Books

Forest Fire (Legends of Regia #2) by Tenaya Jayne

pgs.226

Not as action packed-ish as the first book.  I think this is a new author, for one of the main's to be blind and doing some of the things he was doing without face-planting it seemed pretty unrealistic and not thought out.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17334755-forest-fire

***

The Last Kingdom (The Warrior Chronicles/Saxon Stories #1) by Bernard Cornwell

pgs.333

Ugh.

Took me 5 months to read this book because it's just so BORING.  I had high hopes that it'd be way interesting since it has to do with Danes and Saxons. But alas, nope. The author spent too much energy sticking to the letter of history in this historical fiction series. OK I get it, every one is named Uthred. But you could have used some creativity and switched it up. I will have no problem NOT finishing the series. yuk.

Still better than anything written by Glenn Beck.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/896636.The_Last_Kingdom

**

Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) by Robin LaFevers

pg. 385

Story told from a different assassin's view point. I enjoyed this book, although I was nervous it was going to be lame since the first book was pretty good. I hope the last one doesn't let me down!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9943270-dark-triumph

****

Betrayed (House of Night #2) by P.C. Cast

pgs.310

I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1) by Pittacus Lore

pgs. 440

So good! I remember watching the movie when it came out a few years ago, and now I need to watch it again just to see how close it was to the book.  Pretty cheesy a few times, but overall I'm a fan! 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7747374-i-am-number-four

****

The Burning Men (Nathaniel Cade #2.5) by Christopher Farnsworth
pgs. 43

Reminded me a lot of the "clappers" from the Unwind series. Nice short story.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20800107-the-burning-men
****

Sands of Nezza (Adventurer's Wanted #4) by M.L. Forman
pgs. 464

Same as the other 3 books, it's about the journey, not the action.  Still have a hard time accepting how Alex reacts to everything, since the author doesn't give on the age part.  Time flows differently so that kinda helps with the whole age issue.  Plus the fact they use A LOT OF WORDS to say so little. 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16092702-sands-of-nezza
***


40 + 6 (that count, 1 didn't) = 46 Books/ 52
14,318 + 2,174 = 16,492 Pages

Ragnar during Ragnar

My poor lil puppy hurt her paw something awful while I was gone :(

She somehow tore the pad up by where her due claw once was.  She had to get stitches.

I'm pretty sure she thinks peanut butter is magically now and Derek was the best of making sure she got her pills.

The poor thing got her stitches out and I think the vet did it too soon. It keeps opening and oozing blood if she ever runs.  She's bored out of her mind, depressed even. I can't take her on walks for more than 5 minutes. And the saddest thing is that she had to miss out on her adventure with Derek last week :(

"You can swim all day in the Sea of Knowledge and not get wet"

<3

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

pgs. 256

Found me a copy at DI for $0.75 = AWESOMENESS!

I absolutely LOVE this movie! It was high time that I read the book! The movie followed the book pretty closely too, leaving a few places/adventure out but that's typical of any movie conversion. The book was amazing as well, I had no problem finishing it! And I read it while up in Yellowstone, which is becoming another fun activity to do with Derek in the park- soak our feet in the river and read :)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/378.The_Phantom_Tollbooth

*****

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare

pgs. 541

Stuff happens, nothing that one couldn't predict.

Like I've said before. I've committed to finish this series, can't stop with being half way done.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3777732-city-of-glass

***

City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4) by Cassandra Clare

pgs. 424

UGH. Teenage drama.. seriously.

The author has the 2 main characters falling in love at age 17 and tries to justify it that their kind die off at early ages so they start families younger than most.  I know teens feel that they are utterly in love at that stage in life thus drawing a bigger fan base. 

I hated the narration for this book too, a different female voice and they added a male voice.  Yes he's nice to listen to but he gave everybody the voice of Irish stoner.  Not cool.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6752378-city-of-fallen-angels

**

City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5-Final installment) by Cassandra Clare

pgs. 535

FINALLY DONE!

It was rough but I finished the series. Maybe if I was 13 when I read this series I would enjoy it more.  However, I'm 29 and could only see the ridiculousness of it all.  The author was always really good with details I'll give her that.  And I'm sure Clare is many times better of an author than Myers (I will NEVER read the twilight series, but when I worked at Red Rock, the girls on my unit read it enough and unfortunately shared enough of the books with me that I can make this claim).

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8755776-city-of-lost-souls

***

JK! Just learned that book #6 came out the end of May... *sigh*
 Must... Finish... Series... So close to the end...

The Last Mile (Eriksson #9) b L.S. Sygnet

pgs. 317

Ok so this one did a MUCH better job of telling a crime story than the other book.  This one could have been combined with the previous novel that's for sure, however, it could still stand alone. A few half-hearted twists that could have been given more thought to in order to keep the reader guessing longer.

