2011 Book List

Here are the latest books that I've read since my last post about books I've read in 2011. Feel free to click on the links to take you to my full Goodreads.com bookshelves to browse around.

(P.S. It's amazing how much more reading I can get done when I don't have a job! I've already read almost as many books as I read in all of 2010!)

Breaking the Silence by Diane Chamberlain

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a great read and a definite page-turner! It left me wanting to read more of Diane Chamberlain's books.



View all my reviews


The Bright Forever by Lee Martin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


While I do believe this is a well-written book, I found it a little too disturbing and depressing to go around recommending it to all my friends. I tend to like when reading a book is an enjoyable experience so I have a hard time falling in love with books based around a plot (in this case, the disappearance of a young girl). It wasn't for me, but I can see how others would like it!



View all my reviews


Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The author of this book is actually a close friend of my in-laws so I may be biased, but I enjoyed reading this book much more than I anticipated. When I first heard it was a "children's book" I was more than a little skeptical. My mother-in-law assured me that it was a great story for all ages, and she was right!



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Room by Emma Donoghue

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Interesting book. Took me quite a while to get used to reading it through a 5 year old child's perspective, but once I did it was very enthralling!



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My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Loved this book! I actually listened to it on audio book but I found myself wanting to get in my car and drive around just so I could listen to it! It was an enthralling story with love, adventure, mystery and fantasy. My only disappointment in this book was I thought the ending left a lot to be desired.



View all my reviews

2011 Book List

I'm starting a 2011 Book List, to share with you the books that I've read in 2011 and what I thought of them. I rate them on a scale of 1 to 5 stars and usually include a small review (no spoilers). I will update the list as more books are read throughout the year.

To see the books I read in 2010 please click here.

1. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger - 3 stars. This was a weird book. I can't say I didn't like it, because I was certainly intrigued by it, but it was just plain old weird. Audrey Niffenegger (author of The Time Traveler's Wife) certainly has quite the imagination and can write beautifully, but the premises of her books are just so out there. I will say, that this is the first book in a long time that left me completely perplexed at the ending...so much so that I immediately logged on to the internet to see how other people interpreted the ending. It wasn't a book that I will gush over and feverishly recommend to friends, but I am glad I read it nonetheless.

2. The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsche - 4 stars. This book is one that I actually downloaded for free off of Amazon one day, without knowing a thing about it. (I'm a sucker for the free downloads....that's also how I discovered Fireflies in December, which ended up being one of my favorite books of all time!) Anyway, I downloaded it, but then just let it sit in my Kindle for a few weeks until I finally started to read it. It sucked me in with the mystery of unexplained murders and accused witchcraft. At times the descriptions were a bit too graphic and made me cringe, but overall I really enjoyed the book.

3. Cartwheels in a Sari by Jayanti Tamm - 4 stars. This is a memoir of a woman's life as she grew up in a cult, governed by an all-powerful "Guru" in Queens, New York. It was fascinating to watch the way the Guru keeps such control over his "disciples" and the brainwashing that went with it. I really enjoyed reading the book and learning about the extremes that people will go to for the approval of the "divine". At times I even found myself overwhelmed with emotion for the choices that Jayanti was facing.

Books Read in 2010 - Awards

Well, I didn't come anywhere near 25 books in 2010, but I made a valiant effort. I actually read the last 5 books just in the month of December.

Here's the final wrap up of all the books I read in 2010:

1. The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto {click here for my review - 5 stars}

2. Shelter Me by Juliette Fay {click here for my review - 3.5 stars}

3. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks {click here for my review - 2 stars}

4. Dead as a Doornail {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 5} by Charlaine Harris {click here for my review - 4 stars}

5. The Mercy of Thin Air by Romlyn Domingue {click here for my review - 1 star}

6. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond {click here for my review - 2 stars}

7. Definitely Dead {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood Series, Book 6} by Charlaine Harris - 4 stars

8. All Together Dead {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood Series, Book 7} by Charlaine Harris - 3.5 stars

9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - 2.5 stars

10. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski - 2 stars

11. Sarah's Key by Tatiana deRosnay - 4.5 stars

*new 12. From Dead to Worse {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood Series, Book 8} by Charlaine Harris - 4 stars

*new 13. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - 5 stars!!

