"Something About Me" Reading Challenge

alisonwonderland's wrap-up

2008-01-01T17:42:00.001-08:00

thanks so much to lisa and to all the participants of this challenge! it was so much fun! i finished nine books, although i was really going to try hard to finish a tenth before the end. i've posted a brief wrap-up here. see you all around the blogosphere!

FINAL PRIZE!!!

2008-01-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

Hi all!! I used a random number generator again to choose the final prize!!

It goes to Juli, which is fitting since she's done so many reviews in the past week!! Juli, if you can email me your snail mail address, I'll send you the prize!! (My email in comments).

I also used a random number generator to choose the book from the sidebar -- the book that it picked for the prize is The Poisonwood Bible, so that's what I'll send. If you already have that one/have already read it, let me know, Juli and I'll choose again.

Thanks everyone for a great challenge and I hope to see you here again next year!! Keep up with me on my regular book blog and I'll make announcements as it comes closer!

Have a great 2008!

The Challenge!

2007-12-31T11:25:00.000-08:00

THE CHALLENGE HAS STARTED AND IS NOW CLOSED TO NEW PARTICIPANTS!!

Everyone has chosen their five books that represent them and is now busily reading away on the books they've chosen to read! I'm looking forward to all the discussions about books that have been chosen. I'm also working on a PDF file that you can print out that includes all the books on the sidebar so that you can continue reading after the challenge is over -- I know you want to read more of these books than you can fit in in the next 5 months!

What a fun challenge! (3M's Wrap-Up)

2007-12-31T11:16:00.000-08:00

This was a great challenge, Lisa, and I hope you do it again next year. I ended up with 7 titles when I said I would do 5-6, so I consider it a success. Thanks so much!

My wrap up post is here.

Juli's Challenge Wrap Up!

2007-12-31T10:54:00.000-08:00

I had a great time participating in this challenge. I read so many good reviews and added a lot of new books to my TBR pile.

My full wrap up is here.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~~Juli

Juli's Review: So Many Books, So Little Time

2007-12-31T10:16:00.000-08:00

Author: Sara Nelson

Pages: 232

Personal Rating: 3/5

From the back cover:

In early 2002, Sara Nelson-editor, reporter, reviewer, mother, daughter, wife, and compulsive reader-set out to chronicle a year's worth of reading, to explore how the world of books and words intermingled with children, marriage, friends, and the rest of the real world. She had a system all set up: fifty-two weeks, fifty-two books . . . and it all fell apart the first week. That's when she discovered that books chose her as much as she chose them, and the rewards and frustrations they brought were nothing she could plan for: In reading, as in life, even if you know what you're doing, you really kind of don't.

I have to admit I did not think I would enjoy this book at all. Reading about someone else reading? It sounded boring to me. I also thought it started slowly and I almost put it down (Nelson actually talks about knowing you’re a grown up when you can put down a book unfinished because you don’t like it). Nelson really doesn’t summarize the plots of the books. She talks more about how they impacted her life or the impression they made or what they reminded her of. It was also interesting to hear her views about other people as readers.

What I Liked: Nelson reminded me of the memories books trigger in you. Where you were, a certain person, what you were doing at that point in your life. Some books you keep going back to like an old friend. She wasn’t afraid to be honest about the good and bad aspects of her life. There is an appendix that lists the books she was planning to read and the books she did actually read. I added several books to my to be read pile

What I Did Not Like: Nelson is a book snob. She seems like she wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere reading a Stephen King novel. She actually picked her books to take on a vacation based on how she thought she would look to the other women on the trip. She wanted to impress them. She considered (or did) ending friendships over bad book recommendations because of what they said about the person who recommended them.

I found this book on three lists: Sally, Vasilly and a.book.in.the.life. If I were to generalize and be kinda corny I would say they all have wayyyy more books to read than they have time for (well...who doesn't?). I would also guess they enjoy challenging themselves in various ways, not just those related to books. I also wondered if they had a hard times choosing their books like Nelson did. She was so picky!

Juli's Review: Gallery of Regrettable Food

2007-12-30T19:25:00.000-08:00

Author: James Lileks

Pages: 191

Date: 2001

Genre: Non-Fiction, Comedy, Pop Culture

Personal Rating: 5/5

From the back cover:

WARNING: This is not a cookbook. You'll find no tongue-tempting treats within -- unless, of course, you consider Boiled Cow Elbow with Plaid Sauce to be your idea of a tasty meal. No, The Gallery of Regrettable Food is a public service. Learn to identify these dishes. Learn to regard shivering liver molds with suspicion. Learn why curries are a Communist plot to undermine decent, honest American spices. Learn to heed the advice of stern, fictional nutritionists. If you see any of these dishes, please alert the authorities.

Now, the good news: laboratory tests prove that The Gallery of Regrettable Food AMUSES as well as informs. Four out of five doctors recommend this book for its GENEROUS PORTIONS OF HILARITY and ghastly pictures from RETRO COOKBOOKS. You too will look at these products of post-war cuisine and ask: "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?" It's an affectionate look at the days when starch ruled, pepper was a dangerous spice, and Stuffed Meat with Meat Sauce was considered health food.

Bon appetit!

I thought this book was absolutely fantastic based mainly upon it's uniqueness. Basically Lileks makes fun of recipes he has found dating from the 50's to the 70's. It had incredible photos of the dishes, retro fonts and colors, and a cool layout. I laughed out loud several times. He shows pictures of each dish and then "talks" about that dish. Most of the dishes are just plain disgusting. There were two chapters near the end that dragged a little but besides that it was a very fast read. I plan on keeping it on my coffee table so people can grab it for a good laugh.

MY FAVORITE QUOTES:

Ladies, serve toast--and well-groomed twins in tuxedos will want to have sex with you!

Perhaps that circle is not a cross section of a spine, but a blowhole (ahem) of sorts--of a false eye to confuse predators. Put it on the floor and watch it frighten the dog.

This looks very much like a magnified cluster of warts. Although warts don't usually come with parsely.

I don't know, and I don't want to know. I just don't. It's a cucumber fun house, perhaps: notice how they seem to be pressing against the sides of the mold as if demanding our attention. Help! We're being felt up by smelly salmon in here --let us out

James Lileks has a website "The Official Institute of Good Cheer" on which the Gallery of Regrettable Food is based.

I picked this books from Tiny Librian's list and I would have to say she has a great, quirkcy sense of humor!

Tiny Little Librarian's Wrap-Up

2007-12-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much, Lisa! This has been an awesome challenge.

My (rather long!) wrap-up is here.

Juli's Review of The Echo Maker

2007-12-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

From the back cover:

On a winter night on a remote Nebraska road, twenty-seven-year-old Mark Schluter has a near-fatal car accident. His older sister, Karin, returns reluctantly to their hometown to nurse Mark back from a traumatic head injury. But when Mark emerges from a coma, he believes that this woman--who looks, acts, and sounds just like his sister--is really an imposter. When Karin contacts the famous cognitive neurologist Gerald Weber for help, he diagnoses Mark as having Capgras syndrome. The mysterious nature of the disease, combined with the strange circumstances surrounding Mark's accident, threatens to change all of their lives beyond recognition. In The Echo Maker, Richard Powers proves himself to be one of our boldest and most entertaining novelists.

If you can get through the first 100 pages of this book it is well worth reading. This is one of the more intricate novels I’ve read in awhile. There is a lot going on that is cleverly intertwined…neurology, biology, ecology, relationships…there are four or five main characters whose lives layer over each other in an amazing and sometimes sad way.
At times it was confusing. Not because it was poorly written, I just had a hard time following on occasions. For the most part I just kept reading to see what the human mind was capable of.

I selected this book from 3M's list (Michelle). When I finished reading the book and read why she picked it I was shocked to learn that she HAD Capgras and Cotards Syndrome in college! I tried to imagine her (even though I don't know her) in situations similar to those in the book. It must have been a difficult and strange time to say the least. I assume/hope that she is no longer suffering from those conditions as it seems so painful for everyone involved.

I found the book very interesting because I have degrees in psychology and biology and they overlap perfectly here. Great recommendation if you have the right mindset.

(completed 11.26.07)

The sisterhood of the traveling pants

2007-12-29T18:11:00.000-08:00

Well, following Lisa's post, I guess I read this just in time. This was my last book for the Something about me Challenge although I did read others from people's lists that weren't on my original or alternate to read list. In the process, I discovered that I really don't enjoy the constraints of a challenge (but I may still be back for 2008!) and prefer to just read what people recommend, or new books that come out, or interesting books I find in my travels (both virtual and real). I did enjoy the camaraderie of seeing the books everyone chose and why.
I enjoyed The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but didn't love it. I am curious enough to read the rest of the series although not immediately. So thanks to Lisa and everyone and see you in 2008!

Fern

Diary of a Young Girl

2007-12-29T08:11:00.001-08:00

I finally got around to reading Diary of a Young Girl (the story of Anne Frank). I had, of course, read my fair share of excerpts from this in school, but I never read the whole thing. Pattie has raved about it and it made her Something About Me List, so I bought a copy. Actually, I think I got my copy off of Bookmooch. Anywho. It sat in my room and did not get read. I am not sure why I had trouble picking it up.

So, I added it to my Baby Steps Challenge list. Still, I procrastinated.
Finally, I picked it up, unwilling to greet the new year without having completed it.

It was wonderful.

And sad.

I knew Anne's story well enough to know it was NOT a happy ending kind of book, but I knew little enough about the details to not feel like I had read the last page first. I found the diary so real and honest. It reminded me of my OWN diary from that age. When I would find myself thinking Anne was sounding like a spoiled brat, I realized I had too at that age. The point of a diary is you CAN sound like a brat, b/c no one else will ever read it. In Anne's case, the world has seen her good and bad side.

The story is universal as far as teen girls go.

Heather

The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (Chasida)

2007-12-29T07:55:00.000-08:00

Susie Salmon is 14 when she is raped and murdered by a neighbour on December 6th 1973. He dumps her body parts in a sink hole, locked inside an old safe. As it turns out, she is by no means his first victim and she won't be his last.

Up in heaven Susie gets to watch her family and friends deal with her death and continue with their lives, although she is not able to influence her. She watches her father suspect their neighbour with no one believing him, her mother begin an affair and disengage from her family, her sister get her first boyfriend and her younger brother lock his feelings away. One final chance is left to Susie on earth in the form of Ruth, a girl who was in her class in school.

I mostly really enjoyed this novel. The idea of heaven was interesting and I liked that it was forever changing as the soul changed and learnt new things about themselves, earth and the people still living there. It was also good to see how the different people dealt with Susie's death, it was very realistic writing. The only part I didn't like so much was near the end in a scene involving Ruth, Ray and Susie which spoilt the realistic illusion for me a little. That it didn't particularly have a happy ending to Susie's case again made it more real somehow and the fact that her death still remained somewhat of a mystery.

We're almost done here!

2007-12-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

Hi all. I'm just going to assume everyone has finished the challenge for the final prize drawing...(except a couple of you who are in the sidebar, but didn't participate after all...)

If you didn't finish and you want to play by the rules, you can let me know and I'll leave you out of the drawing, but I won't tell if you don't!! I'm not, by nature, a rule player. :)

Hope you all had fun doing this challenge. I'll leave this blog up if you want to reference it, and see you here next year for Something About Me 2008!

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen: Trish's Review

2007-12-26T19:01:00.000-08:00

I am so thrilled that I finished with this challenge and with such a pleasant read!

Pride and Prejudice was my final selection for this challenge. My review can be found on HERE on my blog. Because the story is so well-known I don't discuss the plot so much as a few of my feelings. While I really enjoyed the story, I'm a sucker for the new movie-version with Kiera Knightly. Yes, some parts were butchered out, but certain scenes I think are portrayed so beautifully to show the tension between Lizzy and Mr. Darcy.

If you haven't read this one, I would recommend it as the quintessential romance novel. Enjoy!

A Gathering Light - Jennifer Donnelly

2007-12-26T11:37:00.000-08:00

Here's another enthusiastic review for this challenge. I can't believe that so many of the best reads of the year for me come from here. First "Weetzie Bat", then "The Giver" and now "A gathering light"(or "A Northern Light") by Jennifer Donnelly.
Read why on my blog.

I'm still reading the last book on my list, so I don't think I'll manage to finish the challenge. Unless I can swap this one with another book that I read (The Giver) which wasn't on my original list. Would that count?:P
Anyway, it doesn't matter, I hope I'll manage to post another review before the end of december!

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (Faith)

2007-12-26T06:18:00.000-08:00

Guy Montag is a fireman. This job involves setting fire to books as opposed to putting out fires. The title of the book, "Fahrenheit 451", is the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns. People are being made alike and to achieve this books are being taken away to stop people who read from knowing more than others. In place of books the television has taken over with broadcasts being 24 hours a day on large walls in every home. Secretly however, Montag has been rescuing the odd book from places he has torched and hiding them in his house without giving it much thought.

One day he meets 17 year old Clarisse McClellan who helps show him how to begin questioning things again and then he attends a fire that changes him forever. He saves The Bible (possibly the last copy in existence) from the house and shows his wife his collection which they begin to read. He also tracks down a man he met in a park once who becomes involved in Montag's life for the better for both of them. The system is on to Montag though and has been silently and secretly monitoring for who knows how long. Will he manage to keep his secrets hidden and retain his books...

I really loved this book. The characters were really well written especially Montag and the Captain at the Firestation, they have a wonderful battle of words about half way through about how books can both assist an arguement and then in the same novel turn around and give the exact opposite opinion. A bunch pf professors being exiled and forced into hiding, memorising whole novels to keep the words alive is a great idea for a story. The afterward was particularly interesting about looking at how television is already conquering our lives and encouraging you to go out and get others to read more which I am sure will appeal to many out there reading this post. It compliments 1984 by George Orwell nicely and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky (LMC)

2007-12-20T17:53:00.001-08:00

Raskolnikov, Rodion Romanovich sets out one day in the middle of a fever to kill pawn broker and money lender Alena Ivanovna. He fashions a loop of cloth inside his jacket to hide an axe after hearing her sister Lizaveta will be away one evening and she will be at home alone. Once he gets to her flat, his plans soon seem to come undone. After killing Alena, Lizaveta arrives home earlier than expected and Raskolnikov has forgotten to lock the front door. In the spur of the moment he kills her as well and then flees the scene, taking Alena's purse and some possessions.

Interweaving the story of Raskolnikov is the story of his sister Dunya. She was a governess in a household where the gentleman of the house fell in love with her. His wife arranged for her to be married to clerk Luzhim, Peter Petrovich much to her brothers disgust. Both force her to choose between them and in the meantime her former boss Svidrigaylov, Arkady Ivanovich turns up to cause further trouble for Dunya.
What is really interesting is Raskolinkov's reasons, or lack of, for the murder. He doesn't really appear to have any and he certainly expresses little or no remorse during the course of the book. He refers to Alena as an "old witch" and barely mentions Lizaveta who was such a gentle soul. He gets involved with a prostitute (Sofya Semenovna) and her family who end up being his salvation ultimately.

There are some great cat and mouse games and converations between Raskolinkov and Porfiry Petrovich (the examining magistrate) as the net around Raskolinkov tightens. Do the police know the truth or are they just playing games with him? The book isn't so much about the crime (although it is frequently mentioned) or the punishment of it by law, it's more about suffering. Raskolinkov seems to make things worse for himself by randomly confessing to people and then pretending he was joking to further increase his suffering (perhaps because of his lack of guilt and motive?). It also discusses the nature of crime and his particular belief that some people who are geniuses are above the law (like Napoleon). It also parallels Dostoevsky's own experiences with crime and just escaping being put to death at the last moment to be exiled to Siberia.

It took me a little to get into this novel as it is pretty complicated, luckily my copy had a really handy guide to the Russian names at the back as they kept using different names for the same person. Once I did get stuck in, I fell in love with it. The climax is gripping the edge of your seat to see how it all plays out and I found it nearly impossible to put down. I highly recommend it if you haven't yet found the time for it.

