Book Club: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

In April our book club get together was at my house. 

Abi loves the book Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library so I told her if she read it again before book club, she could attend. She finished it and went on to the sequel. Maddy asked if she could come if she read it too. I told her she could. So she spent the day before and the day of the book club reading every minute she could. 

She finished about an hour before book club and she loved it too!

 

With the theme of this book I decided not to just do dinner and sit around and discuss. 

I wanted to make it more like the book. 

So, I printed out some signs (I can't remember the name of the site I got them from so I will try to find it and insert it here when I do). Abi colored them and we hung them around the house. 

I got every book I own that is mentioned in the book and its sequel and put them up on our fireplace. 

We had cafe lunch type food- sandwiches, chips, etc plus I made a lemon cake for Mr. Lemoncello's birthday. We also stuck out Easter candy. 

I made library cards for everyone like the ones in the book... with books on the back of them to be used as clues. 

They had to use their library cards to find the books and find clues in them. 

Then they had to work together to figure out a message. 

We also played a trivia game which helped with the discussion. 

It was a lot of fun!

May and June Reads

I have not read very much in the past few months. It is sad. 

With the trip and then packing and preparing for the move and then moving and then unpacking and getting our house put together I haven't had as much time or energy to put into reading. 

But I did read a few books over the two month period. 

1. While I was in Europe my Susan Branch book, Martha's Vineyard, Isle of Dreams came in the mail. 

I couldn't wait to dig into this book. 

I started it immediately and finished it a few days later on May 1st so I am counting it as a May read. 

"In the winter of 1982, long before she became the watercolor artist and author we know today, Susan Branch, 34-years-old and heart-broken from the sudden and unexpected end of her marriage in California, "ran away from home" to the Island of Martha's Vineyard.

It was meant to be temporary, a three-month time-out from the daily grind of being broken up and miserable, but within days of her arrival, alone and not quite in her right mind, Susan "accidentally" bought a tiny one-bedroom cottage in the woods. And that is how she discovered she was moving 3,000 miles away from everyone and everything she had known and loved." (Goodreads)

I loved every second of it. I have said it before and I will say it again. Susan is a wonderful writer and she is someone that as you read her words, you just want to be her friend. 

I got to meet her a few weeks after finishing this book and it was amazing. 

I wanted to read the entire set of books about her life all the way through again as soon as I finished this... and I will be doing that at some point soon. 

5 stars. *****

2. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

 "At the heart of the story is Wanda Petronski, a Polish girl in a Connecticut school who is ridiculed by her classmates for wearing the same faded blue dress every day. Wanda claims she has one hundred dresses at home, but everyone knows she doesn’t and bullies her mercilessly. The class feels terrible when Wanda is pulled out of the school, but by that time it’s too late for apologies. Maddie, one of Wanda’s classmates, ultimately decides that she is "never going to stand by and say nothing again."(Goodreads)

I read this book out loud to Abi and Maddy for Bookworm Club. 

It was hard to put down so we finished it in one night. 

It is very short so that wasn't hard and only took about an hour to read. 

This book is well written and has a really good message. 

Fantastic book. 

5 stars *****

3. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

"Winter, 1945. Four teenagers. Four secrets.

Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war.

As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.

Yet not all promises can be kept." (Goodreads)

I started listening to this book back in March and then finished it up in May. This book pulled at every heart string I have. I loved listening to the audible version as they had a different actor for each character and they had such distinctive voices that really fit the personality. 

I cried a lot during this book. Really. A lot. 

And I loved it. I have another one of Ruta's books on my shelf that I haven't read yet and after reading this I will be making it a priority in the near future. 

5 stars *****

4. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

"Mrs. Dalloway is a novel by Virginia Woolf that details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional high-society woman in post-World War I England. It is one of Woolf's best-known novels.

Created from two short stories, "Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street" and the unfinished "The Prime Minister," the novel addresses Clarissa's preparations for a party she will host that evening. With an interior perspective, the story travels forwards and back in time and in and out of the characters' minds to construct an image of Clarissa's life and of the inter-war social structure. In October 2005, Mrs. Dalloway was included on TIME magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923." (Goodreads)

I really enjoyed this book. It was my first Woolf. 

Full review on Scones and Crackers here. 

4 stars ****

5. The Autobiography of Mark Twain

"Mark Twain was a figure larger than life: massive in talent, eruptive in temperament, unpredictable in his actions. He crafted stories of heroism, adventure, tragedy, and comedy that reflected the changing America of the time, and he tells his own story--which includes sixteen pages of photos--with the same flair he brought to his fiction. Writing this autobiography on his deathbed, Twain vowed to he "free and frank and unembarrassed" in the recounting of his life and his experiences. Twain was more than a match for the expanding America of riverboats, gold rushes, and the vast westward movement, which provided the material for his novels and which served to inspire this beloved and uniquely American autobiography." (Goodreads)

I loved this book. 

