Recent Reads

I've been a busy little bookworm lately!  I love to read, but go through phases where I read a lot and then times where I don't pick up a book for awhile.  It's hard to be an avid reader while being a working mommy!  Christmas break was a great opportunity to catch up on some reading.

My brother gave me the book The Hunger Games for Christmas.  This has been on my to-read list for awhile.  I HIGHLY recommend the Hunger Games series.  As soon as I finished the first book, I had to go right out and buy Catching Fire (the second book) and Mockingjay (the third and final book).  As soon as I was done, I passed the book along to my mom, and she passed it to my brother.  My sister (she and my dad aren't the readers of the family) even read this book and is currently in the middle of the second.

If you haven't heard of this series, it takes place in what once was North America.  Each year, "the Capitol" holds a lottery of sorts and chooses two children, one boy and one girl, from each of the twelve districts.  The children are then thrown into an arena, for a modern day gladiator-style game.  It's a fight to the death.  I could not put this book down.  Suzanne Collins is a master at creating plot twists.  I must say, she kept me surprised up until the end of the third novel.  Like any good book, I'm a little saddened that the series is over.  I couldn't believe how some of the story lines were resolved, but it certainly made for a great read.  Also, the movie based on The Hunger Games is coming to theaters in March.  I'm so pumped, I can't wait to see it!  Go read this book, you won't be disappointed, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

I also finished Water for Elephants.  I started this book back in August, and just finished it.  ha!  Maybe it was because I was so slow and inconsistent reading it, but it took me awhile to get into the book.  I'm not the type of person to NOT finish a book, so I kept trudging through...and I'm GLAD I did!  I loved this book!  It was a little different than the literature I usually read, but I really enjoyed it.  The storyline is based during the Great Depression, and events center around a traveling circus.  I'm not sure if I'll watch this movie or not.  I've heard from people who haven't read the book that it was great, but have heard from people who have read the book that it was a let down.  We shall see.

Currently I'm reading a book that Santa left me in my stocking - Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.  My hubby did good and knows that I love Nicholas Sparks!  I'm not very far into this book, but what's not to love about a Nicholas Sparks book.  The mere mention of Nicholas Sparks is enough to make me want to read it!

I received a late Christmas present, a Books A Million gift card, and am torn on whether or not I want to use it to get Kill Alex Cross (I LOVE James Patterson, and read most of the Alex Cross series in high school) or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which I don't know too much about, but have heard it's a good one.  I know it's the first in a trilogy, and as you can tell, I'm a sucker for books in a series.

SO, what good books are you reading?  Any good recommendations?