Sorry Sygnet but you're a little bit easy to predict.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19407807-the-last-mile

****

Patron Saint of Deomons (Eriksson #10) by L. S. Sygnet

pgs. 345

More of the story unfolded... ok not really so.  The author did throw in a homegrown terrorist ordeal which was new, but not very in-depth.  I have a hard time believing that this group had "big  plans" and yet was foiled so easily, and 2 of the big shots died rather quickly.

One more book left in the series thus says the website...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21855200-patron-saint-of-demons-eriksson
***

Fire in the East (Warrior of Rome #1) by Harry Sidebottom

pgs. 432

Ah, Historical Fiction novels written by history professors...

SO MUCH DETAIL!!!

Took me FOREVER to finish this book because of all the details. It was a good story and all. And since I had to but this book (thank-you www.thriftbooks.com for finding me a copy for only $3) I'm not sure if I want to risk and get book #2.  The library doesn't carry it, so I feel no commitment to finish out the series like some other books.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3979407-fire-in-the-east

***

Forbidden Forest (Legends of Regia #1) by Tenaya Jayne
pgs. 204

Interesting take of the fantasy side of things. Very quick read although for it being a trilogy I think the author jumped rather quickly into the romance between the two main's. The way they became involved was very predictable even before the two main's met. It was entertaining enough to continue on reading the series. 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15995396-forbidden-forest
***

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassins #1) by: Robin LaFevers
pgs. 549

Ah.... a book that isn't directly written for spouting teens! Although one was able to figure out the love interest, the author didn't let them "entwine their love" until half way through the book.  Totally a chick-kicks-butt book, it's even in the series title that the main is an assassin. It seems that the other 2 books are written from the other 2 assassin's adventures- I'll give the second book a try but we'll see..
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9565548-grave-mercy
****

Marked (House of Night #1) by P.C. Cast
pgs.306

Upon arriving at the nearest library to fetch a book I need to finish, which wasn't there like the library's system said it was, and the library staff were less than willing to help me find said book, I saw this resting near book #2 of first said book.  So why not? Russian Book Roulette did not disappoint me this time. Although it was written for the teen audience, I did enjoy her view of the whole vampire (they spell it vampyre) ordeal.  It is a series and I am ok with trying to finish it. But we'll see...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30183.Marked
***

30 + 10 = 40 Books/ 52
10,409 + 3,909 = 14,318 Pages

10 more books to go until goal met!

Running Ragnar.. the Relay..

Team #705 out of over 1100.

204 miles.

100+ personal "kills" (killed only 7x)

12 runners.

3 hours of sleep.

2 drivers.

1 Dairy Keen Home of The Train!

I was SOOOOO lucky to be apart of the Franson Family's "reunion" by taking part of their Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay Team. Jan & Bill own The Dairy Keen up in Heber, they are cousins to James, who is married to my sister. Family tie established lol I've always considered the Cleggs basically in-laws since we spend actually a lot of time with James' family- more than I think most in-law families do.

So you can think that me being invited to tag along on their lil "reunion" made me feel a little more family to them. That PLUS the fact they took my nut allergy seriously when shopping for food :) They had a few members of their family drop out due to travel or pregnancy, so besides me there were 2 other friends filling in a spot and 1 runner who actually works at the Dairy Keen.

Due to some issues with the outlets in our van, no one was able to charge their phone, and I didn't pack a camera so most of my pics are JeNae's.

Here is our team in running order:

Van #1: Dave, Phil, James, Me, Paul, Caleb.

Driver: Ruth

Van#2: Lace, Matt, Jeff, Collin, Todd, Colleen.

Driver: Bill

Van #1 had the start time of 5:15 am in Logan, meaning we had to be there by 4am, meaning we had to meet up to drive to Logan at 2:30am! Here we are all packed up and ready to go!

Stormy but we ran in the rain anyways.

 My legs were really easy. #1 4ish miles of flat to mid-incline. However when we got to the exchange point it was so backed up (I think because no one wanted to pull off into the muddy field and risk getting stuck) that I waited for about 10 minutes at the exchange before walking back down to the van.  Paul met me halfway and off he went.

Can you see the train of cars up ahead?

There was no sleeping in the van really, it was all so exciting! I did master the van tent in order to change clothes.  Ruth helped out with the tent making process.

First exchange between vans. Lace took this photo before Caleb passed off to her.

Bought me some bling and then we headed up to Snowbasin for some naps- that didn't happen because of traffic. Then craziness.  Stress. Dead phones.

Can I just say how much I love Lace's hair?! You can't tell in this photo but I love the curl she has in it! (She's the blonde one in the pink headband).

We went around drawing lil ice cream cones on cars for a free small cone and there was actually a van who were totally appalled that I marked their van. 

