Quick Lit: December 2014

The Happiness of Pursuit

First of all, isn’t that the best title ever?  This book was fascinating.  It tells the stories of many people who found and followed their own quests.  It includes everything from not speaking for 17 years to visiting every country on the planet to craft projects.  It was inspirational for the goal-setter in me and even if checking things off a list is not your cup of tea, I bet you’d find it interesting as well.

Yes, Please

Loved:
— Encouragement to stick with goals.  A common theme throughout the book is that there is no such thing as an overnight success.  It may seem like it happens for others overnight, but that’s only because we don’t see the years they have been plugging away without any recognition.
— Reading Amy’s story.  She’s a fantastic writer and tells her story in her hilarious voice.
–Cameo appearances from Amy’s parents and Seth Meyers.  So fun!

Didn’t Love:
— Language.  It’s very bad.
— Explicit moments.  I skipped a few pages here and there.

The Age of Miracles

This was my favorite book of the month.  It was completely engrossing.  Sometimes when I read a book I start to think the events in the book have actually occurred to me.  I started stressing out about what I was going to do now that the earth was turning more slowly.  
One of the things that made me love this book so much was that it was such a different take on the typical dystopian genre.  Usually books like this take place after the major disaster/war/corruption has already occurred.  In this story we get a first hand account of the changing world, as it happens.  We are witnesses as the human race adapts and tries to overcome the disaster and carry on in a semi-normal fashion.  

Neverwhere

Neil Gaiman is one of those authors whose storylines leave me wondering where in the world he gets his inspiration.  His worlds are unique and his words bring them to life.  This is a thrilling story of the London Below, a city underneath London, full of “the people who fell through the cracks.”  It includes magic, a quest, an angel, evil, love and friendship.  I listened to Neverwhere on Audible and loved it.  It makes me want to check out everything Gaiman’s ever written.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

A Christmas classic.  It was so fun to read this aloud with my son for the first time.  My daughter has read it before and so have I, but we both enjoyed this re-read immensely.  It’s a great “Don’t judge others” discussion starter and it’s funny to boot.
Head over to Modern Mrs. Darcy for many, many more book reviews.

What have you been reading?