It was very long and it did drag on in some points but overall it was such an interesting read. 

He is such a funny guy. He says at the beginning that he wrote this with the express purpose of it not being published until after he was dead so that he would be fully honest. 

He tells stories of his life and those all around him. 

It made me laugh, there were parts that made me a bit emotional, and mostly it gave me a good understanding of who he really was. 

When I was about a third of the way through the book I found out that I am related to him. 

That was amazing. It made the rest of the book mean so much more to me. 

I really want to go back and read his books now because I feel like they will mean so much more to me now that I know more about him and his life. 

4 stars ****

February Books

In February I read thirteen books. 

1. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

I am still trying to get through all of the books set in the Shadowhunter world by Cassandra Clare before the new book comes out. I have realized reading these that I love the Clockwork series so much better. I feel like a lot of the books in this series are filler. I do enjoy the story line as a whole but I don't love them. 

3 stars ***

2. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

"It all began with a letter inquiring about second-hand books, written by Helene Hanff in New York, and posted to a bookshop at 84, Charing Cross Road in London. As Helene's sarcastic and witty letters are responded to by the stodgy and proper Frank Doel of 84, Charing Cross Road, a relationship blossoms into a warm and charming long-distance friendship lasting many years." (Goodreads)

I loved this book. I sat down one day at lunchtime to read a little of it and finished the whole thing. It was just under 100 pages so it didn't take long to finish it. And yet, even with the short length I felt like I really got to know these people through their letters. It made me laugh, it brought tears to my eyes. It was wonderful. I really wish the bookstore still existed there so that I could visit it when I am in England. 

It went between 4-5 stars for me the whole book but I set it as 4 stars overall. ****

3. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

I can't say much more about this than I did for the last one. 

3 stars ***

4. The Only Pirate at the Party by Lindsey Stirling and Brooke S. Passey

"Electronic and dancing violinist Lindsey Stirling shares her unconventional journey in an inspiring memoir filled with the energy, persistence, and humor that have helped her successfully pursue a passion outside the box. A classically trained musician gone rogue, Lindsey Stirling is the epitome of independent, millennial-defined success: after being voted off the set of America’s Got Talent, she went on to amass more than ten million social media fans, record two full-length albums, release multiple hits with billions of YouTube views, and tour sold-out venues across the world.
Beginning in a humble yet charmed childhood, this book follows Lindsey through a humorous adolescence, to her life as a struggling musician, through her personal struggles with anorexia, and finally all the way to her success as a world-class entertainer. " (Goodreads)

I found this book to be really interesting. Not the best writing though. I guess it was written by Lindsey and her sister Brooke together but told in first person as if it was just Lindsey writing it. I like Lindsey. I think she sounds really fun. She is funny. And there were parts that were very touching. I struggled with how many stars to give it since it was a quick and good read and I really liked her. But ultimately I based it on the writing style. 

3 stars ***

 5. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Again, 3 stars ***

6. The Princess in Black and the Hungry Bunny Horde by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale

"Princess Magnolia and her unicorn, Frimplepants, are on their way to have brunch with Princess Sneezewort, an occasion Frimplepants enjoys more than anything in the world. But just when he can smell the freshly baked bread and the heaping platters of sugar-dusted doughnuts, Princess Magnolia’s glitter-stone ring rings. The monster alarm! After a quick change in the secret cave, Princess Magnolia and Frimplepants are transformed into the Princess in Black and her faithful pony, Blacky. But when they get to the goat pasture, all they can see is a field full of darling little bunnies nibbling on grass, twitching their velvet noses, and wiggling their fluffy tails. Where are the monsters? Are these bunnies as innocent as they appear?" (Goodreads)

This is the third in the Princess in Black books. Every time one of these books comes out, my daughters and I sit down to read it and they won't let me stop until we are finished with it. So, once again we read it in one evening. They love them so much. I think they are really cute and fun too. 

5 stars *****

7. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare 

More of the same. I kind of wish the last book had finished off this series. It is feeling a bit dragged and while I think the new bad guy is interesting, I'm not as invested anymore. 

3 stars ***

8. The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm

"Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He’s bossy. He’s cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie’s grandfather, a scientist who’s always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?" (Goodreads)

I read this with both of my daughters for the library mother/ daughter book club. They both really liked it which is why I give it the star rating that I do. I was not really into it.  

