Fifty Shades of HOT

YES, I jumped on the bandwagon. I just finished reading the Fifty Shades of Grey series. I have to admit… I seriously LOVED it. Yes, some parts were very sexually intense and yes, I felt like a perv reading it… But that didn’t make me put the book down. In fact, I read the whole series in just a couple days.

I loved the passion and chemistry in Christian and Anna’s relationship. I loved how volatile they were. I loved how imperfect they were as individuals. But most of all, I loved how perfect they were for each other. I did not want the series to end.

All of the negative attention this series is getting kind of drives me crazy. It is being pulled from shelves of libraries for being too racy. REALLY, people?! Are we not all adults here?!?! It is a book! Who cares if it is graphic. Guess what… Life is graphic! Since when did we become a bunch of prudes?! Okay, I am stepping off my soapbox now.

In a related topic, Ian Somerhalder NEEDS to play Christian Grey in the movie. Like… Seriously HAS to play him.

There is no way you can tell me that you don’t picture exactly him when you are reading the book.

For those of you who haven’t made it to the final book yet, don’t stop reading. The final book was BY FAR my favorite. You feel so incredibly invested in all the characters at that point. It definitely gets more tame as you go along. Either that or you just get used to the type of sexual relationship that Christian and Anna have. Either way, I consider this a must read. I just don’t recommend having a book club meeting for it with your mother. Awwwkkkwwwaaarrrddd!

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I have fallen a bit behind on my weekly training recaps. Last week was a bit of an odd week (I’ll explain more later), but training is still going really well. In fact, I’d say it has been my most consistent training cycle yet! 20 days until the RnR SD! More details to come tomorrow.

 

Have you jumped on the Fifty Shades of Grey bandwagon?

The Hunger Games

I recently read great reviews of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, so when I saw the book was only $4 on Amazon, I decided to give it a whirl.

One thing is for sure… I am not ready for this book to be over.

This book isn’t good because it is beautifully written or rich with thought provoking dialogue. Instead it one of the most engaging, exciting, original story lines I think I have ever read. It is SO different than I was expecting. I purposefully did not read any reviews that gave away the plot at all. I wanted to go into reading it having no idea what it is about. I am actually really glad I did. 375 pages seemed to turn themselves.

For those of you that want to know a little more about it, continue reading.

This story takes place in a nation called Panem. Panem, the Capitol, is surrounded by 12 districts that all excel in some specific trade. The main character, Katniss, resides in District 12. In order to keep all the districts in line, the Capitol forces one boy and one girl to enter the annual Hunger Games. Once each district chooses their boy and girl, the 24 children (ages 12-18) are forced to battle it out to the death on live TV.

Katniss finds herself thrown into the Hunger Games when she volunteers to take her 12 year old sister’s place. Before we know it, she just may have a chance to survive and win the Games. Throughout the story, we see her growth as a person, her desire to rebel, her fight to survive, and her naivety with love.

Quite honestly, this book ended before I was ready for it to. Luckily for all of us, this book is a series. After I go for my run today, I plan on going to Barnes and Nobel to pick up Catching Fire, the second book in the series, so I can read it on the plane tomorrow! It will take everything I have to refrain from reading it today. Goodness guys, it was SO good. Probably up there on my list of top 5 ever. No joke.

Another exciting thing is that they are in the process of turning this book into a movie as we speak! As long as they don’t butcher it, I can not wait to see it.

Jennifer Lawrence will be playing Katniss… she looks mighty fierce.

Liam Hemsworth will be playing Gale, Katniss’s closest friend… holy yum.

Josh Hutcherson will be playing Peeta, the boy choice for the Hunger Games from district 12… not too shabby

I have a couple concerns… like Woody Harrelson playing Haymitch and Lenny Kravitz playing Cinna… but I will hold my reservations until I see them in action.

You should definitely go get this book and read it!

Water For Elephants

Since I absolutely LOVE to read, I have decided to do mini book reviews for you guys once I finish a book. It might give a little insight on books you wouldn’t normally choose to read.

I just finished reading the book Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen.

Wow, I thought this book was beautifully written, AND I am not even saying that just because R-Patz stars in the movie rendition of the novel. This book tells the story of Jacob Jankowski, an aspiring veterinarian, who leaves college during his very last college exam after laying his parents to rest the week prior. He left with no where to go, just a desire to be gone.

He stumbles upon and joins a traveling circus as a Cornell educated vet for all of the exotic animals. The story takes us through the rough times and the happy times in the circus during the Depression Era. Most of all, Sara Gruen brilliantly takes us through the growth and development of a young man as he is so violently thrown into the “real” world. We see Jacob develop from a naive young adult to a man who is willing to fight for the love of his life.

I don’t know if you can tell or not from my very brief description of the book, but I REALLY loved it. The whole time I found myself really connecting with the main character. It is not because I can relate to his story, but just because it felt real. The anguish, the passion, the love… every bit of it felt real.

Gruen really took the time to make this story of the circus accurate. She definitely did her research. If someone were to tell me it were a true story, I would believe them. In fact, many parts of the novel are from real events in history. She just brilliantly combined them into one captivating story.

I don’t want to give anything away, but my favorite part of the book was the end. She left the novel finishing in a way that did not leave many unanswered questions; rather, she left it in a way that makes you so happy for the main character. He is left in a place where he is meant to be.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a very fulfilling read. It is a great choice for plane rides during summer vacations or just for lounging around. I can’t wait to go see the movie now. I really hope they did the book justice.

MMM I love me some R-Patz.

Happy reading,
Stacie