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Happy Stampin'!

What I've Been Reading Lately

I admit after finishing Breaking Dawn, I stopped reading for a bit, and started crafting a lot. Either way, I figured it was a win/win situation. I love both things almost equally! Every time I picked up a book though, I just didn't want to read it since it wasn't the Twilight Series! Pathetic, I know, Okay! But I just couldn't help it! I am sure I am not the only one that felt that way :).

Eventually I started reading again. Not a lot (I am still mostly crafting). Here is the lowdown though:


The Client by John Grisham - I read a few of John Grisham's books back in the day but I had never read this one. The hero of the story, a young boy is pretty smart. The way he thought of how he and his family would be affected by the event that he not only witnessed but became a part of, is far beyond what I would have done at the same age. You can't help but feel for this kid and what he goes through in order to protect his family and do what he thinks is best.


The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Wow! This book is definitely eye opening. It really made me get an idea of day to day life in the Middle East and also made me understand a little more of what it must be like to be raised in a different culture. It made me even understand my own a little better. Even though my dad is Tongan, I wasn't raised so much in that culture. I grew up in a small town in Draper where everyone knew everyone else. And I just didn't feel that I had to make my choices based on my culture. But reading this, I can certainly see why their ethnicity has such an impact on who they are and the choices they make. The author has a really interesting writing style. It felt more like someone was telling me a story in person rather than I was reading it. Just a word to the wise. If you are looking for a feel good story, this is not it. If you are sensitive to difficult subjects this is not a book for you. But I urge anyone to read it. It may not change your perspectives on our current global situation but it may just open your eyes a little more to what is going on around us.


The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - OK, so I have a thing for vampires! Doesn't everyone! The good parts about the book first. I thought it was totally fascinating to view Dracula as a real person and not just as a vampire. The book gives a history of Vlad the Impaler (a.k.a Dracula) as a conqueror of Eastern Europe and explains how he may have developed his tendencies for very dark things and even torture. The story is pretty suspenseful and I liked the characters a lot. Now what I didn't like. Although it is suspenseful, it dragged on a little too much, like 300 pages too much. It could have been told with just as much suspense and been a lot shorter. At 909 pages, I just kept waiting for it to get over. And then once it does get there, I was disappointed with the ending. It spent so much time trying to get there and it just didn't live up to the hype for me. Do I recommend it? I give it a B. I was hoping for a little more for a lot less.


Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich - Have you ever read a book in a public place and keep getting stared at because you can't stop laughing? That's so what these books make me do! They are laugh out loud funny! It takes a lot I think to make that happen when it comes to reading. Just to give a basic background, Stephanie Plum is a 30 year old bounty hunter. She takes the job out of desperation. She is absolutely horrible at it though. She has no idea what she is doing but somehow she always manages to catch the crook. Janet Evanovich has a great way of taking everyday people and making them into hilarious and colorful characters. The books are filled with obscene scenarios, potty language (and humor) and off the wall things that you would just never think could happen. But the way it is written makes you believe these are real people. I can't get enough of them! Thanks Kambri and Lindsi for recommending them! Just like I did with the Sookie Stackhouse books, here is a brief part of book three, Three to Get Deadly:

"Funny how life works," Lula said. "All this came about because I ate a bad burrito. It's like God knew what he was doing when he game me the runs."
I hugged my arms tight to my chest and clenched my teeth to keep them from chattering. "The Lord moves in mysterious ways."

I am listening to these books on my ipod in my car mostly, too and from work. But also at work. And I can't stop snickering because they are too funny!

Right now I am in the middle of reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - This is the first book of the Percy Jackson & The Olympians Series. After Harry Potter, it has been difficult to find a childrens fantasy series that I could get into. I have tried a couple and have had varied success. But I am loving this series! The characters aren't as colorful as the Harry Potter ones are, but the story seems pretty compelling and entertaining. I'm just on the first book like I said, but the overall story seems to be about Percy learning who he is and hoping to have some kind of a relationship with his father who he believed was dead but has since found out that he happens to be a Greek God. I think this will be another series that I will be excited to share with Peyton.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson - Gina at my work let me borrow this book today. I admit it. I like disturbing movies, T.V shows and books. And from what she has told me, this is disturbing, but very entertaining. I read just a few pages of it and it has already sunk me in. So much so that I may just have to stop reading The Lightning Thief for a bit and just read this. I am warned that it is about obsessive relationships and what people do when they are in love. It has casual drug use as well. So stay weary if you are sensitive to those kinds of things. But I can't wait to see what it's about!


S0 in other news, remember me saying that HBO was turning the Sookie Stackhouse books into a T.V. series? It's been on for about 6 weeks now. I am not crazy about the changes from the book. Yes, I know it is inevitable, but why change a good thing? I just don't get that. Don't get me wrong though. Of course I will keep watching to see what has changed.


Also, I have been crafting a ton, like I mentioned. So I will be updating my blog with the projects I have been making. Stay tuned for those.

Happy Stamin' and Happy Reading!

Site Name Change

As you may have noticed, I changed the name of my site. The address of course is still the same. But I have wanted to change my site name for a long time and just never have. Yes, it's wishful thinking, but if I were to ever have my own paper craft store, this is what it would be called. Hope you like it!

Happy Stampin'!