Harry Potter

2007-12-19T12:28:00.000-08:00

I didn't originally choose Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in this challenge (and indeed, you will not find it on my list); however, I decided to write a bit about it as I've just finished all seven books in the series.

I wasn't going to let my daughter read these until I'd read them, mainly because of the swirl of controversy surrounding them. But to my surprise, I really enjoyed them, and I couldn't put them down. In fact, I had to check them out of the library 2 and 3 at a time, because I wanted to start the next one right after finishing the previous one!

This morning, shortly after midnight, I finished the seventh and final installment. They were really, really good books. Controversy? Well, those who want to find it can surely find it if they look (after all, anyone looking for something to complain about, will find it!).

Because it's looking doubtful that I'll finish my Something About Me list, I wish to submit the seven HP books as substitutes for the ones I didn't get to.

An Inconvenient Wife

2007-12-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance

Summary (from Booklist): Mrs. Lucy Carelton, who comes from one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in 1880s New York City, has been completely undone by her nerves. Her ambitious husband, a nouveau riche stockbroker, drags her from one doctor to another in search of a cure that will allow her to fulfill her many social obligations without giving in to hysteria. They think they have found the solution in charismatic neurologist Victor Seth, a champion of a relatively new procedure called hypnotism. Seth sets about freeing Lucy from the social constraints that have made her so unhappy, encouraging her to pursue her artistic talents and explore her sexuality. Seth convinces himself that his techniques, including his handy way with an electrotherapy wand, are all in the name of science, but even he is unprepared for the new Lucy who emerges - a passionate, calculating, amoral creature of large appetites.

I really enjoyed how this book kept changing - at first it seemed like it was going to be an exploration of women's submissive role in 19th century society, then it got into Seth and his ambitious quest for recognition by the medical community and it looked like he'd be a Svengali, then Lucy became her own person, so it looked like it would be about her new life, and then there was a major plot twist!

At first I was concerned that it was just going to be about Lucy and her hysteria, a fairly simple historical fiction, and I wasn't sure if I'd like it. But, as you can see above, it kept me very interested. It was well-researched, with lots of interesting details about New York society and early medicine (apparently what I'd heard about vibrators being used to treat hysteria is indeed true!). Often the way Lucy's husband and father, and even Seth, treated her made me very angry, so I was glad when she emerged from their suppression as her own woman. The discussion of the power of the unconscious mind was also interesting, especially since it's something that's still being explored today.

I couldn't find LibraryLady's reasons for picking this one and her blog seems to have gone kaput, but I thank her very much for the recommendation, as I don't think it's one I would have stumbled across on my own and I'm very glad to have read it.

This Side of Paradise

2007-12-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

Ellen chose this book:

Sure, everyone loves The Great Gatsby, but Fitzgerald's first novel is more raw and sad and charming. I read it in high school and probably re-read it at least once a year.

I agree with her assessment of the book's rawness, sadness, and it's charm. This novel had some fun prose and interesting writing. Not the most riveting, but not the most boring thing I've read in awhile either. The novel started with that particular romanticism that captured the pre-World War I era, and while the war itself is not elaborated on, the book does a good job of exploring the effects of people post-war. The novel is in some ways less refined tha TGG, but it really outlines the themes and the raw writing potential of Fitzgerald.

I Am The Messenger - Wendy's Book Review

2007-12-17T09:27:00.001-08:00

People die of broken hearts. They have heart attacks. And it's the heart that hurts most when things go wrong and fall apart. - From I Am The Messenger, page 270 -

After reading Markus Zusak's The Book Thief earlier this year (read my review here), I rushed right out and bought I Am The Messenger. It has taken me 11 months to actually sit down and read it...and although I can't rate it at the level of The Book Thief, I wasn't disappointed.

Ed Kennedy is a young taxi driver, a do-nothing sort of guy who hangs around with his friends playing cards and drinking coffee with his geriatric, smelly dog, The Doorman. Then one day he intervenes in a bank robbery...and his life changes. He begins receiving playing cards - aces - with messages he must figure out. The novel creates tension in that the reader (and Ed) are kept in the dark as to who the deliverer of the messages is...until the very last page.

Written in simple prose, but with Zusak's signature brilliant language, I Am The Messenger delivers powerful and profound messages of faith, the underlying goodness of humanity, and the admonition that one must risk and stretch to achieve their purpose in life.

I want words at my funeral.
But I guess that means you need life in your life. - From I Am The Messenger, page 278 -

I love that Zusak is still a young man with, I hope, lots more stories inside of him. He is a writer of immense talent, and I Am the Messenger is just another example of this.

Recommended; rated 4/5.

I read this book on the recommendation of Jill who says:

I love this story because it shows that we are all capable of doing wonderful things. The main character receives cryptic playing cards with clues written on them, and he's charged to do good deeds to designated strangers - the catch is that he doesn't know exactly what he's supposed to do. So he must observe and be creative. And figure it out, or else...

Thanks for the recommendation, Jill - great book!

Wendy's Challenge Wrap Up

2007-12-17T09:25:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Lisa at Breaking the Fourth Wall for hosting this challenge! My original reading list consisted of more books, but the rules state that participants must complete five (5) books at a minimum...and I have done that, so I'm taking credit for a finish on this one. Here are the books I read:

1. The Country of the Pointed Firs, by Sarah Orne Jewett (Completed August 26, 2007; read a review here)
2. The Echo Maker, by Richard Powers (Completed September 6, 2007; read a review here)
3. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck (Completed October 12, 2007; read a review here)
4. A Thousand Splendid Suns (Completed December 8, 2007; read a review here)
5. I Am The Messenger, by Markus Zusak (Completed December 17, 2007; read a review here)

My favorites were East of Eden AND A Thousand Splendid Suns - both of which I rated 5/5. There was not a "dud" in the bunch!

I still want to read many of the books on my original posting for this challenge...and will continue 'checking them off' and posting reviews as we move into 2008.

Challenge Completed!

2007-12-14T12:31:00.000-08:00

I made pretty good progress with the "Something About Me" reading challenge- finishing all of my main selections plus most of my alternates. I don't think I can squeak in I, Elizabeth before the year's end, so I will officially declare this challenge completed! Please check out my blog if you're interested in reading any of my reviews on these books.

Thanks to Lisa for hosting this challenge and to all of the participants who offered up so many great books to read!

MAIN SELECTIONS COMPLETED
1) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Alyson, Lucca) - I plan on reading Geraldine Brook's March for the Book Awards Challenge, but I wanted to brush up on the girls before I do. Completed September 16, 2007
2) Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (Lucca) - A great excuse to finally read Capote! Completed September 3, 2007
3) A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (SheReads) - This book is burning a hole on my bookshelf. I must get to it soon! Completed September 30, 2007
4) The Red Tent by Anita Diamante (Sarah Miller) - I always wanted to read this book - I am beginning to enjoy Biblical Fiction. Completed August 25, 2007
5) Chocolat by Joanne Harris (Chasida, Margo) - I loved Five Quarters of an Orange, and I loved this movie, and I love chocolate! I can't believe I haven't read this book. Completed August 18, 2007
6) Blindness by Jose Saramago (Vasilly) - I share a lot of reading tastes with Vasilly, and she lists this one as one of her favorites - plus I can use it for the Book Awards Challenge. Completed August 12, 2007

ALTERNATES COMPLETED
1) The Archivist's Story by Travis Holland (Alyson) - This sounds like an intriguing story though I will wait for more reader reviews before I commit to reading. Completed July 23, 2007
2) The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella (Margo) - Kinsella's books are perfect after reading deep, complicated fiction - perfect for the poolside! Completed October 12 2007

DIDN'T COMPLETE
1) I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles (Soleil) - I enjoyed reading some of Philippa Gregory's Tudor stories and thought this would be a nice addition.

Becky's Finishing Post....

2007-12-12T16:53:00.000-08:00

For this challenge, I have read So Many Books So Little Time by Sara Nelson, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum, and the Gallery of Regrettable Food by James Lileks, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.

Update & a Question

2007-12-12T14:15:00.002-08:00

Here's where I am:

~~Crime and Punishment (JMC)~~

~~Chocolat (Chasida, Margo)~~

Can you keep a secret (Kathrin)

Of Human Bondage (Athena)

~~The Thirteenth Tale (Kristin)~~

~~To Kill a Mockingbird (Janet, Stephanie)~~

The Robber Bride (Ellen)

~~Anne of the Island (Becky)~~

Anne of the Windy Poplars (raidergirl)

Breakfast at Tiffany's (Lucca)

Alternates

The Red Tent (Sarah Miller)

March (Dewey)

The Writing Life (Megan)

Anne Frank (Pattie)

I can't see me completing the challenge at this time, but I want to continue reading all my books. Since we're nearing the end, what happens next? Will this blog continue for us slowpokes? Or is that it? Just wondering what everyone's thoughts were on this.

Christina

The Neverending Story

2007-12-12T10:02:00.001-08:00

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Oh gosh, this is one I should be careful with, because I know it's a beloved classic. But honestly, the title really summed it up for me - quite often I felt like it was literally never going to end and I really wanted it to.

I'm just not a fantasy girl, that was the main problem. I did enjoy some of the descriptions of the places in Fantastica - the many-coloured desert and the silver city, for example. And, rather like Inhkheart, I liked the idea of it - who hasn't wanted to be transported into a favourite book, especially when life isn't treating you very well? But it just kept going on and on with another place and weird character and another and another. Telling the whole story up until Bastian entered it and then starting over again was bizarre to me - I'm sure there was lots of deep meaning I didn't get, but the "Fantastica has always existed/nothing existed until you wished it" thing didn't really make sense to me. And I found Bastian very irritating, although I was happy that he got a good ending (and not just because it was the end :-) ).

It's funny, because I adore The Phantom Tollbooth, which I've just realized is quite similar - rather annoying boy enters a story and meets all kinds of weird characters and goes on a quest. I don't know, I guess it has a lot more humour (I found very little in this one) and it's shorter. Part of my problem with The Neverending Story could also be because it's translated - I seem to sometimes have trouble with translated works (I didn't really like The Little Prince, either, as you may recall).

Oh well, I'm still glad I read it, I've been meaning to for years, to add to my children's librarian repertoire. So thanks to Holly for recommending it!

"Check Out" this Novel Mystery!

2007-12-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the pun. It just couldn't be helped!! That's what you get when you have a mystery that deals with books!! Booked to Die by John Dunning (432 pgs, Simon & Schuster) is a book I decided to read for the Something About Me Challenge. Bonnie choose it as one of her selections.
And it's the first book in the Cliff Janeway Mystery series.

Denver police officer, Cliff Janeway, is a bit of an enigma. He's a good, hard-working cop that used to be a boxer. AND he's a collector of rare books. Strange combination, that's for sure. He's known all along Denver's "Book Row", and is always willing to stop and look for a great find. When he gets a call late one evening to investigate a homicide, his book expertise actually helps him out. The victim, Bobby Westfall, is one of Denver's Bookscouts. Bobby spent all his days searching for 1st editions and trying to find the "Big Score".

At first, the murder looks like a random killing, although in the back of Janeway's mind, he suspects it's related to books. His first suspect is Jackie Newton, his arch enemy. Jackie is a thug with lots of money and power. Janeway has been trying to put him away for the murder of several homeless people ever since he moved to Denver, but has never been able to get a conviction.

When Jackie steps over the line by tormenting a woman that might testify against him, Janeway takes the law into his own hands. He literally beats the pulp out of Jackie. With an investigation and a lawsuit pending, Janeway turns in his badge and decides to become what he's always known his future would hold: A Bookman. Bobby's murder gets written off as a random killing.....until murder strikes Book Row once again.

What's not to love about this book? It involves two of my favorite things: mystery and books! Cliff Janeway is a great character. He's smart, tough, and knows his 1st Editions! There are enough twists to keep the pages turning. All the way to the final sentence in the book. And there's tons of information about rare books, enough to keep my interest piqued. You can tell that Dunning is a collector himself, and it radiates through the entire book. Booked to Die is a great mystery, and one I would highly recommend to anyone! I can definitely see that I will be continuing this series!!

Thanks Bonnie!!

wrap up by raidergirl3

2007-12-11T14:33:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a fun challenge.
I liked picking my books.
I liked reading what books everyone else said represented them.
I liked making a list of books to read.
And I loved reading all these great books.

Final tally:

the books I read before it actually started include:
A Man Without a Country (kookiejar) - see review
So Many Books, So Little Time (sally, a.book.in.the.life,vasilly,) - see review
The Echo Maker (3M) - see review
Uglies (faith) - dystopian challenge see review

The books I read for the challenge:
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (Kathrin)
I Am the Messenger - Markus Zasuk (jill mrsteme)
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (Becky, karlene)
Inkheart - Cornelia Funkle (becky shereads)
Number the Stars - Lois Lowry (booklogged)
We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver (dewey)
The Thirteenth Tale - Dianne Setterfield (kristin)
Tale of Despereaux - Kate diCamillo (booklogged)
Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov (heather)

Thanks to Lisa for organizing it and everyone for their books and reasons. I'm keeping my list and I plan to read many more next year as well.

last book by raidergirl3

2007-12-11T14:26:00.001-08:00

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

recommended by Heather

Heather said: It may scare some that this book says something about me. However, Lolita grew up with a skewed view of sexuality and how to experience it correctly. I did too. I often used my sexuality to get what I wanted, but eventually I found happiness with a man who loves me.

While I recognize that this is an important book and very popular, it didn't do it enough for me. It took me two weeks, at least and I never had a point where I couldn't put it down. That is for me what makes a book terrific: I can't stop reading it, I have to know more, read more. And this wasn't it.

Maybe too important for me. No doubt, Nabokov is a genius, and the book is layer upon layer of alllusions and riddles, with interesting debates about ethics and morals and insanity that could last forever. As with most classics I've read this year, I am glad I read it, but I certainly didn't love it. At least now I feel ready to read Reading Lolita in Tehran.

my full review is posted at my blog here

Sixpence House

2007-12-09T21:55:00.000-08:00

Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins

Being a book-lover, I confess I feel guilty for not liking this book any more than I did. But while the town of Hay sounds like a book-lover's dream vacation destination and Collins has a pretty good sense of humour, the point of this book was rather lost on me. Collins and his wife decide they can't afford to live in San Francisco any more and are craving a rural setting so they move not to a small town in the US, but across the Atlantic to Wales (with their baby son and hundreds upon hundreds of their own books). They'd visited Hay on vacation and liked it, so they try their hand at living there. But the town is a bit too weird and they can't find an affordable, non-deathtrap house, so they come back (apparently to live in a small town in Oregon or Vermont, which would have made sense in the first place). They don't even live in the titular Sixpence House, they just try to buy it before realizing it's a deathtrap. Collins peppers the book with passages from obscure books that he finds in Hay and there are some interesting characters in the townsfolk (particularly Richard Booth, the "King of Hay," who turned it into a bibliophile's mecca), but overall, I didn't find it particularly gripping. I'd certainly be happy to visit Hay one day, though!

I think the most interesting thing about this book was a serendipity moment - Nick Hornby was staying in Hay when he wrote the first column for the Believer that was included in The Polysyllabic Spree. I remember thinking, "I'm going to be reading a book about that town!"

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Wendy's Book Review

2007-12-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."
-from a poem by Saeb-e-Tabrizi-

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a sweeping generational novel set in Afghanistan over the last thirty years from the Soviet invasion through the tortuous reign of the Taliban and the post-Taliban rebuilding years. Hosseini follows the lives of two women: Mariam and Laila. Mariam is a harami - an illegitimate child whose wealthy father casts her and her mother out of his home. When she is sold to the cruel Rasheed, a man who is easily 40 years her senior, Mariam's life becomes one of pain, disappointment, abuse and endurance...just as her mother had predicted.

