Febraury 2009 Book Challenge

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

It's hard to believe that January is gone already. So here we are on to the second and shortest month ... so get reading, we don't have much time.

Now, repeat after me...

So, just by way of clarification (for comers both new and old), new and improved guidelines for the Book Challenge Thread are as follows:

1) Post the books you read ... or not
2) Post a recommendation ... or not
3) Number your book ... or not
4) Make a goal ... or not
5) Have fun with books (This one, unfortunately, is MANDATORY)


So, with that, avante and a happy reading February to everyone!


2008's Threads can be found HERE
January's Thread can be found HERE

[Oriole]

January:
#1. The Hunger Games (Collins) *****
#2. Dead until Dark (Harris) ****

February:
#3. Stolen Innocence (Wall)****

I technically read it in January, but I read the last page today; so here we go...

I thought it was a compelling read, but it's poorly written. It is a true story of a girl growing up as a member of FLSD church. She was married off at the age of 14 to a person she couldn't stand, and the book revolves around her personal take on what's going on. From being an obedient child in a twisted world, to breaking free, speaking up, and launching investigation against a person who insisted that by raping her, her husband is securing a place in heaven for both of them.

[Suzukimom]

January:
1.Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama
2. Everything Must Change- Brian McClaren
3.Irresistible Revolution- Living as an Ordinary Radical- Shane Claiborne
4. A New Earth - Eckhard Tolle I finished it on the 30th

February
5. A Zookeeper's Wife- A War Story - Diane Ackerman. A WWII story of survival in Warsaw which wasn't as dismal as I thought it might be. Bringing nature and zoology into the story gave it a different perspective.

[Jenifer76]

1. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

I am pretty sure some other people on here have read it but I will give a brief summary:The story begins with Sarah and her family being rounded up in the Vel' d'Hiv (France's roundup of Jewish residents that were eventually sent to Auschwitz). Before they are taken away, Sarah locks her four-year-old brother in a secret cupboard and promises to come back for him. Sixty years later, Julie Jarmond, an American living in Paris with her French husband, is asked to write about the anniversary of the Vel’ d’Hiv. Jarmond begins to research her husband's family's involvement in the tragic events.

I stayed up until 2 a.m. to finish this book. It is both fascinating and horrifying. There were a few scenes that actually disturbed me. It sounds weird to say I would highly recommend the book, but I would. Despite the horrible circumstances described, it is a good book. I had no clue about the French involvement in the Holocaust and de Rosnay does not gloss over country's role. Heartbreaking.

[Jenifer76]

P.S. NewCrunchyDaddy, are you purposely spelling the months wrong now? :P

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Originally Posted by Jenifer76

P.S. NewCrunchyDaddy, are you purposely spelling the months wrong now? :P

Maybe...

[Jenifer76]

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

Maybe...

Well then I am wholeheartedly looking forward to May. Or Amy.

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Originally Posted by Jenifer76

P.S. NewCrunchyDaddy, are you purposely spelling the months wrong now? :P

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

Maybe...

Originally Posted by Jenifer76

Well then I am wholeheartedly looking forward to May. Or Amy.

I'm actually being cute as a way of covering up the fact that I legitimately did spell February wrong. *sigh*

[becoming]

February
8. Prep - Curtis Sittenfeld

I really loved this one. Very well-written, and I identified a LOT with the main character. Thanks to whoever suggested this one in January's thread!

January
1. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
2. Life Class - Pat Barker
3. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
4. Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen
5. Images of America: Claiborne Parish
6. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
7. Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult

[Jenifer76]

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

I'm actually being cute as a way of covering up the fact that I legitimately did spell February wrong. *sigh*

Delete this post and say this is artistic license. We'll keep it between us.

P.S. The only reason I can spell February is that my son was born this month.

[kangamitroo]

#6 The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists by Khaled Abou el Fadl
i highly recommend this book. the author does a wonderful job of describing the development of puritanical movements in Islam (such as Wahabbism, which carried to its extreme led to the Taliban), and contrasts puritan beliefs with those of the majority of moderate Muslims. it covers some heavy topics such as a Muslim view of the purpose of creation, and the nature and role of women.
even tho the book mentions a lot of scholars and other historic figures, i found it highly readable. the author is a scholar of Islamic and western law.

