Week 38: Emma by Jane Austen

Jane Austen happens to be my favorite author and I have read all of her books multiple times.  Yet I still find them entertaining and diverting each time I read them.  Emma is not one of my favorites of hers, but I do enjoy the book as a whole.  The story is a book that girls can still learn from, even in this day and age! Emma is a character that is constantly learning and making mistakes. The other characters in this book you also learn to love or hate, depending on who they are!  Many of them have such quirky traits that they keep the reader entertained throughout the novel.  I think that is what makes Austen's books great.  Her characters all have such different traits that when thrown together are bound to cause a commotion.  I realize that not everyone likes Jane Austen, but it is a fantastic book that has earned its place with the other great classics.

Week 37: Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

I love reading different books by the same author! Jules Verne was definitely a man of the world.  In both books I have read of his this year, his knowledge of world geography was astonishing!  In this book Fogg travels through California and I was able to understand the exact locations he went by. To a common reader today we could simply turn to a map or look it up on our phone, yet he was able to explain the places over 100 years ago!  This is amazing to me and shows just how much study he put into the books he wrote.

Around the World in 80 Days has always been a book I was interested in yet when I picked it up on a cruise 10 years ago it didn't hold my attention. I decided to try it again, because I thought that I should attempt to read it again!  This time I finished it and enjoyed it! It has a fun little plot, and Jules Vernes takes the reader all around the world with this adventurous book!

Week 36: The Einstein Prophecy by Robert Masello

I randomly bought this book on Kindle, because it was cheap and had good reviews, otherwise this is not a typical book that I would pick up and read.  To say the least it is darker than most of the novels I have read this past year.  However, it is a rather good read and has an interesting plot.  It is philosophical, historical, religious, and political, which leads to a compelling story!  The whole novel is complicated, and difficult to explain, so I won't attempt too!  The main characters are well written and most of them are based on true people,  Einstein being one of them. Yet this book however real some of the characters were, is nothing but a fictional story.  I think that was the hardest things to comprehend as I was reading; conscientiously trying to separate the truth from the fiction.  I don't know what genre would be found in, but I liked it.  But probably won't read it again!

Week 35: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? by Jodi Taylor

This series is so entertaining and a great read.  I have enjoyed them all so much and this one does not fail either.  The main character is still diverting, but the growth that she has gone through is wonderful! I love when characters develop throughout the series and learn from their mistakes.  I also like that the character still makes mistakes and isn't perfect.  She has her ups and downs, but faces all challenges well.  She is an admirable character along with many others in the series.

Read this series if you enjoy history, fictional, or just plain funny books! They are quick fun reads!!!

Week 34: No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor

This is the fifth installment of The Chronicles if St. Marys book series.  This book was both fun and diverting.  It had the same thrilling scenarios as the first few books in the series.  It retains the other books fun plot line while bringing in a more serious undertone.  The one complaint I have of the book is that it has very little references of the events that occurred in the fourth book. Other than that I liked the book and found it a pleasant read. 

On a side note they should make this book series a TV show or mini series. It would be so fun to watch!

Week 33: A Trail through Time by Jodi Taylor

This book made me a little bit confused and at times I got the sense that it also confused the author herself.  The story starts with the main character being thrown into a familiar world that is just slightly skewed.  She takes everything in stride, even when it would be life changing to most people.  This story was not as impressive as the first few books and made everything overly complicated.  That being said however, I do like the series and enjoy all of the little scenarios that occur.

Week 32: A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor

In this thrilling third book the historians at St. Marys go to Troy to research the epic ten year battle between the Greeks and the Trojans.  They of course get into lots of trouble and have to use their wits to get themselves out of many difficult situations.  The main character, Madeline Maxwell, is someone that most people don't want to mess with. She is one tough character that is both entertaning and extremely wise.  She has many faults, which helps the story from dragging on. 

This series has so far been great and I have enjoyed all of the history it has in it. However, the ending of the book made me a little confused and it seemed just a little unbelievable.