"...There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life, and they don't teach it in school. Look at me." "You should not speak like this to her, my child," Mullah Faizullah said. "Look at me." Mariam did. "Only one skill. And it's this: tahamul. Endure."
-From A Thousand Splendid Suns, page 17-

Laila is born in Kabul, only doors away from where Mariam and Rasheed live. When war arrives in the city, Laila finds her world turned upside down and a twist of fate brings her and Mariam together.

Hosseini's novel reveals the horrible effects of war, and the abuse and mistreatment of women under the Taliban. Heartbreaking in its scope, the novel touched my heart and had me choking back tears. As a woman born in the United States, it is hard for me to wrap my brain around the outrages done against women in other parts of the world. To imagine a life where one is not allowed outside without being accompanied by a man; cannot show her face in public; may be stoned to death for a perceived attraction to someone other than one's husband; may not read, paint or even laugh without the fear of punishment; may be repeatedly beaten by one's husband and have no recourse in the law...is almost beyond the scope of my imagination. And yet it has happened; is happening.

Hossein's novel is a must read - if only to remind us of the suffering of women in other countries, and the outrages of war. Beautifully written, fiercely powerful, and with a message about the redeeming quality of love and hope, A Thousand Splendid Suns is highly recommended; rated 5/5.

************************************

I read this book from Becky R's list. She said:
Because the Afghanistan and Pakistan have fascinated me recently. I have read a couple fiction books recently and went to the movie A Mighty Heart. This week I am also looking forward to hearing Kahled Hosseini speak. I have developed a hobby of catching some of my favorite authors at bookstores. I think it gives a reader a special window into why they wrote a book and it always amazing to hear an author read from his or her book.
Thanks for the recommendation, Becky. This was a fantastic book!

Rebecca

2007-12-05T11:51:00.000-08:00

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

I've always meant to read this one, so thanks to Stephanie and Christina for suggesting it! I recall seeing a PBS miniseries about it when I was a kid, but don't recall much beyond Mrs. Danvers being really creepy. I don't think it told the back story of how Maxim met the narrator, so I was glad to find that out.

While I didn't race through it (it was my bus-reading book), I enjoyed it and the plot twist of Rebecca's death came as a surprise and then I found it really picked up. I liked all the descriptions of Manderley and wanted to live there. I can see why the narrator dreamt she went there again.

I spent a lot of time being annoyed with both Maxim and the narrator, too - he had no business marrying such a young, unsophisticated girl and dumping her at Manderley with all its baggage. He does nothing to help her settle in, just leaves her at the mercy of Mrs. Danvers and expects her to know how to run a huge house. And it really did seem as if any young girl he'd picked up in Monte Carlo would've done as the second Mrs. De Winter - for all the protestations of love in the novel, I didn't buy it. She loved him in a puppy-dog way, he loved her because he needed a new wife. After the circumstances of Rebecca's death came to light, they did seem to develop an actual relationship, but it was still sketchy to me.

Still, it's an excellent example of gothic suspense and I'm glad I finally read it.

Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

2007-12-01T22:52:00.000-08:00

I've been reading a lot of Jodi Picoult's novels this year - nine so far, in fact. Recently I read Harvesting the Heart, which Heather had picked as "something about me." She said:

This isn't my favorite, by far, of Jodi's novels. However, I suffered severe postpartum depression, and the mother in this story experiences her own version of that illness. It is a pretty realistic portrayal of what PPD can do to a person and her marriage/life.

I experienced postpartum depression with my first child, so I can relate both to Heather - which gives me some insight into her life - and to the character Paige. This novel is more than just a PPD experience, though; it explores the parent-child relationship in many ways - and I think that's something to which we can all relate.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

2007-12-01T15:40:00.001-08:00

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Wow, the Sedaris family is sure...interesting! I read his sister Amy's I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence earlier this year and it was one of the most bizarre books I've ever read (funny, but gosh-darn weird). And apparently it runs in the family! I enjoyed the first essay on being forced into speech therapy in elementary school for his lisp (where, he says, there should have been a Future Homosexuals of America sign on the door of the speech lab, since none of the popular jock boys had lisps). Sedaris Sr. sounds like quite the dad, from his desperate desire for his children to form a band, despite their lack of musical talent and interest all the way to the final chapter, which discusses his hoarding of rotten food. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about trying to explain Easter in French to a Moroccan woman, as well as the other French class ones. I don't think Sedaris will top my favourite humourist ever, Dave Barry, but I enjoyed the essays and laughed out loud a few times.

Thanks to Kelly for choosing this book - I had heard Sedaris was funny but hadn't gotten around to him, so I appreciated the chance to check him out.

Chocolat

2007-11-30T18:11:00.000-08:00

It's taking me a while but I'm making my way through the challenge. Up next Chocolat...

Vianne Rocher arrives in the small French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes on the first day of Lent in Joanne Harris's novel Chocolat. As the title suggests, chocolate is Vianne's business, or more appropriately, magic. In a matter of days, with the help of her daughter Anouk, she transforms an abandoned bakery into the decadent La Celeste Praline chocolate shop. Vianne watches her potential customers on their way to church, right next door, and slowly entices them into her shop and away from their Lenten fast.

Watching her is the priest Francis Reynaud. He sees Vianne as a usurper of the church, a pagan, and probably a witch. Where Reyaund belittles the problems of his flock, Vianne listens with an open heart. In a short time, Vianne wins over the people with her warmth while Reyaund never really fit in to begin. He disapproves of even the simple pleasure of good chocolate. When Vianne plans a chocolate festival on Easter Sunday, Reynaud views it as a battle for the souls of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes.

Chocolat wasn't a bad little book. The prose was lovely and the thought of all that chocolate...slurp...sorry, drooling. However, it was a little over the top. Reyaund was just so evil, it was almost silly. He is a caricature: Vianne's Black Man brought to life. I guess I should keep in mind that this is a modern fairy tale with Vianne as the Good Witch and that every fairy tale needs a dastardly villain.

Vianne herself was the least interesting character for me. She's nice, she makes chocolate, she had a hard childhood. Josephine, Armande, Guillaume, Roux, although secondary characters were lively, complex characters with odd quirks that made them fun to read about. I did enjoy reading this. It was a fun diversion.

I think I have a lot in common with Chasida and Margo. I loves me some chocolate. I wish I had La Celeste Praline near me.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

2007-11-29T09:35:00.000-08:00

On a stormy winter night a young woman gives birth to twins, her doctor husband just happened to be the one to deliver his children and when he saw that one of the babies (the girl) had Down's Syndrome he tells his secretary to put the child in an institution. He tells his wife the baby died.

The secretary (who is secretly in love with the doctor) can't stand the idea of the baby in a place like that, so she keeps the child and raises her on her own.

Those two decisions (the doctor's and the secretary's) have long lasting implications for everyone involved and we follow their lives to their inevitable conclusions.

This was a pretty fair novel, with an original story, but the prose isn't going to light any fires. The best that can be said is that it is very readable.

I was a little disappointed that the most compelling relationship in the book didn't even start until near the end of the book and was only given 4 or 5 pages. No fair.

My good friend 3M chose this for the Something About Me Challenge because it takes place in an area of Kentucky where she used to live and like the male twin, she found out later in life that she had a sister she didn't know about. I can see why this book would so appealing to her (especially the relationship I mentioned in the last part of the book, I'd imagine). You could do worse than to read this book.

I am the Messenger

2007-11-29T08:56:00.000-08:00

I chose to read I am the Messenger (357 pgs, Knopf) by Markus Zusak for a couple of reasons. I picked it for the "Something About Me" Challenge. It was on Jill's list. I had already read The Book Thief by Zuzak and I loved it. And finally....I liked the name!

Ed Kennedy is a nineteen-year-old cabdriver. He is a self-proclaimed screw-up. He didn't try hard in school, never went to the University, and only took a job cab-driving because it was easy. He spends all the rest of his time with his extremely smelly 17-year-old dog, The Doorman, or playing cards with Richie, Merv and Audrey -- his best friends and comrades in doing just enough to get by. But all of that changes one day.

The four friends had stopped at the bank before going home, and were caught up in the middle of a robbery. After a really inept attempt, the robber tried to flee the scene, and Ed chased after him. He held him until the cops arrived and was thus labeled the local "hero", a title that was rather unusual to Ed. He wasn't used to the attention. And then it happened. He received a card in the mail. Not just any card, but the Ace of Diamonds. There was nothing on the card, but 3 addresses, with a different time next to each. But what did it mean? What was he supposed to do?

Ed didn't have a clue what to do, but Audrey felt that he was chosen for something special because of the robbery. So late one night he arrived at the first address, only to find a very scared wife and daughter that had to endure the torture of a drunken man each night. Ed knew in his heart it was up to him to rescue them, but he wasn't a hero. In fact, he was rather a coward. Would he be able to find the courage to tackle each assignment as it came along? Could he deliver the "messages" that needed to be sent?

To be honest, I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I decided to read it. But I liked The Book Thief, and thought I would give it a try. It turned out to be a very special book....one that touched me very deeply. Have you ever had a book weave it's way into you soul? Deeply, like there was spot there waiting just for that book?? Well, I am the Messenger was the book that did it for me. Ed Kennedy was a wonderfully flawed character. He knew his weaknesses, and was afraid to actually do anything that might disrupt the sameness of his life. Page after page the story builds, and Ed evolves into someone new.

Usually, we walk around constantly believing ourselves. "I'm okay," we say. "I'm all right." But sometimes the truth arrives on you, and you can't get it off. That's when you realize that sometimes it isn't even an answer -- it's a question. Even now, I wonder how much of my life is convinced."

I can understand this. I can relate to this. I FEEL this sometimes. I really loved this book. The absolutely only thing that kept this a 5-star review was the ending. I thought it was rather rushed, and tied up a little too neatly. The entire premise of the book is a little unbelievable. But it made me WANT to believe that one person really can change the world. 4.5/5

Thanks for choosing this book Jill!!

The Man With a Beautiful Voice

2007-11-27T15:58:00.000-08:00

by Lillian B Rubin, Ph. D.

this is my fourth read for the something about me challenge. i really enjoyed this book. lillian is a therapist. the first chapter she describes in depth the practice of therapy, what it's based on, what they teach, what they don't teach. she also describes what it was like once she officially had her license and had her first appointment. i was right there with her feeling her anxiety and trepidation and self-doubt. the following six chapters are separate accounts of specific patients. i really liked the way she described the journey she took with each one. you know how it started, where they went and how it ended. there was resolution and follow-up. i always want to know what happens after.

i want to eventually become a therapist. i really appreciated her struggles and her honesty. it made me think a lot and wonder a lot. what will my experiences be? will i be able to trust my intuition?

all in all it was a great book. if you want to know what it's like on the other side of the couch then this is a must-read.

lisa picked this book because she's a psychotherapist. i wonder, lisa, if you had similar experiences starting out that lillian describes?

JMC's Wrap-up (unless I manage to eke out a couple more reviews)

2007-11-27T05:22:00.000-08:00

The "Something About Me" reading challenge is wrapping up now, and I obviously committed to reading MANY more books than I am going to be able to finish. My original list of the books I wanted to read is here, though I did add I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak to it later. Unfortunately, it is becoming fairly obvious that unless I figure out a way to halt the world around me while I do nothing but read the books that I have yet to complete for the challenge, I am not going to be able to read everything that I had hoped to read. I have read Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter, and will be posting a review soon. I hope to get one or two more read and briefly reviewed this week, but don't hold your breath.

I do intend to read all the books that I selected. I have all but two of them sitting on my dresser. No one has these two listed on Bookmooch and my local library does not have them. They are The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes, suggested by Christina, and Papa Married a Mormon by John D. Fitzgerald, suggested by Suey. They will remain on my Bookmooch wishlist, until I break down and just order them, as I really do want to read them at some point.

The ones I did manage to read up to today:

From Bonnie's list: Booked to Die by John Dunning

From Twiga's list: The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers

From Chasida's list: Good Grief by Lolly Winston

From Dewey's list: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

From Jill(mrstreme)'s list: Christ the Lord by Anne Rice

From Booklogged's list: From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz

From Vasilly's list: East of Eden by John Steinbeck

From alisonwonderland's list: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

From Becky's list: Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1) by Orson Scott Card

From Stephanie's list: Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter

From Sarah Miller's list: The Giver by Lois Lowry

My favorite of these is The Time Traveler's Wife, no question.

This was a great idea for a challenge, and I loved getting all these suggestions of reading material. I read and enjoyed several books that I wouldn't have normally read. So thank you for expanding my horizons via my reading list!!

Sea Glass - Anita Shreve: Trish's review

2007-11-25T14:53:00.000-08:00

Title: Sea Glass
Author: Anita Shreve
Pages: 376
Rating: 4.25/5

This is my fourth Shreve book and my favorite so far (coming in second is The Weight of Water). I picked this up at a booksale and read it for Something About Me - based on Library Lady and Beachreader's selections--thanks ladies!!

Anyway, this book is about a number of characters who are drastically different from one another but manage to come together for a common cause. The book takes place during 1929-1930--the first difference from the other books I've read which are more contemporary--and follows each of the main characters instead of a select two or so--which is also different. Among the characters there is Honora, the naive young wife of Sexton who is not always entirely honest. McDermott, a lower class factory worker who takes in the young Alphonse under his wing. And Vivian, an upperclass socialite who gets mixed in with the others at first just for something to do.

The rest of the review is on my blog: HERE The only book left on my list is Pride and Prejudice!!

From the Corner of His Eye

2007-11-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

I read From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz for the "Something About Me" reading challenge. It's the story of a boy who can stay dry in the rain by walking where the rain isn't, a man who can toss quarters into other worlds, a girl who can see all the ways things are, a narcissistic killer who suffers terrible physical ailments when he kills, and the ways in which their lives intersect.

I found this novel to be quite interesting and I enjoyed reading it, though I did miss the dry wit found in many of the characters in Koontz's other works, most notably (for me, who hasn't read ALL of Koontz's work) the Odd Thomas trilogy. While the wit and non sequiturs are absent, the novel makes up for it with many diverse characters. In addition to the main characters mentioned above, there are twin brothers obsessed with disasters, one with natural disasters and one with man-made; the twins' sister, also the dry-in-the-rain boy's mother, the amazingly generous pie-lady; a pharmacist who takes to constant walking once his beloved polio-stricken wife dies; the Baptist minister, whose sermon about "This Momentous Day" serves as a common thread throughout the various stories, and his wife and daughters; the doctor who delivers the girl who sees all the ways things are, who had lost his wife and twin sons; Maria, a seamstress from Mexico; a piano-playing landlord-from-hell; a private investigator with perfect teeth; and a lawyer with morals.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There were a few places where I felt like things may have dragged a bit, where I felt like, "come on already, bring these stories together," but I'm glad that I read it. Koontz has a perspective on good and evil that resonates. The novel makes one think about the ways in which each decision, regardless of its seeming import, a person makes can affect his/her life and the lives of many, or even all, others.

I chose this book from Booklogged's list. She said that Koontz is one of her "chocolate" authors. I can definitely relate; I have a TON of "chocolate" authors myself.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

2007-11-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

i finished the seventh of my picks for this challenge last week, and i've posted a general review of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on my book blog. i can't believe that i never read this book before. it was delightful!

i selected this one from Becky's list. she had only discovered it about six months before this challenge started, but she picked it because she identified with the main character Francie. this is a quote from the book that Becky included in her post - and it's worth repeating here, i think, as many of us book lovers can probably relate:

From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure when she tired of quiet hours. There would be love stories when she came into adolescence and when she wanted to feel a closeness to someone she could read a biography. On that day when she first knew she could read, she made a vow to read one book a day as long as she lived.