* new14. Fireflies in December by Jennifer Erin Valent - 5 stars!!

*new 15. Stuck in the Middle {Sister-to-Sister Book 1} by Virginia Smith - 3 stars

*new 16. A Dog Named Slugger by Leigh Brill - 3 stars

Favorite Book of 2010: It's a toss up between Fireflies in December and The Help! Close second is The Gastronomy of Marriage.

Worst Book of 2010: The Mercy of Thin Air...serious snoozefest!

Most Overrated Book of 2010: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle...sorry Oprah!

Favorite Series of 2010: Duh! The Sookie Stackhouse series.

What were your 2010 Book Awards?

25 Books in 2010: Book 11

I'm never going to make it to 25 books in 2010! But that's okay because I do realize that I've had a LOT going on in my life this year. Also, I've been kind of unlucky with my choice of books this year....nothing has really been a page turner for me, until now....

1. The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto {click here for my review - 5 stars}

2. Shelter Me by Juliette Fay {click here for my review - 3.5 stars}

3. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks {click here for my review - 2 stars}

4. Dead as a Doornail {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 5} by Charlaine Harris {click here for my review - 4 stars}

5. The Mercy of Thin Air by Romlyn Domingue {click here for my review - 1 star}

6. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond {click here for my review - 2 stars}

7. Definitely Dead {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood Series, Book 6} by Charlaine Harris - 4 stars

8. All Together Dead {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood Series, Book 7} by Charliane Harris - 3.5 stars

9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - 2.5 stars

10. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski - 2 stars

11. Sarah's Key by Tatiana deRosnay - 4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book....FINALLY a book that I can rave about!

It's the story of a young Jewish girl in France, in the midst of Nazi roundups during World War II, and also the story of a modern day American journalist who is investigating the events surrounding the French roundup.

I loved the combination of historical fiction and a modern day (fictional) story. I can't always get into historical fiction, but this one kept me hooked because there were two storylines, both equally enthralling.

Highly recommend Sarah's Key!

I wish I could add a 12th book to this list but I gave up halfway through on my 12th book: Suite Francaise. I'm sure it's a great book but I just couldn't get into it at this time. It was boring me to tears so I gave up on it and moved on to the next Sookie Stackhouse book in the series because I know those books are always light, easy reads for me. C'est la vie!

25 Books in 2010: Books #8-10

A much needed update on the books I've read lately. I'm never going to make it to 25 books in 2010 at this rate but oh well!

A lot of the books I've been reading lately have just been "eh" and therefore I've been reading them sloooooooowly. The last book I read (Edgar Sawtelle) seemed like it took FOREVER to get through. I stayed up super late reading it last night just so I could finally say I was done with it!

1. The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto {click here for my review - 5 stars}
2. Shelter Me by Juliette Fay {click here for my review - 3.5 stars}
3. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks {click here for my review - 2 stars}
4. Dead as a Doornail {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 5} by Charlaine Harris {click here for my review - 4 stars}
5. The Mercy of Thin Air by Romlyn Domingue {click here for my review - 1 star}
6. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond {click here for my review - 2 stars}
7. Definitely Dead {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood Series, Book 6} by Charlaine Harris - 4 stars

8. All Together Dead by Charliane Harris - 3.5 stars
9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - 2.5 stars
10. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski - 2 stars

25 Books in 2010: Book #7

I'm still behind on my 25 in 2010 challenge! It's more than halfway through the year now and I'm only on book #7. Ugh!! Life has just been super busy lately and by the time I crawl into bed I'm ready to go straight to sleep.

I'm hoping the summer months bring me a little more time to relax with books, because I have a to-be-read pile that is growing bigger by the day!

1. The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto {click here for my review}

2. Shelter Me by Juliette Fay {click here for my review}

3. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks {click here for my review}

4. Dead as a Doornail {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 5} by Charlaine Harris {click here for my review}

5. The Mercy of Thin Air by Romlyn Domingue {click here for my review}

6. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond {click here for my review}

7. Definitely Dead {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood Series, Book 6} by Charlaine Harris

Definitely Dead was another great addition to the Sookie Stackhouse series! A hot new romance develops for Sookie and she learns a lot more about the Vampire Queen of Louisiana in this book.

