Little Bits of Wisdom- April 2010

Ok, so I know that it is not the last day of April yet. BUT I'm leaving for Disneyland trip with school tomorrow, so I have to post this today. So, here we go:

"Tribulation makes one realize what one is." -Marie Antoinette

"I see you are a wit."

"Oh, no," I say sincerely. "That is something I have never wished to be, for wit is cruel, and my first wish is always to be kind." -Sena Jeter Naslund, Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette

"Good deeds echo after us, long after we have forgotten their enactment." -Sena Jeter Naslund, Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette

"Where there is a lack of other connections, of meaningful moments, in our lives, music can often fill the gap." -Sena Jeter Naslund, Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette

"But of what merit is firmness if it represents a wrong choice?" -Sena Jeter Naslund, Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette

"Madame, be yourself and you will always be perfect." -Chauveau-Lagarde (lawyer to Marie Antoinette)

"Without my books, I truly believe I would shrivel up and die." -Catherine Anderson, Summer Breeze

"Sometimes you have to dig deep for courage, girl. Start digging." -Catherine Anderson, Summer Breeze

So there we go! Now I kind of feel like I didn't read much this week.... But oh, well. Anyways, originally I started reading Dear John by Nicholas Sparks, but then I realized that Lies by Michael Grant come out on TUESDAY, so I had to ditch that to reread Gone and Hunger so that I could remember what happened before. So, I'll make sure to review Lies and THEN I'll restart Dear John and review that. Ok? Good. Well, as always, please feel free (in fact, you are encouraged) to leave me a comment. About anything, really. Books, movies, life, etc. =D

Well, thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

Summer Breeze

Author: Catherine Anderson

The year is 1889, and Rachel Hollister hasn't set foot outside her house in five years. Ever since a savage attack left her family dead, she's cordoned herself off from the outside world, afraid to let anyone into her home-or into her heart. But now trouble has appeared on her doorstep-and suddenly she has no choice but to let a handsome rancher invade her well-guarded existence....

Confirmed bachelor Joseph Paxton grudgingly offers to take up temporary residence at the Hollister ranch-even though it's obvious Rachel doesn't want his protection. But once he catches a glimpse of his beautiful young ward and her remarkable spirit, he'll do anything to break through the dark spell that's walled off her heart. It may take a miracle, but he's determined to make her see the refuge he's offering in his embrace-and the splendor that exists beyond her front door. Otherwise he'll just have to build a safe haven big enough for the both of them....

Ok, I lied. I am doing a review for this, because I just realized that I am in a HUGE predicament. I have no unread books left on my bookshelf anymore! So, I have no idea when I'll actually have another book to review, unless I decide to do one on a book that I've already read (which I don't like doing, because I think the first reading is what will always tell you if you actually love or hate a book). But, for reference, it definitely won't be a long review. Mostly because I don't really have a lot to say about it.....

However, even if I don't have a lot to talk about, I still liked the book. It was definitely a romance, which I was expecting. It was really cute and it was touching at a lot of parts, like the letter in the very last chapter. I also loved the humor that was added into it. Especially in the very beginning when they were talking about how the first time Rachel and Joseph saw each other, Rachel tried to shoot him. The book really takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. You go from laughing to being sad and then moving on to being completely surprised.

My biggest problem with the book was its similarities to Anderson's Early Dawn. That's the only other book I've read by her, but I definitely thought that they both were following the same basic plot. One of the characters suffers from a huge family tragedy five years before the book starts and so they shut themselves off emotionally (or in this case, physically). Then something happens to threaten the girl's life, so the man comes to the rescue, then they try not to fall in love with each other, but do anyway. Then all hell breaks loose, and they get confronted by the people trying to kill the girl, the good guys win, then they end happily ever after. Sorry for ruining the ending, everyone, but it's kind of obvious once you actually start reading it. So, while the books had different details to make it different, I would have appreciated a little more varied plot. However, I did think that the details were creative enough to make it seem like a completely new story.

One of my favorite things about the book was the unpredictable "Whodunit" ending. I was literally like, "What just happened?" It's really intense and so surprising! I am still in awe of it!

But, I think that's all I have to say. So, I recommend that if you feel like a cute, romantic book, you should definitely read this one! Next I'm reading one of my favorite books, Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why. I guess I might do a review on it, unless I'm super lucky and manage to get a new book soon. I can only hope! =D Anyways, as always please feel free to leave a comment of sort! Tell me if you like my review, or hate it, or agree/disagree, or pretty much anything else. =D I like to talk, in case you haven't noticed, so chances are, if you leave a comment, I'll most likely respond! 

So, thanks for reading!!

Love,

Kristi

Little Bits of Wisdom- January and February 2010

So I'm back with a new post today! As it's the last day of February, it's time for the quotes I've found in books during the past few months (since I'm trying to do some catch up!). I made a name for this post, since I'll be doing it every month now. It's not very creative but I think it's a heck of a lot better than just plain old book quotes! So, here we go:

"...I don't regret yesterday and I don't anticipate tomorrow. I live in today, and revel in it." -Carolly Erickson, The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette

"Honest men have no occasion to fall on their knees to make their requests."- Marie Antoinette

"In troublesome times, a mere nothing may save a life, or destroy it." -Madame Campan, The Private Life of Marie Antoinette

"Persons of integrity have nothing to fear from the evil-disposed." -Princesse de Lamballe

"Fear isn't actually a bad thing. It's a primitive instinct that's your friend. It warns you to pay attention, because you're in danger. It tells you to do something, to act, to save yourself." -Nancy Werlin, Rules of Survival

"But when you insist on cleaving to the past, no matter how enchanted your memory of it might be, you have to endlessly revise the present to accommodate it." -Kathryn Davis, Versailles

"Nothing's certain in this life, unless you count being born and dying. Everything in between in a gamble, and anyone who thinks otherwise in a damned fool." -Catherine Anderson, Early Dawn

"Wherever the hand of God take you, remember that you will teach by your example, do good every time you find the occasion." -King Louis XVI

"He must forget all hate and resentment." -King Louis XVI

"Do not give in to useless alarm... though it is right to be prepared for the worst, there is no occasion to look on it as certain." -Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

"Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure." -Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

That's it, not nearly as much as last time, so I'm very proud of myself. =D Right now, I'm still getting through Sharon Lathan's continuation series of Pride and Prejudice. I just finished the first in her series, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwillam Darcy, a few hours ago, and started the second, Loving Mr. Darcy. I'm very excited, because I was never a huge fan of the first book, but, from what I remember, I like the second one A LOT better. So, after that, I'll read the third one in the series, My Dearest Mr. Darcy, which is the one I'll be reviewing. I'll try to get it up quickly, but I happen to have a lot of stuff coming up this week, so it probably won't be up for at least a week and a half.

Also, it recent news, I made a Twitter account for this blog! It's really weird for me, because I've never had a Twitter because I think it's pretty pointless to have a one, if you have a Facebook and actually write your status updates. But, since there's no Facebook for the blog, I decided, might as well! So, you follow it! It's really simple: KristiReads. And I'll try to make sure to update it! =D

And as always, feel free to email me at Kristi_Reads@yahoo.com or comment to discuss anything!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi