It's Monday! So much to do, so little time

With this being my last semester of nursing school, there are all of these extra papers and other odds and ends that are getting thrown into our course work to round us out before we graduate. I may be alone in this but I actually kind of prefer it when our grades are mostly tests with maybe a small paper or project as well. I don't like getting bogged down with "busy work" that really doesn't contribute much to our overall learning and doesn't seem to be making us prepared to be better nurses. The class content and our clinical (practical experience) seem to be the most important and at least help me the most. However, alas, they didn't take my view into consideration. ;) So... rant over.
Reading has been pretty good though. I actually can't find my family's copy of Watership Down so I'm thinking I may have to check it out from the library. :( On the other hand, I may just read something else for the Monthly Key Word challenge (which is what I'm reading it for) but I really want to re-read it so we'll see. Listening to the Anne of Green Gables series has been going well and has reminded me why I love those book so much. :) All of the chapters are about 15-25 minutes long, which is perfect for my driving time.
Also, I finished watching Firefly, which I loved! The fact that it was canceled after one season makes me mad! I already miss it! :( However, I did start Leverage, which is great as well but a different kind of show. I'm steadily becoming addicted to it. :( Just what I need to eat up my study time. ;)

Finished this week

• none

Currently Reading

• Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (re-read) (audiobook)
• The Valley of Vision
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte- The first book that I've disliked but I'm eagerly turning the pages to find out what happens. 

Coming Soon (hopefully)

• Watership Down by Richard Adamas (re-read)

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Top Ten Things I Like/Dislike When it Comes to Romance in Books

I've got a lot of opinions about romance and you probably know this if you've read my blog. I tend to disparage mushy gushy stuff. I will admit that I am somewhat a romantic myself but I can't stand the mushy gushy that pervades what I would call the "typical romance novel", of which I don't think I've ever read any but I think it's safe to say I've picked up enough.
I am though a big fan of Jane Austen's novels but in my opinion there is a world of difference between her books and romance novels. Read my full rant on that HERE.
So anyways, with the Top Ten Tuesday for this week being things I like/dislike when it comes to romance in books, you are going to get even more of my thoughts on the matter. I'm going to split it up into a list of aspects I like and a list of aspects I dislike. And no... I don't actually have ten. I couldn't think of ten but I'm sure there are ten out there. ;)

Likes

1. I really enjoy the brother sister friendship that develops into love. My favorite example of this is Jane Austen's Emma and it's also done pretty well in the Harry Potter series.  
2. I like some tension in my romance in books. The example I think first of isn't even a book but I think of Han Solo and Princess Leia from Star Wars. However, there are tons of book examples for example in my all time favorite Pride and Prejudice Lizzie and Mr. Darcy have lots of tension going on. 
3. Respect is very important for me in a romance. Again I think of Pride and Prejudice and I compare Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's marriage of zero respect to say Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner's marriage of mutual respect and I anticipate that same kind of marriage for Lizzie and Mr. Darcy. 

Dislikes

1. As said earlier, my major dislike is mushy gushy, kissy, ucky, bleh. Especially if they're kissing during an action scene. Hello! Bad guys attacking and you're kissing? 
2. Love at first sight... unrealistic. Here's how it happens: Girl- "He's hot." Guy- "She's hot." Conclusion: We're in love. Reality: They think each other is hot. 
3. A romance that doesn't seem to make sense. If two characters get together that I didn't see together either I think "Oh, I didn't see that coming but it actually really works" or "Where in the world did they get that idea from?" So no, I'm not necessarily going to dislike a romance that surprises me, but it needs to make sense once I think about it. 
4. I'm sure there's a lot more negative things out there but since I haven't read any actual romance novels I can't think of anymore off the top of my head. I've heard love triangles are normally horrible, and I think they would be but from what I've heard but I've never read a book that I can think of that has one. 

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It's Monday! Sleep Deprivation 101

This semester on Mondays I have clinicals for nursing school from 7-3 (so I have to get up at about four to get there on time) and then I have work from 4-9 (so I don't get to bed until ten). Then I repeat that schedule on Tuesday. :( Needless to say this will be a very sleep deprived semester. I had my first week of it this past week and I think I was going crazy at the end of Tuesday. :( However, I lived through it and didn't kill any patients or library patrons for that matter, so I think I may yet make it. ;)
I was also able to catch up with my book reviews this week and reading so a good week overall. :)

Finished this week

• Macbeth by William Shakespeare (audiobook)
• Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (re-read) (audiobook)
• The Bridge to Terebethia by Katherine Patterson (re-read)

Currently Reading

• The Valley of Vision
• Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (re-read) (audiobook)

Coming Soon

• Watership Down by Richard Adams (re-read)
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Book Reviews Posted this Week

• Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy

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Book Review: Under the Greenwood Tree

For the Mount TBR Pile challenge and the Alphabet Soup challenge I read Thomas Hardy's Under the Greenwood Tree.