After the disappointment of the last two books that I read, I decided it was time to go back to a series that I know will keep me enthralled and entertained. This Sookie series book fit that bill perfectly!

4 stars

25 Books in 2010

I've been seriously slacking on my reading! I need to get back in the swing of it or I'm never going to make this 25 in 2010 goal!

Unfortunately the two most recent books that I read were not that good, which is partially why it has taken me so long to get through them. :(





25 Books in 2010:

1. The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto {click here for my review}

2. Shelter Me by Juliette Fay {click here for my review}

3. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks {click here for my review}

4. Dead as a Doornail {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 5} by Charlaine Harris

5. The Mercy of Thin Air by Romlyn Domingue

This book was one of my least favorite that I've read in a while. I don't even know why I finished reading it, but I've always had issues giving up on books. It was just boring and weird. It's about people who die and are ghosts, essentially, but without all the scary aspects of it. They just wander around and watch other people's lives happen. I do not recommend it. 1 Star

6. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond

This book was at least better than the last one, but still not that great. It's about a woman who "loses" her fiance's daughter on a beach. No one knows what happened to the little girl so it's about the woman agonizing over the fact that she lost her and trying to remember the details of the day that she went missing. It wasn't poorly written, just extremely slow and repetitive at times. I need more excitement in my books! 2 stars

Book Review: Dead as a Doornail

25 Books in 2010:

1. The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto {click here for my review}

2. Shelter Me by Juliette Fay {click here for my review}

3. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks {click here for my review}

4. Dead as a Doornail {Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 5} by Charlaine Harris

This series contains nothing worthy of literary merit, but I sure do love it for it's entertainment value! The books are what the True Blood TV show is based on.

I wouldn't say this was my favorite of the books in the series I've read so far, but it still met my expectations and I enjoyed reading it. Another thing I love about these books is how easy they are to read. I tend to get through them way faster than I do other books because they are so entertaining. I like to switch back and forth between more "intellectual" books and easy-read books so this is a great one for the latter category!

Book Review: Dear John

25 Books in 2010:

1. The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto {click here for my review}

2. Shelter Me by Juliette Fay {click here for my review}

3. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
I first heard about this book back in December through work and I was immediately intrigued by the romance with a soldier premise of the book. However, I have never been much of a fan of Nicholas Sparks books {although I love the movie version of The Notebook} so I was a bit unsure of how I would feel about it.

Well this book pretty much gets filed along with all the other Nicholas Sparks books I've read: only so-so. I just find his books somewhat boring and contrived. Plus, the ones I've read so far have all pretty much followed the same format of tortured love. Kinda gets boring after a while, ya know?

I think the best judge of this book was whether or not I wanted $8 to see the movie in theaters after reading the book. The answer to that is no, I do not have any interest in seeing the movie in theaters now. {And that's saying a lot because I think Channing Tatum is HOT! ;-) }

Cupcakes & Combat Boots Rating: 2 stars

50 {err..25?} Books in 2010

So when I posted about reading 50 books in 2010, I was clearly not thinking straight. I was doing the math yesterday on my "50 Books in 2010" and I realized that in order to accomplish this task I would essentially have to read a book every week {or 7.3 days to be exact}. Uhhhhhh....I'm sorry but that's not happening.

Look, I have a full-time job, I go to the gym 4-5 times a week {as of recently}, I have a husband who I love to spend time with, and I am addicted to many TV shows. This doesn't leave much time for me to read! I mean, I have been trying to carve out 30-45 minutes a night to read but even that is pushing it. And as I mentioned in my first 50 Books in 2010 post, I am a slow reader.

All of these factors just aren't adding up to me being able to come anywhere CLOSE to accomplishing 50 books in 2010. Therefore, I am ammending my goal. I think "25 Books in 2010" is MUCH more doable, but will still be a challenge. 25 books in a year basically means I have to read 2 books a month. Now that I can {hopefully} do!

