Books to finish

Over recent months (years in one case) I've started 4 books and for one reason and another I haven't finished them, so my next mission is to finish them before I start anything new.

1 - J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring - I started this nearly 2 years ago immediately after reading The Hobbit, which I had enjoyed. I just couldn't get into this though. I've tried to pick it up a couple of times and its hard going. But I'm determined to finish it!

2 - Meg Cabot - The Princess Diaries - I started this as a light in the bath read a while ago and managed to leave it in the bathroom. Just discovered it in the cupboard this weekend so I shall finish it one night this week hopefully!

3 - Michael Morpurgo - My Friend Walter - I started this just before my holiday (so only a week ago) as a nice easy per-holiday read but I was so tired I kept nodding off. As a result I've only read about 20 pages so far. So I shall finish that some time this week.

4 - Robert Louis Stevenson - Treasure Island - I'm about half way through this I think. Need to check the exactly which page I'm on. This was a bus read before the holidays and I haven't been on many buses really! So this is now to finish once term starts again. Or just on an evening when I haven't much else to do (haha!)

Then I shall read something different...maybe by someone I've not read before :)

Nicholas Sparks - The Rescue

I've loved every Nicholas Sparks book I've read so far and this was no exception. It took me 3 days to read on the sun terrace and curled up in bed while on holiday. It was only after I'd read the first few chapters that i realised I thought I'd read it before. It must have been the first of his books I started to read, though for one reason or another it mustn't have been renewed at the library as I didn't remember the ending. 

It did follow the same sort of thread to other books by Nicholas Sparks so there weren't really any surprises. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy every word. The story begins with a mother, Denise, recalling the life of her young son as she drives home from yet another appointment with a doctor/specialist while he sleeps in his car seat. A storm is raging and inevitably there is an accident. A volunteer fireman comes to her rescue and as she comes round, she realises her little boy is missing...he knows how to get out of the car. The only problem is, the storm isn't letting up and Kyle won't answer if his name is called. The fireman (Taylor) is the one who finds the boy and from the beginning it's clear that he and Kyle have a special connection and that soon this connection will be made with Denise too.

But Taylor has his own demons to face, and believes that he is to blame for events in his past and therefore he doesn't deserve to be happy. Because of this he pushes Denise away and in turn hurts young Kyle. But with his friends and family believing that Denise was the girl for him, does that mean she will be the one to help him face his past?

I sat and cried openly reading this story. With both sadness and happiness. There were a couple of things I found myself waiting for...the inevitable breakdown between Taylor and Denise, and the moment that would make all the hard work She has put in teaching Kyle really mean the world to her.

Not sure what will be next. Now I'm home it might be 2 books. One for kindle while travelling and one on paper for reading at home!