Janaury 2009 Book Challenge - Page 3

[KaraBoo]

finished Jon Stewart's book. yeah, just not as funny as I had imagined.

#4-another Alexander McCall Smith This time, it's At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances. I've not read the two previous books in the series. I didn't like the first few pages but after I got used to being in the head of the protagonist, I started really enjoying the book. I LOVE all the stuff about German behaviour and thinking as opposed to British. It's hilarious without being offending.

[fremontmama]

Originally Posted by KaraBoo

So I started my number 3 book last night: Naked Pictures of Famous People-Jon Stewart. DH bought it for me at a used book store recently. It's okay. Not as hilariously funny as I thought. And it's not because it's dry humor because I like that and expect it from Stewart. I just had an idea that it would be funnier.

I thought it would be funnier too. It read quickly, but I expected to get a giggle or two out of it. I didnt really though. Oh well. Still love the guy.

Originally Posted by Bufomander

And Snozz, thanks for the warning -- i'm taking The Dead and the Gone off my holds list.

Yeah, after that review, I am positive I dont want to waste my time. Thank you for the heads up! So many books, so little time, on to bigger and better books for me

[becoming]

I need to get back to reading. I've let it slide the past couple of weeks, and I'm so much happier when I'm reading something. My goal is 109 books in 2009.

[cathe]

Originally Posted by snozzberry

#1 Things I Want My Daughters to Know: A Novel by Elizabeth Noble

Rating: 2/5

Summary: A mother dying of cancer writes letters to her husband and each of her four daughters, then keeps a diary in her last days. Her daughters receive the letters and the diary after she passes away and have to reconcile their mother's advice with what's going on in their lives.

Review: I had trouble getting into this story. It had so many different "main" characters that I didn't feel a real connection with any of them. The book switches point of view among the 4 daughters and the husband. (Unless you count all the letters and diary entries from the mom—that would make 6 points of view.) Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if you had a little more time to spend with each character before being switched to the next one, but the switches were too frequent for me to settle into a character.

The story itself is fine, but what's a story without a character you can settle into?

I also had a hard time reading some of the dialogue. Sometimes there wouldn't be a paragraph break between text describing the actions of one character and the speech of another character. So I'd misunderstand and think the first character was the one saying it until I got further in the conversation and realized that I was off by a character. Also, when more than two people were talking, the dialogue wasn't always attributed so I had absolutely no idea who was saying what.

All in all, not a horrible book but also nothing to write home about.

ITA

BTW -- is this a new year's resolution to write detailed these detailed reviews? They're awesome.

[cathe]

The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama

This was about several families in Japan during WWII and after. It was interesting learning about traditions related to Sumo wrestling and mask making. I had trouble getting into this because of the constantly shifting points of view and the Japanese names but it got good once I got everybody straight.

[boricuaqueen327]

my goal is to read 25 books this year. I am getting a new bookshelf and have been buying as many classics as I can. I am currently reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo.

[Fiestabeth]

I think I set my goal in 2007 for 30 something books and only read 12. I set my goal in 2008 for 18 and I'm pretty sure I surpassed that, though I lost count midyear. I have two monthly book clubs so I think I'll just make a goal to actually read the book club books every month, so 24.

I'm starting out the year with Rashi's Daughters and The Kite Runner.

[fremontmama]

#1 The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Apropo for the first finished book of the year I think I really enjoyed this. I liked pretty much everything Obama had to say. And if he can accomplish half of what he lays out here in his presidency, I think our country will be a much better place for everyone. I think this is a must read for everyone. Inspiring to say the least, for me anyway

[gromero]

#2 A Thousand Splendid Suns
Loved it just as much as the Kite Runner. Several times I had to put the book down, go do a load of dishes and then get back to it. Some of the things that happened were so hard to read.

Next on my list....Life As We Knew It. Everyone had such great reviews about it, so hopefully I can make a trip to the book store in the next day or so.

[enkmom]

I would like to jump in.

My first book of 2009 was Peony in Love, by Lisa See. I enjoyed it, but it was not as good as Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

I also read The Duke and I by Julia Quinn, a regency romance. Total fluff, but it was great and just what I needed.

Last night I read the graphic novel Y, the Last Man. I plan to read the second one tonight.

My next books will probably be the graphic novel Ex Machina, a mystery called A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron, and People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.

My only goal for the year is to finish Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell. I like it, but for some reason it reads so slowly for me. I have been reading it for about 10 months now.

[snozzberry]

The Dead and the Gone:

Originally Posted by fremontmama

Yeah, after that review, I am positive I dont want to waste my time. Thank you for the heads up! So many books, so little time, on to bigger and better books for me

Happy to take one for the team!

