September 2009 Book Challenge

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Where does the time go? September already? Fall is just around the corner, and I, for one, cannot wait. Nothing like digging into some good and scary books as the days grow shorter, the nights longer and there's a chill in the air. Or is that just me?

Anyway...

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, allons-y and a happy reading September to everyone!


2008's Threads can be found HERE
January's Thread can be found HERE
February's Thread can be found HERE
March's Thread can be found HERE
April's Thread can be found HERE
May's Thread can be found HERE
June's Thread can be found HERE
July's Thread can be found HERE
August's Thread can be found HERE

[Bufomander]

#97 The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
Just started this memoir and I'm sure it'll be september before I finish it. I'm liking it so far. I like the concept of the middle place, where one is celebrating her children's successes and still calling her parents to celebrate her own triumphs.

[cathe]

After by Amy Efaw

This is a YA book about a teen who has a baby and throws it in a dumpster. I know-- YIKES -- but the book goes into her life before and after the baby--and the court trial where they decide whether they should try her as a juvenile or an adult. The book is done in a way that will really get teens thinking about how this could happen and about taking the consequence of their actions.

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

We made it!!!

Well, after two days on the road, we made it! We're in Bellingham, and we're all moved in, now the unpacking begins.

For those of you in the Seattle area, we'll have to plan a get-together in Settle one of these days (after we've settled in, of course).

[cathe]

Glad you made it. Happy unpacking!

[fremontmama]

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

Well, after two days on the road, we made it! We're in Bellingham, and we're all moved in, now the unpacking begins.

For those of you in the Seattle area, we'll have to plan a get-together in Settle one of these days (after we've settled in, of course).

Hooray! Glad you made it.

And yes, a book challenge get together! That would be fun!



#58 The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy

I had a bit of a hard time getting into the detective pulp fiction noir mood of this novel, but once I got past that syntax, I sort of enjoyed the twists and turns of the book. Fascinating corruption and mystery and crime in 40's Hollywood. LA is so darn gritty!

[Fiestabeth]

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Bufomander's pick for book club. Loved it. It was so heartbreaking, yet so well written. I have experience caring for an Alzheimer's patient, and I found it to be very true to life. There were several poignant moments that made me catch my breath. Highly recommended.

[cathe]

Beth--ITA! I thought the writing was great--the author really got across what it must be like to have that disease.

[kangamitroo]

subbing. still reading Maps for Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam.

excited to have received in the mail M.A.S. Abdel Haleem's translation of the Qur'an. much better than the old, poorly translated one i was using. so, reading that, too.

congrats on the move, NCD. i hope you have a fantastic semester.

[kaliki_kila]

Originally Posted by Fiestabeth

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Bufomander's pick for book club. Loved it. It was so heartbreaking, yet so well written. I have experience caring for an Alzheimer's patient, and I found it to be very true to life. There were several poignant moments that made me catch my breath. Highly recommended.

added to my hold list

[kaliki_kila]

78. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

It's the beginning of a lazy summer in 1950 at the sleepy English village of Bishop's Lacey. Up at the great house of Buckshaw, aspiring chemist Flavia de Luce passes the time tinkering in the laboratory she's inherited from her deceased mother and an eccentric great uncle. When Flavia discovers a murdered stranger in the cucumber patch outside her bedroom window early one morning, she decides to leave aside her flasks and Bunsen burners to solve the crime herself, much to the chagrin of the local authorities.

I thought it was a lot like The Mysterious Benedict Society - the storyline was cute and the writing was clever. I liked the interactions in Flavia's family and the cruel jokes the sisters play on each other. This is going to be the first book in a series of books about Flavia, but I don't think I will read the others because it will probably be like Mysterious Benedict - you've read one, you've read them all.

[Bufomander]

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

Well, after two days on the road, we made it! We're in Bellingham, and we're all moved in, now the unpacking begins.

For those of you in the Seattle area, we'll have to plan a get-together in Settle one of these days (after we've settled in, of course).

hope the settling in is going well.

Originally Posted by Fiestabeth

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Bufomander's pick for book club. Loved it. It was so heartbreaking, yet so well written. I have experience caring for an Alzheimer's patient, and I found it to be very true to life. There were several poignant moments that made me catch my breath. Highly recommended.