Anne of Green Gables

2007-11-23T17:41:00.000-08:00

By L. M. Montgomery. I missed on reading this Canadian classic when I was kid. I really wish I had. It was a bit slow at first, and I wasn't sure I had warmed to Anne, but I think she won me early on. I liked all the characters in this book. The dialogue was clever and observant, and while loquacious at times, Anne is such a great character. I love her curiosity, kindness, ambition, and dreaminess because I can be quite similar, and her love of the outdoors and of Green Gables. From the get-go, I really loved the characters of Marilla and Matthew. The book is also very Canadian in my humble opinion. Montgomery seems to really know her characters and their quirks. It's no wonder this book is a classic. I really enjoyed the simple life of Anne at Green Gables. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Crossposted from my blog aquatique,net

Many people picked this for their list: Gracie, Trish, Ennavic, and Tiny Librarian. Thanks for the push to read this.

East of Eden

2007-11-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

So finally, after a long long time of no book reviews, I am getting around to writing one for the "Something About Me" reading challenge. I still have a bunch to do, so I've got to get crackin.' I finished reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck over a month ago, but being the huge procrastinator I am, I am just now getting around to the review. I decided to read this book for the challenge because I don't normally read classics just for the heck of it, but I always feel that I should read them. So basically, I need a reason. When Vasilly listed East of Eden, a book which I had always thought I'd get around to reading some day, I decided that here was my reason.

East of Eden is about two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, their lives and how they intersect and affect one another. There is sibling rivalry akin to Cain and Abel, and love, or its absence, plays a pivotal role. Good and evil, and the measure of each in a person, is a continuous thread through the work. For me, this novel was not a fast read. It was not an edge-of-your-seat, have to know what happens next immediately type of read. It was interesting and satisfying, and at times surprising in its modernity. I'm not sure what I expected from a book written in the 50s and set in the late 1800s to early 1900s, but modern urban slang wasn't it. "Frigging" was used in place of "fucking" in one instance, and the word "crib" was used as a place to live, albeit one run-down and decrepit, whereas today it can mean any type of home. I also didn't expect a sociopath or a gang rape.

What I liked:

I liked the character Lee, the way he faked who he was to be what people expected, but then was able to be himself later, and his humble and wise ways.

I found it interesting that Steinbeck himself is a character in the novel. As a descendant of the Hamilton clan, the book is told as if he is telling the story, which made me wonder if, in fact, this is an autobiographical work. I quick perusal of the Internet, and consensus seems to be semi-autobiographical.

I liked A LOT of the observations Steinbeck makes throughout the novel. He inserts them seamlessly into the text, yet they easily stand apart from it. There are so many passages that I would like to quote here, but then this review would be entirely too long. So just one particular favorite:

Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of a man. Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything. The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of a man.

Okay, one more:
Humans are caught - in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too - in a net of good and evil. I think this is the only story we have and that it occurs on all levels of feeling and intelligence. Virtue and vice were warp and woof of our first consciousness, and they will be the fabric of our last, and this despite any changes we may impose on field and river and mountain, on economy and manners. There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well - or ill?

There wasn't anything in particular that I recall that I didn't like. It was well-written and interesting. It was obvious why it is considered a classic.

What does this choice tell us about Vasilly? Well, I actually couldn't tell much from this one choice, but looking over all five of her choices, I think I can deduce that she is a spiritually oriented person, in that she looks within herself to her spirit and beliefs when faced with difficult situations. Am I close?

Island of the Blue Dolphins

2007-11-18T15:05:00.000-08:00

I chose this book from Juli's list, as well as for Nattie's Newbery Challenge (my list is here). I can't find Juli's post about this novel and why she chose it, but I imagine it's tied to the adventure and wonderful story.

This was one of my favorite books when I was growing up. I loved it, probably because I admired Karana's resourcefulness and strength. I still do. What an amazing book! I can't wait for my daughters to read and enjoy this.

I had the privilege of meeting Scott O'Dell himself in 1983 when I was in the 8th grade. Michele Andrews and I were chosen from both of Ms. Wood's 8th grade Unified Studies classes to be a part of a day where we could interview Mr. O'Dell. We had a great time, even though we were the oldest students there! (I think almost everyone else was in the 5th and 6th grades.) I remember Mr. O'Dell commenting on Michele's lovely Texas accent, and complimenting us on our insightful questions. That evening, I heard him read from one of his books, can't remember which one, but I remember his white hair, and his voice.

I am happy to show you the autograph I received inside my copy of the book!

Chocolat -- Dewey's review

2007-11-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

Cross-posted at my blog.

I love the movie Chocolat, and have seen it many times, so when Chasida listed it as a Something About Me book, it seemed time to finally read the book.

I was really surprised by how different the book is from the movie. I suspect that if I had first read and love the novel, I would have been annoyed by the movie.

For those who have neither read the book nor watched the movie, a quick summary: The main character is Vianne, who is a single mother with a young daughter, Anouk. She moves into a small French town and opens a chocolate shop. She is met with resistance by a community that is steeped in a tradition of self-denial, and unfortunately the opening of her shop coincides with Lent. She finds herself at odds with the town priest and members of the community, both over differences in opinion about the evils of life's little enjoyments and over differences in opinion about accepting a nomadic group of river gypsies.

The biggest surprise in the book was, for me, that instead of a seriously straightlaced and repressed mayor and a young, more open-minded priest, there was only one character, Reynaud, who was basically the same as the mayor in the movie, only he was the priest. I read at Harris' site that those involved with the film decided to make the main antagonist a mayor instead of a priest to avoid offending Catholic people. Personally, I don't find Catholic people that easily offended, and I hate censoring art in order to avoid upsetting a powerful group, but ok. It works beautifully as a movie anyway. In the novel, the priest is a more prominent character, and is even the narrator in some chapters.

Another surprise is that I've always perceived the movie to be set in the 1950s. The Wikipedia article states that it's the winter of 1959. The book, though, seems set at the time of its publication, 1999.

Sadly, the Roux character is not Johnny Depp in the book, and he seems to belong more to Armande (as a friend) than to Vianne. But in the book, the prejudice of the town towards Roux and his friends is a stronger storyline than in the movie.

One difference I liked a lot is that the character Armande is more developed and more interesting. The movie glances lightly over the fact that Armande is diabetic, and Vianne at times seems careless with Armande's health in allowing her to indulge in chocolate. The viewer does perceive that it's not really a black and white situation; Armande is an adult and should be allowed to make her own decisions about her health. In the book, though, it's much more clear that Armande, as a woman in her 80s, does not want to spend her few remaining years restricting her diet or being treated like a child by her domineering daughter. The reader is made very aware that a woman that old is going to die fairly soon, and Armande chooses to die in her home living her life as usual, rather than in a facility being an invalid. I had respect for the book Armande's decision to enjoy the remainder of her life to the fullest, including developing a relationship with her grandson. The movie Armande just seemed stubborn and grumpy, and as a much younger woman (60?), self-destructive in her decision to behave in a way that led to her death.

The novel also focused more on Vianne's past, her relationship with her mother, and her relationship with her daughter, Anouk, all of which were rewarding storylines the movie could only glance over.

There's a sequel to the novel, The Lollipop Shoes, which I'd like to read and will add to my wishlist.

The Polysyllabic Spree -- Dewey's review

2007-11-12T08:14:00.000-08:00

Cross-posted at my blog. This was one of Athena's books.

This book really reminded me of a blog. Nick Hornby, an author whose fiction I enjoy, had a column in The Believer, called "Stuff I've Been Reading." The Polysyllabic Spree ia collection of those columns. There's a list for each month of what books he bought, which books he read (not always the same as what he bought), excerpts from books, and his musings about the books and the reading life.

There's a sequel, Housekeeping vs. The Dirt, more collected columns.

Someone put a list of all the books Hornby bought and read September 2003 to August 2004 at Wikipedia. Thanks, list-happy person!

I recommend this book for people who liked So Many Books, So Little Time and Book Lust. For me, the most interesting thing about the book was reading Hornby's comments on books I've read. I'm sure that for some people, reading this book would make the ol' wishlist grow, but I mostly skimmed when he talked about books I haven't read.

Although I liked the book, I think that rather than buying Housekeeping Vs. The Dirt, I'll just read Hornby's columns.

Life As We Knew It

2007-11-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Summary: Sixteen year-old Miranda's normal life of swim team, friends, a crush, and life with her divorced parents and two brothers comes to a halt when a meteor crashes into the moon, throwing the earth's forces of nature off course and causing earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. Her diary details her family's struggle to survive.

My thoughts: This one has been getting a fair bit of good press and one of my colleagues is simply crazy about it, so I thought I'd give it a go. Survival stories aren't usually my bag, but this one was really well done. I thought it was a pitch-perfect account of what life would be like - the dwindling food, fear, cabin fever, finding joy in small things, alternating between optimism and despair and between loving and hating the people you were trapped with. School Library Journal rightly describes it as "frighteningly plausible." It also blew my mind that a change in gravity would cause all of those disasters - what do we take for granted more than gravity?

What I learned about SheReads: She says she found this book fascinating and not so far-fetched that she couldn't see it happening in the here and now. I agree with her on both counts, although I certainly hope it doesn't happen! She also noted in her challenge writeup that she seems "to read a lot of books that are YA and fewer and fewer adult books." - I'm finding that happening to me, too. I'm trying to reduce my TBR pile but SO many fab new YA titles come across my desk that the old adult ones get put aside yet again.

2007-11-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

Daphne du Maurier was partially inspired by Jane Eyre when writing this book, so I could not help compare it to that book which I love. The characters are not exactly the same, but I enjoyed reading this book almost as much. It is very well written. I'm not someone who writes a lot gothic or mystery literature, but the atmosphere is almost perfect. Du Maurier is an excellent writer. The prose can be poetic. She's good at dialogue especially with characterizations as well. Mrs. Danvers is incredibly creepy, de Winter is mysterious, and the nameless protagonist is relateable. While very naive at the beginning, it's hard not to feel sympathetic for the character. She's also been put in a very hard situation when they go back to Manderley. The use of the nameless protagonist device is something I encountered in Fight Club, so I was not put off by that. Though it did feel du Maurier was teasing the reader at the beginning with the fact we'd never find out. All in all, a very good read with lots of atmosphere, suspense, and just enough romance.

I did not read this book for awhile because I had seen the Alfred Hitchcock adaptation with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. I did not have the time to rewatch the film, but I remember liking it very much as I do most Hitchcock films, and I also like Olivier. I recommend it as a companion to the book.

What I learned about Chris: She mentioned relating to the young heroine in this, and I did as well. She also appreciates good prose and gothic suspense. Unsurprisingly, Chris has good taste in

The Awakening

2007-11-08T09:22:00.001-08:00

Sometimes we, as modern women, forget just how many freedoms we have. In the midst of all the complaining about unequal wages and glass ceilings, we neglect to acknowledge that we currently have a voice in society to even make such complaints. We forget that it wasn't always this way.

There was a time when women were deemed fit only for bearing children and tending to the house. They weren't allowed to have interests about the larger world, or hobbies other than art, nor were they allowed to exhibit any kind of passion. Women who married well-to-do men weren't even allowed to do the chores: what a horrible, boring way to live.

Kate Chopin gives readers a peek into the life of just such a woman. Edna is married to a wealthy businessman in New Orleans. She has a couple of kids and a wide circle of friends. She seemed happy, until her passion was sparked by a young man named Robert. Suddenly, she saw that her life was, in fact, a prison from which there was no possibility of escape.

I was deeply moved by this book; moved in a way that I can't even fully explain. I think all women feel like Edna at one point or another. Chopin really beautifully captured the first blush of passion, the mind numbing effects of romantic obsession and what it feels like to be a conflicted woman.

"As Edna walked along the street she was thinking of Robert. She was still under the spell of her infatuation. She had tried to forget him, realizing the inutility of remembering. But the thought of him was like an obsession, ever pressing itself upon her. It was not that she dwelt upon the details of their acquaintance, or recalled in any special or peculiar way his personality; it was his being, his existence, which dominated her thought, fading sometimes as if it would melt into the mist of the forgotten, reviving again with an intensity which filled her with incomprehensible longing."

I love that. Edna was obsessed with the mere idea of Robert's existence.

I highly recommend this book. It was chosen by Pattie for the Something About Me Challenge, who read it at a time in her life when she was separated from her husband and children for a week. I can understand why someone in those circumstances would feel such a strong connection with Edna. This book was also recommended to me by my good friend and former bandmate Karen. I can see exactly why this book affected her so much. Thank you both ladies for giving me such good reasons to read this truly outstanding book.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

2007-11-05T00:40:00.000-08:00

i finished reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova this past weekend. i found it to be an amazing book! you can read my thoughts on my book blog (here).

The Historian was on the "something about me" lists of three different challenge participants. as to the reasons that they chose it, a.book.in.the.life said, "I love history, I studied history at university, and I have always wished I could go on some kind of quest!" Heidijane said, "I'm an archivist and am very familiar with historical research (although have never taken it too these lengths)." and Maryanne said, "When I was young I used to believe in vampires and ghosts." it appears that all three of them were as captivated by this book as i was!

by the way, this is the sixth book i've read for this challenge. i'm hoping to get at least two more finished before the end of December.

The Other Boleyn Girl

2007-11-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Right after I finished it, I had this very un-courtly, modern reaction to this 16th century-set blockbuster: "Man, that was a crazy-good book!!" :-)

I'd enjoyed Gregory's The Queen's Fool earlier this year, enough to give the author another go when I saw this book on the challenge list. Boy, am I glad I did! It had all the scandals and sex of a soap opera but was well-written and very well-researched. I've always been quite interested in Elizabeth I and this was a fascinating look at her mother and her mother's family. I hadn't realized how long it took Anne Boleyn to actually get Henry VIII to marry her - I thought he divorced Katherine of Aragon very quickly, but Anne actually had to keep him interested without bedding him for 6 years, quite an amazing feat considering he was so selfish and fickle. And I had no idea that her younger sister had had him first! It was quite a portrait of a complex sisterly relationship - the Boleyn girls seem to have a had love/hate relationship where they alternately hated and really needed it each. I found it interesting but sad that they kept alternating between being "the other Boleyn girl" and that their family really didn't much care which of them was doing what, as long as the family was advancing. So it was also a very interesting look into court life and how high-born women were nothing but pawns in men's plans, even after if they were Queen of England. After reading this, I can see even more clearly how incredibly smart Elizabeth I was to avoid marriage and remain queen in her own right.

What I learned about Margo: We have very similar taste in books. She also has Flowers in the Attic, Chocolat, and The Undomestic Goddess on her list, all of which I enjoyed reading.

(Full review here.)

Completed my Challange

2007-10-31T23:02:00.000-07:00

I have completed the "Something About Me" reading Challenge

I read the following books:

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (from Juli's list) Read October
The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis (from booklogged's list) Read August
So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson (from vasilly's list) Read August
Heidi by Johanna Spyri (from Heidijane's list) Read October
The Naughtiest Girl in School by Enid Blyton (from my list) Read September

I really enjoyed reading the books I selected - and learnt something about me - and about the people who suggested the books.

Now I have completed the challenge - I wondered if my access to the blog could be removed? I am trying to reduce the size of my "Blogger Dashboard" I know my contributions will remain - and I am tracking the blog in my Google Blog reader.

See you all around the wonderful world of blog challenges

My delinquency in posting

2007-10-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

I have actually read 4 of the 5 books I chose for this challenge (and many others not for the challenge) and I have discovered two very important things about myself:
1. I don't like writing book reviews.
2. I don't like the pressure and constraints of challenges.

So in brief, I read the following:

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See - I enjoyed this book very much.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - I liked this book even more than I liked The Kite Runner.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver - I did not enjoy this book at all. I found the mother to be a totally unsympathetic character.
Lucy Crocker 2.0 by Caroline Preston - I didn't enjoy this one either. It seems lately I read more books that I don't like than I do.

Fern

A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson

2007-10-31T02:18:00.000-07:00

Rating : 3.0/5
Reason for Reading : Something About Me Challenge

Bill Bryson is mostly known for his travel writing, but in this book he takes a turn at popular science. It covers everything from research into the Big Bang, how the measurements for the earth were derived, plate tectonics, the evolution of humans from apes, Darwin's theories of natural selection, the discovery of DNA to extinction. It crams in a lot of information about the main scientific discoveries into a managable book.

