Too many books

2011 book stats

2012-01-06T21:48:00.002-05:00

I love doing book stats!

Total books read: 38
Total authors read: 33

Authors
male: 15
female: 18
new: 24

Genre
fiction:13

historical fiction: 1
young adult: 16
crime/mystery: 1
fantasy:2
sci fi: 0
non-fiction:6

Year of Publication
oldest: 1892 (The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes)

1890s-1
1940s- 1
1960s- 4
1970s- 4
1980s- 4

1990s- 11
2000s- 15

Places visited in books
New York, United Kingdom, Georgia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, India...and more I probably forgot!

Top 10 of 2011

2012-01-06T21:45:00.003-05:00

in no particular order

1. A Gracious Plenty

2. A Clockwork Orange

3. The Great Brain

4. The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud

5. One Night at the Call Center

6. Trolley Car Familiy

7. The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc

8. Diary of An American Au Pair

9. Fire in the Valley

10. Ruby Slippers of Oz*

*Ruby Slippers was a reread but I was as fascinated with this book the second time I read it as I was the first.

2011 books

2012-01-06T19:45:00.002-05:00

I guess I don't really use this blog much anymore except for my yearly totals, if anyone is reading this! I've been using goodreads a lot-please find me there (Amy Gourley) I really didn't read as much as I would have liked to in 2011 and I think this has been my lowest number read in a while.

January

1. Countdown January- Daniel Parker

2. Vinyl Leaves- Stephen Fjellman

February

3. The Suble Knife- Philip Pullman

4. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes-Arthur Conan Doyle

5. Cringe- Sarah Brown

6. Mortified 2- David Nadelberg

March

7. Mortified- David Nadelberg

8. A Gracious Plenty- Shari Reynolds

9. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing- Judy Blume

10. Superfudge- Judy Blume

April

11. A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess

12. Double Fudge- Judy Blume

13. Otherwise Known As Sheila the Great- Judy Blume

14. The Pigman- Paul Zindel

May

15. Ramona and Her Mother- Beverly Cleary

16. Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast- Bill Richardson

17. A Woman's Place- Marita Goldman

18. The Other Side of Dark- Joan Nixon

19. The Great Brain- John D. Fitzgerald

June

20. Eclipse-Stephenie Meyer

21. Breaking Dawn- Stephenie Meyer

22. The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud- Ben Sherwood

July

23. Requiem for a Princess- Ruth Arthur

24. Trolley Car Family- Eleanor Clymer

25. Pears on a Willow Tree- Leslie Pietrzyk

August

26. Stori Telling- Tori Spelling

27. Filthy Rich- Dorothy Samuels

28. One Night at the Call Center- Chetan Bhagat

29. Finding Mr Right- Emily Carmichael

30. Class Notes- Kate Stimpson

31. The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc- Loraine Despres

September

32. The Te of Piglet- Benjamin Hoff

33. The Ruby Slippers of Oz-Rhys Thomas

November

34. How Not to Spend Your Senior Year- Cameron Dokey

35. Coraline- Neil Gaiman

36. Fire in the Valley- Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine

December

37. The Forest- Edward Rutherfurd

38. Diary of An American Au Pair- Majorie Leet Ford

2010 book stats

2011-04-25T21:19:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I have really slacked on this blog but I wanted to write down my stats for 2010 before I forget to do it

Total books read: 52
Total authors read: 40

Authors
male: 18
female: 20
new :33

Genre
fiction: 18
young adult: 16
crime/mystery: 0
fantasy:1
sci fi: 1
non-fiction: 7

Year of Publication
oldest: 1932 (Little House in the Big Woods)
most recent: 2010 (The Ship Hotel

1930s- 2
1940s- 2
1960s- 1
1970s- 2
1980s- 2

1990s- 9
2000s- 23

2010-1

Places visited in books
Inkworld, New York, Boston, Hyannisport, Los Angeles, Italy, Florida, Nebraska, Japan, Pittsburgh, Chicago, New Mexico, London, Canada, Ohio, New Jersey, Kentucky, Nevada, Illinois, Honolulu, Philippines, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Mexico, Wisconsin, Kansas

Top 10 of 2010

2010-12-31T13:25:00.004-05:00

in no particular order

1. The Golden Compass
2. Into the Forest
3. Disney War
4. Sister Spider Knows All
5. If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend
6. Flashforward
7. Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet?
8. Hotel Honolulu
9. Beauty
10. The Secret History

Top 10 of 2010

2010-12-31T13:25:00.001-05:00

2010 books

2010-12-31T12:53:00.003-05:00

I've been slacking on my book blog this year. Here's a list of the books I read this year, followed by a post of my top 10. I didn't get to read as much as I would have like to this year but I hope to have a better reading year in 2011!

January
1. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
2. The Quality of Life Report by Megan Daum

February
3. Idlewild by Mark Lawson
4. Sister Spider Knows All by Adrian Foglelin
5. The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters by Timothy Schaffert
6. Library Card by Jerry Spinelli
7. Carry Me Across the Water by Ethan Canin

March
8. If Andy Warhol had a Girlfriend by Alison Pace
9. Lucy's E-Journal by Jane Harrington

April
10. The American Porch: An Informal History of an Informal Place by Michael Dolan
11. Into the Forest by Jean Hegland
12. The Orphan and Doll by Tracy Friedman
13. Blasting into the Past by M. Spenser
14. Beauty Queen Blowout: Miss Adventure #2 by Lilia Zuckerman

May
15. Disney War by James B. Stewart

June
15. Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer
16. Twice Upon a Time #2: Sleeping Beauty, the One that Took a Really Long Nap by Wendy Mass
17. Elegant Gathering of White Snow by Kris Radish
18. The Dolls' House by Rumer Godden
19. Little America by Rob Swigart
20. The Lost Girls by Laurie Fox

July
21. The Meanest Doll in the World by Ann M. Martin
22. Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet? by Charlene Baumbich
23. Sibling Rivalry:How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Too by Adele Faber
24. Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down You're Wearing Us out by Charlene Baumbich

August
25. Hotel Honolulu by Paul Theroux

September
26. Gentlemen of Space by Ira Sher
37. The Ship Hotel: A Grand View Along the Lincoln Highway by Brian Butko
38. Found: The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World by Davy Rothbart
39. The Year of Plenty by Rebecca Brammer
40. P.S. Longer Letter Later by Paula Danzinger
41. Snail Mail No More by Paula Danzinger

October
42. Mrs. Mike by Benedict Freeman
43. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley

November
44. 8.4 by Peter Hernon
45. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
46. Light This Candle: The Life and Times of Alan Shepard by Neal Thompson

December
47. The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich
48. The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurty
49. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

re-reads
50. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
51. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
52. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

The Meanest Doll in the World

2010-07-06T21:09:00.003-04:00

This is a sequel to The Doll People, which I read years ago. This book focuses on the same group of dolls but two of the dolls get lost and end up in Princess Mimi's house, a doll who all other dolls are afraid of. I saw Toy Story 3 a few days ago and some things in the book remind me of things in the movie! Another wonderful doll book!

The Lost Girls

2010-07-06T21:04:00.003-04:00

The Lost Girls focuses on Wendy's (from Peter Pan) great grand-daughter. All daughters in Wendy's family are taken away by Peter to Neverland to live for a time. Wendy's great granddaughter is really an unlikeable character. Too whiny, doesn't stand up for herself, weak etc. I just didn't care for her. Or the book really. I could never understand why the Darling women keep returning to Neverland since it seems to change their whole life and not really in a good way. This is one of the worst books I've read lately.

Little America

2010-07-05T22:28:00.002-04:00

This was a strange little book. Some strange comical story lines. Basically about a man who wants nothing else but to live and work at a huge gas station complex in Little America, Wyoming. Oh, and kill his father. The story of how he gets there is hilarious. And strange. Strange, but it worked somehow and I enjoyed this book.

The Dolls' House

2010-07-05T22:24:00.002-04:00

I know I have said this before but I love books about dolls and dolls' houses; seem to be reading a lot of them lately! This is an older one, which are really the best. A doll family finally gets a dolls' house to live in but then a mean doll comes to live with and threatens their peaceful lives. Great book!

