July/August Books.

Reading the past few months has been slow as most free time has been spent preparing for our european adventure coming up in a few months, but some of what I have been reading has been great.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver - I started reading this on recommendation from a coworker, the perks of working at the library is that your coworkers are always reading and know a good book. It was just what I was looking for, action packed with a twist and a bit of romance thrown in. If I must compare it I would say it is a little Hunger Games/ Divergent esque. Basic concept, in the future love is a disease and if caught you are said to have delirium. It is a horrible thing and there is a cure when you turn 18. The story is of a girl who is about to turn 18 and falls in love. It ends on a cliff hanger which does not disappoint in the second book. Well worth the read.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver - This is the follow up to Delirium, there are actually three and I am currently waiting for it at the library. The book was good. Potentially even better than the first, which is a rare thing. It was written in a similar style as Gayle Forman's books 'If I Stay' and 'Where She Went' which I love, the one present chapter and then one past. It also leaves you at a point where you become desperate to read the next book. I am excited.

The Giver by Lois Lowry - Read this book in preparation to see the movie that was in theatres. Little did I know that the movie was only in  our local movie theatre for about a week and therefore I had missed it. It was an easy read, but a wonderful one. I had read it back in about grade seven but did not remember much about it. I enjoyed the plot and the fast pace that I was able to read it. The only down side was the ending. The ending of the book, not giving anything away, left me furious! It kind of just ends and leaves you guessing as to what happens next. I get that then allows you to guess as to what happens next and believe what you want, but lets be real, I am not having that. I finished it late at night and was so frustrated that I had to immediately download the next book (I had no idea there was a next book) in desperate need to figure out what happened. Not impressed.

Cycle of Lies by Juliet Macur - This book was the first non-fiction audio book that I have listened to. Next time I will pick something a little more action packed. It was a little dry. A little too naming names and drugs and hard to follow along with. A number of times I wished it would just end, but I stuck it out until the end. Don't get me wrong it was interesting, I was once a huge Lance Armstrong fan, I wore a yellow rubber bracelet for years, and understanding just what was actually going on all that time with all of the lying and cheating was intriguing however I might have been more satisfied had I just read a ten page magazine article over listening to over 8 hours of an audiobook.

Fall Children's Display.

Fall is here! I love fall! I tried really to find a plastic rake for the children's display at the library as my original plan was to have books missed with the leaves and it to say 'Rake in a Good Book' but apparently those are the hardest thing ever to find. I looked a few falls back for one for my niece to help with the raking and I feel like in the end I bought her a plastic shovel, not the same.
So it is super simple and super cliche, but it is also my first attempt at a display so I wanted to start small and work my way up. I am also very excited to start my collection of cut letters. I have bought a file folder and as we finish with them save them for another project.
This makes for a wonderful children's display as it incorporates reading, the season and lots of bright colours. I also personally love to have a variety of formats and lots of options in terms of items able to be checked out to accompany the theme of the display. Here I have Easy Readers, Board Books, Picture Books, Non-Fic and Fiction books.

Playdate.

I recently took on a new position at the library. It pays a bit better and has more responsibilities but for the time being it has a lot less hours. I am only working a guaranteed 10 hours a week, however the benefits of a lighter work schedule include a now weekly playdate with my beautiful niece. Starting in September we will be doing skating lessons during that time. For now however it has included visits to the Ontario Early Years Centre (which a awesome if you have one near you it is great and probably right up there with the library for our favourite places to visit). We spend our post lunch in a bit of quite time (this big girl is past naps) with movies and cuddles on the couch. The warm afternoons have then either been spent at the splash pad or local kids pool. The pool is wonderful as most of it is shin high and the deep end is only up to my waist, she loves it because of all of the toys and being able to do it all by herself. So we have been having lots of fun together as the summer comes to an end, but I am very excited for her to start skating in the fall and she is excited as long as the teacher is a girl.

Tea towels make the best baby blankets. 

Snacks at the OEYC.

We went on a bug hunt!

Just making eggs for the dolly. 

Playground just outside of the OEYC.

ALS Ice Bucket.

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a neurodegenerative disease in which your neurons stop functioning. It causes one to lose control of their body. It effects everything from fine motor skills, walking, talking and swallowing, progressing further and eventually taking away more movement, all while being completely aware that this is happening. It is a disease to which there is no cure, no treatment and no understanding of the cause. It effects each person differently with an average life span once diagnosed of 2-5 years, in some extreme cases however, just a few months.

June Books.

In May I started to read a number of books, and that resulted in many books being finished in June. June was a very hard month for me and I found it great to escape into books, however as I am one who cannot leave a book unfinished, I wish I had thought a little bit more about the kind of books. Many of these books had a rather sad element and I might have actually cried at some point during each book. 

Allegiant by Veronica Roth- This book took me forever to finish. I kind of knew how it was going to end and I was actually excited about the outcome.  By the end of the second book I was starting to hate the main character. The book was okay, however still a bit of a let down. I feel like that is a common theme with series books as of right now. It is however always hard to see a wonderful series end. Now I must wait for the next movie to come out next year.

The Fault in Our Starts by John Green- I cried and cried and then cried some more. I was not in a mentally stable place to read this book. I did however read it in a super short period of time as I could not put it down. At first all I could get from the library was the audiobook, this actually resulted in me sitting in the hot car trying to listen to it. I finally had enough and borrowed the book from a friend where I read over half in one night. I loved the book, but due to all of the crying, am certainly waiting to see the movie so I can cry all alone in my living room. I enjoyed the story and the fact that it really does not go as one might think. It is a beautiful love story.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman - I always read books before the movies and I saw a preview for this movie and knew I had to read it, well listen to it. I could not get my hands on the actual book, so I did the audio book. I listened to it on the many drives to and from the hospital. Again, I cried like a baby. I think this is a common theme of the books this month. Either they are all super sad or I am overly sensitive. I loved the way the book was written with one chapter in the present and another explaining the characters past. The audiobook is also very well read.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman- I loved this one even more than the first in the series (If I Stay). I read this one and frequently found the voice in my head of the narrator of the first ones audiobook, which really means I loved how well read the audiobook was. This book was great on so many levels and I read it quickly loving every minute.