It's interesting that a lot of scientists who put forward theories that are now celebrated as genius and essential, were ridiculed and disbelieved at the time. A lot of the time they were ignored due to petty jealousies between the scientists themselves... It seemed a mostly unbiased look at the ideas and the people making the discoveries themselves which was interesting (usually you only hear about Watson and Crick in the discovery of the structure of DNA but this included Wilkins and Franklin).

I enjoyed half of this book. The chapters between 14-26 andthe final chapter were the most interesting to me. I am not so into physics or geology and it didn't really hold my interest. The notes at the end of the novel were interesting citing where the references came from in the main text. My problem with it though was that they were not referenced in the main text. A lot of books will put a superscript number where citations are so you can check the notes at the back.

A Walk in the Woods

2007-10-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

I've always wanted to read Bill Bryson, having heard that he was very funny. Having read this book, I think I can safely say that I think Bill Bryson is an amazing author because he got me to read about (and be interested in) something that is in fact my definition of HELL.

Yes, hell. I hate camping and I don't understand the appeal of hiking, particularly not for days on end in the mountains. I enjoyed his anecdotes about the people they met on the trail (both amazingly nice and amazingly annoying) and about the often ridiculous Katz who kept throwing equipment away because it was too heavy. Even many of the tales of the perils of the trail were amusing, particularly the many, many about bears (a running theme). I did start to glaze over during the longer passages about particular flora and fauna, but even so, I was impressed with his research about all areas of the trail. I'll definitely read more Bryson and will hopefully get to Notes From a Small Island soon.

What I learned about Wendy: Well, I already knew that this reading challenge queen was a cool lady from her blog but it turns out she's a hiker, too. And even if hiking is my idea of hell, I admire her for having the strength and fitness and love of nature to do it. And also, she has a great sense of humour!

(Get my full ramble with more about camping = hell here.)

Booklogged Finishes

2007-10-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

One of the fun parts about reading challenges is successfully completing the challenge. (Other fun parts are reading the books and crossing them off as I finish them)

Lisa from Breaking the Fourth Wall came up with this interesting challenge to read 5 books that other participants listed that told something about them. The challenge ran from Aug-Nov 2007. The books I read were

1. Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland (from 3M's list)
2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (this or one of the sequels is on several people's lists, including Tiny Librarian's, Raidergirl3's and Becky's.)
3. All-of-a-Kind Family by (from Alisonwonderland's list)
4. Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (another from Alisonwonderland's list)
5. Booked to Die by John Dunning (this is one from Bonnie's list.)

I enjoyed all these books immensely. My least favorite would be Luncheon of the Boating Party but I'm still glad I read it and I still enjoyed it.

Thanks Lisa, for hosting this challenge. It was very worthwhile and I hope you will be doing it again next year.

The Polysyllabic Spree

2007-10-27T20:34:00.001-07:00

The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby

I want to have Nick Hornby over for dinner! I loved this book!

I had the same kind of kindred spirit reaction that I did to 84 Charing Cross Road. I'd assumed I'd like it, as I've liked his books, and I was right. This is what I'd hoped So Many Books, So Little Time would be like. It seemed to be more about the books, somehow, even when he was talking about what had happened in his life, SMBSLT seemed like the other way around. He discussed the books he'd bought, the ones he'd read (often not the same ones at all) and how some books led to others - an author's work might lead to a biography of that author, or vice versa. But he did it a a funny (so funny!), approachable way. I was impressed that he'll read just about anything, from biographies of sports heroes to the letters of Anton Chekhov, with lots of novels in between.

My favourite sentence was: "...after a lifetime of reading, I can officially confirm that readers' writers beat writers' writers every time." Right on, brother!

What I learned about Athena: The she has great taste in authors and a great sense of humour! Thanks so much for recommending it - I can't wait to read the next one, Housekeeping vs the Dirt!

(As always, my full, ramling review is here.)

Anne of the Island

2007-10-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

This was from Becky's 5.

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery is the third of the Anne of Green Gable series. Anne has put off teaching to pursue university life. Anne, Prissy Grant, Gilbert Blythe, and Charlie Sloane head to Redmond College in Kingsport, Nova Scotia to study for their B.A.'s. Being Anne, she finds more than her fair share of adventures.

The title really should be Anne of the Many Proposals. She's proposed to six times by my count! Some of them quite funny. Poor Anne has all her illusions shattered in the romance department. But in the end she finds out what love really means.

Anne of the Island is a series of vignettes that range from the touching (the death of a friend) to the humourous (the Baking Powder short story or Davy's letters). It spans the whole three years she spends at university with visits to Avonlea. I enjoyed most of these scenes although the whole "how to kill a cat" incident didn't do well with age (don't worry. The cat is fine). It's definitely a story of it's era. It was a pleasant visit to a more innocent time.

I think Becky is a romantic at heart to have picked this book. Maybe she has some traditional and sweet ideas about life and love as well. It was a great pick.

Evening Class by Maeve Binchy

2007-10-25T06:52:00.001-07:00

Yeah! I finally finished another book for this challenge! This one, Evening Class by Maeve Binchy from Raidergirl's list as something about her. I picked to read this one because it's been sitting on my shelf forever, so it feels good to have finally read it! Of course, I totally enjoyed it too, even though I got stuck halfway through with too many other distractions, it wasn't the book's fault.

This story is about a bunch of people who end up taking an Italien evening class together, people from many different walks of life, and how they all come together and their lives are better for it. We learn the background of several of these people and it's fun to see them change and be happy, just from a simple evening class and the associate they have with each other. Great story!

Gautami's Finishes Challenge!

2007-10-25T04:56:00.000-07:00

I finished reading all 5 books for the challenge. Here are the links.

The Namesake by Jumpa Lahiri

The Thorn Birds by colleen McCullough

So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

2007-10-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
4 stars

Gosh, I read this back in the summer and never got around to posting about it. It's been such a huge book, you probably don't need a summary. (If you do, see my full review here.)

My thoughts: I thought it was very well-researched. I learned a lot about 19th century China, particularly about foot-binding. I had no idea they actually broke and permanently deformed the foot - I thought they just bound it so it stayed child-small. Eeeyugh!!! I had had no idea Chinese women had had a secret language, although I do think it's rather funny they thought it was a "secret" from the men when they sang and chanted in it at every special event and even wove it into clothing and shoes. As Lily finally realized, the men knew about it, they just didn't think women had anything important to say. I was also really intrigued by the formation of the laotong friendships that were almost like marriages and in many cases there was much more affection and devotion involved.

From review in School Library Journal - "Their friendship, and this tale, illustrates the most profound of human emotions: love and hate, self-absorption and devotion, pride and humility, to name just a few. Even though the women's culture and upbringing may be vastly different from readers' own, the life lessons are much the same, and they will be remembered long after the details of this fascinating story are forgotten." I really agreed with this. Despite the far-off setting, I found the book enjoyable and it really does cover all of those emotions, particularly love (and the longing to be loved) and self-absorption. That the breaking of Lily and Snow Flower's decades-long bond is caused by a single misunderstanding, is quite tragic, but I'm sure it still happens today.

I really learned a lot about 19th-century China - footbinding was even more brutal than I'd thought, the nu shu writing was really interesting and I was intrigued by the latong friendships between girls which are set up like an arranged marriage and often involve more affection and devotion than one.

What I learned about Juli: Well, in her blurb about this book she says that she and her husband travelled to China in 2004 and tried to stay off the beaten track, so I learned she's an adventurous traveller! She says that "Snow Flower gave me another glimpse into their culture." and I found that this book really did that well for me, too.

Finished!

2007-10-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

I finished last month and I haven't been on the internet since. I love this challenge. The books I read are:

Without - Donald Hall
To kill a mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Tale of Desperaux - Kate Dicamillo
Stick Kid - Peter Holowitz
The Polysyllabic Spree - Nick Hornby
Operating Instructions - Anne Lamott
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
I am the messenger - Markus Zusak
Dakota - Kathless Norris

I have to thank everyone for their recommendations. Most of the books I've read for this challenge, I probably wouldn't have read without the recommendations. I loved almost every book. The ones I haven't read yet that are on my list, I will probably read by the end of the year, so I'll still be here posting my reads.

Inkheart

2007-10-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Like SheReads, who chose this book, I "find the idea of reading characters in and out of books fascinating." Who hasn't wanted to see their favourites in the flesh? I liked Meggie and the other characters, I wanted to know what would happen, I enjoyed the quotes at the start of each chapter and liked that Meggie enjoyed classic books. The only thing was that at 560 pages, it seemed realllly long to me for a kids' book. I found myself wishing it would end and feeling that it could've been condensed. There seemed to be a lot of to-ing and fro-ing that I could've done without. But it was a big hit with young readers, so I have to say that the kids are better readers than I am to not feel tired partway through. Still, it's a very imaginative and intelligent book - perhaps my brain just wasn't up for it this month.

(My full review, with summary, is here. )

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl--Gautami's Review

2007-10-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Author: Roald Dahl
ISBN: 0-141-31990-9
Publisher: Puffin/2005
First published: 1964
Pages:190
Genre: Children’s Fiction (9-12)

Another book I re-read for my nephew. This book is a pure classic of imagination, magic and fantasy, telling the story from Charlie Bucket's point of view. Charlie, who lives with his four very old grandparents and his mother in a one-room house, can only dream about his future, since his family has barely enough money to survive. He is so poor he gets only one chocolate bar a year, a combined present from his parents and grandparents. To make matters worse, he lives in the same town as Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory.

One day, Willy Wonka announces that he will open his factory to five lucky kids.

Read the rest here...

I chose from Holly's list. Here is what she says about the book:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl
I'm sure I'm not alone on this one - who could resist a lifetime supply of chocolate? Or the strange, magical, consequential world where good and evil were divided so wickedly and well? My brother used to read Roald Dahl to me when I was little - in fact, I can still recite, to perfection, the plight of Goldie Pinklesweet (an Oompa Loompa song from The Great Glass Elevator). If being a writer could produce such brilliance, then that's what I wanted to do.

Flunking out

2007-10-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

I admit it: I am not a reading challenge kind of gal.

Inspired by Robin Brande's Quitter's Editon of the Friday list, I am officially bowing out of the challenge. Since August, I've read literally dozens of books, but only two of them have been from my challenge list. That's probably a bit of an indicator right there. It all comes down to the fact that I'm tired of eyeing my TBR pile with a mixture of guilt and resentment.

That sounds pretty harsh, doesn't it? Of course it's not all *that* bad. I know nobody here is going to string me up by my toenails if I don't get through my list. But I've discovered that reading is perhaps the one corner of my life where I really like to be impulsive and fly by the seat of my pants, and that's how I want to do it.

Even so, I'm glad I tried the challenge, particularly because Becky's choice of These Happy Golden Years inadvertantly nudged me into embarking on my Little House audio marathon, which I've LOVED. And I can finally say that I've read The Borrowers, which is a good thing for a girl who sells children's books.

I do still intend to read the 2.8 books I haven't gotten to yet -- namely, A Short History of Nearly Everything, 84 Charing Cross Road, and The Neverending Story. Someday, that is.

I kinda feel like a poo, though, because just yesterday Heather T posted a nice review of one of the books from my list. Drat. Ah, well. I'm glad she read The Giver, she's glad she read The Giver -- everybody's happy, right? Right.

Carry on, challengers!

The Giver - Heather T's Review

2007-10-18T10:35:00.001-07:00

Today, I finished The Giver by Lois Lowry. I picked this out, originally, because I am trying to read Newberry Books, since I missed so many of them growing up. Then, it appeared on Sarah Miller's list for the Something About Me Challenge. I picked it up and read it quickly. It is a very short little book, but the depth is amazing. It is, as I have heard other reviewers explain it, "chilling." There are startling details that you take in little by little throughout the story, the most haunting for me being the absence of color.

The entire story left me feeling very disturbed. I tried to contemplate living in a world like thiers. Scarily enough, I understand their motivations. They have done away with racism and sexism entirely. The elderly are cared for and honored. There is no rape or murder. But even knowing the world that I do, the world that HAS all of these terrible things, I found the absences heart-breaking. There is Fiona's beautiful red hair, rendered gray for the sake of "sameness." There are gray apples and gray flesh. There are "releases" that simply devastate my soul.

I hope I never live to see a world like the one in this book. At the same time, I wish I could have imagined and written sucha gripping piece of young adult literature.

Heather

The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough--Gautami's Review

2007-10-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

Title: The Thorn Birds
Author: Colleen McCullough
ISBN: 0060129565 / 9780060129569
Publication: Harpercollins (1977)
Hardcover, 533 pages

The book opens with the famous legend of the thorn bird. A bird that searches all his life for a thorn bush. Finally, when he finds it, he impales himself on the thorn. While doing so, the thorn bird sings the most beautiful of songs.

‘The Thorn birds’ is the story of the Cleary family, and their journey from their humble roots in New Zealand where they worked as sheep shearers, to the huge Australian sheep farm Drogheda, owned by Paddy Cleary’s autocratic sister. The family being Irish, the land is in their blood and from the time they arrive on Drogheda, the land plays a definite part in their fortunes and destinies. The story covers three generations from Paddy Cleary and his wife Fiona, their sons and only daughter Meggie and the Catholic priest Ralph De Bricassart, to Meggie’s children - the actress Justine and priest Dane. Though the story is about all the Cleary family, it mainly dwells on Meggie and her relationships with her parents, brothers, Father Ralph and children.

The three extraordinary generations of Cleary's live through joy and sadness, defeat and triumph, determined by their dreams, sustained by great strength of character, torn apart by dark passions, violence and forbidden love between an extraordinary woman and an ambitious priest.

To read more, click here...

I chose it from Andrea's list. She says----(my first real book, inspiring me to seek far away lands)

Luncheon of the Boating Party

2007-10-16T16:28:00.000-07:00

by Susan Vreeland

I read this book because 3M selected it for the Something About Me Challenge. Having enjoyed most of Vreeland's novels and I absolutely loved Girl in Hyacinth Blue, I was looking forward to reading Luncheon.

Obviously the book is about the painter Renoir; with the focus on the time period dealing with his painting of the famous Luncheon of the Boating Party. Each person in the painting has a personal connection to Renoir and, by the end of the book, the reader feels acquainted with them and, in some cases, deeply involved with them.

3M from 1 Chapter Mor e shared this wonderful personal experience on her blog.

Did you know there is a phenomena in which people cry uncontrollably in front of paintings or other art? I didn't know it either until it happened to me. I took my 7th grade class (back when I was a teacher) to an art museum in Nashville where they were having a special exhibit on impressionism. I was looking at this painting, and lo and behold, I started sobbing without any warning. It was so beautiful. It was like I was seeing it in 3-D. I couldn't believe the beauty of it. What was the painting, you ask? It was Luncheon of the Boating Party by Renoir. If you just see this in an art book, you may ask what the big deal is as there doesn't seem to be anything special about it. See it in person and you'll see a huge difference, believe me.

What a thrill to actually enjoy this masterpiece in person. Thanks for sharing that moment with us, 3M.

I don't know what exactly was happening in my life or with my mood, but I didn't get drawn into the story right away and I didn't feel compelled to keep reading. I am enjoying it more in retrospect than I did while reading. I really think the problem was mine, not the author's.

My favorite character was Alphonsine. I really liked her and found myself trying to counsel her not to fall in love with Renoir. She was so aware and thoughtful of all around her. I didn't care that much for some of the other character's pains, but I did for hers.

I am glad I read this book. I knew nothing of Renoir's life and could not even name one of his works before reading Luncheon. I got a good feeling for Paris and the countryside in 1880. And I found this site that shows all the paintings, Renoirs and others, that are mentioned in the book along with the passage. It's been fun looking at those.