The Elegant Gathering of White Snows

2010-07-05T22:13:00.002-04:00

The premise of this book sounds interesting: 8 women suddenly decide to leave their lives and just walk off in the middle of the night. They just keep walking for days, finding out more about themselves and each other, etc, blah, blah, blah. I'm not really a big fan of books about a group of friends but this sounded somewhat interesting. After the first 100 pages or so, I started skimming a lot especially all the descriptive prose. I got the women confused too. I didn't like her style of writing either. Needless to say, I'm not going to be reading anymore of Kris Radish's books.

Twice Upon a Time-Sleeping Beauty

2010-07-05T22:01:00.003-04:00

This book is from the recent genre of retelling of fairy tales. This one retells Sleeping Beauty from the side of Sleeping Beauty and the prince. They alternated chapters telling their sides of the story. It was a fun and cute book. There is also a retelling of Rapunzel by this author and I plan to read that one too.

Flashforward

2010-07-05T20:34:00.002-04:00

I received this book at Christmas but hadn't read it yet. I decided to read right after the series ended and I heard it had been cancelled. I'm still a bit bummed about that. I found the series fascinating at the beginning, then a bit predictable and boring, but loved it again in the last episodes. But I never really liked many of the main characters, but that's another story.

The book mainly takes place around CERN in Switzerland, while the TV series took place in Los Angeles. The cast of the book had a much more international flavor as scientists around the world worked at CERN. The only name in the book from the series is Lloyd Simcoe, but it is not the same character at all. I saw where they took certain story lines from the book.

The book was a real page turner for me until the last quarter of the book. You thought it would end and it went on and on, like the movie A. I. did. When it did end it ended rather abruptly. But overall I really enjoyed the book.

Disney War

2010-07-05T20:29:00.003-04:00

I'm a big of Disney, especially Disney theme parks. This book is about Michael Eisner's reign as CEO of Disney. This book was fascinating. I felt like I learned a lot of the movie business and Hollywood through this book. It gives a great inside look about how Eisner and company turned the Disney company around in the 1980s to produce mega hits and also of its later downfalls, Eisner's feud with Roy Disney and many others. Great reading.

Beauty Queen Blowout

2010-07-05T20:16:00.003-04:00

I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure book when I was a kid (who didnt?) so I had to try this updated version for adults. This book focuses on an unlikely beauty queen, Miss Vermont, and her adventures in the pagentry world, depending on what scenario you choose. This was fun, just like the Choose Your Own Adventure books that I remember. It took a while but I made it through all the possible stories. Lots of fun!

Blasting into the Past

2010-07-03T23:12:00.001-04:00

Like a doll story, I also can't resist time traveling books. This is another young adult story. I didn't care for it very much. It is written in the first person, and while I generally love this type of book, I didn't like how this one was done. I think this book is part of a series too and I didn't read any of the other Humano Morphs so some was a bit confusing.

The Orphan and the Doll

2010-07-03T23:10:00.003-04:00

I just can't resist a doll story. This is about an orphan during (or shortly after) the Civil War and a doll that was sent to her and who helps her find her real family. The doll meets other dolls at the orphanage, has adventures and helps the orphan find her family. A quick and fun read.

Into the Forest

2010-07-03T22:47:00.002-04:00

Wow, this book really makes me think. The story is about 2 teenage sisters living in northern California in a post apocalyptic world. They are far enough out in the country to survive. It was fascinating to read how they learned to grow more of their own food, find out what was edible, and how to live off the land. I was a little surprised to find out what they did in the end but their decision is something that made me think. I still think about this book at times. A fascinating story.

The American Porch

2010-07-02T22:39:00.003-04:00

I've always loved porches, especially big wrap around porches on a house. I always wanted a wrap around porch; don't have one but our porch is pretty big.
This book gives the history of the porch from ancient Greece to modern times. Some parts were great while others were a bit boring, like most non fiction books that I read. I learned a lot in this book and even looked some more stuff up to read about further. I highly recommend this book.

Lucy's E-journal

2010-07-02T22:32:00.002-04:00

Hmmm, I read this book this book several months ago but can't remember much about it! It's a kids book told in email form, which is why I read this. Guess it wasn't too memorable!

If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend

2010-07-02T22:23:00.002-04:00

I'm not really into chick lit so much but I really enjoyed this chick lit book. The main character, works in a chic art gallery. She is extremely likeable (unlike some other chick lit characters) but hates her job. The turn of events is pretty predictable but I really enjoyed this book. A fun read.

Carry Me Across the Water

2010-07-02T22:14:00.003-04:00

I think I orginally picked this book because it is partly set in Pittsburgh, my hometown. It's a story of an elderly man, near the end of his life, looking back on key moments of his life and also important things happening in the present.

Library Card

2010-03-04T22:32:00.003-05:00

This book is a 4 stories about what happens when 4 kids find the same blue library cards. Their lives are changed because of it. The first 3 stories were good but the 4th was a little strange.

The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters

2010-03-04T22:26:00.003-05:00

My next read of the month after Sister Spider had a similar theme, although I didn't realize it. Young girls looking for their mother. In this book, Lily and Mabel live in rural Nebraska and run their grandmother's antique shop. Their mother left them years ago. The book is little strange, the girls are a little wild but it is strangely interesting. Lily travels to look for their mother and Mabel has a few adventures at home. A bit macabre too, I feel, for some reason.

Sister Spider Knows All

2010-03-04T22:20:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure what I was expecting out of this book but I really enjoyed it. It's a YA novel about a 12 year old girl who lives with her grandmother and cousin. She knows nothing about her mother other than she left when she was a few months old. Her cousin's new girlfriend encourages her to find out more and she discovers her mother's high school diary. There are many layers and a lot going on in the story but it's a great coming of age novel. Really enjoyed it. But it did make me feel a bit old since the girl's mother graduated high school in 1990, just a few years before I did.

Idlewild

2010-03-04T22:12:00.002-05:00

I had been wanting to read this book for a while and finally got my hands on a copy from paperbackswap. I love reading alternative history. This book is about the what if is John F. Kennedy survived his assassination and Marilyn Monroe survived her overdose. The chapters alternate between these 2 as well as other characters in the story. It's funny how the people in this novel focus on what if JFK was supposed to die and we wonder what would have happened if he lived.

There were some surprising twists in the book that even made me go back and read certain sections. The book culminates in a 1993 meeting of JFK and Marilyn with another surprising twist.

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging

2010-02-04T21:13:00.002-05:00

I read this book a while back and was looking up something about it and found out it was made into a movie! I had no idea, never heard of a movie of it before. I watched the trailer and went to Netflix to put it in my queue. When I put it in my queue, it showed up under saved movies and was unknown when it would be available. Finally, it showed up as available now.

I thought this was such a cute teen movie! I enjoyed it a lot. I just loved their small English town by the sea, would love to live there myself! It's been a while since I read the book but it seemed to follow the book pretty well. Most characters seemed great but Jaz (the main character, Georgia's best friend) didn't really act or look how I pictured her. And I was a little annoyed how relatively easy it was for Georgia to get Robbie to like her after her never having a boyfriend. But it was fun and cute, all wrapped up neatly at the end in a fun way.

Inglourious Basterds

2010-02-04T20:54:00.003-05:00

I will start by saying that I don't really enjoy Quentin Tarantino movies. Not my thing. However, my husband wanted to get this from Netflix and I said I'd watch it. It seemed to be an interesting concept and I couldn't pass up Brad Pitt.

Turns out I loved it. There were still too many violent type scenes for me and had to look away for some. It wasn't at all what I expected it to be about, according to the trailers I saw. I liked the other stories better than the Basterds parts. Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa was awesome. I'm glad to see him up for lots of major awards.

I love alternative history so I loved that part of the movie too.

Funny thing. I read that this movie was a "spaghetti western" set during World War II. I've seen the term spaghetti western many times but never really knew what it meant. I assumed it had something to do with what happened in some westerns. I was surprised to find out that they are western movies that were directed by Italians and Spanish directors/producers. I thought they were totally something else, but not sure what.

