My thoughts on books...

Rarely have I met a book I didn’t like. Most often I open a book and fall in.

Immediately it becomes my favorite book ever. With that, I am not so sure I will be a good book reviewer. I have a 12 year old daughter and with the mountains of young adult series coming out every day I decided I should read at least the first of a series so I have an idea of the books she (or her friends) are reading. I have been surprised to find out that I am a young adult book addict!  I read because I love to. I love being transported to another place, time or galaxy. I love being able to access the mind of another, to walk a mile in their shoes. I read for FUN. I read to laugh, cry, shudder, scream, love, smile, regret, rebel, to feel caution, to be amazed.

The young adult genre is very broad and caters to many levels of maturity and morality. I read not to tell my daughter what to read, but to know what she is reading. I have found that now my thoughts and opinions are noted and respected by her. When you are reading lots of books you can always recommend something else more age appropriate. Although, I have found that books with questionable content are perfect segues into difficult discussions that can be broached with the distance of the characters and not personalized. In short, I like questionable books as they allow my daughter and I to communicate at a much freer level. They can be used as teaching tools. I welcome them.

I do not take much stock in book reviews nor should you take much stock in mine. They are but opinions of mine that have been molded by my personal life experiences and thoughts. The best way to judge a book is to read it your-self. I have found that perspective is important. Some books imply things that I interpret more from my experiences than my daughter does and vice versa. I try to keep that in mind when I am reading.

So really this blog is a way for me to express thoughts I have about the books I am reading, if I like them and why. I hope you find it interesting and I hope you find it necessary to read the book yourself.