Vacation Reading

We just finished our vacation on the lovely island of Hilton Head and because we were trying to fit a lot in our small Fit, I opted to choose books that I could read on the IPad. Our library has a great downloadable selection through the 3M app and so I have been finding quite a few books on my list to download. It was also great to have a rainy start to our vacation because it has made for great reading weather! I had started The Cuckoo's Calling a couple days before we came here and stayed up way to late one night to finish; and I finished Reconstructing Amelia tonight (at home), but here is my vacation book list:

  11. The Cuckoo's Calling: I am a crime/mystery lover. Whether it is a book, a tv show, or movie, I love them all. Nancy Drew books were the ones that first got me reading. Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot shows hooked me for life! ;) So it was no trouble getting my nose stuck in this book! (or to the screen I guess). I was curious to see how J.K Rowling would be with other genres and she did not disappoint. I did not see that end coming and I can normally figure out the murderer before the end of the book. The language was kind of intense, but then again I kind of expected it, because it is a British novel.

  12. Year of Billy Miller: Reading this right after Cuckoo's Calling was a little strange. I don't think you can read two books more different, but I adored this book. I cannot wait to read it to my first graders next year and to Alex and Liam when they are older. I think they would connect to the character so well.  Billy Miller brought to mind some hilarious first grade boys I have taught over the last 6 years. Billy Miller is a bit what I imagine Alex to be like when he gets older.  I love the family dynamics in the book too. Fabulous story and written by Kevin Henkes, who I did not realize until now also wrote novels!

   13. The Language of Flowers: The story quickly drew me in, and I was thankful it ended well, or I would have been VERY unhappy! It was a fascinating story and I was quite relieved to know that my wedding flowers, tulips, mean declaration of love. :)

 14. When You Reach Me: This book had been sitting on my shelf for several years, so I am glad I finally got around to reading it. Though, I think I would eventually like to read this book again later. Its the kind of book that everything comes together in the last chapter or two so I feel like I may have missed some details, or rather, knowing the ending, some details would make a little more sense. I did enjoy it, and it makes me want to read Madeleine L'Engle's, A Wrinkle in Time, though I have tried in the past and never gotten too far. We shall see.

 15. Reconstructing Amelia: Is this really what high school is like these days?? I read it to the end because I wanted to know what happened to Amelia, but I wanted to put it down several times because I didn't really like it at the same time. It was an interesting read, but not one I would pick up again.


I read something this week about the argument of Young Adult Fiction vs. Adult (is that what you call it?) Fiction. Most of the authors and stories I love would probably fall into the YA side, but does there necessarily need to be a distinction? I'm pretty sure it is not because my reading level is stuck on that level ;) but sometimes I feel that the character's outlook on life tends to be quite different between the two. I don't feel like I can generalize the two genres, because they are really too broad, but I think when it comes down to it I like stories that are a little more wholesome... I really don't know. Thoughts? Opinions?