Movies

2010-02-04T20:47:00.001-05:00

I've never really written movie reviews but decided to write a few when the mood strikes me. There's been a few movies I've seen lately that I feel like writing about so I will write a few posts about them.

The Quality of Life Report

2010-02-04T20:36:00.002-05:00

Lucinda is a reporter from New York City who decides after doing a report about Prairie City in the midwest, to move there. The story is about her trials and tribulations to what she believes would be a simpler and nicer life.

My first problem with this book is the man Lucinda begins to date and eventually buys a farm with him. I just couldn't see her with that type of man, and he is the type most sensible people would walk away from immediately. It just bothered me and I couldn't get past that. Also, I couldn't believe how naive Lucinda was about some things or all the mistakes she made. It was easy to read, an ok story, but one of those books you keep getting annoyed at the main characters.

Inkspell

2010-02-04T20:29:00.002-05:00

This book is the sequel to Inkheart, in which Meggie and her father can read characters of of books and become particularly involved with the characters of a book entitled Inkheart.

Inkspell has characters returning to their book along with Meggie and other major characters, including the author of Inkheart.

I love the concept. It sounds like a great concept that booklovers would love. I read the first book and said, eh, it was ok. I decided to give the second book a try. I really shouldn't have.

The book was longer than I thought, 600 some pages. And most of it dragged with not much of anything happening or nothing interesting happening. I wasn't really entralled with the Inkworld. I should have quit this book but didn't. I read the description for the third book and decided that it sounded boring and that I didn't need to read it. I am disappointed in this series.

Mirror Mirror

2010-02-04T20:22:00.002-05:00

I love the genre of the retelling of fairy tales. I haven't read one of Gregory Maguire's books in a while. I read Wicked in the summer of 2002 and listened to Confessions of the Ugly Stepsister in the fall of the same year. Wicked was ok but got too philosophical for me. I really liked Confessions, though.

Mirror Mirror is the retelling of Snow White set in 16th century Italy. The character of the evil queen is Lucrezia Borgia, modeled after the real historical person. The dwarfs are not at all like the Disney version of happy little men but quite different and not very likeable.

I don't really know what say about this book. It was interesting but didn't turn out to what I thought it would be. I did like hearing about the Borgias and that made me do some research on the real Borgias.

Fun facts about my 2009 reads

2010-01-01T22:25:00.002-05:00

I kept some new stats this year, thanks to Literary Feline

Total books read: 49
Total authors read: 44

Authors
male: 17
female: 27
new : 29

Genre
fiction: 15
young adult: 18
crime/mystery: 6
fantasy: 4
sci fi: 1
non-fiction: 6

Book Size
pint size (200 pgs or less): 13
intermediate (201-350 pgs) : 21
substantial (351-500 pgs): 11
door stoppers (500+ pgs): 4

Year of Publication
oldest: 1924 (Giants in the Earth)
several from 2009

1920s- 1
1940s- 1
1960s- 1
1980s- 2
1990s- 10
2000s- 35

Places visited in books
New York City, Prince Edward Island, magic kingdom of Landover, Florida, Barbados, Chicago, Wisconsin, Forks, Washington, Netherlands, Philadelphia, Oregan territory, Massachusetts, London, Dakota territory, Pompeii, Texas, Soviet Union, Los Angeles, Hogwarts, Washington, D.C., Australia, Louisiana, Elkhart, Indiana

Top 10 of 2009

2010-01-01T22:23:00.003-05:00

in no particular order

American Band-Kristen Laine
Good in Bed- Jennifer Weiner
Child 44- Tom Rob Smith
Free-Range Kids- Lenore Skenazy
Loving Frank- Nancy Horan
Boston Jane- Jennifer Holm
Who P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit? - Gary Wolf
Casual Rex- Eric Garcia
Starlight Barking- Dodie Smith
The Most Wanted- Jacqueline Mitchard

My 2009 books

2010-01-01T22:04:00.002-05:00

It's that time again! Here's the books I read this year:

January
1. Tomorrow Will Be Better- Betty Smith
2. Before Green Gables- Budge Wilson
3. Witches Brew- Terry Brooks
4. Jack's New Power- Jack Gantos

February
5. Jack's Black Book- Jack Gantos
6. Loving Frank- Nancy Horan
7. Twilight- Stephenie Meyer
8. Melanie Martin Goes Dutch- Carol Weston

March
9. Last Night at the Lobster- Steward O'Nan
10. Boston Jane- Jennifer Holm
11. Starlight Barking- Dodie Smith
12. A Woman of Her Tribe- Margaret Robinson

April
12. Giants in the Earth- O.E. Rolvaag
13. Sweet Sixteen Princess- Meg Cabot
14. Afternoon of the Elves- Janet Taylor Lisle
15. Eleven Karens- Peter Lefcourt
16. Just Don't Make a Scene, Mum- Rosie Rushton

May
17. Josie and Jack- Kelly Braffet
18. The Cuckoo Sister- Vivian Alcock
19. Pompeii- Robert Harris
20. Audacity of Hope- Barack Obama
21. Good in Bed- Jennifer Weiner

June
22. Jinxed- Carol Higgins Clark
23. Valentine Princess- Meg Cabot
24. The Most Wanted- Jacqueline Mitchard
25. The No Spin Zone- Bill O'Reilly

July
26. Child 44- Tom Rob Smith
27. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince- J. K. Rowling (reread)

August
28. The Civil War in Fairfax County- Charles Mauro
29. Free-Range Kids- Lenore Skenazy
30. Who P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit? -Gary Wolf
31. What's French for Eww?- Katie Maxwell
32. All-American Girl- Meg Cabot
33. The Rudest Alien on Earth- Jane Conly
34. Ready or Not- Meg Cabot
35. The Slightly True Story of Cedar Hartley- Martine Murray

September
36. Maybe Baby- Tenaya Darlington
36. Voyage- Stephen Baxter

October
38. Ya-Yas in Bloom- Rebecca Wells
39. If Only it were True- Marc Levy
40Sisters Long Ago- Peg Kehret
41. Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism- Georgia Byng
42. New Moon- Stephenie Meyer

November
43. Diary of a Mad Bride- Laura Wolf
44. Casual Rex- Eric Garcia
45. Anonymous Rex- Eric Garcia

December
46. Life Without Lawyers- Philip Howard
47. American Band- Kristen Laine
48. London Holiday- Richard Peck
49. The Lost Symbol- Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol

2010-01-01T21:04:00.003-05:00

I read The DaVinci Code shortly after it came out and really enjoyed it. This book started out page turning and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. But it started falling apart for me somewhere in the middle. I figured out one of the mysteries of the book in the middle, which didn't seem that hard to decipher. The final secrets didn't seem too exciting or shocking to me either. I got tired of Langdon explaining everything and his and other main characters dumb moves. And saying SMSC (Smithsonian Museum Support Center) bugged me the whole book since I used to work in the same complex for the American Indian Museum and everyone calls it MSC, not SMSC, small nitpick but bothersome to me. And on the final pages of the book he even gets wrong the name of National Museum of the American Indian, calling it Native History Museum or something. So, yeah, I was a little disappointed but it was still interesting to read about supposedly ancient Masonic secrets. I have yet to read his other books, but I do own Angels and Demons and plan to read it some time.

London Holiday

2010-01-01T21:01:00.002-05:00

I've read many young adult book by Richard Peck (The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp is one of my favorite books) but never any adult fiction by him. This book is the story of 3 old high school friends from Missouri, who have mostly gone their seperate ways, but reunite for a trip to London together. They stay at a small bed and breakfast and each have their own London adventure with a heartwarming ending. Nothing too special, but I enjoyed it.

American Band

2010-01-01T20:53:00.003-05:00

I really loved this book. This book is about a season in a highly competitive marching band in Indiana. It brought back so many memories for me. Marching band was my life in high school and my band was also very competitive. It was interesting to compare Concord Marching Band to my high school experience. Much was the same. This book also delved into the personal lives of several students and the directors. It was a great book and I highly recommend it especially to those who were in marching band.

