January 2010 Book Challenge - Page 9

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Is it safe to assume that we've all heard that J.D. Salinger has passed away? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...012803177.html

[mammastar2]

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

Is it safe to assume that we've all heard that J.D. Salinger has passed away? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...012803177.html

Yes, I saw that! Every now and then I think I should re-read Catcher in the Rye, and see if I dislike it as much now as when it was required reading in junior high.

#9 - Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

I've been wanting to read this for some time, and finally got a copy from the library. There were some interesting, thought-provoking ideas there, and it's made me a lot more conscious of my own child's access to nature experiences. He referred to some fascinating studies as well. I did find it a bit repetitious, and perhaps a bit monotonous in his idea of what a child's experience of nature should be - lots of Mark Twain-like experiences, fly-fishing, and treehouse building! But it prompted me to think about my own childhood, and to realize what formative experiences in nature I had, even though I was bookish, indoorsy kid. Definitely one to think about.

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Originally Posted by mammastar2

Yes, I saw that! Every now and then I think I should re-read Catcher in the Rye, and see if I dislike it as much now as when it was required reading in junior high.

I have the same thoughts, except it was Junior year of high school for me.

[cathe]

Originally Posted by kbond

I hope they enjoy it. This was one of my favorite books as a child--I would re-read it all the time.

Wow . . . I guess she did like it--my 8-yo dd read it in 2 days, and that is not an easy read. I read The Secret Garden over and over as a child--I wonder why I never read this one. I just remember watching the Shirley Temple version of the story.

[Hollysmom]

I used to post to this thread a year or so ago. I hope it is okay if I join in again.

1) Time out for Parents - A Guide to Compassionate Parenting by Cheri Huber

Quick read on parenting. Some good ideas

2) Postcards from Last Summer by Roz Bailey

A silly fluffy read that was great for my subway ride to work

[Bufomander]

Originally Posted by Hollysmom

I used to post to this thread a year or so ago. I hope it is okay if I join in again.

1) Time out for Parents - A Guide to Compassionate Parenting by Cheri Huber

Welcome back! Our library didn't have this one as a book, but they have a collection of audiotapes of her so I put it on hold this morning!


#17 A Fearsome Doubt by Charles Todd
I am still enjoying this mystery series set in England after WWI.

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Originally Posted by Hollysmom

I used to post to this thread a year or so ago. I hope it is okay if I join in again.

Glad to have you back!

[Peppermint Poppies]

The True Story of Butterfish by Nick Earls

An fiction book from a well-loved Australian author. This is the story of an ageing rockstar who buys a house in the semi-bush of suburban Brisbane (Australia). He works through his own demons as he gets to know his neighbours.

This was a really nice read with some lovely, poignant moments and insightful musings. The author is known for his dry sense of humour, and this book didn't disappoint. I really liked the setting, as the streets, restaurants and landmarks were so familiar to me since I lived in the area during my university years.

2010 Reading Goal - 50 books.
#1 - Child of the Prophecy #2 - Waiting for Daisy #3 - The Islands #4 - The True Story of Butterfish

[kofduke]

First Among Sequels, Fforde

fifth novel to feature intrepid literary detective Thursday Next blends elements of mystery, campy science fiction and screwball fantasy. With the Stupidity Surplus reaching dangerously high levels all over England, Acme Carpets employee and undercover SpecOps investigator Next has her hands full trying to persuade her 16-year-old slacker son, Friday, to join the ChronoGuard, which deals with temporal stability. To complicate matters, a malicious apprentice begins making classic works of literature into reality book shows (Pride and Prejudice becomes The Bennets), a ruthless corporation tries to turn the Bookworld into a tourist trap. The fate of the world may lie in a Longfellow poem.

Didn't like this as much as some of the earlier Thursday Next novels, but overall satirical and funny.

[cathe]

Welcome back Hollysmom.

[cathe]

Not too much reading happening this weekend. My oldest dd is 11 today! I'm baking cupcakes, cutting up fruit and decorating the house . . . Can't believe how grown up she is.

[Bufomander]

Originally Posted by cathe

Not too much reading happening this weekend. My oldest dd is 11 today! I'm baking cupcakes, cutting up fruit and decorating the house . . . Can't believe how grown up she is.

Aww, happy birthday to her! Fiona will be 6 in March and even that seems so old -- I know 11 will be here so soon.

#18 Peter and The Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
#19 The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckely

I just didn't like either of these as much as I felt I should...

[kangamitroo]

in honor of JD Salinger, my plan is a re-read of "For Esmé with love and squalor," from Nine Stories. (i once liked the story so much that at age 18 i signed my letters "love & squalor". i also had a crush on the fictional Seymour.)


under a pile of blankets with James Baldwin today.

[kangamitroo]

Originally Posted by kangamitroo

under a pile of blankets with James Baldwin today.

speaking of which, i should invite you all to join me in the African diaspora reading challenge.

[Bufomander]

Originally Posted by kofduke

First Among Sequels, Fforde



Didn't like this as much as some of the earlier Thursday Next novels, but overall satirical and funny.

Wow -- I really thought I'd read all these but reading the description, i'm not so sure I have. better put it on hold!