3 stars ***

9. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

"After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson - bestselling author of The Mother Tongue and Made in America-decided to return to the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another,so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out on a grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home." (Goodreads)

Recently the movie A Walk in the Woods came out. It is adapted from another of Bill Bryson's books. Shortly after that I learned more about him and heard about his books about England and Europe. 

I got this one from the library in audio form and listened to it for most of January and finished it in February. This book is a fun read that will make you laugh a lot. However, there is a lot of swearing and it can be a little raunchy occasionally. I did enjoy listening to it. I didn't learn as much about England as I was hoping but it was still very entertaining. 

3 stars ***

10. Lumberjanes volume one by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen

"Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley are five best pals determined to have an awesome summer together... and they’re not gonna let any insane quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way!" (Goodreads)

I have heard a lot about this graphic novel series and thought it would be really fun. But unfortunately I felt like it was really overrated. I thought the story was disjointed, silly, and just not that great. The artwork was just okay. It wasn't bad but not my favorite. I have tried to read more graphic novels over the past year but this one did not make the grade for me. Quick read though. One sitting. 

2 stars **

11. My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

"Who can forget our beloved gentleman's personal gentleman, Jeeves, who ever comes to the rescue when the hapless Bertie Wooster falls into trouble. My Man Jeeves is sure to please anyone with a taste for pithy buffoonery, moronic misunderstandings, gaffes, and aristocratic slapstick."(Goodreads)

I have wanted to read P.G. Wodehouse for a long time and finally got around to it this month. This was a short and quick read as it was a collection of short stories. I was really sad that I didn't love it. Some of the stories were good and a few of them really bored me. I read afterward that this is not his best work and not to deter you from reading other Wodehouse so I may give him another chance later but for now....

2 stars **

12. The Martian by Andy Weir

"Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there." (Goodreads)

I listened to The Martian in audio form. I really enjoyed it. It was interesting and well written and really funny. I would have a hard time recommending it to everyone as there are a LOT of f-bombs in it but it really was such a good read. 

4 stars ****

13. Sacred Britain by Martin Symington

"Britain is packed with places to visit that can be called ‘sacred’. Many are mainstream tourist sites, such as Iona, Lindisfarne and Stonehenge. Many more are out-of-the-way pilgrimage destinations, druidic circles, holy wells or obscure islands that few people would find without this book. This is a travel guidebook to places in England, Scotland and Wales associated with a sense of the sacred." (Goodreads)

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a guide book but it is written really beautifully. My mom and I will be visiting many of the places in the book and it was so much fun to read those passages to her. I learned a lot. 

4 stars ****

My favorite books of the month were 84, Charing Cross Road, The Princess in Black and the Hungry Bunny Horde, The Martian, and Sacred Britain.  

I read a lot this month but many of them were started in January or were really short ones.

For March I have a really ambitious To Be Read pile. 

I only missed a few from last month so I am hoping I will be as successful this month. 

I never got to Nory Ryan's Song and I didn't finish City of Heavenly Fire.

My priorities this month are finishing all of my Shadowhunter world books, finishing Paddington with my daughters, Jane Austen's Letters and Nory Ryan's Song. 

I know I probably won't get through all of these books this month but these are the ones I will attempt to get to!

*What did you read in February? 

January Books

In January I read ten books. 

1. Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

I read this book because it was recommended by Goodreads and Amazon because of enjoying Mr. Lemoncello's Library. I thought this book was a lot of fun. It is middle grade. 

 "Twelve-year-old Emily is on the move again. Her family is relocating to San Francisco, home of her literary idol: Garrison Griswold, creator of the online sensation Book Scavenger, a game where books are hidden all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles. But Emily soon learns that Griswold has been attacked and is in a coma, and no one knows anything about the epic new game he had been poised to launch. Then Emily and her new friend James discover an odd book, which they come to believe is from Griswold and leads to a valuable prize. But there are others on the hunt for this book, and Emily and James must race to solve the puzzles Griswold left behind before Griswold's attackers make them their next target." (Goodreads)

As I read this book I knew that if I had read it when I was Abi's age (10) it would have been one of my very favorite books. The premise is really fun and as soon as I finished I looked it up online and found that there is a small scale book scavenger activity that goes with it. The girls and I immediately went looking for a few books but didn't find them. Abigail read it too and she loved it. 

4 stars **** 

2. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

 This was a re-read for me as I read it for the first time a few years ago. 

I read it this time for my book club. 