Life Without Lawyers

2010-01-01T20:37:00.002-05:00

No doubt that America is too litigious. Philip Howard's book is full of examples of outrageous lawsuits and solutions to this problem. I read this book at the beginning the month and I really don't remember much of his solutions! I remember mainly about the education section but not much other than that. It wasn't as easy to read as I thought it would be but still an interesting subject.

Casual Rex/Anonymous Rex

2009-12-03T13:15:00.003-05:00

I have had Anonymous Rex on my wishlist for a while and then I found 2 books in one and decided to try it. I wasn't really sure if I would like it. The books are about a P.I. in Los Angeles who is a dinosaurs. Dinosaurs didn't die out millions of years ago but survived and now wear"guises" so humans do not find out. An very odd premise, but it works.

I read Casual Rex first but it turns out it was a prequel. I was engaged almost immediately. Vincent and his partner Eddie find themselves immersed in a dinosaur cult mystery. A lot of fun. I really wasn't expecting much but really enjoyed the story. Anonymous Rex was good too. I was truly surprised how much I enjoyed these books.

Diary of Mad Bride

2009-12-03T13:13:00.002-05:00

The book starts out with Amy as a bridesmaid in her friend Mandy's wedding. She isn't going to be a bridezilla like her friend. In fact, maybe she won't get married at all. Then her boyfriend pops the question. You can see where this is all going. The book is funny and I love diary style books.

New Moon

2009-12-03T13:02:00.002-05:00

What can I say about New Moon that hasn't already been said? I'm not a big fan of the Twilight series, I will say first. I enjoy the books, mostly, but they won't be rereads for me and I haven't rushed out to get the next one. I will read it eventually. Beware, spoilers below if you haven't read it.

Bella, Bella, Bella. She annoys me to no end in this book. Does she have to be that dramatic? She just cannot live without Edward. I love Jacob though; my favorite character in the books. And Taylor Lautner in the movies isn't bad to look at either. He is so sweet. I didn't see the werewolf thing coming and it disappointed me a little although I could see where it was going. The creepiest image of the book to me was after Bella jumped and later realized the red flame in the water she was seeing was Victoria. I will see the movie, again eventually when it comes to Netflix.

I guess the books keep me entertained but I just get too upset with all the characters and their choices.

Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism

2009-12-03T12:59:00.003-05:00

I just read Sisters Long Ago, which dealt with hypnotism, and my 4 year old picked this book next (probably based on front cover) to read next. How fitting.

Molly Moon is an orphan who finds a fantastic book about hypnotism and discovers that she is a natural. What happened in the middle of the book surprised me. It was a fun book to read and there are several other books in the series that I will be reading.

Sisters Long Ago

2009-12-03T12:55:00.003-05:00

This book is a teen novel written in the 1990s. Willow experiences flashbacks to a previous life and wonders what it all means. She tries to find out how she is conncected with another girl who saved her life. And how this all fits in with her sister now who has cancer. There are some interesting topics in this book like reincarnation, hypnotism and dreams.

If Only It Were True

2009-12-03T12:48:00.002-05:00

What would you do if you were in an accident, your body was on life support but you were seperated from your body and only one random person could see you? This is what happens to Lauren in this book. How does she return to her body? Only one person, a stranger, who now lives in her old apartment, Arthur, could see her. Some very interesting things happen in this book. There is also a movie based on the book, Just Like Heaven with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo, that I got from Netflix shortly after reading the book. The movie has a lot in common with the book but yet is different. I enjoyed the movie too.

Ya-Yas in Bloom

2009-12-03T12:32:00.003-05:00

I loved Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood when I read it shortly after it was published. I didn't care too much for the Little Altars Everywhere prequel. This book starts with how the Ya-Yas met, some of their childhood, early married years and present day. I liked finding out more about them. Fun!

Voyage

2009-12-02T21:57:00.003-05:00

One of my newest interest has been the U.S. space program, specifically the Apollo era. This novel is an alternative history of what might have happened if the manned moon missions continued and a mission to Mars took place. I was impressed with all the details about the space program and science in this book. Plus the development of several human characters. I loved the focus on the different aspects of the program-the astronauts, creation of the Martian lander, etc. It was a long book and took me a while to read but I really enjoyed it.

Maybe Baby

2009-12-02T21:43:00.002-05:00

This was a interesting little book. It is about a family whose not very close at all anymore. The daughter becomes pregnant and decides to have a genderless baby. No one except the parents will know if it's a boy or girl. Interesting concept. I remember reading recently about a couple doing this, in Sweden I think?

The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley

2009-09-03T21:37:00.002-04:00

This book is about a 12 year old girl named Cedar, her relationship with her new friend Kite, the circus, acrobats and so much more. I guess this book is classified as young adult but I thought of it more as a coming of age story and was surprised to see it classified this way. It is set in Australia so it was fun to learn some new words and phrases that I didn't know like what a squashed fly biscuit is. There are a lot deep thoughts from Cedar in this book that made me think. This book was a lot better than I expected.

Ready or Not

2009-09-03T21:25:00.002-04:00

You know you have too many books when you just start looking through your books randomly and find a sequel to a book that you didn't know had a sequel and that you had no idea you even owned. That's what happened to me with Ready or Not. I had just read All American Girl and I assumed it didn't have a sequel. A few days later I found Ready or Not on one of my many book shelves. Hmp!

Anyway, this book takes place about a year after American Girl. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the first one. Samantha started to remind me more of Mia from the Princess Diaries but this isn't why I didn't like it. Most of the book is about Samantha's fixiation on one subject and I pretty much figured about her assumption and ultimately didn't like her decision.

All American Girl

2009-09-03T21:18:00.002-04:00

Samantha becomes a national hero at age 15 when she stops a presidential assassination. Of course, her whole life in changed whereas she just wants to be herself; a similar premise to The Princess Diaries, also by Meg Cabot. Oh, and she also begins dating the president's son. The book was fun to read.

What's French for "Ew!"?

2009-09-03T21:09:00.002-04:00

This is a fun young adult novel. I read another in this, which is about 16 year old Emily and her life since her family moved to Europe. This book focuses on her spring break trip to Paris. Emily has the worst luck but her adventures are hilarious. Oh, the book is written in a series of emails to her best friend in the U.S. I love books in this format. A fun book to read!

Who P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?

2009-09-02T22:48:00.002-04:00

I read Who Censored Roger Rabbit? last year and loved it. This book isn't exactly a sequel but it has the same characters. I love the inhabitants of Toontown and their interactions with 1930s Hollywood. It is also pretty funny and I love humorous books. Another highly recommended book.

Free-Range Kids

2009-09-02T22:36:00.002-04:00

I was very excited to read this book. It certainly lived up to expectations. It was fantastic. This is pretty much how I want to raise my kids. I want them to be able to grow up with the same type of childhood that I had and not worry about every little thing that might happen to them; but it's hard not too worry! I don't like the trend of the "helicopter parents" and not giving kids any freedom. Skenazy brings data and facts to the argument that kids can do more than we think and the world is truly not a more dangerous place than it was 30 years ago. There was so much in this book that I agreed with. I was laughing aloud at timesl Skenazy is a funny writer at times and her style is very easy to read. I got this book from the library but I need to get my own copy.

The Civil War in Fairfax County

2009-09-02T22:06:00.002-04:00

Civil War history is all around me where I live in Fairfax county Virginia. Although I majored in history in college, I have never been into military history.

I found out recently, though, that there could be Civil War trenches in my backyard, literally, as they have been found in my neighbor's yard. Fascinating!

I found this book at the library and decided to read it to find out a little more about the war in my area. It's a short book with lots of photographs. However, it took me a long time to read as I found it tedious in parts and a few times it seemed to abruptly change subjects. The book has a lot of first hand accounts of the war. I did learn some new information from the book but overall it was a tad boring to me.

Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince

2009-09-02T21:58:00.002-04:00

I reread this book in July in preparation to see the movie. Have I seen the movie yet? No. Such is the life with 3 young children. I probably won't see it until it comes out on DVD now.