The Giver - Lois Lowry

2007-10-16T06:17:00.001-07:00

The story is set in a society filled with rules, no real feelings and an emphasis on interdependence. Jonas is an Eleven about to become to Tweleve. Each age group recieves something new when they collectively move up a level and are all one year older. Twelve is where they recieve their Assignments (jobs) after being carefully monitored through their earlier life so a mistake is not made. Jonas is nervous about what he will be Assigned as he has no idea what he will get. Nothing called to him specifically during his voluntary work hours and he tried a lot of different things out.

At the ceremony something special happens to him that will change his life forever. A whole new world of pain, anger, love and colour are opened up to him along with different climates and the concept of hills. The community made a decision some time ago to opt for sameness and only now does Jonas realise that that took away all of their choices and freedoms in life.

A really interesting look at a utopian/dystopian society. Quite creepy in places, you know when they take about the old being "Released" that it isn't as pleasant as it sounds. Learning about the society and the different stages growing up was fascinating. For example until a certain age children have jackets that fasten at the back to learn to rely on others. Later on they get their first front fastening coat and then later one with pockets as they can now be trusted to be responsible for their own small personal items. The family unit idea and surpressing "Stirrings" was another interesting idea. I will definately be reading the next two in the series to see what happens to Jonas next...

The Time Traveler's Wife

2007-10-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

This review is also posted here.

I was staring at my pile of books for the "Something About Me" Reading Challenge and wondering what I should read next. I decided to go with The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, since I had been enjoying the new TV series "Journeyman" and had really liked "Quantum Leap" as well. It was a great choice! The book was absolutely WONDERFUL!!

The novel is about Henry and Clare. Henry, from time to time, and completely outside of his control, "jumps" to another time period in his life or Clare's. Clare meets him when she is six and he is thirty-six, but he doesn't meet her until she is twenty, which is when he is twenty-eight. So when they meet in Henry's "real" time, she knows him very well, yet he doesn't know her at all. I can't talk about this novel in my usual way of what I liked and what I didn't like, because this isn't so much a story with a beginning, middle and end (except from Clare's point of view), as it is a story in which everything takes place simultaneously. So to talk about any particular happening in the story is to possibly give something away, even though for much of the book, the reader knows what is coming, because it already happened from someone's point of view. The only question is from whose point of view and at which point in time the reader will discover the how and why of whatever it was (s)he knows happens. A bit confusing, no? Besides, there was only one thing I didn't like, and it was something that Clare did that, to me, seemed completely out of character for her. I'll have to leave you to figure out what that is when you read this book. Because you should read this book. It immediately became one of my favorites.

I have always had a fascination with quantum physics/mechanics. That is not to say I understand them much, but I find them absolutely intriguing. I think that is why I can't stop thinking about the novel. I keep trying to compare things that happen to Henry in the novel with what little bit I sort of, kind of, but not really understand about quantum physics. Schrödinger's cat kept coming to mind. In what state was Henry at various times in the book? Was he ten, or was he thirty-two? Was he injured or was he perfectly fine? Was he in this state or in that state at any point in time? Well, he was all of the above, all at the same time. Which, of course, makes sense and nonsense simultaneously.

One thing I wonder, and I don't think it gives anything away, is why we never see MORE than two Henrys at a given time. It seems that occasionally, there might be a time when multiple Henrys ended up at the same place at the same time, since he traveled to places and times that held some import in his life.

Although I am not doing my what I liked and didn't like thing, I have to say that I absolutely LOVED the character Kimy. Her complete ho-hum acceptance of a naked Henry suddenly appearing under her dining room table or on her kitchen floor, and the fact that she kept changes of clothes in various sizes for him, and was just exactly the type of neighbor you wish you'd known as a child, or you wish your children had in their lives, and that it's all wrapped up in this tiny elderly Asian woman, was totally endearing and funny. She is a fabulous character.

So to summarize, really only one thing needs to be said: If you haven't read this novel, you should immediately rectify that situation.

I originally chose this book from Dewey's list. It then appeared on Heatherbird's list as well. Dewey grew up in Chicago and enjoyed reading a story set in an area with which she was very familiar. I understand that completely, as that is one reason why I love Pat Conroy's novels, besides his amazing writing of course. Dewey also has a relationship with her husband that is similar to that of Clare and Henry. Heatherbird chose this book because she likes science fiction that seems realistic.

East of Eden - Wendy's Review

2007-10-15T13:50:00.001-07:00

**I read this book from Vasilly's original list. Thanks for the recommendation, Vasilly!

There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: was it good or was it evil? Have I done well - or ill? -From East of Eden, page 413-

I have yet to be disappointed by anything John Steinbeck writes ... and East of Eden is no exception.

Set in the heart of the Salinas Valley, the novel spans three generations of two families whose lives overlap - the Trasks and the Hamiltons. Samuel Hamilton, an Irish immigrant and dreamer who believes in the goodness of mankind, raises his family without financial wealth but rich with love and family unity.

He came to Salinas Valley full-blown and hearty, full of in inventions and energy. His eyes were very bulue, and when he was tired one of them wandered outward a little. he was a big man but delicate in a way. In the dusty business of ranching he seemed always immaculate. His hands were clever. He was a good blacksmith and carpenter and woodcarver, and he could improvise anything with bits of wood and metal. -From East of Eden, page 8-9-

Adam Trask descends from wealth, and the conflict of sibling rivalry and moral weakness.

These usually bought land, but good land, and built their houses of planed lumber and had carpets and colored-glass diamond panes in their windows. There were numbers of these families and they got the good land of the valley and cleared the yellow mustard away and planted wheat. Such a man was Adam Trask. -From East of Eden, page 13-

Narrated in the philosophical voice of Samuel's grandson (who flavors this all-American classic with his thoughts and observations of the politics and economics of life in America at the turn of the century), Steinbeck uses the timeless story of Cain and Abel to draw his characters - and with this adds a greater depth to a novel rich with symbolism.

As in all of Steinbeck's novels, the characters drive the story. Lee, a Chinese servant, surprises and delights the reader with his wisdom and gentle nature. Cathy (later Kate) surpasses the stereotypical evil character, allowing reader empathy to exist side by side with revulsion and demonstrating no one is all good or all bad. The overriding message of East of Eden seems to be that man (or woman) are free to choose their path regardless of inheritance or circumstances - in fact, perhaps in spite of them.

And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. -From East of Eden, page 132-

Now there are many millions in their sects and churches who feel the order, 'Do thou,' and throw their weight into obedience. And there are millions more who feel predestination in 'Thou shalt.' Nothing they may do can interfere with what will be. But 'Thou mayest'! Why, that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win. -From East of Eden, page 303-

Steinbeck's fine sense of place resonates throughout the novel. It is easy to see why East of Eden is considered his greatest work.

A classic which is a must read, this novel is highly recommended; rated 5/5.

Number the Stars - Lois Lowry

2007-10-15T02:45:00.001-07:00

The story of Annemarie Johansen and Ellen Rosen. Set in 1943 in Copenhagan, Denmark during the Second World War. King Christian X of Denmark has decided to surrender to Germany. They are a small country with not much of an army and giving in will allow many Danish to live who would have died had they put up a fight. The downside is that there are now German soldiers on every corner and the Danish are doing without a lot of basic items like cream and coffee.

One day a local Jewish family who own a ribbon and button shop are no longer there. Annemarie's best friend Ellen is Jewish, but as they don't own a shop they feel safe. On going to the synagogue the following Saturday their Rabi informs them that the Germans have taken all their records with all the names of the Jews and where they live. The Rosens have to find safety and Annemarie and her family do a very brave thing stepping in to help.

It was a very well written tale that didn't take long to read. There were definate hold my breath moments, waiting to see if they would be caught and "relocated". The afterward at the end was really interesting as well, setting straight which parts of the tale were true and which were fictional. Another great tale by Lowry.

High Fidelity - Nick Hornby: Trish's Review

2007-10-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

Title: High Fidelity

Author: Nick Hornby

Pages: 322

Rating: 4.5/5

High Fidelity is one of my favorite movies--John Cusack one of my favorite actors--so I was a little worried about what my reception of the book was going to be, especially since I really didn't like Big Fish (the book--read it last month). Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and am glad that I just happened to pick up some of his other books at a booksale a few months ago. (Incidentally About A Boy is another movie I really enjoy--just realized they are the same author).

High Fidelity is the story of Rob and Laura, a couple who has recently broken up. What I love about this book is that the perspective is all Rob's, and Rob is a little bit neurotic and way too analytical. He reminds me of my hero Bridget Jones--except a male version and not quite so silly.

The rest of my review can be found on my blog.

Rhinoa chose this book as her pick: "Another of my favourite authors. This one looks at music (another hobby of mine being a part-time DJ) and the main characters love making lists much like me. The humour is great and it translated really well from London in the book to the USA in the film."

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

2007-10-13T06:01:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella, which is why I selected this book from Margo's list for this challenge. Margo writes "I chose this book as it was a book I really laughed at. It made me really happy one time when I was feeling unwell. It's my favourite Sophie Kinsella book, the character is a bit dizzy, & I have to admit I can be a bit dizzy myself!"

Don't we all have our dizzy moments? =) The Undomestic Goddess is a fun read. My review, which is also on my blog, is posted below.
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The Undomestic Goddess
By Sophie Kinsella
Completed October 12, 2007

Sophie Kinsella does have a magic formula for her chick lit books: girl blunders, tries to hide from her mistake(s), meets boy, lies about said mistake(s) and then comes clean and hopes for "happily ever after."

The Undomestic Goddess is really no different than Kinsella's other books, but I did find her lead character to be more in control of her life. Samantha Sweeting is a high-powered attorney in London, working her way up the ranks at a large law firm. She discovers that she makes a huge mistake at work and flees in embarrassment. She ends up in the countryside, where she takes a job as a housekeeper. However, Samantha knows nothing about cooking, laundry or cleaning. Add a handsome lawyer-hating gardener to the story, and you got a cute, escapist story that is easy and fun to read.

I did enjoy reading Kinsella's accounts of the English countryside with beautifully depicted gardens, local alehouses and cobblestone streets. I have never been to England, but she really transported me there in this book.

Need a breather between edgy novels or just a break from life? Grab a Sophie Kinsella book. It's like a ride at Disney World - short, amusing, light-hearted - and always a ton of fun.

Little Women Bookworms Review

2007-10-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading my 4th selection for this book challenge, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I liked this book.

The four March sisters named Meg, Jo, Amy & Beth live in a cozy home with their mother 'Marmee' while their father is away in the Civil War. The family was wealthy at one time, but it is hinted that he helped a friend who did not repay the debt, and that is how the family ended up living in poverty.....

see my fullreview here

So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson

2007-10-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

So, lots of people have already blogged about this one - it makes sense that it would hold great appeal for book bloggers based on the title alone. :)

Here are a few of my bits and bobs about it, you can see more on my blog, if you're interested:

- Overall, I liked the book well enough - I got through it quickly and was kept pretty interested. It was interesting to see how the books were affecting her, what thoughts they brought to her mind or how they related to what was happening in her life. But it didn't really seem like a chronicle of a "year of passionate reading." Several of our SAM'ers mentioned the passion in the "passionate reading" didn't come through and I agree. Becky summed it up really well: "...if it had been called "Thoughts on the Books I've Read This Year" instead I would have thought it delivered just fine."

- I also agree with Alisonwonderland who says she didn't feel very engaged with Nelson - "a couple of times i found myself thinking that many of the book bloggers i know could have written this book at least as well, if not better." (Note - I do not include myself in that category!)

- Quite a few times Nelson reminded me of that Booking Through Thursday question about being a "Goldilocks reader" - she couldn't get into the book if things weren't just right. For someone who is a "passionate" reader, she seemed awfully picky.

- Nelson claims (quite a few times) that she's not much of a re-reader: "And life is short, why waste time on something you already know, when you can discover something exciting and new?" This is how I feel; I have a few very beloved books and some that I've read a couple of times, but most of my books go right back to the library and that's the end of them, though I thank them for their company. But for someone who claims not to be much of a re-reader, she does it a lot in just one year of reading.

- She has her planned reading list for the year in one of the appendices and no wonder she barely read any of them (2, I think)! They were almost all things she clearly didn't enjoy reading - poetry, short stories, and nonfiction (all of which she admits to not particularly enjoying) and a bunch of classics she hadn't gotten to yet. I think we all have lists of "worthy" titles we'd like to get to, but to think you're going to do them all in a year seems like a lot of pressure.

- I was totally with her on this statement: "I have to read and read and read, all the while knowing that the more aggressively I pursue my passion, the sooner it will end and then I will be bereft." I've put off finishing books I'm loving so that I can keep that bereft feeling at bay a while longer.

- I do agree with her Rule #2 - timing. There are certainly books that you can't get into because you're too young, there's too much going on in your life and you're distracted, they're too close to something you can't face right now, or they're heavy and you need fluffy or they're fluffy and you want solid.

- I'm definitely a "double-booker," too. I pretty much always have one book in my bag for the commute and errands and one by my bed, and fairly often another one somewhere in the house.

- I agreed with her about not really liking "publishing phenomena" - the books that are currently the talk of the town. It's nicer to either discover them first before you hear too much about them or to read them many years after the hype has died down.

Gift from the Sea

2007-10-08T22:58:00.000-07:00

by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I read this book for the Something About Me Challenge. It's one of Alisonwonderland's selections. This review could take pages of 'internet paper' if I wrote all the meaningful quotes I've marked in the book. I'm really glad I chose to read this book. Thanks, Alison for the great suggestion.

Lindbergh takes a needed break from her hectic life to the solitude of a small beach cabin. There she gathers shells and ponders how their design signifies stages in a woman's life. Gift From the Sea is reflective, contemplative journal writing that Lindbergh edited to share with the world.

There are passages galore that spoke to me with their beautiful simplicity and sage wisdom. Words that reaffirmed my beliefs and self-concepts. Others that caused my thinking to grow beyond its bonds. I enjoy that feeling of stretching and growth.

I read a library copy and now will have to buy my own so I can transfer my bookdarts and leave them in place. Books like this are great to have on my bedside table and open up and randomly read passages I've marked.

This quote helped me to identify for myself one reason I like to travel and be away from home on my vacations. "The past and the future are cut off; only the present remains. One lives like a child or a saint in the immediacy of here and now. People become like islands in such an atmosphere, self-contained, whole and serene."

Here's a feeling we can all identify: "What we fear is not so much that our energy may be leaking away through small outlets as that it may be going 'down the drain.'"

"Purposeful giving is not as apt to deplete ones resources; it belongs to that natural order of giving that seems to renew itself even in the act of depletion. The more one gives, the more one has to give."

One of my favorite discussions in the book was that of romantic love. Such moments are fleeting, but valid and can be revisited. Feelings of love ebb and flow just as life, energy and seasons do. Too many panic when the honeymoon ends and real life creeps in and the romance thins. Romance and love need to be kindled and cherished.

I highly recommend this book that still speaks wisdom over 50 years after being written. It's a sweet, gem of a book.

Genome - Matt Ridley

2007-10-07T12:05:00.001-07:00

A popular science book subtitled "The autobiography of a species in 23 chapters". It goes through the 23 pairs of chromosomes of the human body (including the sex chromosomes X and Y) and discusses one or two of the genes found on each. Topics covered include Life (where human DNA came from and its discovery by Watson and Crick), Intelligence, Disease (although he frequently reminds us that genes do not cause disease), Stress, Memory and Death (programmed cell death called "apoptosis" and it's relation to cancer).

The chapter on Eugenics was perhaps my favourite talking about chromosome 21 and Down symdrome (found when a person has 3 copies of the chromosome compared to the usual 2). It also discussed the idea of sterilising mentally retarded people and criminals which went on in America and Germany, but interestingly not the UK although Winton Churchill was a big fan. Interestingly the chromosomes on the front cover are a photograph of the authors which I dind't realise until I read the note after finishing the book.

