Mommy Needs A Coffee Break @austengal87-blog - Tumblr Blog

castiel-cereal-deactivated20250

reblog to give cas a hug

The Handmaid’s Tale

In honor of the fact this story is coming to Hulu I’m making a review of it!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38447.The_Handmaid_s_Tale?from_search=true

I have both read and listened to this story on audible. This is one of the rare occasions I would strongly recommend the audio book over the print book for your first reading. This is because the story is told as the narrator, Offred, remembers things. It is told in view of a dystopian world. As you find through the story, due to a terrorist attack the different factions of the religions in the US have started going to War against each other. The ruling faction in Offred’s world has instituted extreme Biblical rule. Offred belongs to a class of women known as handmaids. These women are proven to be fertile, which is important in this society for reasons that are a bit spoiler-y. However, they are not worthy of being wives. They go to families where the wife has been unable to bear children, and the husband is important enough to warrant a handmaid, to help them gain children. I don’t want to get into much more because I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone. However, it alternates between Offred’s present in this society, and her remembrances of her life, family, and friends before and during the rise of it.

All I can say is, especially in today’s society this book is particularly disturbing. I almost didn’t realize it had been published before I was born (granted that was only by like a year, lol). 10/10 would recommend. In fact, due to writing this review I’m going to read it again.

#bookreview #margaret atwood #the handmaid's tale #hulu #reading

I promise I'm working on the posts. Life has been getting in the way

My lovely followers, I am working on my next book, but I also had an anatomy lecture and lab test to prepare for. I may go ahead and write a review of The Handmaid's Tale as it is about to be a series on Hulu. Stay tuned!

Found this on Facebook.

mysharona1987

Funny library signs.

Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison

So, I bought this book for my husband’s niece for Christmas, and it looked interesting. It’s a young adult or middle grade level book. Don’t go into this expecting it to be really deep.

It starts out with Rapunzel relaxing. You find out that Rapunzel has always read stories about herself, and how Princes are evil, and peasants people who live on the ground are out to hurt her, and want to sell her into slavery. Then a thief named Jack comes in, and she finds out that Witch, who protects her from all of these things and who raises her in the tower and gives her anything she wants, is in danger. The danger comes from Red Fairies. I guess this next part could be considered spoiler-y, but they trick her into coming out of her tower, and force her to go on an adventure with Jack, and if she tries to call Witch, they will kill Rapunzel and her Witch. Of course this is in much of the same vein as the Disney Tangled movie. However, Rapunzel isn’t secretly a princess.

I thought this book was interesting. I like young adult fiction for easy reads. This dealt with some different themes. Like how you can love someone, and they love you, but that doesn’t mean they are a good person. It also mentions that Rapunzel is becoming her own person, and doesn’t need Witch or anyone to take care of her. For all that she is spoiled, I actually thought Rapunzel was relate-able.

I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars. It was enjoyable, but the story was very similar to Tangled. There weren’t too many shocking moments, and you could guess a lot of what was going to happen. Definitely a good pick for anyone who enjoys Young Adult fiction, though!

Up next: Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton.

Also, I was thinking, especially when I am reading longer books, or if life gets hectic (yay adulting and momming and wifing) I may go back and review books that I’ve read recently in my past. I was thinking, possibly, about reviewing The Handmaid’s Tale, since it is getting ready to become a TV show. We’ll see I guess. :-)

#rapunzel #grounded #beanstalker #megan morrison #book review

colourfulmotion

graceslibrary

“Some things exist in our lives for but a brief moment. And we must let them go on to light another sky.”

“The Wrath and the Dawn” by Renée Ahdieh | @rahdieh

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

I went into this book a little nervously. I loved To Kill a Mockingbird, and I have heard mixed reviews on this book. Plus rumors that Harper Lee did NOT want this booked published, well, you guys probably heard the hype. Anyway, I checked this book out from my Overdrive account at my library in audio book form. Some people may argue that listening to a book doesn’t count as reading, but I say nay. If it wasn’t for my Audible account, I wouldn’t read the books I do most times, because I work full time, go to school halftime, and have a toddler and a pit bull at home. Anyway, enough on that, on to the book.

Jean-Louise was pretty much the same Scout Finch I remembered. In this book she is a little more world wise, and definitely more mature. I definitely think it added something for me to hear Reese Witherspoon narrating this story. Anyway, if you don’t know the plot, Jean Louise comes home to Macomb county for her annual visit from New York, and learns something disturbing. Her oldest friend Hank, and her father Atticus, as well as most of Macomb have joined a citizens council, and to her mind, it looks as if they have turned against the African American community. Her family’s old maid Calpernia and her family don’t treat Jean Louise with the same familiarity. This puts her into turmoil, questioning everything that she thought she had known about the people and the place she loved. In the end, she learns some hard truths about herself, and about becoming an adult and her own person.

I really enjoyed this book. The pace flowed along nicely, and I almost didn’t realize how close to the end I was, because Reese Witherspoon was a wonderful narrator. I could also identify with many of the things our heroine felt, having gone through some similar growing pains myself. It also, in light of the current situation with the change in administration, made me really think about my own behavior, and re-evaluate the things I had been thinking and feeling toward people I cared about, just because of a difference in political opinions.

Overall, this book is 4 ½ of 5 stars, mostly due to the inconsistencies in some of the story about characters. Although, considering that this was written first and Harper Lee was not behind the release of it, should be somewhat expected. However, I definitely do recommend it to anyone who was a fan of To Kill a Mockingbird, or in general anyone who likes historical fiction.

Up next Grounded by Megan Morrison. It's a reselling of the Rapunzel story, set in the land of Tyme.

#go set a watchman #to kill a mockingbird #reading rocks #audio book #reese witherspoon

So, I need to read more for fun

I’ve gotten so caught up in all the reading I do for classes, that I only read like new books last year, and kept going back to the same audio books to listen to because I didn’t really have to focus on them. In order to do this, I’m going to try to make a weekly post of NEW books I have read, and how I felt about them. I will not be critiquing writing styles, it will only be what I took away from them, whether the author meant this or not. So get ready, I’m going to post my first new book of the year.

#newgoals reading challenging myself letsseeifthisworks

ursula-uriarte

A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of the few havens remaining where a man’s mind can get both provocation and privacy. ~Edward P. Morgan