+11 for 2011

Well 2010 was a good year for me. I managed to complete my challenge for the year which was to read 50 books. Finishing the 50th book at lunch time on the 31st of December was pushing it though.

The fantastic blog and podcast Books on the Nightstand have issued a challenge to read +11 for 2011 which means I will be attempting to read 61 books this year.  To make it a bit more interesting I have decided to split the books I read into six groups of 10 with one left over just in case there is a book I read that doesn't fit into the categories.  These six groups are:

• 10 books borrowed (whether that is from friends or the library)
• 10 books from the shelf (books that have been sitting on my bookshelf but have not been read)
• 10 books made into movies
• 10 books purchased in 2011 (really a reason to buy more books - sorry Martin)
• 10 classics (so far my list for this category includes Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights)
• 10 reviewed books (I want to increase the amount of books I review for work)

At the moment I am reading "The Keeper" by Sarah Langan which I borrowed from a friend who warned me that it gave her nightmares.  That warning was warranted because I can't take it to bed with me because I'm a bit wuss!  Great story though.  A review will be coming once I have completed it.

The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks

I first heard about this story when I saw that Miley Cyrus was going to be in a movie that didn't involve the other half of her split personality.  It intrigued me.  Could she pull this off?  I then heard that the story was written by Nicholas Sparks - one of my favourite romantic story authors.

Of course I had to read it.

So when I finally got around to it, I was pleasantly surprised, but also concerned about whether Miley could actually pull off the strong character that is Ronnie. 

Ronnie is a stubborn little brat.  Her parents have split, seemingly because her father cheated on her mother.  Ronnie is angry with him, as you would be.  So when Ronnie's mother sends her and her brother to spend the summer with her Dad, Ronnie tries to avoid spending time with her at all costs.

This quickly falls into a typical "Sparks" story by introducing a dashing and gorgeous guy that Ronnie relunctantly gets to know and eventually falls in love with.  However, the summer romance has its roadblocks in the form of parent issues, ex-girlfriends and secrets.

If you are a fan of Sparks' other works you will love this story.  It has everything that Sparks is known for; great love and heartache.  If you have never read any of Sparks' stories then this would be a good place to start.  I was crying by the end of this story and I actually can't wait to see it on the big screen come 2010; although I will be taking tissues with me.