Synopsis from Goodreads: "Under the Greenwood Tree" is the story of the romantic entanglement between church musician, Dick Dewey, and the attractive new school mistress, Fancy Day. A pleasant romantic tale set in the Victorian era, "Under the Greenwood Tree" is one of Thomas Hardy's most gentle and pastoral novels.

While Under the Greenwood Tree is considered to be the happiest of Thomas Hardy's novels, I was left at the end wondering whether or not this was truly the case. Fancy Day reminds me a lot of Cynthia from Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters. I think she's a better version of her, but in essence I think she is her. Dick Dewey had all of the warning signs before their marriage but I'm amazed he still married her. At the end when Fancy is waiting for him to come and worrying he won't, I was kind of hoping that he wouldn't. On the other hand, Dick has an issue with jealousy, though not necessarily unmerited. I'm not sure if I particularly cared for any of the characters in this book too much except Dick's parents. They seemed like decent people.
Overall it was a pretty light novel to read but not likely one that I will ever re-read.
There's a film version of it starring Keely Hawes who incidentally played Cynthia in Wives and Daughters. Coincidence? I think not! ;) Hopefully I'll get around to watching it soon. :)

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Book (Play) Review- Macbeth

Someday, someday in the far future, I will finish all of Shakespeare's plays. To move towards that impossible goal, I read Macbeth... rather I listened to an audiobook of it but close enough right? ;)

Synopsis from Wikipedia: Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, and tells the story of a brave Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia, and he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of arrogance, madness, and death.

I actually was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed Macbeth. Hamlet is the only other of Shakespeare's tragedies I have read and comparing Macbeth to it, I liked Macbeth better... I'm not quite sure why but I did. The plot was maybe just more interesting to me. At the beginning I was rooting for Macbeth to stop listening to his wife and resist killing his King. It seemed that as he got closer and closer to actually killing him, the king kept doing more and more kind things and I'm really just wondering what was going through Macbeth's thick skull! However, later it was interesting to see how the tables turned and now Macbeth was power hungry and on a killing kick while his wife was being driven mad by it. One of my favorite lines from it and one that I think summed up the story well was when Macbeth said:

 "Better be with the dead,Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,
Than on the torture of the mind to lie
In restless ecstasy."

 In the end everything fell apart for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth despite doing what they thought would fix everything. Foreknowledge is a scary thing and it never seems to turn out well in the stories. It definitely didn't in this one. Overall, I think this is one of my favorite of Shakespeare's plays... and that's saying a lot as I normally don't like tragedies. :)
This play belongs the Renaissance literary movement and for the main reason that Shakespeare almost defined that movement. The Renaissance was about being new and different... revolutionary and that's what Shakespeare did and this play was no different.
Reading this will go towards the Play On Challenge, Mount TBR Pile Challenge, Literary Movement Challenge, Alphabet Soup Challenge, Author A-Z challenge, Coyer challenge, and Audiobook challenge as well as I am linking this post up with Mama Kat today. :)

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Book Review- Peace Like a River

Leif Enger's novel Peace Like a River has became an instant favorite. It's so hard for me to pinpoint what exactly it was that made this book so great but I will try my best in this review.
This book will go towards the Mount TBR Pile challenge, the Author's A-Z challenge, and New Author Challenge.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Once in a great while, we encounter a novel in our voluminous reading that begs to be read aloud. Leif Enger's debut, Peace Like a River, is one such work. His richly evocative novel, narrated by an asthmatic 11-year-old named Reuben Land, is the story of Reuben's unusual family and their journey across the frozen Badlands of the Dakotas in search of his fugitive older brother. Charged with the murder of two locals who terrorized their family, Davy has fled, understanding that the scales of justice will not weigh in his favor. But Reuben, his father, Jeremiah—a man of faith so deep he has been known to produce miracles—and Reuben's little sister, Swede, follow closely behind the fleeing Davy.Affecting and dynamic, Peace Like a River is at once a tragedy, a romance, and an unflagging exploration into the spirituality and magic possible in the everyday world, and in that of the world awaiting us on the other side of life. In Enger's superb debut effort, we witness a wondrous celebration of family, faith, and spirit, the likes of which we haven't seen in a long, long time—and the birth of a classic work of literature.

