January 2010 Book Challenge - Page 3

[Bufomander]

I know this will come as a shock to all of you here, but once again my holds account is full and I can't put any of your lovely recommendations on hold. Tomorrow or Saturday we'll head to the library to pick some up and make some space in my acount.

Originally Posted by cathe

The Doom Machine by Mark Teague

This was a middle-grade novel -- quite long and involved however and very fun in a retro, sci-fi way. It takes place in the 50's where a mechanically-minded juvenile deliquent boy and a logically-minded scientists daughter girl have to save the earth from the spiderish aliens from Skreepia who want to take over the earth. It reminded me a bit of A Wrinkle in Time as they travel to over planets and meet some interesting aliens and cultures. Fun book once you get into it.

I had this one out from the library and DH started it and didn't love it so I took it back, since it was on hold for someone else, but I may need to pick it back up if you enjoyed it...


#3 Unwind by Neal Shusterman
not quite finished, but I've really enjoyed it.

from amazon:

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them.
Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until theireighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.

[kbond]

[QUOTE


#3 Unwind by Neal Shusterman
not quite finished, but I've really enjoyed it.
[/QUOTE]

I really liked this one too. It's an interesting premise, but didn't get too moralistic since it's YA.

[cathe]

Originally Posted by Bufomander

I had this one out from the library and DH started it and didn't love it so I took it back, since it was on hold for someone else, but I may need to pick it back up if you enjoyed it...

It did start out kind of slow but got quite fun. Not the best I ever read but I enjoyed it.

[cathe]

Hey everyone -- if you've been wondering why I haven't posted a book in a few days -- we were in San Francisco and saw the play WICKED! OMG -- it was amazing. I've been wanting to see it for about 1 1/2 years and we finally went. The best play I've ever seen.

[kaliki_kila]

Originally Posted by cathe

Hey everyone -- if you've been wondering why I haven't posted a book in a few days -- we were in San Francisco and saw the play WICKED! OMG -- it was amazing. I've been wanting to see it for about 1 1/2 years and we finally went. The best play I've ever seen.

I saw it in San Francisco, too! Did you notice the weird scent?

[Freedom~Mama]

1. Right now I am reading A New Earth by Eckart Tolle and I know this much is True by Wally Lamb. Both are great so far!

2. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. One of my favorite books of all time! Also would recommend Women who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Very interesting and powerful book.

[cathe]

Originally Posted by kaliki_kila

I saw it in San Francisco, too! Did you notice the weird scent?

No . . . what scent?

BTW -- I met Patty Duke and got my picture taken with her!

[jadedqueen123]

#2 ~Her Fearful Symmetry~By, Audrey Niffenegger

Amazon review:
Niffenegger follows up her spectacular The Time Traveler's Wife with a beautifully written if incoherent ghost story. When Elspeth Noblin dies, she leaves everything to the 20-year-old American twin daughters of her own long-estranged twin, Edie. Valentina and Julia, as enmeshed as Elspeth and Edie once were, move into Elspeth's London flat bordering Highgate Cemetery in a building occupied by Elspeth's lover, Robert, and the novel's most interesting character, Martin, whose wife is long suffering due to his crushing and beautifully portrayed OCD. The girls are pallid and incurious; they wander around London and spend time with Robert and Martin and Elspeth's ghost. Valentina's developing relationship with Robert arouses mild jealousy, and when Valentina pursues her interest in fashion design, Julia disapproves, which leads Valentina and Elspeth to concoct an extreme plan to allow Valentina to lead her own life. The plan, unsurprisingly, goes awry, followed by weakly foreshadowed and confusing twists that take the plot from dull to silly. While Niffenegger's gifted prose and past success will garner readers, the story is a disappointment.

I enjoyed parts of it but I certainly didn't devour it as I did the last book I read. It jumps around a bit and like mentioned above, some things were confusing even at the conclusion. Would not necessarily recommend this.

[Jenifer76]

Originally Posted by cathe

BTW -- I met Patty Duke and got my picture taken with her!

Funny, for some reason I was just thinking about her and how she was one of the first "stars" to talk about mental illness.

[kaliki_kila]

Originally Posted by cathe

No . . . what scent?

BTW -- I met Patty Duke and got my picture taken with her!

Oh, the scent they release for different plays... like peppermint for the Nutcracker. Patty Duke was in it when I went, too!

[cathe]

Hm . . . I didn't notice a scent . . .

[Traci mom23boys]

[QUOTE=BookGoddess;14872356]I finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Wow! What a book. [QUOTE]

Hi BookGoddess,

I was just looking through my list of books that I read for 2009 and had decided that *The Help* was my favorite read of the year.

~traci

[mammastar2]

#5 - Harry the Poisonous Centipede Goes to Sea by Lynne Reid Banks

Because I told my kiddo I would, and because I couldn't finish The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

[cathe]

Lying with the Dead by Michael Mewshaw

This novel was told from varying narrators--the three adult children of an abusive mother who are summoned home to Maryland to see her because she has something important to tell them. One son is a famous actor now living in London, the other son has aspergers syndrome and has done time in prison for killing their dad and is now living in a trailer park in CA. The daughter still lives nearby and takes care of the mother but wants to break away and have her own life finally.

I enjoyed this book -- moved fast, lots of secrets, good writing. Basically a good read.

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Originally Posted by mammastar2

#5 - Harry the Poisonous Centipede Goes to Sea by Lynne Reid Banks

Because I told my kiddo I would, and because I couldn't finish The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

My brain must have taken the Saturday off because my first though was I don't remember that Harry Potter novel and then, once I convinced myself it wasn't an HP book, my second thought was sounds like something Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes would want read to him. Maybe I should go back to bed.

[raksmama]

THREE TO GET DEADLY
A Stephanie Plum Novel
by Janet Evanovich
http://www.evanovich.com/novels/novel/36

A fun read! I am not usually a fan of crime fiction. I never would have thought I would enjoy a novel about a bounty hunter. I have this forum to thank for this series!

[Jenifer76]

Little House by Boston Bay by Melissa Wiley

This is the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder's grandmother Charlotte who grew up in Boston, Massachusetts in the early 1800s. The first book lays out the characters in her family including Laura's great grandma Martha who was born in Scotland. Because this is a series aimed at kids, its a short, easy read.

[konamama]

1. Tempted, House of Night Novel by PC Cast & Kristin

this is part of a series, YA, it was OK, i keep reading them since i have already invested time into the series, fast read but doesn't blow your socks off or anything close.

[mammastar2]

#6 - The Reserve by Russell Banks

Readable, but not that well-written. Interesting to learn more about the history of the Adirondacks, and the development of a local economy dependent on service sector work for wealthy vacationers, though. Set in the 1930s, rather would-be Hemingway-esque melodrama. The author spends a lot of time telling you just what motivates characters and why they're doing what they're doing, and it really blunts the edge of what should be an engaging story. Lots happens, but it doesn't feel like it...

[kaliki_kila]

3. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

I have a lot of these Penguin classics on my shelf I haven't read and I want to read them this year. Joe Gargery was my favorite character because he seemed like such a genuine person all while unaware that he was being unintentionally hilarious most of the time.

4. Kristy's Great Idea by Raina Telgemeier

This artist made the first four Babysitters Club books into graphic novels and they are really cute. I read an article the other day about how they are going to reprint the whole series because the libraries still have the same decades old, worn-out copies that are still flying off the shelves. They are going to change some things and take out some outdated references, like changing "cassette player" to "headphones." Why not ipod?