Nelson/Clegg cheering squad. My dad and JeNae were our volunteers for the race that we had to provide.  They had an early morning shift that didn't end until 3am. Allen and Suzanne Clegg also came up to various parts to cheer on their boys.

Leg #2: Again another 4ish miles flat this time, in Morgan. My only night run thank goodness cuz the headlamp was something of a challenge running with for me.

JeNae was hustling to get pictures of our trade off so I started doing this slow motion bunny hopping, waiting for her to catch up before I could take off.

Families that lived along the way were out cheering people on, offering s'mores to runners, and high 5's.

NEVER underestimate the power of a high 5 from a child who's super excited to give you one.  The best feeling ever after giving high 5's and the little kids got way excited :)

At the exchange I had to wait for Paul because someone had to use the lou.. this time it was only 5 minutes.

Major exchange #2 in East Canyon= holy. freaking. cow. batman.

Total Choas! We spent over an hour looking for Caleb and trying to figure out what was going on.

Then a road adventure that hopefully Ruth can laugh about now :)

(Part of the decor of our van).

Sleeping at rodeo grounds out on a lawn.

Best 3 hours of sleep I've ever had.

Last leg: 6ish miles downhill, flat, uphill. HOT.

There was only one time I actually said "kill" to someone: The guy was WALKING DOWN HILL ON THE PHONE.  He deserved it.

Then the only jerk-face I really encountered because he was just so cocky, he was doing push-ups while waiting for us at the light.  I found it mean since there was also some "fluffy" runners waiting at the light with us. Didn't have to wait for Paul this time which was cool.

Van #1 Finishes around 11am.

Clegg boys all done.

Shower at Paul & Sammy's house. Lunch at Dairy Keen.

Van #1 done!

Then waiting at the middle school in Park City for Van #2 to finish.  They had some of the more tougher legs including Ragnar Hill so we knew it'd take a while.  We ate up on some freebies, including some pizza that another team gave us their coupons for. When Van #2 joined us it was nice just hearing about their stories and chilling while we waited for Colleen to finish the race. And of course, the start of talk of Ragnar Relay- Las Vegas in November to complete the Saints & Sinners medal. (Fingers crossed I get to tag along!)

Running in as a team, I'm kinda in the middle, you can only see my butt in this picture.

Signed the wall for Max :)

Our Team :)

:)

Headed back to Dairy Keen for dinner celebration/James' birthday.

Ragnar Relay was a blast! I made new friends and Jan said that the restaurant had the busiest day EVER that Saturday! I hope that Ragnar paid off as an investment for them, Jan & Bill are super nice people and I'm so thankful that I was able to be apart of their team. I loved every minute of it :)

Can't Turn Down A Free Book

Markus Zusak author of The Book Thief.

Great book, you should read it.

Then watch the movie.

The Chilling Spree (Eriksson #4) by L.S. Sygnet

pg. 336

ahhh... book 4...

The crime for this book was more interesting than the last one, however I would've like to have seen more story from the supporting roles since it's kinda getting old with the same old song and dance with the main female. *sigh*

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17569725-the-chilling-spree

***

Always Watching (Eriksson #5) by L.S. Sygnet
pg. 317

I can't stop reading these books. They're not the best written books but I can't put them down.

The drama side of the story makes me want to punch Helen in the throat.

And I knew she was going to be knocked up in this book- 

the author does a good job of  foreshadowing-ish.

I'm sucker into finishing out the series.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17665361-always-watching
***

Sins of the Father (Eriksson #6) by L.S. Sygnet
pg.300

For most of the book I was really annoyed.  It didn't have anything to do with crime solving really.

It only got good right at the end too...

Well I'm already suckered into finish the series.  Sad thing is that they don't differ much from book to book.

But it's totally worth $1 lol

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17736306-sins-of-the-father
***

Cloaked In Blood (Eriksson #7) by L.S. Sygnet
pg. 310

Totally could have combined this book and the last one and saved us all from having to have to re-read
a lot of the same details over and over and over again...
unless the author got to a point where she thought her audience couldn't keep up with the train
of thought and remember things...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17736310-cloaked-in-blood
***
Sweet Gruesome Dreams (Eriksson #8) by L.S. Sygnet
pg. 320

This story was told from a few different view points- nice to have a little switch up.

However, the teens in this book seem to be almost exactly like the 2 main characters

in the mainstream of the series.  Predictable. Doesn't really show the author's strength sadly.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18521029-sweet-gruesome-dreams

**

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare

pg. 453

 Listened to this one on Audible just like the first book.

Thus taking quite a while to get this one done.

I did enjoy this book, however I could get the teeny-bopper vibe more in this one. 

Not that that's a bad thing.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1582996.City_of_Ashes

***

6 + 24 = 30 Books/ 52
2,036 + 8,373 = 10,409 Pages

22 books in 6 months? I think I can manage.. :)