Aish! It has been a very exhausting week. I literally came limping home at the end of the day today, feeling both physically and emotionally drained. My whole body is tweaked out of alignment and my joints and nerves are both burning and throbbing. But worst of all is what a tough week my beloved doggie Lucky has had. He has suffered from seizures in the past, but this week they’ve been striking him with a vengeance. Poor guy has had a very rough week and I’m so happy it’s the weekend so I can be with him 100% of the time. I never take him for granted, but seeing this sweet soul so helpless this week has been so troubling. He’s lying right beside me snoring right now…and I’m not going to be content unless it remains that way all weekend. We both need to rest!
But, on to READING! Because literally my Mission Read project (post here) has transformed me into a complete book nerd this week. Last weekend I buckled down and read The Dinner by Herman Koch entirely on Saturday. Then, on Sunday I followed suit withe The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead, the 4th book in the spinoff series from Vampire Academy. THAT inspired me to re-read Spirit Bound (book 5 of VA). I’ve also been limping through The Mortal Instruments: City of Lost Souls.
Are you noticing a trend here? That perhaps each day I literally raced home in the evening to Lucky and my books? It’s amazing how much my reading has picked up! Till this week I wasn’t quite sure I’d be able to complete this challenge, but now that I’m fully on board the reading train…I’m feeling much better about my prospects.
The Dinner by Herman Koch (4 out of 5 stars)
I’m not going to say much about this book because I think it’s best to go into this knowing very little. It’s two brothers and their wives going out for a dinner, to discuss their children. That’s all I’m going to give you. But it’s such an intense crazy read I promise you, you’ll be hooked! Definitely something I highly recommend you read this summer.
Probably my favorite thing about this book, is how untrusting you are of your narrator. It’s not something I’m used to when reading. Usually I believe the narrator and allow their point of view to frame the way I see everyone else. In this, though, knowing the inner thoughts of the narrator isn’t enough to make you feel you know or trust him. Through the course of the novel, as horrific facts come to light you’re left questioning what kind of person the narrator is and if you even believe his own beliefs. It’s a page-turning fast-paced read that I highly recommend you pick up this summer.
The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead (4 out of 5 stars)
If you haven’t yet read the Vampire Academy series, I’m completely jealous of you. I wish I could experience that series for the first time again. It was such an unexpected brilliant read! Seriously, my favorite young adult series of all time. Above The Hunger Games, Harry Potter? Yes! The story arc of that series is so brilliant. Read those books!
The spin-off series, Bloodlines, I started to read only because of the continuation of Adrian Ivashkov’s story. Adrian’s such a great character and so I’d basically follow him anywhere. The first 3 books of Bloodlines were good, but not quite as gripping as the VA story arc. The ending of Fiery Heart, though, was so intense and I just KNOW Richelle Mead is going to kill it over the final two books. She has a real knack for writing great characters that you can’t help but really really like. She also writes in a very entertaining way to get you drawn into the story…and then BAM she sort of sucker punches you with plot development/twists that are so intensely addictive you want to just devour them. Highly, highly recommend!
NEXT: I’m going to really try to get through City of Lost Souls this weekend. The Mortal Instruments series definitely doesn’t have me as hooked as I’ve been on other young adult series. I love the world Cassandra Clare has created, but am not really invested in any of the characters (other than Simon) to read six books on them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m determined to finish the series this summer! It’s just not something I’ll be looking to ever read again. Unlike the VA books that I’ll always want to reread! 😉
How about you, did you have a great week? And what are you reading this summer?