25 Books in 2010:

1. The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto {click here for my review}

2. Shelter Me by Juliette Fay

This is a novel about a woman who has just lost her young husband to a tragic bike accident. It tells how she and her two young children grieve and learn to move on from such a life altering experience. At times it was very sad {obviously} but in the end it was uplifting. It makes you realize that no matter how bad things seem sometimes, life will always go on. At times I found it to be a bit slow but I'm glad I stuck it out til the end.
Cupcakes & Combat Boots Rating: 3.5 stars

50 Books in 2010

Along with my goal to blog about "What's for Dinner?" every night, I've also set a personal goal/resolution to read 50 books in 2010.

I love love love reading but I don't always set aside enough time to dedicate to reading. I usually read before bed but I often find myself getting into bed so late that I just skip the reading so that I can get a full night of sleep {and trust me, I'm the type of person who NEEDS her sleep...I don't know how you night owls do it!}.

So I'm hoping that by making this my resolution and blogging about it as I go along, this will keep me aware and maybe allow me to set aside more reading time each day.

I'm a little nervous about this though because I am a slooowwww reader. I have to take my time in order to really comprehend what is happening. Otherwise, I find myself going "What did I just read on those last 10 pages?"

Hopefully I can make it happen. And you can be sure that I will blog about my progress right here on Cupcakes & Combat Boots!

So here we go: The Inaugural 50 Books in 2010 Post.

1. The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto

GREAT book!! Highly recommend for anyone who is a foodie or loves to cook. Also great for newlyweds, young married couples, or soon-to-be married couples.

Cupcakes & Combat Boots Rating: 5 stars

Next up: Shelter Me by Juliette Fay

Just Finished Reading...not-so-intellectual novels

It's been a while since I've posted anything about books and I've managed to read quite a few in that time frame. However, if you're looking for thought-provoking, intelligent books, please stop reading right now. None of these books are that. They are all very Twilight-esque books. Purely for entertainment value.

Betrayed is the second book in the "House of Night" series. I'm not gonna lie here, this series is basically just a cheap, teeny-bopper knock-off of Twilight but I am still enjoying it. My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Dead Until Dark and Living Dead in Dallas are the first and second books in the Sookie Stackhouse series, aka the books the hugely popular True Blood TV series is based on. They are also about vampires but they're not just cheap Twilight knock offs. Definitely geared towards a more mature audience. My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Summoning is also part of a series (geesh...what is with me and series lately?!?). This is the first book in the "Darkest Powers" series about a teenage girl who can see dead people. A little "Sixth Sense"-ish but still enjoyable. My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I'm honestly a little embarrassed about the caliber of books I've been reading lately. But it was summer and some of these were beach reads while we were on vacation. Don't worry though, I'm redeeming myself with the book I'm reading now. It's much more "legit". :)

Just Finished Reading...

Reading has always been a passion of mine. Unfortunately, I'm also a very slow reader which frequently annoys me because I have a couple bookshelves FULL of books to read but I tend to get through them very slowly. And usually by the time I've finished one book I've already added at least one or two more to my to-read list.

Regardless, I do try to read at least a little bit every day, usually just before bed. So I'm going to use this blog as a way to write a "review" of sorts about the books that I read. The first review is going to be on the book that I just finished this morning: The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory.

I really enjoyed this book. In fact, it might be my favorite of the Philippa Gregory books that I've read so far, which include The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool. I love the way Gregory mixes accurate historical events with fictional embellishments to make a truly fascinating story.

Plus, the era of King Henry VIII and beyond is just fascinating to me. His life was truly like a soap opera and sometimes it's hard for me to believe that those events actually happened. I mean, what kind of man lives his life with SIX wives who he either beheads or exiles whenever he is tired of them.

So The Boleyn Inheritance follows his marriages to Anne of Cleves (the 4th wife) and Katherine Howard (the 5th). It is written through the perspective of Anne, Katherine, and Jane Boleyn (the sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn). I don't want to give too much away so I'll just leave it at the fact that it's EXTREMELY interesting!

If you're going to read The Boleyn Inheritance I definitely recommend you first read The Other Boleyn Girl since the book often refers to events that happened during the marriage of Henry to Anne.

My rating: 4 stars (out of 5)