I haven't reread a Harry Potter book in a while. I think this is only the second time I've read it. It was very enjoyable again. I'd really like to reread book 7 now but I just have so many other books to read.

Child 44

2009-09-02T21:16:00.003-04:00

I got this book last year from a big box of books that I won from Hatchette. I put it on my book shelves but it really didn't sound that interesting to me. I picked it up in July for a book group read not thinking I would really like it.
But I was wrong. It was a great book! It is set in the Soviet Union in the 1950s. A former MGB officer finds a disturbing pattern of murders. But officially, the state says there is no serial killers because they don't exist in the Soviet Union. He goes against the state to discover the killer. The theme of the book is definitely paranoia. I can't imagine what it was like to live the USSR then and fear everyone and everything.
The book is fast paced with a final twist that I did figure out before the end. I am glad I did read this book and highly recommend it.

The No Spin Zone

2009-07-03T21:38:00.003-04:00

I used to listen to Bill O'Reilly radio show a lot and watch his TV show occasionally but haven't for years. (By the way, this seems the theme for this month-books I've had forever and authors I haven't read for a while). I found his show interesting and while I always didn't agree with his opinion, I respected him for it.

This book is broken up into chapters than can be read out of order as each chapter tackles and issue and deals with a person who's been on his show debating the issue.

I liked his first book but I found him more pompous and arrogant in this book. He seems to brag about how his ideas are right or just about himself in general.

The Most Wanted

2009-07-03T21:33:00.003-04:00

I read the first chapter in this book and couldn't decide if I should read more or give it up. I decided to plow ahead and was glad I did. Arley is a 14 year girl who, on a whim, starts writing to a man in prison and within the year she becomes his wife. An interesting premise. I got annoyed at Arley a lot, though, and couldn't quite understand why she married Dillon. One chapter is told by Arley, the next by her friend and lawyer, Annie, and so on. It is a very emotional book.

Valentine Princess

2009-07-03T21:32:00.001-04:00

I love the Princess Diaries books. I love almost any book written in diary form, though. This is a short book about how Mia and Michael spend their first Valentine's Day. I don't have much to say about it but I did enjoy it, as usual.

Jinxed

2009-07-03T21:27:00.003-04:00

This is another book I got from the publisher ages ago. I used to read all of Mary Higgins Clark books but haven't read any for a long time. They all started to run together and sound the same. I think I've read 2 other of Carol Higgins Clark's Regan Reilly books.

This book was a quick and easy read and fun too. There were a lot of different characters whose story lines all came together. The characters were interesting and fun too.

Good in Bed

2009-07-03T21:18:00.003-04:00

I've had this book sitting on my book shelf for a long time. I got it probably around the time in was published when some publishers were giving away free books for anyone who signed up. I received it and didn't think it would be my type of book. Especially from the name of the title.

Titles can be deceiving. I loved the book. The title isn't really what the book is about. I loved the main character Cannie. She was smart and funny. The book did get a little too fairy tale-ish for me in parts, but overall I really enjoyed it. I had no idea there was a sequel and I will have to get this soon. I will also check out some of Jennifer Weiner's other books since I liked this one so much.

The Audacity of Hope

2009-06-01T20:54:00.012-04:00

I have been wanting to read this book for a while and finally snagged a copy on paperbackswap.com.

It is interesting to read this as it was written before he even campaigned to be president. It usually takes me a while to get through non-fiction books and this was no exception. I loved the little excerpts about his upbringing and life now. I must admit I don't know a whole lot about politics so I had to re-read some sections a few times.

Overall, he comes across as an every day regular person. It is truly astonishing that he has risen so fast in the political world. I think his book, Dreams from my Father, is more my style as it is more autobiographical and less political.

One interesting tidbit that I didn't know is that the title of the book came from a sermon from Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Pompeii

2009-06-01T20:46:00.010-04:00

This work of historical fiction takes place in the 4 days before and several days after the eruption of Pompeii. It follows the story of an aqueduct engineer, Marcus Attilus, and how he uncovers problems in the aqueduct that is related to the pending eruption of Pompeii.

I must say, it started out slow to me but then I really got into it. It made me do some more research on the eruption of Pompeii and some aspects I did not know about. I had heard of the philospher Pliny but I did not know he had a connection to Pompeii. The action after the eruption is very intense. There is one element I didn't like with Marcus Attilus and a woman named Corelia but I can understand why it was there.

The Cuckoo Sister

2009-06-01T20:39:00.004-04:00

Katie's older sister Emma was kidnapped as a baby. Fast forward, 13 years later and Rosie shows up at Katie's front door. Is she really Emma? She is so different than Katie had imagined Emma would be.This is the premise for this novel that makes you think what you would do in this situation. Difficult decisions, frustration and anger are main themes in this book.

The cover I have of this book makes Katie and Rosie look more like 15 and 17 rather than 11 and 13. This cover looks more appropiate to me.

Josie and Jack

2009-06-01T20:27:00.004-04:00

This whole book had a dark, creepy feel to it. Josie and Jack are teenaged brother and sister, living in western Pennsylvania with their father, a college professor, frequently absent from their lives and he isn't really all there. They are home schooled with not much contact with the outside world but Jack has more contact than Josie. They eventually both run away and...well, I don't want to spoil the story of what happens next.

The book has a very V.C. Andrews feel to it, if you know what I mean. The story keeps moving and you keep wondering what's going to happen next and the climax is shocking.

Reading retrospective: May 2004

2009-05-15T20:06:00.002-04:00

I only read 2 books in May 2004.

One was Three Wishes by Liane Moriarity. I got this book as a ARC. I don't remember much about it except that it was set in Australia and about 3 adult triplets.

My other read was Adrian Mole: The Lost Years by Sue Townsend. I don't remember exactly which Adrian Mole book this was but I highly recommend the Adrian Mole books. They are hilarious! They are written in diary form by Adrian Mole starting at age 13. He is a British teenager. The British slang is great and the book are very funny.

Just Don't Make a Scene, Mum

2009-05-02T20:23:00.002-04:00

Kids and parents. Parents and kids. This novel tells the viewpoint of several British teenagers and how they think their parents embarrass them. It also gets the point of view from the parents. It was a quick fun read and very funny. Apparently more books about the same teens, which I may read some day.

Eleven Karens

2009-05-02T20:15:00.002-04:00

Eleven Karens by Peter Lefcourt is fun book and an interesting way to write a novel. It is a fictional memoir about a nameless man and the eleven Karens he's met throughout his life. It starts in elementary school with the first Karen and goes to the final Karen in middle age. Each chapter or section of the book is about a different Karen and how that Karen enriched his life. There are also footnotes in each chapter, which I found interesting in a fiction book like this, about certain aspects a culture that he talks about in the chapters. This was a fun book, very enjoyable to read.

Afternoon of the Elves

2009-05-02T20:11:00.003-04:00

This book wasn't exactly what I expected. Hilary becomes friends with the outcast Sara-Kate after Sara-Kate shows her an elf village in her yard. Is the elf village real or not? Is Sara-Kate an elf? These are all questions Hilary has as well as the readers of this book. The realization of who Sara-Kate really is both surprising and sad.

Sweet Sixteen Princess

2009-05-02T20:08:00.002-04:00

Another book in the princess diaries series by Meg Cabot. This short book revolves around Mia's 16th birthday. As usual, her grandmother wants something totally different than Mia wants. This book was short and fun and I read it in the middle of reading Giants in the Earth to take a short break from that book.

Giants in the Earth

2009-05-02T20:03:00.003-04:00

I learned about this classic book after a discussion on a book group about Laura Ingalls Wilder and someone mentioned this book about pioneer life in the Dakotas. The book was written in 1924 in Norwegian by a Norwegian immigrant and later translated to English.
It falls the lives of several Norwegian families setting up a life on the Dakota prairie. I felt this book had a dark undertone, especially with the depression that one woman, Beret, struggled with. It was mostly interesting but some parts were slow too and it took me a month to get through this book. The ending was a little surprising. I thought it was going to end one way but it ended another.
I love historical sagas and although this was not my favorite, I still enjoyed it a lot.