[Bufomander]

#20 Fact of Life #31 by Denise Vega
fun stuff. Main character is the teen-aged daughter of a Colorado home birth midwife. Fun to have the setting be where I live. (I even recognized the name of one of the midwives thanked in the acknowledgments). I'm finding myself really interested in the parenting that shows up in books I'm reading lately, like making mental notes of what I'd like to do or not do in the future. Lots of high school stuff that reminded me of being in high school more than some YA books do these days (which may be a sign I'm becoming an old fogey -- 2nd sign being that I did not find the love interest's e-mail address [DaMan] to be cute in any way, shape, or form ). But yeah, a fun book. Oh, and the birth description at the very end reminded me of how much I loved and connected with DH during DD's birth. A good thing to be reminded of.

[libba]

Here's my list so far

1. The Wet Nurse's tale - erica eisdorfer
2. Critical Mass - Whitley Streiber
3. Knockout - Catherine Coulter
4. Bitten - Kelley Armstrong
5. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Katherine Howe
6. Impact - Douglas Preston
7. House of reckoning - John Saul

Waiting impatiently for some of my holds to come in at the library!

[Bufomander]

Originally Posted by Bufomander

#20 Fact of Life #31 by Denise Vega
fun stuff. Main character is the teen-aged daughter of a Colorado home birth midwife. Fun to have the setting be where I live. (I even recognized the name of one of the midwives thanked in the acknowledgments). I'm finding myself really interested in the parenting that shows up in books I'm reading lately, like making mental notes of what I'd like to do or not do in the future. Lots of high school stuff that reminded me of being in high school more than some YA books do these days (which may be a sign I'm becoming an old fogey -- 2nd sign being that I did not find the love interest's e-mail address [DaMan] to be cute in any way, shape, or form ). But yeah, a fun book. Oh, and the birth description at the very end reminded me of how much I loved and connected with DH during DD's birth. A good thing to be reminded of.

wanted to add that i also appreciated the sibling relationship in this book -- I appreciate when they are portrayed positively (as opposed to the assumption that siblings consistently can't stand each other).

[Jenifer76]

This is book #17 for January. I never really set a goal for the year but I am pretty excited by my progress so far.

At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream: Misadventures in Search of the Simple Life by Wade Rouse

As he turns 40, Rouse (Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler, 2007) admits to becoming “the ultimate cliché”: he’s mentally and physically exhausted, hates his job, and realizes there is a void in his life that the city is no longer filling. He and his partner, Gary, take a vacation in Saugatuck, Michigan, “a Midwestern Martha’s Vineyard,” and on the spot decide to sell their home in St. Louis and move to the woods. Rouse vows to become a “modern-day Thoreau” and sets out to follow 10 life goals, roughly along the tenets espoused by Thoreau in Walden, Rouse’s favorite book. Rouse chronicles the hilarious escapades of these “two neurotic urbanites” as they ensconce themselves in the woods without magazine subscriptions, malls, Trader Joe’s, HGTV, or lattes. Rouse feels like a Martian confronting the locals at the general store, and suffers extreme anxiety when attempting ice fishing and karaoke.

A funny memoir about a male (and gay) Carrie Bradshaw wanna-be trying to make it in the woods of Michigan. His descriptions of coastal Michigan and woods surrounding his home were great. Made me want to move to Michigan -- and I already live there. Rouse is at his best when he is being humorous. His description of he and his partner's first foray into Wal-mart is hilarious. However, his attempts at being a deep thinker along the lines of Thoreau miss the mark. He just comes off as disingenuous in his motivations and musings.

[becoming]

I didn't get a chance to come here this month, but here's what I read in January (on my new Kindle II that I got for Christmas ):

Living Dead Girl (Elizabeth Scott) - I loved this. Couldn't put it down. Very disturbing, very edge-of-your-seat, very well-written.

Favorite (Karen McQuestion) - This was bad. Terrible, in fact. I hated McQuestion's writing style, and it was so predictable. It's the only book I've deleted from my Kindle so far, because I was THAT sure I never want to read it again.

Dear John (Nicholas Sparks) - I normally hate Nicholas Sparks and romance in general, but a friend of mine wants to see the movie, so I thought I'd give the book a shot. It wasn't TOO bad, and I was surprised that it wasn't tied up nice & neat at the end like most romances. Decent read.

Under The Dome: A Novel (Stephen King) - Loved loved loved this. It held my attention from page 1 until the very end (page 1,080-something!), which is hard to do, because I get bored easily. Very good & fast-paced from start to finish. I might actually tackle this one again in a year or two.

The Pact (Jodi Picoult) - I usually really love Picoult, and parts of this were excellent, but the ending was so abrupt and badly done. Did anyone else feel this way? There's all this build-up to the final verdict, and then it's just over in like a paragraph. So disappointing and anticlimactic. I didn't get it at all. It wasn't even explained WHY the verdict turned out the way it did. And, speaking in code so I don't ruin it for someone else, I don't understand the reasoning behind what truly happened. Definitely not a favorite of mine. I expect more from her.

So that's five for me in January, which is my goal for each month, for a total of 60 books in 2010. I'll be actively participating in the February thread.