An Arizona Cheesehead's Thoughts

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo My rating: 4 of 5 stars Nice fantasy selection. Alina Starkov is an orphan in a world of magic with a gaping divide of darkness with flesh eating monsters. She and her childhood companion are in the army but Alina soon shows that she possesses incredible magic that hasn't been seen in ages. Alina is whisked off for training by the Darkling, a wizard who controls the magical folks under the command of their King. Palace intrigue, politics, magic and a love story ensue as Alina tries to learn to control her power and survive the machinations of others. This was a nice first entry in the series. I will definitely be checking out the next book when it's released. View all my reviews

The Innocent by David Baldacci My rating: 3 of 5 stars I love Baldacci's writing so I knew I would enjoy this book. Will Robie is an assassin for the US government. He's dispatched on an assignment but chooses to not make the kill because it doesn't feel right. Soon, he's on the lam with a young girl whose parents have been murdered. It was a good story of Will putting the pieces together and developing relationships with people, especially the girl. I did figure some stuff out before it was revealed but enough of the story was a surprise to keep me interested. View all my reviews

Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was our book club selection and we all really enjoyed it. Rodriguez' story was both humorous and heartbreaking. The humor came from her stories of not following the Afghani way and the heartbreak from the stories of her pupils. The women of Afghanistan appear to be very much victimized by their society. Yes, that's coming from a Western viewpoint but giving away child brides, beating women and restricting them from leaving their homes should be universally viewed as wrong. The gist of the story is that Rodriguez, without a lot of forethought, heads off to Afghanistan to teach women how to be hair stylists so they can earn their own money and potentially start their own businesses. While there, Rodriguez impulsively marries and becomes a second wife. She seems to ultimately be OK with that which was strange. However, the relationship seemed to sincerely work albeit...

I'm pretty sure this is the longest I've gone without posting on my blog since I started it. It's been almost a month. It's not that I don't have lots to write about. Work is sooooooo busy and my social life is just as full. I'm just so overwhelmed between the two that, when I do manage to have some down time at home, all I want to do is watch mindless TV and drink wine. Seriously, my mind is mush and my energy level is non-existent. My house and my yard are a mess, I'm behind on club administrative work and all I can think about is sitting in the chair with the DVR controller in hand. Up until this weekend, I had only read one book this month and only because it was for book club. Sad. I think  about writing something and even halfway compose it but it just seems like too much work to actually type it all out. Actually, it seems like too much energy to even take my laptop out of its case when I get home. You know it's got to be bad when I don...