Booking through Thursday

2009-04-02T15:20:00.002-04:00

I saw that National Library week is coming up in April, and that led to some questions. How often do you use your public library and how do you use it? Has the coffeehouse/bookstore replaced the library? Did you go to the library as a child? Do you have any particular memories of the library? Do you like sleek, modern, active libraries or the older, darker, quiet, cozy libraries?

My answer:

I loved going to the library as a child. It was a small town library in an old building. The upstairs was the children's floor. I always got out several books at a time. I probably read most of the books in the children's and then young adult section. I knew the library so well that I knew when they got a new book in and I was often the first person to check it out. When I moved also to the adult section as a teenager, I decided to read every fiction book starting with A authors. I never got very far but it was fun trying.

Now, I don't use the library very often. Why? Because of my massive to be read shelves at home. I have enough books to read without getting them from the library. I still do frequent library book sales though; I can't pass up a library book sale. I have started going more frequently with my kids and they get out several books a week.

A Woman of her Tribe

2009-03-31T20:21:00.003-04:00

A Woman of her Tribe is a young adult book by Margaret Robinson. Annette is a 15 year old Nootka Indian who is moving to the city to a new school with her mother, who is not an Indian. Annette feels as if she has one foot in the Indian world and one foot in the white world. She returns to her Nootka home during a school break and decides which world to live in.

The book was predictable but real. Nothing too exciting or amazing but interesting to learn a bit about the Nootka culture.

The Starlight Barking

2009-03-31T20:15:00.002-04:00

This book is the sequel to The Hundred and One Dalmations by Dodie Smith. I really loved that book. It was much better than the Disney version.

In The Starlight Barking, all humans and animals are in a magic sleep except for dogs. The dogs can now do amazing things. They receive a message from Sirius, the dog star and their fate may be forever changed.

The same characters from the first book play a big part in this book such as Pongo, the Missus and Cadpig. I liked this book but not as much as the first. I would have liked a sequel that wasn't as fantasy based as this one. It was fun to see Cruella de Vil in this book again too.

Boston Jane

2009-03-31T20:04:00.002-04:00

I have a new, very unspecific way of picking my next book to read. I used to just read in the order that I got the book (even though my pile is huge) but I decided to try something new. My 3 year old and 5 year old daughter's pick a random book from the shelf! This was my 5 year old's first pick.

I've had Boston Jane by Jennifer Holm on my shelf for a while. It didn't particularly look like a book I wanted to read but I give all books a chance. And I'm glad I did with this one.

The book was much better than I thought it would be. Jane is a tomboy in Philadelphia in the 1870s and then goes to a finishing school to become a young lady. At age 16, she travels to the Northwest Coast to meet up with her fiancee. However, there is a surprise in store for her there.

I loved Jane's adventures to and in the Oregan territory. I couldn't put the book down. And I found out there are 2 more books in the series, another 2 books on my wish list! I highly recommend this book!

Top Teen Books Meme

2009-03-06T22:10:00.002-05:00

I found this at Pop Culture Junkie. Fun!

The following list of books teens love, books teens should read, and books adults who serve teens should know about was compiled IN ABSOLUTELY NO SCIENTIFIC MANNER and should be taken with a very large grain of salt.

Instructions:
Put an “X” next to the books you’ve read
Put a “+” next to the books you LOVE
Put a “#” next to the books you plan on reading
Tally your “X”s at the bottom
Share with your friends!

I'm also going to * the ones I actually read as a teen.

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams X
2. Kit’s Wilderness / David Almond
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie
4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson
5. Feed / M.T. Anderson
6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews X * (more a book teens like than a teen must read!)
7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher
8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway #
10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block
11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor#
12. Forever / Judy Blume X *
13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell
14. Tyrell / Coe Booth
15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares X+
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray #
17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot X
18. The Stranger / Albert Camus
19. Ender’s Game / Orson Scott Card
20. Postcards from No Man’s Land / Aidan Chambers
21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky #
22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn
24. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer #
26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins
27. The Midwife’s Apprentice / Karen Cushman
28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen
29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow #
30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly
31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer
33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman
35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden
36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles
37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going
38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding X *
39. Looking for Alaska / John Green
40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes
41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse
42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen
43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton X *
44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins
45 The First Part Last / Angela Johnson
46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause
47. Arrow’s Flight / Mercedes Lackey
48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson
49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee X *
50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan
51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart #
52. The Giver / Lois Lowry
53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry
54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar
55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch
56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler
57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey
58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean
59. Sold / Patricia McCormick
60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta
61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr
62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer X
63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock #
64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers
66. Step From Heaven / An Na
67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix
69. Sabriel / Garth Nix
70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini
72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen
73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer #
74. The Golden Compass / Phillip Pullman #
75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison X+
76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan
77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
78. how i live now / Meg Rosoff #
79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling X+
80. Holes / Louis Sachar
81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger X+*
82. Push / Sapphire
83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi #
84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman
85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli X+
87. Chanda’s Secrets / Allan Stratton
88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien X
91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar
93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld
94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger
97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang
98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin #
99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak
100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak

Have to Read: 12 (may be others; I am going to look up the unfamiliar titles)

Last Night at the Lobster

2009-03-06T22:03:00.003-05:00

I've heard a lot about this book in the past year so I was happy when I reached the #1 position on my paperbackswap.com wishlist.

The book is very short but there's a lot packed into this short book. It is the last day of operation of a Red Lobster as a blizzard moves in. I enjoyed hearing the workers back stories and wish I could have got to know them a little more but that's not the point of this book. The characters do feel real I also liked hearing about how a restaurant runs.

Melanie Martin Goes Dutch

2009-03-06T21:58:00.003-05:00

I read the first book in the Melanie Martin series about a year ago. She visited Italy in that book; this book is about her trip to the Netherlands.

This is a children's series that I have enjoyed so far. Melanie is 10 in this book and is written in diary format. One thing that's great about these books is all the information about the country she visits that she gives. Historical events, art, culture etc. Children can learn a lot from these books and I even learned a few things I didn't know. Plus Melanie and her family are funny.

Reading retrospective: February 2004

2009-02-28T21:22:00.002-05:00

I started out February 2004 by reading Bridget Jones's Diary. I enjoyed this one a lot; very funny. I was still slogging through H.G. Wells books and read The Island of Dr. Moreau, not one of my favorites. I read The Windsor Knot by Sharyn McCrumb, whose books I almost always enjoy. Anne Hall Whitt's The Suitcases was a surprisingly good non fiction about book orphaned sisters moving from one foster home to another. I also read two thrillers, The DaVinci Code, which I admit I really enjoyed and Tell No One by Harlan Coben. My final book for the month was The Postcard by Beverly Lewis, the story of an Amish girl. I have always meant to read the sequel to this one and still haven't.

Twilight

2009-02-28T21:15:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I finally gave in to see what the fuss was about. I didn't have any interest in reading it as I really don't care for vampire stories. But so many have told me it's not just vampires, it's a love story so I thought I would try it.

Eh, it was ok. It was certainly fast to read. I did get annoyed with Bella a lot and also hearing about how perfect Edward is. I don't have to read the next book immediately (I don't have a copy right now anyway) but I will read the rest of the series sometime because I do want to know what happens. I hope Bella doesn't annoy me too much in the rest of the books.

Loving Frank

2009-02-28T21:04:00.003-05:00

I am a huge fan of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture. I grew up near Fallingwater, which I just adore. So, I had to read this book when I first heard about it.

The book is historical fiction about Mamah Cheney and FLW's affair, which was scandalous at the time that it happened in 1910. I wasn't surprised at the end since I already knew what was going to happened. I've never been a big fan of FLW the person and he certainly didn't come off as lovable in this book. I was really bothered by Mamah's choices, especially leaving her children for so long.

Overall, I liked the book although some parts did go a tad slow. I most enjoyed the parts about the building of Taliesin and when they lived there.