You definately need a basic understanding of genetics to appreciate this book. The author does try to explain things without too much terminology, but it's pretty impossible in some places. I really enjoyed it and was surprised to find it is the first science book I have read voluntarily since graduating in 2004. It was a lot to take in and I will definately be reading it again in the future. I am really pleased I finally got around to reading it and although some of it is already out of date (it was published in 2000 and genetics has made so many advances in the last few years) I definately recommend it.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

2007-10-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

i finished reading The Thirteenth Tale - from kristin's list - this afternoon, and i have to say i'm glad i was "pushed" into reading it by this challenge. i thoroughly enjoyed it! you can read more of my thoughts here. (btw i cross-listed this book with the R.I.P. II Challenge.)

kristin said she choose this book partly because of the settings and occupations of the main characters - all having to do with books! how can a book lover resist a book like that?!

So Many Books - Heather's Review

2007-10-06T16:56:00.001-07:00

Today, I finished reading So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson. I read this for about a billion reasons. Natalie liked this book, and it was on one of the Something About Me lists. It is about books and reading. The cover is cute. I love memoir-ish writing. The list goes on. Why had I not read it before now? Too many of my friends read it. I tend to be contrary when it comes to things that are popular. It took me forever to give in and read the first Mitford book. Sadly, it bored me. A part of me fears the same for any book my friends like. What if I don't like it? What if I do and then I am just part of the crowd?

Well, I loved So Many Books. The author writes with a voice that appeals to me. I can relate to her addiction to books and reading, even when our taste seems vastly different. For instance, she enjoyed Her by Laura Zigman and I remember the book being shallow and boring. However, there are other things we have in common, such as our love for Dorothy Parker.

I emailed Sara and told her how much I love her book, and she replied quickly. I know, and you know, that writers are just people, but it is still immensely gratifying to have an author I admire acknowledge me. I can remember my excitement over a handwritten letter from Nicole Johnson (Fresh-Brewed Life) and a few friendly emails exchanged with Jodi Picoult. These encounters make me more loyal to these writers. They make me happy.

I loved reading about some of the concepts that came up in So Many Books. One was double-booking. Since, I was triple-booking when I read this. In the carpool line at Haydn's school, I read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom and I have a copy of Jacob, Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson on the end table in the living room. I read bits and pieces of it. No danger of mixing these books up. One involves Christians hiding Jews during WWII and one is the young adult story of twins who are unequally loved. Neither can be easily confused with a book of essays on reading. I also loved the idea of journaling a year's worth of reading. Granted, I already keep track of every book I read in list form and in my Library Thing database. However, that is very sytematic. I would love to share how I choose what to read, sometimes, and how I react to a book rather than just a short review of the story and writing.

I am very VERY glad that I finally delved into this book. It was pure delight.

Heather

Nantucket Nights by Elin Hilderbrand

2007-10-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

3 stars

Summary (from Booklist): Kayla, Antoinette, and Val are a trio whose unlikely friendship was formed 20 years ago when they each rented a room in the same house. Val and Kayla were fast friends, but, despite Kayla's persistence, Antoinette kept her distance--until one night when her desire for a midnight swim inaugurated an annual ritual and cemented their bond. On a remote point on the island of Nantucket, the three women spend one night each Labor Day weekend drinking champagne, eating lobster, skinny-dipping, and baring their souls. One of the secrets revealed during their twentieth get-together launches a chain of events that changes them all forever. Antoinette swims out to sea and never returns, and as they search for her, wondering if she is alive, a complex web of deceptions (both intentional and unintended) begins to unravel.

My thoughts: I chose this book because I'm quite fascinated by those New England islands. I went through quite an obsession with the Hamptons, but didn't know much about Nantucket (besides it being the home of the man in that limerick). The first page describes Kayla doing her Christmas shopping on Main Street I was instantly drawn in and wanted to visit Nantucket in the winter - charming little shops all handing out snacks, filled to the brim with Christmas cheer. So I definitely enjoyed the setting and reading the setting and generally about island life.

The actual story is definitely soap opera-ish, but would make a good beach read (especially given the beachy setting). It dealt with women's friendships in a non-typical way - not a whole lot of loving support going on at all. Harsh, cynical Val tells Kayla that's because they couldn't handle being caring all year round - that's why they only share things with each other once a year. Val and Antoinette were supremely unlikeable and Kayla seemed quite naive at times, though to be fair one doesn't usually expect one's best friends to turn out to be complete bitches. But even Kayla is far from blameless and she comes very close to ruining her marriage. The twists and turns kept me reading and most of the time I liked Kayla, but I have a really hard time fully enjoying books if I don't like the characters, and the lack of any human feeling (though Antoinette redeems herself very, very slightly eventually) in the other two was pretty off-putting.

What I learned about Library Lady: Unfortunately, her blog seems to have gone wonky and I can't find her explanation anywhere here. But I have a feeling that I remember that she's a frequent visitor to Nantucket or at least she was in the past? And she obviously likes twisty, turny books where you don't know who you can trust. :)

84 Charing Cross Road

2007-10-03T20:38:00.001-07:00

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
5 stars

I've started to realize that I'm taking up a lot of room here with my verbose reviews! So you can read my full review of this one on my blog here .

I just want to thank Historia so much for picking this utterly charming little book! I thoroughly enjoyed the 20 years of correspondence between Helene Hanff and Marks & Co. I heartily recommend this one to everyone! It's a super-fast read and such fun for book-lovers (and also Anglophiles, which I am). Now I want to track down her Duchess of Bloomsbury Street and also watch the movie.

I Am The Messenger

2007-10-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is the last "official" book on my Something About Me reading list! However, I'm quickly moving on to my "I hope I have time to read these" list.

Loved this book. Loved it. It only took me two days to read, because I just couldn't put it down. Authors like Markus Zusak amaze me. What happens with so many authors that I like is that after a few books I never read them again because, well, read one and you've read them all. I mean, I swear, pick up a John Grisham or a James Patterson and you can just substitute names and places and "voila!" you've got a new book! (Sorry Grisham and Patterson fans).

Not so with Markus Zusak. If you read The Book Thief and loved it, prepare for the same engaging, can't-put-it-down style, but a completely different book. Totally different premise, totally different setting, timeline, etc. There's not a thing about this book that reminded me of his other, except how much I loved it.

Now you're reading about a 19 year old card-playing cabdriver who's a bit of a loser. All of a sudden, he starts getting messages delivered to him on playing cards and you're off on a great adventure. Read this, read The Book Thief, and then you'll probably do what I'm going to do, which is scour the library and book stores for his other ones.

Booked to Die

2007-10-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

by John Dunning

Just what I need right now - a really good mystery! I really enjoyed this one. It was like getting two books in one: A good mystery and a story about bookscouting and running a bookstore.

"Denver cop and rare book collector Cliff Janeway is introduced in this engrossing whodunit from two-time Edgar nominee Dunning. A sensitive and introspective sort, Janeway chafes in the hard-edged role of law enforcer so often demanded of him. When a down-on-his-luck book scout named Bobby Westfall is murdered, Cliff at first suspects local thug and personal nemesis Jackie Newton. Newton's girlfriend, a victim of physical abuse, makes Cliff more determined than ever to nail Newton. Sensitivity notwithstanding, he goes after his quarry with both fists cocked and both barrels aimed, neglecting any semblance of correct police procedure. This ironic twist shapes the plot as Janeway delves further into his city's antiquarian book trade, whose practitioners display an expertise exceeded only by their greed. Crisp, direct prose and nearly pitch-perfect dialogue enhance this meticulously detailed page-turner." --from Publisher's Weekly

The main character is a likable, down-to-earth guy with a few flaws that keep him human. And he loves books. He loves to read and to collect and to sell books. Throughout the book he mentions titles of quite a few books that are valuable. I've never been a collector of 1st editions, but when I saw the wooden box containing all 7 Harry Potter's in hardback in a recent ad, I started scheming. I knew then that this book got through to me.

I learned about two books that I want to find and read: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt by C.W. Grafton, Sue's father and Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.

I think this book was first recommended to me by Jenclair. Thanks, Jenclair. I loved it and am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult----Gautami's Review

2007-10-03T01:27:00.000-07:00

Title: My Sister’s Keeper
Author: Jodi Picoult
ISBN: 13: 9781416549148
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre/Pages: Fiction/500
Rating: 4.5/5

Very surprising that I had not read any Jodi Picoult before this. I have heard of her but somehow missed reading her books. I picked two of her books yesterday and started reading ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ as soon as I got home. It kept me hooked until the end.

Anna was conceived meticulously with a genetic match for her sister Kate, who is diagnosed with APL, a fatal kind of leukaemia. By the time she is thirteen, she has undergone numerous surgeries, transfusion etc for her older sister. She had no say in those. Now, she questions her parents’ decision and wants to lead a normal life apart from her sister. She goes and hires a lawyer, Campbell Alexander to represent her.

From there starts the conflict. Her decision affects her family, her mother Sara, father Brian, Brother Jesse and of course her sister Kate. In a way, Anna is defined in terms of Kate. All are torn apart. Brian somewhat understands her predicament but Sara cannot see beyond Kate. Jesse has been ignored for as long as he remembers.

For a complete review click My Sister's Keeper..

Trish's thoughts: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult - Picoult always shows all sides to every story, and this one I could especially relate to as my younger sister had a kidney transplant 5 years ago (when she was 18). Although I wasn't in exactly the same circumstances, I could relate to Kate's siblings.

The Thirteenth Tale

2007-10-02T20:18:00.000-07:00

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
5 stars

This was an amazingly entertaining book - suspenseful, shocking, with wonderful language. I was hooked from the very beginning, with Setterfield's description of the way light came through a window onto the doorstep. I sometimes found Margaret just a bit tiresome - I wanted to get on with Vida's story instead of Margaret's agonizing over her past and relationship with her mother. Jane Eyre, one of my favourites, plays a big part in the novel, although I confess I didn't always make all of the connections. At one point Margaret had figured out all of the clues and I still hadn't, this one kept me guessing til the end!

Favourite quote: This book is chock-full of great writing, but I particularly enjoyed this one about the joys and perils of reading:

"I never read without making sure I am in a secure position. I have been like this ever since the age of seven when, sitting on a high wall and reading The Water Babies, I was so seduced by the the descriptions of underwater life that I unconsciously relaxed my muscles. Instead of being held buoyant by the water that so vividly surrounded me in my mind, I plummeted to the ground and knocked myself out. I can still feel the scar under my fringe now. Reading can be dangerous."

Kristin said she picked this one because she really, really enjoyed it and so did I! I'd vaguely heard about through the book grapevine (the bookvine?) but I probably wouldn't have picked it up without her recommendation. So thanks, Kristin!!

(Cross-posted with a bit of a summary on my blog.)

two books reviewed by raidergirl3

2007-10-02T14:08:00.001-07:00

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

This was a great read, full of atmosphere, and perfect for this spooky fall season. I also read this as a selection for the Readers Imbibing Peril (RIP) challenge. My favorite aspect of the book, besides the mystery that is oh so wonderfully, and slowly revealed, is the homage to Jane Eyre, another selction I read for this challenge. If I hadn't read them so closely together, I'm not sure I would have seen the similarities, but I loved that they were somewhat parallel.
Kristin suggested this book and I'm glad she did; I've been wanting to read it for a while.
Kristin said: This book is set in all my favorite places: libraries, used bookstores and archives. I share interests with both of the main characters, one loves to research and the other is a writer. The main reason I pick this book is that I really, really enjoyed it....I think it's one of the best new books I've read in years!

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

How cute is this book? A classic fairy tale, narrated wonderfully, being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread.
This was the Newbery Award winner from 2004, and I would think it is destined to be a classic book.
I loved the narration, as the Reader is spoken to during the story in the tradition of The Princess Bride, warning that bad things are coming, and advising looking up a word like 'perfidy'* as it comes along.

I chose this book for the Something About Me Challenge as recommended by booklogged, and she has chosen wonderfully.

She said in chosing it: Sometimes I feel the size of a mouse trying to conquer problems that are so much bigger than me. My tools seem silly and inefficient, sort of like Despereaux's needle and thread. And sometimes my goals are not realistic in the same way that Despereaux had his heart set on marrying the princess.
I think this sums up the book better than I could. Also, I bought a copy of the book today so we will have one here in the house. I can't just return it to the library and not have a copy if I need some uplifting and hopeful reading. And my children must read this.

*perfidy: a breach of faith

Good Grief

2007-10-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

This review can also be found here.

I read Good Grief by Lolly Winston for the "Something About Me" Reading Challenge. Before I start this review, I have to take a little break to sing

Lolly Lolly Lolly, get your adverbs here!
Lolly Lolly Lolly, got some adverbs here!
Come on down to Lolly's, get the adverbs here!^**

Okay, that's enough. She probably never got THAT growing up.

As I was saying, I read Good Grief by Lolly Winston, which is about a 36 year old woman, Sophie Stanton, who loses her husband to cancer, and her grieving process over the following year or so. It covers her relationship with her mother-in-law, her relationship with her best friend, depression, grief groups, jobs, dating again, psychiatrists and the wonderful medications they prescribe. Written from Sophie's point of view, the novel seems to me to be a realistic portrayal of the feelings someone in Sophie's situation would have and the actions one would take.

What I liked:

I liked Sophie's sense of humor. She couldn't help the things she was doing, but at the same time could see how her behavior might appear to someone else as the behavior of someone at the very least mentally unstable. That was just funny. And I found it SO easy to relate to being able to see a situation from an objective point of view, but still behaving in the situation as someone with a very subjective viewpoint.

My favorite realization Sophie comes to:
Maybe she [Marion, Sophie's mother-in-law] needs me to be her basket case. Just as sometimes you need a person to be strong for you, maybe sometimes you need a person to be weak for you. Maybe I am to Marion what Cops is to me. Kooky screwups who help you tell yourself: Hell, I could be worse.

I liked the relationship between Sophie and her 'Little Sister,' Crystal. Actually, now that I think about it, it was a lot like what Sophie says in the above quote about needing someone to be weak for you. It was when Sophie had to be strong for others, Crystal, her best friend and later her mother-in-law, that she really began to heal.

I'm not going to do a 'what I didn't like' section, because there's nothing that I remember that struck me in an overly negative manner. Overall, it was a fairly quick and enjoyable read with realistic characters.

This novel was from Chasida's list, where she said she chose it because she lives in Silicon Valley and because of her husband's job. So my guess is that her husband has a high-tech job that keeps him busier than they would like. I can relate. I don't live in Silicon Valley, but my husband is Chief Technology Officer for a local bank, which requires long and sometimes lousy hours.

** As a footnote, I miss "Schoolhouse Rock," and really think it should be brought back to Saturday mornings. Along with Mr. Yuckmouth and the little western dude that made the healthy snacks, the wagonwheels and the pineapple and cottage cheese "sundaes" that I think he called "saturdaes."

Review: The Eyre Affair

2007-10-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

*cross posted from my book blog.

I read this one for the Something About Me challenge I'm hosting. I really wanted to like it. I tried to like it. I did finish it, although it took me absolutely forever. It's about a female literary detective of sorts that pursues literary mysteries. A person who loves books should love this book!

I didn't love it, though. It has a pretty distinct science-fiction type flavor, with a bizarre world that is unrecognizable. Part of my dislike was that I felt like this imaginary world wasn't described well enough. The book is supposed to be set in 1985, but it's not like the 1985 I lived through. So what happened? How did the world get in such a state? I guess it's really not necessary to describe - you just have to let go and accept that this is a totally different world and just get into it. But I just couldn't. I liked the characters well enough, and I wanted to read to the end and make sure the bad guy got taken care of. But I just couldn't suspend my "reality" enough to fall into this crazy book world.

It probably has something to do with all the stuff that's going on in my life right now. I have little patience for reading anyway, and then this book was a little too much imaginary work. So if you have this on your list, don't give up. You might have a totally different experience. I might even try the second in the series at some point when my life isn't so crazy, who knows?

