Nikki's Noodles: Lately...

Over the past few weeks I read quite a few books. Last post, I wrote about My Sister's Keeper. Since finishing that book, I gobbled up For One More Day and The Last Lecture. I also read three others which were more for the equestrian people: The Hearts of Horses, Riding Lessons, and Flying Changes. They were all wonderful books. Some took longer than others, but all of them were worth my while.

Mitch Albom is a wonderful author. For One More Day was full of emotion and exceeded my expectations. I found myself eagerly reading each page. I had to tell my eyes not to skip ahead to the next sentence before I finished the one I was on! I loved it. My husband and I picked up his latest book, Have A Little Faith. My husband is a huge Mitch Albom fan. I can't wait to dig in!

The Last Lecture was a book I picked up on-sale at Books-A-Million about seven months ago. I knew it was something I wanted to read eventually, so I put it on my shelf of "to read" books. I had a general idea on what the book was about. I knew it was about the CMU professor, Randy Pausch. I knew it was going to be sad and I knew the author has since passed away.
(Randy and his family)
What an amazing book it was. I love his outlook on life--or what little he has left while composing his final lecture to be addressed at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University (just a quick walk down the street from where I attended the college of Pitt). But it was so packed full of emotion. It was definitely a tear-jerker. And I loved how Randy didn't just write about his inevitable death. He wrote about his life, his loves, his family, his accomplishments. Highly recommended!

The Hearts of Horses, by Molly Gloss, was another novel I picked up at Books-A-Million. It had an appealing cover and was on the first bookshelf when I walked into the store. It was that month's suggested reading, or something along those lines. I put it on the shelf with the many others I had purchased with the intention of reading in the future. It was a little slow to get into. Its set in the early 1900s in the West and tells the story of a female "bronco buster." Although, she uses a more gentle approach to breaking horses. More of a "horse whisperer" technique, if you will. Once it got going, I was really into the story. It was easy to paint a picture of this time frame and the way of life for them.

Riding Lessons and Flying Changes were both written by Sara Gruen (also the author of Water For Elephants, one I hope to read soon). They are about a former Equestrian Olympic contender who lost who she was after a terrible accident when she was eighteen-years-old. Twenty years later, she returns home to help with her dying father. Her parents own a world-class equestrian facility. Throughout the stories, the main character deals with skelatons in the closet about her past and heals the old wounds. They are really great, but would appeal more to an equestrian. I enjoyed them of course! :)