Book Worm

As nerdy as it may sound, one of my favorite things to do is curl up with a good book. As crazy as it sounds, I normally read at least one book a week (besides my text books for classes). People's common response to this is "How do you find the time?" For me it is just a necessity, it's my daily 'me' time that I normally get by just crawling into pjs a half-hour early to read before bed. Anyways, I wanted to share the two books that I just finished up and recommend them to my fellow book worms out there. 

The first one I read was a memoir, The Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard. For many of you, the name Jaycee Dugard probably rings a bell. In 1991, at the age of 13 she was kidnapped and spent the next 18+ years a prisoner to her kidnappers. She was subjected to unbelievable abuse, which included not being able to speak her own name and being locked in a backyard prison. She was forced to become a mother at 14 and later bore a second child to her abuser. Her story made world new is 2009 but it took her until 2011 to publish her version of what happened during those 18 years, in that backyard prison. Dugard's memoir is one of unbelievable survival. I will not lie there were passages that were stomach wrenching and hard to get through. Yet, I found it inspiring how someone who suffered so much, at such a young age, can come out of the situation so positive and filled with life. Highly recommend it to anyone who likes biographies, autobiographies, and/or memoirs. Or just if you want to discover the real story of Jaycee Dugard. 

Next up, is The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. I picked up this novel because they are turning it into a movie. due out this spring and after seeing the trailer for the movie it is definitely a chick-flick I do not want to miss. I have found reading the books before watching the movie gives me a much greater understanding of what is taking place on the big screen, it's like I have the inside story of the characters that others do not. The author, Sparks, has also written other books that have become Hollywood hits such as, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, The Last Song, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, among others. So my point is, the man knows how to write a good romance novel. This book in particular was no exception. It is about a young Marine, Logan Thibault, who finds a photo of a women buried in the dirt during his tour in Iraq. This photo seems to be Thibault's lucky charm and he begins to carry it with him everywhere. When he returns to the US he sets out on a search to find the women in the photo and thank her. He is caught off guard by the strong attraction he has to the women he encounters in North Carolina--Elizabeth, a divorced mother of a little boy named Ben. Thibault keeps his 'luck charm' a secret and it soon comes back to haunt him and threatens to tear him and Elizabeth apart. The ending has a remarkable twist...But I'll stop there as to not ruin the book or the movie. It took a little bit for this book to get going but once it did, I found it was hard to put down. It was a great story about the surprising paths our lives often take. Great for anyone who wants a heart touching, easy read. 

"Your feet will lead you to where your heart is" -Unknown