Spring Book...I Mean Spring Break

I've been reading. A lot. Spring break was cold and rainy, so we spent our time reading and rushing outside for any bit of sun that came our way. It felt so good to get back to books and enjoy reading instead of watching T.V. at night.
I always wondered how people could read two books at once and then all the books I'd been waiting for at the library came up at the same time. So I read a few books all at once and it didn't bother me a bit. I found that I was able to immerse myself in each and every one in a different way. Some of them were awesome, but I also found a few duds.

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (series of 3 books)
I read all three of these books in the span of about 6 days. I stayed up very late a few times and read while running on the treadmill because I honestly could not put them down. I was surprised that I enjoyed them as much as I did considering I don't normally go for Sci-Fi at all, but these books were great. A total escape from reality and so much fun to enter the world of young, boundless love. The commentary on government and war was also very interesting, but I'll admit I was in this for the romance the whole way through. I just wanted to know if it would end happily. I highly recommend the whole series.

2. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
In my last post I was thoroughly enjoying this book, but I have since changed my mind. The characters were endearing and the plot line was passable. It just never amounted to anything really great. I thought the author spent way too much time lecturing on the battle of the classes and not enough time telling an actual story. If she had built up the characters the way I thought she was doing in the beginning and then moved on to develop a plot I would have really loved this book. But I gave it a 3 star rating because it just never amounted to anything worth my time.

3. The Paris Wife by Paula McClain
This was a 5 star book for me. I love historical fiction and I love France and the 1920's and 30's. Plus this book is about Hemingway's first wife, Hadley. Four things I love coupled with great writing and a very interesting story about real people that is totally based on historical facts made this a very enjoyable read. As soon as I finished I headed straight for google to find out more about this couple and their very brief, but monumental marriage. I actually never knew of a real person named Hadley when we named our first born, but this is a person I can handle having as a namesake for my daughter. She was strong and true to herself, and I loved reading about this period of her life.

4. Rococo by Adriana Trigiani
I used to love this author. Maybe I've grown up, and maybe she's changed. Big Stone Gap was the series that hooked me, but I have not read anything since that I even remotely enjoyed. This one only lasted for about 2 chapters before it went back to the library. Too bad. I like it when I find an author I love and can follow. Guess I'm still looking for another Barbara Kingsolver and John Irving.

Do you have an author you love? Do share! And Adrienne is hosting Turn the Page Tuesday again, so maybe she'll have some links you need to check out!