Ode to a Novel...

I absolutely LOVE to read and I am so thankful that I met and married someone who also has a love for books, as I do. Not only do I love to read, but I often read a couple of books at a time as well as listen to a book on CD in my car to make my 30 minute commute to and from work much more enjoyable.

Because it is officially summer and recommendations abound, I thought I would throw my two cents into the ring and offer up some of my favorite books for the reading pleasure of others. These are the top TEN books I have read this past year, but by no means are these my favorite books of all time, because that would be a whole different post. Let me know if any of you have read these titles and also what you thought of them. Thanks!

#10 Atonement - I especially recommend this novel if you have NEVER seen the movie.

#9 Year of Wonders

#8 Catching Fire - 2nd novel in the Hunger Games trilogy

#7 Life of Pi

#6 The Time-Traveler's Wife

#5 Hunger Games - such a page-turner, I think I read this book and it's second in the series in 3 days

# 4 Charlie and The Chocolate Factory - Oh, how I love Roald Dahl!

#3 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

#2 The Road - another page-turner! So incredibly well-written and I can't wait to read other books by Cormac McCarthy

#1 To Kill a Mockingbird*

By the way, I highly recommend the website Shelfari.com. I love keeping up with all the books that I read on it as well as keeping track of those that I want to read in the future. It has great features and allows you to add your virtual bookshelf to your blog as well as "friend" others on the site to keep up with great book recommendations. If you join, you will have to "friend" me on it. Happy Reading!

*Definitely now one of my favorite books of all-time

My Little Brother's Gotten Hitched!

This post is to congratulate my little brother Stephen and his new bride Stacie on their wedding. I was able to make the trip to Provo, Utah the weekend of the 12th and I had such a wonderful time with my family! Michael's niece was married in SLC the same day so he was able to make the trip as well but DROVE to Utah last minute!

We had almost everyone there, which consisted of me and Michael, my parents, 6 of my siblings, 4 of their spouses and 10 of their children, all in one house for the weekend. Due to the fact that my computer still will not allow me to upload pictures, (hence the few and far between posts I've added to my blog) I've borrowed a few from family! Thanks Kristi and Christine.

Stephen and Stacie - Manti Temple

Michael and me at the Temple waiting for the newly married couple!

All but one the sisters with Dad

Stephen and Stacie's departure after the reception!

Congratulations Stephen and Stacie! We are so excited for you and wish you many wonderful years of happiness!

I also have to congratulate Michael's niece and her husband on their marriage as well. Becky and Jarom were married in the Salt Lake City Temple on the same day and will be moving to Pensacola, Florida soon. We are so happy for you two! YAY for weddings!

Talented Los Angeles

America's Got Talent aired this week and although I'm not typically a viewer of the program me and a couple of the girls who live in my building got tickets to the show when they filmed here in Los Angeles. The show took place at the Orpheum theater downtown back at the end of March and the show was really fun to watch and the theater was truly beautiful. I had a lot of fun and describe the show as a very entertaining talent show with some amazing performers mixed into the bunch. A couple of my favorites were a cute little mormon girl from BYU who plays the violin to pop music while dancing and this guy.

Like I said, it was a lot of fun to watch and I love taking advantage of such awesome shows. I now have on my list Dancing with the Stars, American Idol and America's Got Talent. And did I mention these shows are all for free? Now I just need to add some late night comedy shows such as Craig Ferguson (and Craig Kilborn!! Oh, how I've missed you) to my list. Oh, and it won't be complete until I've attended So You Think You Can Dance. I love living in L.A.