Jack's Black Book

2009-02-28T21:01:00.003-05:00

This is the last book in the Jack Henry series that I have been reading. I keep seeing the title as Jack Black's book, ha ha! jack and his family are back in Florida and his hilarious adventures continue. I didn't like this book as much as some of the other Jack books but it was still funny.

25 things

2009-02-03T13:28:00.002-05:00

So there's a 25 things about yourself note going around on Facebook and I've seen it on some blogs too. I decided to do a 25 things book related meme.

1. I don't remember when I learned to read but I wish I did.
2. I remember reading and doing book reports on Laura Ingalls Wilder books in 2nd grade.
3. I always read above my reading level in school.
4. I loved the Scholastic book orders.
5. I discovered Anne of Green Gables through one of the Scholastic book orders in 4th grade but I don't think I read it until 5th grade.
6. We did Book It in elementary school. If you filled all your stars for the month (I think it was 5 or 7) with books you read, then you got a free personal pizza from Pizza Hut.
7. I always had to create my own stars because I always read more.
8. I started this blog about 2 years ago.
9. I have probably around 500 books that I haven't read yet.
10. I have about 200 or so that I have read.
11. My kids probably have around 100 books.
12. I hardly ever buy a book new unless I really want it and want it to keep.
13. My favorite used book store closed a few years ago.
14. They have another location but it's farther away and I haven't been there yet.
15. I love library book sales.
16. I don't use the library as much as I should.
17. I have so many books at home to read so that has cut my library usage.
18. I have about 20 bookmarks.
19. My oldest book is a very old copy of Anne of Green Gables. Not a first edition, but close.
20. I'm not very good at writing book reviews.
21. It's really hard to choice one favorite book; I have so many.
22. It bothers me a tad when people say they love to read but don't have time. It just depends on how much you want to do it. I always make time to read even with 3 small children.
23. I also have lots of unread magazines in this house.
24. This list was a lot easier to make than the original 25 things about me list.
25. I'd love to hear 25 book related things about you!

Reading retrospective: January 2004

2009-02-02T21:56:00.002-05:00

I read 6 books in January 2004. Hmm, that was a lot for being a new mother (daughter was 6 months old then) I started the year with Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. I had heard of this book but never really had a desire to read it. However, I found this as a bookcrossing book so I decided to read it. I was surprised how much I liked it and now it is one of my all time favorites.

My next book was A Sudden Change of Heart by Barbara Bradford and I don't remember a thing about it! I'm pretty sure it wasn't my type of book and not sure why I read it in the first place.

My third book was Paige by Paige by Paige Davis. I was big into Trading Spaces then. I remember it was a fun, light read.

I then read In the Days of the Comet by H.G. Wells. Ugh. I was reading through a set of H.G. Wells books hoping there would be one I liked but I really didn' t care for any of them. I don't remember the plot for this one but I remember slogging through it. I then read.

My fifth book was I Sleep at Red Lights by Bruce Stockler. This book was non fiction about a family with triplets. Some parts were funny but I remember mostly being annoying by the mother in this book.

My final book was The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit. I remember liking this one a lot but not much about the book itself specifically.

Jack's New Power

2009-02-02T21:50:00.003-05:00

I love the Jack Henry books; they are absolutely hilarious. There are 5 of them and this is the third one I've read.

Jack's family moves around often and during his 13th year, they move to Barbados. Having just visited Barbados last year, it was neat to see various places I've been to mentioned in the book and know generally some about the island.

The books is told in the first person by Jack. He is such a typical boy and gets into all kinds of trouble and has all kind of adventures.

The books are loosely based on Jack Gantos' own childhood. Fun and entertaining.

4/5

Witches Brew

2009-02-02T21:38:00.002-05:00

This is the fifth book and final book in the Landover series. I did read recently a sixth book is coming out later this year.

I am not normally too much of a fantasy reader but I like these books. I think I like fantasy better if it is somehow pertains to earth. The king of the magical kingdom of Landover bought Landover for $1 million from a catalogue (book 1) so much is about him learning and interacting in the kingdom. The only pure fantasy books I like is the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

There were a few dry spells in the book but I mostly enjoyed it. The characters are interesting and once again the future of the kingdom of Landover is on the line

3/5

Before Green Gables

2009-02-02T21:19:00.002-05:00

My favorite author is L.M. Montgomery and one of my favorite books in Anne of Green Gables so there's no surprise that I had to read this book.

I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would. I liked getting in insight into Anne's early life before Green Gables. I couldn't help but wonder though, how LMM really imagined it, if she did.

There were many a-ha moments in the book like learning about how found Katie Maurice, her use of big words, taking care of children, etc.

I have to admit that I even cried a little.

Overall, I enjoyed the book very much. I usually don't care for sequels or prequels to books written by other authors but I did like this one. I like it as a separate work from LMM's stories , if that makes sense.

4/5

Tomorrow Will Be Better

2009-02-02T21:02:00.002-05:00

I started this book late last year but finished it in January, so this was my first book finished in 2009.

This book is about Margie, who lives in 1920s Brooklyn. It begins when she is 16 and takes her first job and takes us through her trials there and of her marriage.

I just love Betty Smith's books. If you don't know already, her most famous book is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which is one of my favorite books. I then read Joy in the Morning and loved it too. This isn't my favorite of hers, but I still liked it a lot. You are really drawn into the story. Margy wants a better life for herself than her parents and you see her struggle each days with her decisions. I really didn't care for many the characters but Margy and her friends. The other characters weren't very likeable. I enjoyed reading about life in the 20s in Brooklyn

4/5

Fun facts about my 2008 reads

2008-12-30T23:33:00.002-05:00

I've read:

22 male authors
36 female authors

4 non fiction
76 fiction

40 new authors

47 childrens/young adult
3 science fiction/fantasy
5 mystery

I've visited (that I can remember) Arkansas, New York City, California, Boston, Greece, London, Florida, Iowa, Alaska, England, New York state, Oregon, Los Angeles, Washington state, Washington D.C., Paris, Illinois, Iceland, the center of the earth, Minnesota and Long Island in books I have read this year.

Top 10 of 2008

2008-12-30T23:29:00.002-05:00

in no particular order except for #1

1. World Without by Ken Follett
2. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
3. Dooms Day Book by Connie Willis
4. The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
5. The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood
6. Carney's House Party by Maud Hart Lovelace
7. Five Dolls and the Monkey by Helen Clare
8. A Painted House by John Grisham
9. Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
10. Who Censored Roger Rabbit? Gary Wolfe

2008 reads

2008-12-30T22:33:00.003-05:00

It's that time again! I can't believe it's the end of 2008 already. I love going through and seeing what I've read and my favorites.

January
1. The Tangle Box by Terry Brooks
2. Frankie Murphy’s Kiss List
3.A Painted House by John Grisham
4. The Diary of Melanie Martin by Carol Weston
5. Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson
6. Heartburn by Nora Ephron
7. Princess Diaries II: Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot
8. Princess Diaries III: Princess in Love by Meg Cabot
9. Princess Diaries IV: Princess in Waiting by Meg Cabot
10. Secret Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

February
11. Princess Diaries V: Princess in Pink by Meg Cabot
12. What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman
13. Night of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy
14. 24/7 by Jim Brown
15. Style by Maggie Sweet by Judith Stacey
16. Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown
17. Princess Lessons by Meg Cabot
18. Marrying Mom by Olivia Goldsmith
19. Dork on the Run by Carol Gorman

March
20. A Midsummer Night's Dork by Carol Gorman
21. The Mennyms by Sylvia Waugh
22. The Mennyms in the Wilderness by Sylvia Waugh
23. Princess Diaries VI: Princess in Training by Meg Cabot
24. The Mennyms under Siege by Sylvia Waugh
25. The Mennyms Alone by Sylvia Waugh
26. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
27. Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn
28. Harry's Mad by Dick King Smith
29. Dooms Day Book by Connie Willis

April
30. The Romanovs: The Final Chapter by Robert Massie
31. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
32. Heads or Tails: Stories from the Sixth Grade by Jack Gantos
33. Party Princess by Meg Cabot
34. Mennyms Alive by Sylvia Waugh
35. The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright

