The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

I must admit, I went into this book feeling a little skeptical that I would enjoy it. I often find that I have difficulties connecting with books that are about black characters. I'm sure that's probably because I grew up in, well, a mostly white suburb, so my associations with the African American culture is limited.

So, I was pleasantly surprised that I truly enjoyed this book.

Hattie Shepherd is the main character of this book. Now, when I say that, I don't really mean that the book is completely told from her point of view, but rather that she is the binding character for the entire thing. It's a book separated in many chunks, each chunk representing a certain point in time for Hattie. The twelve tribes? Her eleven children and one of her grandchildren.

There are her struggles through motherhood throughout her entire life, beginning when she is just 17 and trying to take care of twins (be prepared, the first block of time is a tear-jerker), and ending when she is an old woman who has to take care of her ten-year-old granddaughter after having the child's mother committed.

It is an emotional story that shows just how hard it can be sometimes. Hattie is unhappy in her marriage, struggles to take care of her children, and overall struggling with life. She tries to run away, but doesn't. Her children try to escape their past, only to find that it has shaped them into the people that they don't really want to be.

I definitely enjoyed this. Thanks to Oprah's Book Club for introducing this great piece of work to me.

Crossroads of Twilight

**Links: Prequel * Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3 * Book 4 * Book 5 * Book 6 * Book 7 * Book 8 * Book 9**

I think I've made it over the hump of "I can't push through this" when it comes to this series. I really enjoyed the early books, but somewhere in the middle of the series, it gets kind of difficult to push through, and now I'm to exciting reads again.

Rand has cleansed the male half of the Source of its taint that makes men who channel go mad. But he is a very small part of this book. Most of this book is Mat, who is escaping from the Seanchan with the Daughter of the Nine Moons, the woman he is destined to marry, as well as the next in line for their throne. Perrin has a significant role in this book as he continues to hunt for his wife Faile who was captured by the Shaido Aiel. Even Egwene is significant in this book. She and the Aes Sedai who are under her have besieged Tar Valon in an attempt to take down Elaida and reunite the White Tower.

I'm really excited to see where things will go with the story lines. Will Perrin get his wife back? When will Mat marry? Is Egwene going to be ok (something exciting happens to her right at the end of this book)? What is going on with Rand and his sickness when he tries to channel? When will the three boys be back together?

Little House on the Prairie

**Link: Book 1**

In book 2 of this series, the Ingalls family move to the prairie, specifically Kansas. It is an extreme fresh start for the family. They go with only the barest of belongings, and all of those stored in a covered wagon. Pa has to build a house and a stable, as well as all of the furniture.

There are some exciting parts involving Indians and illness. They have friends who help them out through some of their tougher times.

I loved reading this. I was scared, excited, worried, and happy for them as they ventured into their new adventure. The end made me feel a little sad, but I'm sure it is just the beginning of a new adventure for the family.

It's a great book for your kids (I'm reading it to my daughter).

The Last Lecture

If you don't recall this story from a few years ago, Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The college had a series known as Last Lectures, where professors would give a lecture as if they were to die tomorrow. Except, when Randy Pausch decided to give his, he really did have a deadline looming.

I'm not usually a fan of non-fiction books. In fact, I tend to find them rather tedious and hard to get through. But this was different. I flew through this 206 page book in record time: 3 hours.

It was touching and moving. But most of all, it wasn't entirely about the fact that he was going to die. Randy wrote this as almost a companion to his Last Lecture. The book included more information that wasn't in that hour long lecture. He talks about his children, his wife, his experiences just getting to where he was.

He said that his main goal was to leave some sort of lasting advice for his three children.

But he left lasting advice for all of us. Things like writing a thank you note or not complaining. He wanted to pass along bits of wisdom that he had learned during his life, things that would help normal people in their everyday lives.

I cried a little bit, but not nearly as much as would be expected. I mostly found myself wondering how I could apply his wisdom to my own life.

Read the book, watch the lecture, live your life.

Winter's Heart

**Links: Prequel * Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3 * Book 4 * Book 5 * Book 6 * Book 7 * Book 8**

First, I want to say that my husband was so wrong when he said this was a slow book. He went on and on about how he hated it and I wouldn't like it either. But, guess what? I really enjoyed it.

Granted, there are some slower sections, but that has been the case with most of the books in this series.

I particularly LOVED the last chapter of this book.

But, let me describe a little better. The book was really split in three distinct sections: Perrin, Mat, and Rand.

The beginning of the book, you follow Perrin and Faile through some seriously tough times (which haven't been resolved). Then the middle, you get mostly Mat. Rand gets the end of the book, but occasionally appears through the beginning and middle. There's a little of Elayne and Aviendha, and very little of Egwene.

You discover characters that will make a huge betrayal, characters that find amazing strength, and even characters that you still can't quite figure out (Verin, anyone?). Rand performs an amazing feat in the last chapter (seriously, read through this book just for that). There are so many points in the book that just pull you in with excitement.

Little House in the Big Woods

The Little House series was one of my favorite reads when I was a kid. So, I decided to start reading it to my daughter. She's not always the easiest to read to, but she'll quiet down long enough for me to read a chapter of Little House to her.

This is the first book of the Little House series. It's just a sweet book. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote her own life as this series. I think that's one of my favorite things about this. It's easy to read, which makes it great for kids that are starting chapter books, and the illustrations help keep the attention of littler kids. Plus, I mean, come on, it helps adults reconnect with those books we loved as kids.

Anyway, in this first book, Laura and her family live in a little log house in the Big Woods (which are in Wisconsin). It takes place over the course of a year - the beginning of winter to the beginning of winter. It's just a great view into what normal life was like for people in that time period. From farming and hunting, to cooking and making clothes, Laura Ingalls Wilder shares it all.

If you've never read this, read it. Read it for yourself, read it for your kids, it doesn't matter.

Gulliver's Travels

I'm going to preface this whole thing by saying this: if you are not an extreme bibliophile, you probably won't like this book.

Gulliver's Travels is split into four sections. In each of these sections, you learn about Gulliver's experiences with different groups of people: the Lilliputians, the Brobdingnagians, the Laputans, and the Houyhnhnms. He ends up in each of these societies when he is either shipwrecked or abandoned.

There are a lot of tough words (and I read this to my toddler), especially once you get to the fourth part. Swift used a lot of nonsense words that have to be defined in the book. It's also somewhat satirical about the British empire. It's not always explicit that he is making some sort of statement about the government of England, but they're there if you look deep enough (and know Jonathan Swift's works).

So, I'd mostly just recommend this to English majors and extreme bibliophiles. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I'm both an English major and a bibliophile.