the pair climbed to the very top of the sport of show jumping. Their story captured the heart of Cold War–era America—a story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all. They were the longest of all longshots—and their win was the stuff of legend."

2. - Books by Kate Morton: I read The House at Riverton first and was hooked. Then The Secret Garden. I'm almost half way through The Distant Hours now. I love how these books, that have all taken place in England, go back and forth between present day and the past as the character is learning about long-forgotten (or suppressed) family secrets.

3. - You recommended ROOM several months ago, and I read that in the last few months and loved it as well!

4. - Did you recommend Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay? You may have. That is another one I've loved this summer.

5. Are you a dog person? - Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him by Luis Carlos Montalvan and Bret Witter
And this is one dog book that didn't end sadly!!!

I've stayed away from 50 Shades and Hunger Gamers. They don't sound like anything I'm interested in.

Sherri