May
36. The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
37. Rumspringa by Tom Shactman
38. The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood
39. The Wish Giver by Bill Brittain
40. Princess Present by Meg Cabot
41. The Moon Stops Here by James Bennett

June
42. The Grown Ups by Victoria Glennding
43. The Royal Treatment by MaryJanice Davidson
44. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
45. On the Other Hand, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God by Louise Rennison

July
46. World Without End by Ken Follett
47. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
48. Knocked Out by My Nunga Nungas by Louise Rennison
49. The Daydreamer by Ian McEwan

August
50. The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson
51. Castaways on Long Ago by Edward Ormonyroyd
52. The Four Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright
53. The Year of Yes by Maria Headley

September
54. After Caroline by Kay Hooper
55. Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright
56. The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson
57. Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright
58.A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
59. The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Carlson
60. The Magic Tunnel by Caroline Emerson
61. Cradle and All by James Patterson

October
62. Sons of the Profit by William Speidel
63. Who Censored Roger Rabbit by Gary Wolf
64. Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
65. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
66. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit
67. The Wednesday Wizard by Sherryl Jordan
68. Return to Gone-Away by Elizabeth Enright

November
69. The Seventh Sinner by Elizabeth Peters
70. The Hideaway Cave by Ruth Chew
71. Murder in Foggy Bottom by Margaret Truman
72. Tunnel Through Time by Lester del Ray

December
73. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
74. The Brethren by John Grisham
75. All Through the Night by Mary Higgins Clark
76. The Tales of the Beetle Bard by J. K. Rowling
77. Carney's House Party by Maud Lovelace
78. Danny Dunn and the Smallifying Machine by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin
79. Five Dolls and a Monkey by Helen Clare
80. The Summer of Sassy Jo by J.P. Reading

The Summer of Sassy Jo

2008-12-30T22:26:00.002-05:00

Title and author of book: The Summer of Sassy Jo by J. P. Reading

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? fiction, young adult

What led you to pick up this book? The title, really. I found it at a used book sale and there was not a plot sypnosis on the back so I picked it up on title alone.

Plot summary: 14 year old Sara Jo visits her recovering alcoholic mother for the summer who left her when she was 5.

What did you like most about the book? The character of Sara Jo, as did all the characters, seemed real and I liked how everything wasn't perfect. The relationship between her and her mother was very real too. This book surprised me. I wasn't expecting much out of it and it turned out to be a very good book.

What did you like least? Sara's attitude towards her mother and towards her life in general

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? no

Do you recommend this book? If you use a rating system, what’s your rating? yes, 4.5/5

Five Dolls and A Monkey

2008-12-30T22:10:00.002-05:00

Title and author of book: Five Dolls and The Monkey by Helen Clare

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? fiction, children's

What led you to pick up this book? I will read any books about dolls and dolls' houses

Plot summary: Elizabeth shrinks herself and visits her 5 dolls (and the monkey who lives on the roof) in their doll house.

What did you like most about the book? Really, the monkey was quite funny. The dolls' reactions to his antics are funny. I also loved the adventures of the dolls.

What did you like least? nothing

What did you think of the writing style? funny

Which of your readers are most likely to enjoy this book? Why? those who like books about dolls

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? This is the first one. There are others in this series about these dolls that I would like to read if I could find them; the books were written in the 50s and I just happened upon this one at a library sale.

Do you recommend this book? If you use a rating system, what’s your rating? yes, 4.5/5

Danny Dunn and the Smallifying Machine

2008-12-30T21:57:00.002-05:00

Title and author of book: Danny Dunn and the Smallifying Machine by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? fiction, young adult

What led you to pick up this book? It sounded interesting. I'm always interested in fantasy kids books.

Plot summary: Danny and his friends are accidentally shrunk by a shrinking machine.

What did you like most about the book? I liked that there was actually science behind how the body might work if it was shrunk. The book reminded me a little of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

What did you like least? Some of the stuff that happened after they were shrunk. They wanted to get rescued immediately yet they ventured outside for food and water when they knew help would be coming near the shrinking machine. But then it wouldn't be much of a story, would it?

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? None. There are apparently a bunch of Danny Dunn books but I doubt that I will read them unless I happen to come across another and it looks interesting.

Do you recommend this book? If you use a rating system, what’s your rating? yes, 3.5/5

Carney's House Party

2008-12-30T21:37:00.002-05:00

Title and author of book: Carney's House Party by Maud Hart Lovelace

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? fiction

Setting: Deep Valley, Minnesota, summer of 1911

What led you to pick up this book? I love all the Betsy-Tacy books so I wanted to read this one about their friend Carney

Plot summary: Carney is home for the summer from college and has her house full of guests, hence the title house party. (My first thought of the term house party is a wild party with young adults without their parents but of course this isn't the meaning here) Carney's boyfriend who she hasn't seen for 4 years is coming to visit and everyone is excited to see if he proposes.

What did you like most about the book? I love books taking place in this ear. I love how all the fashions are described and how different times were back then especially dating and friendship. It was fun to see the same characters from the Betsy-Tacy books showing up even Betsy herself.

What did you like least? Sometimes Carney's attitude bothered me.

What did you think of the writing style? love it!

Which of your readers are most likely to enjoy this book? Why? Those who like young adult books, nostalgia, and books set in this era

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? yes, I loved the Betsy-Tacy series; only discovered them a few years ago and wish I read them sooner!

Share a favorite scene from the book: I'm trying to think of one but most of it was great.

Do you recommend this book? If you use a rating system, what’s your rating? yes, 4.5/5

The Tales of Beetle the Bard

2008-12-30T21:26:00.003-05:00

Title and author of book: The Tales of Beetle the Bard by J. K. Rowling (I always want to say Tales of the Beetle Bard for some reason)

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? fiction, fantasy

What led you to pick up this book? I'm a Harry Potter nut so of course I had to read this one.

Plot summary: A collection of short wizarding fables with commentary by Dumbledore

What did you like most about the book? It was fun to read some more about the wizard world after Book 7. I liked the commentary by Dumbledore.

What did you like least? I don't think this book really needed to be written but it was fun.

Which of your readers are most likely to enjoy this book? Why? Harry Potter fans, of course!

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? yes, all of them and loved them. However, I probably won't read this one again but add it to my Harry Potter book collection.

Do you recommend this book? If you use a rating system, what’s your rating? yes, 4/5

All Through the Night

2008-12-30T20:20:00.003-05:00

Title and author of book: All Through the Night by Mary Higgins Clark

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? fiction, mystery

Setting: New York City, present times

What led you to pick up this book? I used to read a lot of Mary Higgins Clark books but not really so much anymore. I picked this book to read in December since it was a Christmas story.

Plot summary: Seven years ago a chalice is stolen from a church and on the same night a baby is left on the church steps. Years later, the mother tries to find her child. (just one of the plots)

What did you like most about the book? short and sweet

What did you like least? easy to figure out what was going to happen

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? I've read a lot of her books but nothing really recent. I enjoyed them at the time, but to be honest, I don't remember much about them.

What did you think of the ending? It wraps up everything nicely

Do you recommend this book? If you use a rating system, what’s your rating? yes, quick to read and fluff, 3/5

The Brethren

2008-12-30T15:26:00.002-05:00

Title and author of book: The Brethren by John Grisham

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? fiction

What led you to pick up this book? I like John Grisham's books.

Plot summary: Three judges in a federal prison pull off a blackmail scheme that affects some very important people.

What did you like most about the book? Quick paced, a page turner, interesting story

What did you like least? nothing

What did you think of the writing style? Typical Grisham. It may not be the best writing but it keeps me interested. It took me only 5 days to read this in comparision to the 2 weeks it took me to finish the Jules Verne book.

Which of your readers are most likely to enjoy this book? Why? Those who like John Grisham's writing; want something to read that is quick and fun

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? I've read most of his other books. My favorites are The Firm, A Time to Kill and The Chamber.

What did you think of the ending? I was hoping for a little more

Do you recommend this book? If you use a rating system, what’s your rating? yes, 4/5