#& Muhammad: A Prophet for our Time by Karen Armstrong
this is an update of the biography she wrote a few years ago. it does a lovely job of putting the development of Islam in socio-historic context. i had tried reading it before, but at that time it had felt heavy on the clan names. i could not keep the various Arabic terms straight. however, this time my interest in the topic is strong enough that i could overcome that hurdle.


#1 Animal, Vegetable, Miracle --B. Kingsolver, #2 Righteous --L. Sandler, #3 Stargirl--J. Spinelli, #4 For the Love of God --L. Kaylin, #5 Mecca and Main Street --G. Abdo

[Fiestabeth]

#2 Haunted Ground by Erin Hart

I must have liked this because I spent all day yesterday reading it. It is a mystery novel, and I didn't figure it out so that was good.

From Amazon:

Cutting turf in the peat bogs of his Ireland farm, Brendan McGann occasionally finds old oak beams, oxcarts or tubs of butter and cheese buried ages ago and forgotten. But he's hardly prepared for the gruesome discovery he makes one pleasant April morning: the perfectly preserved head of a woman. So begins Hart's debut thriller, which follows archeologist Cormac Maguire, maverick local detective Garret Devaney, and Nora Gavin, an American anatomist lecturing at Trinity College Medical School, as they investigate the farmer's grisly finding, which could date back quite far, given that peat bogs can preserve bodies for centuries.

[cathe]

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

I'm actually being cute as a way of covering up the fact that I legitimately did spell February wrong. *sigh*

Maybe we can get Mothering to put in spell check . . .

[Bufomander]

Originally Posted by Jenifer76

P.S. NewCrunchyDaddy, are you purposely spelling the months wrong now? :P

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

Maybe...

Originally Posted by Jenifer76

Well then I am wholeheartedly looking forward to May. Or Amy.

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

I'm actually being cute as a way of covering up the fact that I legitimately did spell February wrong. *sigh*

Originally Posted by Jenifer76

Delete this post and say this is artistic license. We'll keep it between us.

P.S. The only reason I can spell February is that my son was born this month.

Originally Posted by cathe

Maybe we can get Mothering to put in spell check . . .

::

I love this thread so much. I feel like over the past couple of years, we've sort of become our own tribe.

[Bufomander]

#18 Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan
novel about a 18 yo girl who goes missing and the effects on her family.

Originally Posted by Jenifer76

1. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

I'm almost finished with this one -- it's my #19 -- I'm glad you didn't tell how it ends -- I definitely understand the impulse to stay up to finish it -- I almost did that last night! I'm on page 245 out of 293.

Originally Posted by Fiestabeth

#2 Haunted Ground by Erin Hart

I must have liked this because I spent all day yesterday reading it. It is a mystery novel, and I didn't figure it out so that was good.

Welcome back, Beth -- Good to hear the book club book will be so enjoyable!

[Jenifer76]

Originally Posted by Bufomander

I'm almost finished with this one -- it's my #19 -- I'm glad you didn't tell how it ends -- I definitely understand the impulse to stay up to finish it -- I almost did that last night! I'm on page 245 out of 293.

I didn't want to ruin it for anyone. I can't wait to hear what you think. If you review it on Facebook, the author will "friend" you (or whoever runs her Facebook page).

[cathe]

Originally Posted by Bufomander

::

I love this thread so much. I feel like over the past couple of years, we've sort of become our own tribe.

Me too

[cathe]

Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arbim

So--our library is having its first Adult Reading Program. We have to read 8 books, each in a category like Historical Fiction, a Classic, a Pulitzer Prize Winner, etc. Some of my friends are doing it too so for the category Read the Book--Watch the Movie, we decided to read the same book and then we'll all watch the movie together and we chose this one. And it was so GOOD! I could not put it down.

Four women, all strangers to each other and all unhappy in some way, spend a month in a castle in Italy and find happiness. I loved this one so much. I just ordered the other two written by this author.

[cathe]

Originally Posted by Jenifer76

I didn't want to ruin it for anyone. I can't wait to hear what you think. If you review it on Facebook, the author will "friend" you (or whoever runs her Facebook page).

What books is that?

[kbond]

#3 Greywalker by Kat Richardson

I can't remember why I got this book. Maybe cause it's set in Seattle? Local author? Kick-ass female protagonist?

Brief Synopsis: Harper Blaine is just your run of the mill PI until she dies and comes back with the ability to see the Grey.

It was enjoyable. It's the first in a series, and I'm getting the rest from the library as well.