Now where to start with my review? First off, I thought when I saw the synopsis and from what I heard from my mom (who originally recommended this book to me) it would be one of those extreme in your face Christian book that I sometimes find a little frustrating and forced... though not necessarily bad. However, I was very pleasantly surprised to not find it like that. Yes, it had Christian themes but somehow I just never found them to be unrealistic, even though the whole premise of the novel is miracles. I'm not sure how to explain that but that's just how I felt about it. I was also surprised to find that even though it was kind of a slow story I was always eagerly turning the page to find out what happened next. This book kept me seriously engaged the whole time.
Probably what I loved most about the story was the characters and my favorite character was Swede and what I loved most about Swede was the poetry she wrote. Sunny Sundown was just... classic. You'd have to read this book to really understand what I mean but I loved it! This book also makes a lot of references to westerns, cowboys and outlaws. I noticed that it referenced Zane Grey a lot, maybe because that was an author I was familiar with. It made me want to read some more Zane Grey books.
The themes of this book were beautiful as was the writing. Overall, I just loved this book and it's a little inexplicable to explain my feelings about it. It is a new favorite for me and I would highly recommend it for you. :)

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Top Ten Classics I Can't Believe I Haven't Read Yet

If you read my blog a lot you know I live and die by the classics. I almost exclusively read them, though of course there are contemporary novels I enjoy. However, There are some classics I haven't gotten around to yet that I'm shocked I have never yet picked up. Thankfully many of them are on my list for this year's reading. :)

1. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier- I'm so excited about reading it this year!!!
2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte- Much as I don't think I'll like this book... I do think I should read it. 
3. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell- I haven't even seen the movie yet! :(
4. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy- The size of it has scared me away for many years but everyone has to read it so therefore I must! ;)
5. The Divine Comedy by Dante- Somehow I didn't read that in high school but that's a classic most people have read. 
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck- Or any other Steinbeck for that matter. He's a classic American author and whether or not he's good, I'd at least like to try one of his books.
7. Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare- Two of Shakespeare's most famous plays and I haven't read them! However, I've read multiple children's versions of them so that's got for something right? ;) To be fair to myself, there's a lot of Shakespeare plays and I'm slowly but steadily working my way through them and I just haven't gotten around to these yet. 
8. Moby Dick by Herman Mellvile- Whenever people talk about this book I just smile and nod because I know nothing about it except there's a whale and a captain obsessed with it... at least I think that's right? ;) How have I not read this yet?
9. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand- A more modern classic that I put on my Classics Club list just because it was popular and I actually know nada about it. But it was popular. Great reasoning I know. ;)
10. The Importance of being Ernest by Oscar Wilde- One of the most famous classic plays and I haven't read it! 

After reading this list I know you're wondering how you can even associate with my blog any more! Don't worry! I'm going to read them! Eventually! ;)

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Classics Club Meme- Modern Classics (February 2015)

The meme question for the Classics Club this month is:

"What about Modern Classics? Pick a book published since 2000 and say why you think it will be considered a classic in the future."

My mind immediately leaped to one book... one that when I read it thought it must have been written decades before it was. That book is of course The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Already, I think that The Book Thief is considered somewhat of a modern classic, which is telling I think for the future. It has moving, relatable and humorous characters, a surprising, beautiful and inspiring plot and all of this set in the backdrop of German during World War II. In my opinion, the book reads much like a classic. Having death as the narrator lends a tone to the book that I think is sometimes almost like Dickens, though only in some aspects. The wit I would dare to say sometimes reminds me of Austen. There are additional tidbits from the book that remind of classic works of literature that lead me to conclude that this book will most likely be a classic in the future.

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It's Monday! First Exam Passed!

I had a stressful last week worrying about and studying for my first exam of the semester. It went alright though thankfully. Reading even went alright last week and I'm even on track according to Goodreads! Unfortunately for my reading time, I think school will only get more time consuming. School is the priority now but I sure wish it was reading! ;)
I was finally able to finish the TV Show The Adventures of Merlin last week though... I'm not sure if I said on the blog but I did finish Stargate: Atlantis over the Christmas break. Now I'm watching Firefly and loving it! :) Too bad it's only one season. :(

Finished this week

• Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
• Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy

Currently Reading

• The Valley of Vision
• Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (audiobook) (re-read)

Coming Soon

• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• Watership Down by Richard Adams (re-read)
• Bridge to Terebethia by Katherine Patterson (re-read)
• The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henry (re-read)
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Book Reviews Posted this Week

• Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan 

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Birthday Month Reading Challenge- Februry

I hope you all made it through January okay with the Birthday Month Reading Challenge! I'm trying to get to all of your reviews but it's been pretty crazy with school so I'm sure I've missed a few. :( I'll try to be better this month. :)
It's February now so here's my list of some authors with February birthdays that I hope will prompt you in case you are having trouble with coming up with authors. :)

• Charles Dickens
• Laura Ingalls Wilder
• John Steinbeck
• Frederick Douglass
• John Grisham
• W.E.B. du Bois
• Toni Morrison
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Chaim Potok
• Elizabeth George
• William Allen White
• E.L. Konigsburg
• Jeffery Shaara
• Laura E. Richards
• Walt Morey
• Hilda Van Stockum

These are just a few. Check out a more complete list HERE. 

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