"I have two weeks. You'll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.That's what you do to enemy agents. It's what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine - and I will do anything, anything to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.
He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I'm going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France - an Allied Invasion of Two." (Goodreads)

 This book breaks my heart. I wondered if I would enjoy it as much the second time around and I really did. It is heartbreaking and hard to read at times and gives you a lot to think about. I have heard a few people say they didn't connect with the characters but I did not have that problem. I was all in. I also wondered if it would make me cry again even though I knew what was coming... well, it did. 

5 stars *****

3. Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I got this book for Doug for Christmas because I was so curious about it after hearing about in all over the book community. 

 This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again. Told through hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes." (Goodreads)

This book was very interesting. I read it in only a couple of days. However it isn't as long as it looks because of some of the ways it is written... like this....

I rated this book five stars for presentation because it is an amazing looking book and so different from anything else I have read when it comes to the way it is told and the way they have created the book but only 3 stars for content as it was entertaining but not amazing. 

There were some really disturbing parts in the book as well as a lot of swearing. 

To be fair, every swear word is blocked out. BUT when I was reading it my mind would automatically fill in the swear word so it might as well have been there. Doug told me to start thinking "cuss" instead of the real word every time that happened but that didn't do much except make me laugh at parts that weren't necessarily funny. 

Still, I'm glad I read it but I don't know if I will finish the trilogy. 

 3 stars ***

4. Troublemaker, Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini

 

I have to say this was a fascinating read. 

" The outspoken actress, talk show host, and reality television star offers up a no-holds-barred memoir, including an eye-opening insider account of her tumultuous and heart-wrenching thirty-year-plus association with the Church of Scientology." (Goodreads)

I am very intrigued about religions and always wondered about Scientology and whether it was a cult or not. I am very hesitant to ever classify something as a cult when I don't know all the facts. But after reading this book I think I can safely classify it as such. 

She writes in a very personable and honest way and can be quite crass at times. 

After reading this I watched the documentary Going Clear and it really backed up a lot of the things she talked about in this book. 

Truly scary stuff. 

4 stars ****

5.  The Doldrums by Nicholas Gannon

Many of you may remember me mentioning this book a few months ago when I talked about my most beautiful books. I bought it because of the artwork which is so stunning. This month I finally got to read it!

 "Archer B. Helmsley has grown up in a house full of oddities and treasures collected by his grandparents, the famous explorers. He knows every nook and cranny. He knows them all too well. After all, ever since his grandparents went missing on an iceberg, his mother barely lets him leave the house. Archer longs for adventure. Grand adventures, with parachutes and exotic sunsets and interesting characters. But how can he have an adventure when he can’t leave his house?"
(Goodreads)

I really enjoyed this middle grade book. It was a fun adventure and there were actually some really beautiful passages hidden in there. I am hoping for more. 

4 stars****

6. How do I know if I know? by John Bythway

 

This was a really quick read. I try to read a religious book along with my scripture study in the morning and I picked this up because it was a John Bythway book I hadn't read yet. (I loved him when I was a teenager!) This book was good. It has some good info. Nothing ground breaking or mind blowing. But good. I think it would really help a lot of teenagers.

3.5-4 stars****

 7. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

I have been meaning to re-read the books in The Infernal Devices for so long. I got the third book right when it came out but somehow hadn't read it yet. It had been so long I knew I needed to read the rest of the books again before reading the last one. I enjoyed it so much! Such a fun series. 

 "In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series. The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans."

(Goodreads)

  

4 stars ****

8. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

 

This is a really good second book in the series. I won't go into the plot since it is just an extension of the first one but I really enjoyed it. 

4 stars ****

9. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

 

This is the final installment in the Infernal Devices trilogy and I loved it. 

I was completely satisfied with the ending and it actually surprised me and even made me cry a bit. 

4 big old stars ****

10. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

 

As soon as I finished the Infernal Devices trilogy I wanted to get going on the re-read and finishing of the Mortal Instruments series. 

"When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know... " (Goodreads)

I still really enjoyed this. It took me a little while to get into it as I was on kind of a book hangover from the last series but soon I was right back into this world and fully enjoying myself. 

4 stars****

It was a great reading month. I read a lot more books than I thought I was going to be able to. And they were all good, some of them great. 

I am really looking forward to Febrauary to be another really good month!

February's To Be Read: 

I am hoping that in February I will be able to finish the Mortal Instruments series. I have not read the last two books in it yet so I am really excited to be get to those. All of this is in prep for Lady Midnight, the next series set in this world coming out very soon. 

I also plan on reading The Fourteenth Goldfish for the library mother/ daughter book club, Ramona the Brave with the girls, 84, Charring Cross Road , and Nory Ryan's Song for book club. 

What books did you enjoy in January? 

What are you hoping to read in February?