I only have one more to go from my original list of 6!

The Amateur Marriage

2007-09-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler
4 stars

Summary (adapted from Publishers Weekly): In December 1941 in St. Cassians, a mainly Eastern European conclave in Baltimore, 20-year-old Michael Anton meets Pauline and is immediately smitten. They marry after Michael is discharged from the army, but their temperaments don't mix. For Michael, self-control is the greatest of virtues; for Pauline, expression is what makes us human (whether that expression is a good idea or not). At Pauline's urging, the two move to the suburbs, where they raise three children, George, Karen and Lindy. Too much more would be giving away the plot, but it won't come as a surprise to hear that they eventually divorce, after 30 years of mostly downs with very few ups. The rest of the novel follows their separate, yet still connected, lives.

My thoughts: I'm finding that I really enjoy Anne Tyler. My book club read Digging to America earlier this year and I really liked it, particularly the parts about the little girls (it was worth it for the "binky party" - where her mother tried to get rid of her daughter's soother addiction - alone). I'd also read The Accidental Tourist back in library school for a project on popular fiction, but had put her from my mind after that. I'm glad I've found her again!

The jacket copy says "Anne Tyler captures the evocative nuances of everyday life during these decades with such telling precision..." and this is true - Tyler is excellent at capturing the sounds, smells, sights - the whole atmosphere - of a situation. I was particularly struck by the going-away-to-war party scene in the community hall - you can smell the pergoies, see the whole neighbourhood gathered together, from babies to seniors, and hear the women gossiping while they "finickily [readjust] the sprigs of parsley garnish after one or another of the men had passed through loading his plate."

Publishers Weekly pointed out that "A lesser novelist would take moral sides, using this story to make a didactic point" and this is really true - I kept wanting to root for either Michael or Pauline, but Tyler wouldn't let me. Even the characters themselves sometimes acknowledg (in non-heated moments) their joint responsibility for their problems. I think this was very well done, as many "women's novels" have the wife as a long-suffering victim and the husband as a cad, period. Here they were both long-suffering but neither was a terrible person (though they could be very unkind) - they just didn't fit together.

The title is really interesting, too. It made me wonder if I have an amateur marriage and if everyone thinks they do, at some point. I don't think mine is amateur, but after only 4 years, it's still evolving. It made me think about marriage as a process - even after 30 years, this couple didn't have a "professional" one.

What I learned about Nattie: Gosh, Nattie - it's so sad. But I thank her for recommending this book. In her blurb about it, she stated that she'd had an amateur marriage that lasted 7 years. So, I learned that she was smart enough to see when she needed to leave the amateur marriage leagues before she wasted her life there (unlike this couple).

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

2007-09-30T05:48:00.001-07:00

I picked A Thousand Splendid Suns from SheReads who wrote the following about this selection:

Because the Afghanistan and Pakistan have fascinated me recently. I have read a couple fiction books recently and went to the movie A Mighty Heart. This week I am also looking forward to hearing Kahled Hosseini speak. I have developed a hobby of catching some of my favorite authors at bookstores. I think it gives a reader a special window into why they wrote a book and it always amazing to hear an author read from his or her book.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is an amazing novel. My review is below and also posted on my blog.
###

A Thousand Splendid Suns
By Khaled Hosseini
Completed September 30, 2007

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a beautiful, heartbreaking yet hopeful story about two women, Mariam and Laila, who live in Afghanistan throughout its recent turbulent years. Foes at first, Mariam and Laila soon become allies against their abusive husband. And in many ways, they are allied against the opppresive powers in place in Afghanistan, where women are to be silent, obedient and enduring, no matter what.

Parts of this book are uncomfortable to read. I will warn you - A Thousand Splendid Suns is not for the faint of heart. The story will tug at your emotions in many ways. You will be mad, sad, happy and disgusted. Good stories can do that to you.

I am glad Khaled Hosseini is writing about Afghanistan after 09/11. It helps put a perspective on this country that I honestly didn't understand. It seems to be such a beautiful, cultural place, if war had not torn it apart. I hope that this country can get on its feet and let its people live in an era of no rockets, snipers or oppression.

My review is not doing this book justice. Just go and read it. In a thousand splendid ways, it will move you. I promise. ( )

Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf

2007-09-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

This novel follows Clarissa Dalloway as she plans and throws a party for the high society in London. It follows both her and a selection of guests through their thoughts, feelings and conversations before and during the event. In a seemingly unrelated story, the novel also follows Septimus Warren Smith and his wife Rezia. They also live in London, he was in the War and he met Rezia whilst in Italy where she made hats with her sisters. He is suffering from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder which was undiagnosed at the time the novel is set (early 1030's). He is talking of killing himself and has visions of his officer who died during the war in front of him.

The two stories intertwine nicely and I enjoyed getting to know all the different characters. Clarissa is a funny lady, I wasn't sure what to make of her. It seemed she didn't quite get what she wanted out of life and was a bit silly, yet at the same time she was well liked and well thought of by all (with only one exception). Most of the characters were flawed and dealing with different kinds of unhappiness. Mr Dalloway was never really able to tell Clarissa that he loved her, their daughter missed the country, Peter Walsh never really got over loving Clarissa, Rezia missed home etc. The person I probably felt the most sorry for was Rezia. She married a charming English war hero, who then took away all affection for her after a few years of marriage. She left all her friends and family to be with him and was desperately unhappy. I wonder if she returned home after the end of the novel.

It was due to end with Clarissa killing herself originally. I am really glad Woolf changed the story to exclude this as it really wouldn't have felt right. She wasn't satisfied with what she had, but it would have seemed unjustified had it ended so abruptly. Very real and well told, a good snapshot looking into the lives of others and the human condition.

Dance of the Dissident Daughter - Review

2007-09-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

I finished reading Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd over a week ago. I have blogged off of some ideas that it spurred, but I have no been able to review it. It is just such a complex idea - this book. How do I tell you what I thought of it?

I will start by saying that I enjoyed reading Dance. I enjoyed it very much, actually. Kidd has a gift for sharing herself and her stories. She is a talented writer. Whether she writes about a subject I can relate to or one more distant from me, I still find myself drawn in. Her images are paintings with the paint still wet on its canvas. I could not help but enjoy this book.

I can't really review the ideas set forth by this book in a simple blog entry. I sometimes nodded, mumbled an adamant amen, scratched my head in confusion and disagreed violently. Always, emotions were evoked. Like I said, she is a good writer. In this book, she shares her journey through modern Religion to her Faith. Her story is not my story. As women, as people, we need to hear each other's stories, however, and I am blessed to have heard hers.

I have blogged some quotes from this book and some thoughts it sparked in the following entries:

I Had a Dream
Circles
Forbidden Anger
Screaming Feminist
Beginning at Zero
El Shaddai
13 Quotes from Dance of the Dissident Daughter
Just the Facts, Ma'am
Interview with Me
13 Quotes from a Lovely Book

There will probably be more entries to come. I will try to remember to update this list, if that is so. I chose this book from Bonnie's list, and I am glad I did. I have "danced" around it for ages and it was time to take the plunge. Thanks, Bonnie!

Heather

Review: Sea Glass by Anita Shreve

2007-09-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

I picked this book, suggested by Beachreader and Library Lady as "Something About Them," because I was reading it anyway from my TBR pile for the TBR Challenge also.

It was my treadmill book this month too, which means I grabbed a large print version and read it while walking my 1/2 hour every day! Pefect book for that!

I liked this one better than the last Anita Shreve book I read (A Pilot's Wife.) This one, I cared much more about the characters, and loved how all their lives came together, and apart, at the end.

This story takes place just as the stock market crashes in 1929 and how all the different characters deal with this tradgedy and how their lives are affected. It also centers around the mill workers strike and how that fires them up and gives them something to live for, yet also makes a complete mess of their lives.

Anyway, it is a sad story, but still, I enjoyed it and I think that if I lived by a beach, I could really get into collecting sea glass!

Twilight - Stephenie Meyer

2007-09-25T03:15:00.002-07:00

Bella (Isabella) Swan moves from living with her mum in bustling Phoenix to sleepy topwn Forks. She is spending some time where she grew up living with her dad while her mum and new partner look for a new job in Florida. She starts at the local school and makes friends, is a hit with the boys and also encounters Edward. He has pale skin, dark hollows under his eyes and he doesn't associate with anyone else at school apart from his family. She is immediately drawn to him. What she doesn't realise is that he is a vampire. Every step she takes getting closer to him, the more she puts herself in danger.

I really enjoyed this book. The style of writing was very seductive and really drew me in as a reader. It changes some of the essential vampire ideas, giving it a fresh take on an exhausted subject. It isn't "just another vampire book" by any means. It's mostly about relationships and Bella getting to know Edward. The last 100 pages or so take a different turn when an outside threat enters the neighbourhood and Bella's life is at risk. The tone of the book changed which I wasn't sure about at first as I liked the gentle building a lot.

I will definately be reading the rest of the series and have New Moon to start when I get time. If you like a good story, vampires or teen dramas than I recommend this to you.

Chocolat - Joanne Harris

2007-09-25T03:15:00.001-07:00

Vivianne Rocher and her daughter Anock arrive in the French villiage Lansquenet (I like that it never really tells you quite where they are from) and are clearly marked as outsiders. They don't go to church and they open a chocolate chop opposite the church during Lent. Father Rayraud from the church takes this as open warfare and begins to undermine them and try to get them to leave the villiage.

A cast of excellent main and secondary characters, this novel really drew me in. The different chocolates made my mouth water and I loved the Pagan side to the novel that was missed out of the film (which I also enjoyed but for different reasons). I liked that you never quite knew where Vivianne was from origianlly and learning the shocking truth behind her upbringing was again something left out of the film. The war between them and "The Black Man" was done well and I liked that it wasn't specifically anti-christianity. The point was there are good and bad people, religion doesn't make you either neccessarily.

The ending was quite mixed. The new blessing to Vivianne's life was wonderful, but I was sad that the wind still called to them to move on again. It would be lovely if Harris wrote a sequel. To anyone who enjoyed the film, please read the book. It is very different whilst still retaining the charm of the film. I will dedinately be reading more from this author, although I have heard this is by far her best novel to date.

A Nattie-Pie Pick

2007-09-24T06:13:00.001-07:00

I have ended up reading a different book from the challenge than I had planned. I didn't realize I would get the chance to read Sixpence House, off of Nattie's List, but I am so glad that I did. Pattie sent me her copy, and it has been such a blessing, like a few more moments in Natalie's presence. I mean, if you have ever seen the books stacked floor to ceiling in her Hobbit House, you will understand.

(****SPOILER****)

I give the book 4 stars. It would be 5 except for a couple of things. First of all, the book is called Sixpence House, but that building hardly plays into the book at all. It shows up in one chapter, halfway through the book, and then it is gone again. Second, I wanted MORE about books. And I wanted them to stay in Hay. It made me so sad when they flew back to America. I was living vicariously through this couple and their child, pretending I too could live in Hay. Ah, well...

Regardless, the book was a wonderful story. I loved all of the excerpts from obscure books that the author came across. I loved the descriptions of Hay, of Booth's mountains of books, etc... Hay truly is a book lover's paradise. One day, maybe, I will make it there.

If you truly love books, then you will truly love this book.

Heather

Becky's Review of Pride and Prejudice

2007-09-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

This post is going to make the rounds. It qualifies as a "Christian" read since this edition was printed by Bethany House. This "insight edition" features notes relevant to everyone, generally speaking, but has a few targeting the Christian crowd specifically. It qualifies as appealing to the young adult crowd--which means I'll be posting it on Becky's Book Reviews. It also qualifies for two challenges I'm participating in: the Something About Me challenge and the Cardathon Challenge.

Why did I choose to read Pride and Prejudice? I love the novel. I haven't always *loved* the novel. There was a long period of my life where I was unfamiliar with this glorious work. I knew I wanted to read it one day. But I didn't have any immediate plans to make it happen. I picked up a copy--I believe it was a Dover edition--a really cheap edition, by the way, for under three bucks. I got to it in December 2005. Years after buying the book. My motivation then? Well, my best friend, Julie, loved the book. And we were discussing the movie. (The most recent movie had just reached theaters and I wanted to go see the movie...but not until I had read the book.) I read it in probably two to four days. I devoured it really. It was just so wonderful. I was graduating with my degree in library science at the time and had some gift cards to spend, so I bought the A&E DVD version with Colin Firth. If I hadn't been convinced of its wonderfulness before, I certainly would've been after seeing the movie! I remember spending the 23rd and 24th of December watching the movie and wrapping presents and feeling all wonderfully giddy. That January, I introduced the movie to my dad. I didn't know if he would like it. It is rather long. It does have a lot of dialogue. But as soon as Mr. Collins came into the scene, Dad was hooked. That summer, June or July 2006, I introduced the movie to my sister. She was skeptical at first. She thought the first hour or so rather boring. But soon she was a fan as well. Then I introduced everyone to Bride and Prejudice. Of course, Julie was the one who first introduced ME to Bride and Prejudice...so I can't take all the credit. So there was much fun and love being spread all around in the family.

But why reread Pride and Prejudice now? Well, I saw it on the Something about Me challenge. It was tempting. But when I saw that Bethany House was releasing a special edition of the book along with their novel Just Jane by Nancy Moser--and that this edition would feature book club type questions--I really couldn't resist it. So I did request a review copy. And it came late last week. As soon as it arrived, I began reading it.

Did I discover anything new the second time around? Well, I don't know about "new" discoveries, but I certainly appreciated it more. I was able to savor it more. I knew what to expect, what was coming. I knew which bits were the "best" parts. I knew the characters. I knew their strengths and weaknesses. I love the language, the style, the romance, the characters. It really is just oh-so-magical.

For those that are unfamiliar, the plot is relatively simple. Jane and Elizabeth are the two oldest sisters in a family of five daughters. It's Regency England. Their family connections aren't the greatest, and it's really imperative that at least one or two of the daughters marry well so that they can be provided for after their father's death. Mrs. Bennet is all about getting her daughters matched up and paired off. And she's a very silly woman. Mr. Bennet is a caring father, who dotes on Elizabeth and merely tolerates the three younger sisters--who rather take after the mother. Jane is a sweet dear. Elizabeth a wit. And the book is about the complicated courtships of the two oldest children. Of course, Lydia, the youngest has her moments as the center of attention. But this isn't her story, thank goodness! Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Wickham and, of course, the unforgettable Mr. Collins play the love interests.

It's a story of love, hate, friendship, family, disdain, disgust, joy, regret, and jealousy. Lots and lots of jealousy. It is a read I recommend to everyone!

What is it about the "Insight Edition" that makes it special? It does feature notes. Mostly cultural notes--not scholarly ones. It likes to comment on the various movie versions of the book. It likes to add in tidbits about Austen's life and time. It points out that Jane is a good "Christian" girl. And it does feature discussion questions. The only thing I am disappointed about in this edition was the fact that I found four typos. One on the very first page. They misspelled first. They even misspelled his on one occasion as "vhis." This is sad, but hopefully it will be corrected with subsequent printings. Typos do happen. But all four could have easily been caught even with spellcheck, and they definitely would have been caught with a human proofreader.

So Many Books, So Little Time

2007-09-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

I posted a blog on my site about this book, but here is a little of what I had to say about this book:

Although I am not really a non-fiction fan I did think this book was a good book. I felt this book was well written and I did enjoy hearing about some of the books the author read, but I felt the purpose of the book was better figured out on your own than explained. It was interesting to hear about how the books came to be on Sara's list and what she thought of them, and I could easily see how and why lovers of books love this book. There were many people who chose this book for their "Something about me" choice and with this many lovers of books I completely understand.

I was a bit blunt in my own blog because I wouldn't choose to read this book again and I would only recommend it to others that enjoy non-fiction. I am glad that I read it and I think it gave me a great insight to those of you that are experiencing this challenge with me.