Originally Posted by cathe

Beth--ITA! I thought the writing was great--the author really got across what it must be like to have that disease.

: I'm always nervous when I really really love a book and recommend it to others that i actually have no discernment and they'll hate it. i only feel that way with books i really like -- otherwise i can just chalk it up to a difference of opinion.

Originally Posted by kaliki_kila

78. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley



I thought it was a lot like The Mysterious Benedict Society - the storyline was cute and the writing was clever. I liked the interactions in Flavia's family and the cruel jokes the sisters play on each other. This is going to be the first book in a series of books about Flavia, but I don't think I will read the others because it will probably be like Mysterious Benedict - you've read one, you've read them all.

hadn't thought of that comparison,but i makes sense.

[cathe]

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith

Was really disappointed in this latest of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Series. The first couple of chapters were pretty much recapping the rest of the series and even after that, the book was pretty dull -- with just a few bright spots. Worst was that Mma Ramotswe came off really condescending and martyrish to Mma Makutsi.

[fremontmama]

Originally Posted by kaliki_kila

78. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley


I thought it was a lot like The Mysterious Benedict Society - the storyline was cute and the writing was clever. I liked the interactions in Flavia's family and the cruel jokes the sisters play on each other. This is going to be the first book in a series of books about Flavia, but I don't think I will read the others because it will probably be like Mysterious Benedict - you've read one, you've read them all.

Oh I added this to my list after hearing Nancy Pearl recommend it the other day on the radio. Glad you liked it!

[cathe]

Originally Posted by kaliki_kila

78. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley



I thought it was a lot like The Mysterious Benedict Society - the storyline was cute and the writing was clever. I liked the interactions in Flavia's family and the cruel jokes the sisters play on each other. This is going to be the first book in a series of books about Flavia, but I don't think I will read the others because it will probably be like Mysterious Benedict - you've read one, you've read them all.

Is it an adult book or kids book?

[kaliki_kila]

Originally Posted by cathe

Is it an adult book or kids book?

ummm... I think it's an adult book but to me it came across more as a kid's book.

[Bufomander]

#98 Succulent Wild Woman: Dancing with your Wonder-full Self by Sark
I : Sark.

[friendtoall]

Speak (audio) by Laurie Halse Anderson

So many things seemed so unlikely in this book. I think the main plot is so serious, we are expected to forgive all the minor things that don't really work.


The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants by Department of the Army

Seemed thorough, but not very well organized. And then there's the whole thing about the U.S. Army printing a book in China.

[Jenifer76]

The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy

JO LAROUCHE HAS lived her 13 years in the California desert with her Aunt Lily, ever since she was dropped on Lily’s doorstep with this note: This is Jo. Please take care of her. But beware. This is a dangerous baby. At Lily’s annual Christmas costume party, a variety of strange events take place that lead Jo and Lily out of California forever—and into the mysterious, strange, fantastical world of Eldritch City. There, Jo learns the scandalous truth about who she is, and she and Lily join the Order of Odd-Fish, a collection of knights who research useless information. Glamorous cockroach butlers, pointless quests, obsolete weapons, and bizarre festivals fill their days, but two villains are controlling their fate. Jo is inching closer and closer to the day when her destiny is fulfilled, and no one in Eldritch City will ever be the same.

I read this book on recommendation from a friend of James Kennedy. Clearly, Kennedy is an intelligent and humorous writer. This book is Harry Potter meets Monty Python - with a little Dumb and Dumber thrown in. While I enjoyed the book, it does seem like Kennedy took every funny or bizarre idea and put it in. Perhaps he could have tempered the absurdness a little and spread it out over a few books.

[cathe]

Before the Storm by Diane Chamberlain

I just got the sequel to this book to review so I figured I should read the first one. This was about a recovered alcoholic with two teenagers. Her younger son Andy has special needs because of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and the older daughter is pretty much left to herself because the mother is so wrapped up with Andy. Anyway, after a fire breaks out at a school dance, Andy becomes a hero when he leads many of the kids to safety -- but then later, clues point to him as the one who started it. Enjoyable read.