Originally Posted by cathe

BTW -- is this a new year's resolution to write detailed these detailed reviews? They're awesome.

Glad you like them! I'm trying to "read like a writer" and articulate what I like/don't like about a book so I'll know more for my own writing. We'll see if it helps...

Originally Posted by fremontmama

#1 The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Apropo for the first finished book of the year I think I really enjoyed this. I liked pretty much everything Obama had to say. And if he can accomplish half of what he lays out here in his presidency, I think our country will be a much better place for everyone. I think this is a must read for everyone. Inspiring to say the least, for me anyway

ITA...love that book!

[nancy926]

I'm back for 2009! But first, my last book of 2008:

#64: Sweethearts, by Sara Zarr

This was...okay. I actually thought the main character was pretty well drawn, and there were some lyrical passages. But I thought the author could have done much more with it. And I kept waiting for the huge "thing" that Jennifer and Cameron experience that bonds them forever...even after it happened, I guess. Oops. I found some of the plot to be unrealistic. I did really like Jennifer's stepdad.

I am still planning to read Zarr's other book (Story of a Girl), but my hopes will not be as high.

For 2009, I'm skipping a goal. My goal for the past 2 years was 50 books. I read 72 in 2007 and 64 last year. This year I'm just going to read stuff and see what happens.

#1: Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer

This was pretty good...for YA. I guess my expectations of YA fiction need to be lowered a bit...I tend to find it somewhat shallow, as if one or two layers of introspection have been removed. Yet I keep reading it!

#2: The Dive From Clausen's Pier, by Anne Packer

Fiction. Carrie is engaged to Mike, her high school sweetheart and boyfriend of the past nine years. She's not sure she wants to marry him. Then he dives from Clausen's Pier and is injured, and everything changes.

I'm torn between thinking of Carrie as a selfish b*$ch, and admiring Packer for writing such a realistic character. There were some side stories in this book that I did not care for, and wanted more from some of the other plotlines. It was a good read, though, and I'm now sorry i let it sit on my shelf for a couple of years (!!).

[friendtoall]

#1 - The Outlander by Gil Adamson
Fabulous. Made me realize I've been reading a lot of fluff lately. I loved the writing, the characters, the ending, everything. I've read criticism of the editing, and I agree, there do seem to be some discrepancies, but I feel they add to the harried feel of the main character.

In 1903 a mysterious young woman flees alone across the west, one heart-pounding step ahead of the law. At 19, she has just become a widow--and her husband’s murderer. As bloodhounds track Mary Boulton through the mountains, she is tormented by mad visions and by the knowledge that her two cold-blooded brothers-in-law are hot on her trail, determined to hunt her down in revenge for their brother’s death. Responding to little more than the primitive fight for life, she flees further and further into the wilderness, and into the wilds of her own mind, encountering an unforgettable cast of eccentrics along the way.

#2 - The Book Thief (audio)
The man reading it was excellent! The story was also very good.

[kaliki_kila]

Originally Posted by boricuaqueen327

I am currently reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo.

I love Jane Eyre and the message in The Alchemist is also good.

Originally Posted by enkmom

My first book of 2009 was Peony in Love, by Lisa See. I enjoyed it, but it was not as good as Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

ITA. I enjoyed Peony in Love until all the ghost stuff, then it was just too weird for me.

[KaraBoo]

#5-Hometown Appetites. It's about Clementine Paddleford who was one of the first food writers. I'm not done with it yet but thought I'd list it now.

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Originally Posted by kaliki_kila

I love Jane Eyre

Ugh, Jane Eyre

[kaliki_kila]

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

Ugh, Jane Eyre

: you better watch out there are lots of fans here!

[jenneology]

Just discovered this challenge and I like it!

I have no idea how many books I read last year. I just read. quickly. But I like the idea of tracking it, learning from others and writing about the books I read.

Right now on my book list is:
Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama
Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
Evil Genes by Barbara Oakley
The Senator and the Priest by Andrew Greeley
Irish Linen by Andrew Greeley
Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Myla Kabat-zinn and Jon Kabat-zinn

Since last year was the year of the thesis, maybe this year can be the year of reading for fun, well before new baby...

[enkmom]

Book #4: I finished Y:the Last Man-Cycles tonight. It was good, but I probably won't read any more of these.

[cathe]

I'm so excited . . . Remember me raving about the book Darling Jim? Well, I just got the author Christian Moerk as the keynoter for the Central Coast Writers' Conference in October. I'm so excited to meet him!