What I've been reading...

Howdy! Welcome back to hear about what I've been reading the last few weeks. I am so glad that I'm doing well in my goal to read more, and to read a variety of books. This set of three books was really great. I've got some new favorites.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern Abridged by William Goldman
I've haven't seen this movie in quite some time, and I've heard this was a really good book. Why not give it a read, right? This was different than any other type of book I've ever read. It was witty and fun to read. I loved the author's sarcasm. It's rare that I laugh out loud when reading, and I was actually laughing and chuckling pretty much during the whole book. I would recommend reading the abridged version. I didn't realize I had gotten that version until I read the first few pages of the introduction. But after reading the bits where Goldman abridged things, I'm glad I got the abridged version -- because I didn't want to read 60 pages about trees. Ha!

You know this book is going to be a win -- it's a tale of love and adventure! As usual, the book brings more depth and interest to each character. The thing I enjoyed most was learning more about the "villains." I put that in quotes because I do not consider Fezzik and Inigo as true villains. But their backgrounds and inner thoughts were so nice to learn.

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
As you can imagine, this book is good, because look at the author! If you didn't know, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is part of a big series of books by C.S. Lewis, and is a beloved book of mine. I read the whole series once upon a time when I was probably in middle school. I remember loving it so much that I wanted to re-read the series.

The Magician's Nephew is the first book in the series. It's about a man that accidentally-on purpose sends his nephew and his nephew's friend to a different world. In the end, you get to learn about Narnia's beginnings and how different people were involved in its founding. It was a really quick read, and I enjoyed it very much. I'm glad I'm starting the series again.

Persuasion by Jane Austen
Like all of the Jane Austen books I've read so far, it always seems I have a problem with the beginning or the end. Why, Jane, must you rush things so much without any explanation?? Alert: the next sentence is kind of a spoiler! I love love love stories where people are in love, then separated for some reason, and then somehow find their way back to each other. Like, really. Hence, why Jane Eyre is one of my top 5 favorite books.

At the beginning, I felt she rushed some of the story line. I had to re-read a page because there were three big events on the page, but each event only took like a paragraph. I was confused because I felt like those events should have been given a little more explanation...you know, to show they were important to the story! And the first volume (half) of the book was a little too slow for me. But the second half really picked up with the action of figuring out Anne's dilemma and what she was going to do. This is the first Austen book that I've read and really enjoyed the ending.