if there is one thing i am passionate about besides photography it is reading. i absolutely love to read! i do it in all my spare time, while i am eating, drying my hair and curling my hair, before bed etc…. for a while i got out of the habit of reading. it was while i was starting my business and was so busy! now i know how to manage my time better and can find time to read. after i received the twilight series for my birthday i realized again how much i loved reading. i read the twilight series about 3 times. i am super picky about books, and i just could not find anything as “earthmoving” as twilight had been to me. it was really frustrating. for my birthday this year my brother in law brock gave me a gift certificate to barnes and noble. i took it as a good chance to find something i would love. after about an hour and a half of wandering looking for books (and a very impatient husband) i was so frustrated because i just could not find something that was “perfect” i finally picked a book off of the fiction bestsellers table and bought it. i took it home and read it and it was pretty good. not earthmoving but good. so i decided to continue on the same path and just go to the library and pick books based on the cover and the description of the book. so far everything i have picked has been at least good and some GREAT! it may sound dorky, but i went to the library, started in the A section and picked about 4 books, read them took them back and picked some more. some of the books are from the same authors because once i find someone i love, i try to find other books that they have writen. because i love to read SO much, i have decided that every friday i will review a book that i have read within the past month or so and review it on my blog (fiction or non-fiction). i currently read about a book a week but as wedding season picks up i may have to go back to some past books that i have read. i would love comments from people about books that they have read or want me to read and review! if you love to read, please participate with me. for each review i will give a description of the book, a short paragraph on my likes and dislikes and a rating on a scale of 1-10. 10 being twilight comparable (to those of you who have read it)
the first book that i am going to review is “There’s No Place Like Here.” by Cecila Ahern.
first a couple of things about the author that i didn’t know prior to reading her book. she is the author of “p.s i love you” if anyone has seen that movie as well as the creator of the tv show “samantha who?” which i have not seen. maybe i will have to watch it now! her website is
http://www.ceceliaahern.ie/
now onto the book. at risk of being biased or missing something i have taken the book description directly off of her website:
“Since Sandy Shortt’s childhood classmate disappeared twenty years ago, Sandy has been obsessed with missing things. Finding becomes her goal- whether it’s the sock that vanished in the washing machine, the car keys she misplaced or the graver issue of finding the people who vanish from their lives. Sandy dedicates her life to finding these missing people, offering devastated families a flicker of hope. Jack Ruttle is one of those desperate people. It’s been a year since his brother Donal vanished into thin air. Thinking Sandy Shortt could well be the answer to his prayers, he embarks on a quest to find her. But when Sandy goes missing too, she stumbles upon the place - and people - she’s been looking for all her life. A world away from her loved ones and the home she ran from for so long, Sandy soon resorts to her old habit again, searching. Though this time, she is desperately trying to find her way home…”
i first picked this book because the cover was really sparkly and pretty (who says you can’t judge a book by its cover) i really really liked this book. it is one of the first books i read on my quest to find an earthmoving book. this book held my attention and pulled me in making me wanting more. the characters were great but not extremely relatable to myself probably because of the story line. the story line was great and it was very easy to follow. Cecilia Ahern does a great job at writing details and tying up her loose ends. it is comparable to wizard of oz where the girl stumbles into a world of her imagination and ends up coming back a better person with a lot more knowledge of her life. it was not earthmoving but it was good and i would defientely recommend it as a good read. i give this book a 7 on a scale of 10.
i hope that my faithful blog stalkers enjoy this new addition to my blog because i am very excited about it! this is something i have had in mind for a long time and although it is not photography related, i am very excited!
HAHA. brock wanted me to do pictures of him because he just got his braces off and because i want to seriously get into senior photography and it is good experience as well as word of mouth. so brock, i expect you to spread the word around school! we really had a lot of fun! brock is like a little brother to me and i am going to be happy to have him working with me a little more. check out some more of his personal work on his blog 
but i heard it was lame anyways…. this is the picture that she took! isn’t she wonderful?!?! remember she is only 7 years old!
Heather: these are so cute! I esp.love the ones of the 2 older brothers together! :)
Kellee Smith: I am so sorry I have been so MIA on your blog. You rock girl and these are so awesome! I am so excited to see you at WPPI and glad you are going. Thanks for your comments and support!
Angie Penrose: So cute Amanda! You really captured the love of brothers. :)
Folks Photography: great shoot amanda! they look amazing! and so cute!!!
Alana Lange: Cute, cute, cute! I love every single one of these. I love the blue wall with what they were wearing, very nice job, Amanda!
Erin: These are so cute! You should do more sessions like this, you did fantastic on these. I love love the last one with the mom.
Melissa & Jonathan: I think this is the location you have in mind for Tag. Looks great!
Cascio Photography: SO stinkin' cute!! You totally got their personalities for sure!! I know what you mean about liking all types of photography... its fun to branch out and see what you can do! And apparently you can do just about anything :)
Ryel j: These little guys are so sweet! i love the locations that you shot at. Great work!
Jinksee: Oh what handsome little ones. :D I love the one of the three of them. Such a good shot. Look at you, amazing as always. :D
Vanessa: What cuties!!!! They last one is so precious! And what a great location!
I would love to meet you at WPPI...us Joe Jonas Lovers gotta stick together haha!
Kara May: Oh these are great! Love the one of the boys holding the newest addition! Fabulous new blog too!!!