Book Review: Holes, by Louis Sachar

Holes by Louis Sachar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holes, by Louis Sachar
★★★★★ and a ♥

Synopsis: Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-goo-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day, digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes. It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.
In A Sentence: One of my favorite tales that I never get tired of.

It's February Already! A recap of last month and my goals for the next 26 days

Ugh.  It's Monday.  My cat decided 5:50 a.m. was a good time for me to wake up, it's snowing hard outside, and my kitchen is still a mess from making food for yesterday's Superbowl.  Whoopee....not.

The first thing I saw at 5:50 this morning.

Well, on the plus side, it's a new month!  And a new month means new reading goals!  Yay!

Compared to other months, January was a terrible reading month.  Only 5 books!  Truthfully, though, I don't think I would have been able to read anymore than I actually did.  Last month was so busy for me work-wise, and there was a lot I needed to do, so finding time to sit down and read for more than 10 minutes at a time was proving to be very difficult to do.  I also blame Snow Crash; it was slow going for a good 150 pages.

Here's my list of books read.  The picture will take you to the Goodreads page, while the link will take you to my review.

Book Review: The Witches, by Roald Dahl

The Witches by Roald Dahl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Witches, by Roald Dahl
★★★★

Synopsis: This is not a fairy tale. This is about real witches.
Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There’s nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of them. Her grandson listens closely to Grand mamma’s stories—but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face to face with The Grand High Witch herself!
In A Sentence: a refreshing and rather sweet read

Book Review: Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
★★★

Synopsis: In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo’s CosaNostra Pizza, Inc., but in the Metaverse he’s a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that’s striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous…you’ll recognize it immediately.
In A Sentence: An okay read with an overwhelming amount of information.

Favorites Spotlight: Lord Of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

I'm sure no one is totally upset that I haven't posted anything for my Favorites Spotlight, but it bugs me when something isn't done on time.  Life just gets in the way sometimes.  Reading for challenges, colds that makes my head feel all foggy, a bunch of private lessons, a huge pile of laundry, a cat who's begging me to play fetch.... *sigh* ....there's just too much going on.

Yep, that's right!  I sometimes think she's channeling a dog or something

I refuse to miss posting before the month is out, however, and this month I'm going for a favorite series of mine that is popular with practically all fantasy lovers.  And that's J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings series.

It's Friday! Time For a Blog Hop!

Happy Friday readers!  It's time for Parajunkee's and AlisonCanRead's Feature & Follow Friday blog hop!

The rules:
1. create a post answering the weekly question
2. enter your blog into the linky list
3. follow the featured blogs and the two hosts
4. follow as many blogs as you like and have fun!

Wednesday's Opinion: What Would I Do If I Won The Lottery

Happy Wednesday everyone!  Although technically I'm writing this on Tuesday, and I'm looking out the window and seeing this:

or this:

Yep, that's right.  Blizzard Colbie has completely engulfed Connecticut, and they're predicting 14"-22" of snow by the end of the day.  Snow day!  The timing couldn't have been even more perfect.  I have a slight cold so a couple of days off is much needed to recuperate.

So while I'm snuggled up on my chair with a nice warm blanket and a cup of yummy coffee, I figured I'd type up my weekly opinions meme!

This week's opinion:

What Would I Do If I Won The Lottery

Book Review: The Return Of The King (Lord Of The Rings #3), by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Return Of The King (Lord Of The Rings #3), by J.R.R. Tolkien
★★★★★ and a ♥

Synopsis: As the evil might of the Dark Lord Sauron swarms out to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggle deep into Mordor, seat of Sauron’s power. To defeat the Dark Lord, the pair must destroy the accursed Ring of Power in the fires of Mount Doom. But the way is impossibly hard, and Frodo is weakening. Weighed down by the burden of the Ring, he begins finally to despair.
In A Sentence: An excellent conclusion to an incredible series.

Happy Monday! A Weekly Recap

Happy Monday folks!  Time to go over last week's reading, and this week's plans!

Well, I guess I'm still technically in a reading slump, although this week has been really stressful for me.  The past seven days has been incredibly busy!  Work has been crazy busy lately.  More and more people want private dance lessons, especially wedding couples, and our groups classes have peaked at 40-50 people per class!  To top it off, our Friday Salsa Night dance social saw 80 people!  Ack!

Wednesday's (Formerly Tuesday's) Opinion: I Am Feminist And I'm Proud Of It!

Hey readers!  Every week I stand on my little soapbox and say what I think!
This week:

Why I'm Proud To Be A Feminist

Lately, we've been seeing women celebrities saying they're not a feminist, and women in general are responding everywhere, claiming not to be feminists.

My response?  I'm a feminist and I'm proud of it!