Book Challenge February 2012

[fremontmama]

So, just by way of clarification (for comers both new and old), 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 for how many books you want to read in 2012 ... or not
5) Have fun with books (This one, unfortunately, is MANDATORY) 

Happy reading everyone!

Can't believe it's February!!!  I took the liberty of starting the new thread.  :)   I'll come back soon and post books, I have a bunch!

[cathe]

Happy February!

The Paris Wife by Paul McLain

Wonderful, wonderful novel about Ernest Hemingway's first marriage -- told from the point of view of his wife Hadley Richardson. It was all about life in Paris (and Europe) while Hemingway tried to make it as a writer. and his relationships with the other expatriates there (Stein, Pound, Fitzgeralds, etc.). Beautifully written and so interesting and heartbreaking . . . I'm going to recommend this book to my book/movie group to read and then watch the movie Midnight in Paris (which I want to see again anyway).

[fremontmama]

Originally Posted by cathe 

Happy February!

The Paris Wife by Paul McLain

Wonderful, wonderful novel about Ernest Hemingway's first marriage -- told from the point of view of his wife Hadley Richardson. It was all about life in Paris (and Europe) while Hemingway tried to make it as a writer. and his relationships with the other expatriates there (Stein, Pound, Fitzgeralds, etc.). Beautifully written and so interesting and heartbreaking . . . I'm going to recommend this book to my book/movie group to read and then watch the movie Midnight in Paris (which I want to see again anyway).

I had a hard time with the book b/c I knew how it was all going to end.  I had a feeling of dread throughout.  However, I did find the atmosphere of Paris fascinating, everyone's pursuit of expressing their artistic vision, and the writing was nice too.  I did enjoy Midnight in Paris after reading this book.  I think they complement each other nicely. 

[cathe]

Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

Teen novel about a girl Isobel who's mother suddenly marries and the move to a creepy mansion on an island. Isobel starts getting ghostly visitations and has to find out what the ghost is trying to tell her before her new stepfather has her committed to a mental institution. Didn't do much for me.

[Igraine]

8) Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett. More in the Tiffany Aching story. A nice, funny, enjoyalbe read.

http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/index.php/us/books/wintersmith

[Holland73]

Just subbing.  Will be back soon with some books to post!

[zebra15]

January

1. Skipped Parts - Tim Sandlin  (Nook)

2. The Mill River Recluse - Darcie Chan (Nook)

3. I Used to Know That - Caroline Taggart (Nook)

4. Mom Still Likes You Best (audio book) - Jane Isay (Library)

5. The Snow Angel - Glenn Beck  (Library)

6. Hurricanes in Paradise - Denise Hildreth (Nook)

February

7. I Didn't Ask to Be Born - Bill Cosby (Library)

8. From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler (DS Copy)

9. House Rules - Rachel Sontag (Library)

10. On a Dollar a Day - Christopher Greenslate (Library)

Hi- I made it over!

I'm in the middle of like 3 books right now and a couple crochet projects...

[Holland73]

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin (Audiobook)

If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss.
She wouldn’t have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn’t have hit her head on the steps.
She wouldn’t have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia.
She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place.
She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her “Chief.” She’d get all his inside jokes, and maybe he wouldn’t be so frustrated with her for forgetting things she can’t possibly remember.
She’d know about her mom’s new family.
She’d know about her dad’s fiancée.
She wouldn’t have to spend her junior year relearning all the French she supposedly knew already.
She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her.
She wouldn’t have wanted to kiss him back.
But Naomi picked heads.

I absolutely loved this book!  It was such a wonderful ride with amazing, beautiful characters.  I listened to it on audiobook, but I am also going to buy the book!   

[Holland73]

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Some race to win. Others race to survive.

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.
Some riders live.  Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition - the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

A very imaginative story with great, well-developed characters.  I liked that it was told from two points of view; Sean's & Kate's (aka Puck).       

[mrsmischief]

8. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Ostuka

9. Once in a Promised Land by Laila Halaby

[kofduke]

A Storm of Swords, Martin

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King’s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. . . .

I have been really enjoying this series.  I had to read this one split up, as it was a library loan on my nook and it expired before it finished...took me a few weeks to re-renew.  I liked the first half, but found the second half to be very exciting.

[fremontmama]

Originally Posted by mrsmischief 

8. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Ostuka

9. Once in a Promised Land by Laila Halaby

Oh, The Buddha in the Attic is on my list.  What did you think?

[mrsmischief]

Originally Posted by fremontmama 

Oh, The Buddha in the Attic is on my list.  What did you think?

I found Buddha in the Attic to be a good but heartbreaking read, more an epic poem than a novel. The story was different than what I expected, told from the point of many rather than just one narrator, but not disappointing in the least. I finished the book in one sitting as I just couldn't put it down. 

[kangamitroo]

mrsmischief, how did you like Once in a Promised Land? it sounds very good.

I just read Simplifying the soul: Lenten practices to renew your spirit by Paula Huston. read through it for a review and found it had a lot of good suggestions, and I like the writing style. it has daily readings to take you through Lent, so I did not apply the book as it should be. my complete review is published at my blog.

related: I have been using goodreads to get reading suggestions, and have begun posting reviews. I'm not clear on how to find others—e.g. fremontmama, we like lots of the same things, and if you were on goodreads, I could "friend" or "follow" your book ratings? well, i'm on there as kanga and the url should say: http://www.goodreads.com/readingpilgrim.

[kofduke]

Divergent, Roth

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

This is the next must-read for hunger games fans.  I was fully drawn into the dystopian society Roth created, and found myself completely involved with Tris, the main character of the book. 

[Holland73]

Originally Posted by kofduke 

Divergent, Roth

This is the next must-read for hunger games fans.  I was fully drawn into the dystopian society Roth created, and found myself completely involved with Tris, the main character of the book. 

I loved this book!  And, I'm so excited for the next one, Insurgent, to come out in May!

[fremontmama]

Originally Posted by mrsmischief 

I found Buddha in the Attic to be a good but heartbreaking read, more an epic poem than a novel. The story was different than what I expected, told from the point of many rather than just one narrator, but not disappointing in the least. I finished the book in one sitting as I just couldn't put it down. 

Sounds intriguing!  When I get through this next stack, I'll have to see if the line at the library shortens any.  I think one of her books was a recent Seattle Reads library pick, so the lines for her stuff have been long.

Originally Posted by kofduke 

Divergent, Roth

This is the next must-read for hunger games fans.  I was fully drawn into the dystopian society Roth created, and found myself completely involved with Tris, the main character of the book. 

Fun!!!!  I love a good dystopian novel. 

[mrsmischief]

Originally Posted by kangamitroo 

mrsmischief, how did you like Once in a Promised Land? it sounds very good.

I liked Once in a Promised Land enough to accidentally stay up to 1AM to finish it in one sitting. 

[kofduke]

Graveminder, Marr

Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville. While growing up, Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual at every funeral: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words, “Sleep well, and stay where I put you.”

Now Maylene is gone and Bek must return to the hometown—and the man—she abandoned a decade ago, only to discover that Maylene’s death was not natural . . . and there was good reason for her odd traditions. In Claysville, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected—and beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. From this dark place the deceased will return if their graves are not properly minded. And only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk. . . .

 

Show More

Show Less

Clayville is a small town that's made a pact with death.  If the pact is withheld -- if the dead are tended -- none of the residents will suffer a natural death before age 80.  Children will grow strong and healthy.  Folks can leave town for short periods of time, but must always come back.  If the pact is not withheld, the hungry dead will rise.  The pact has been upheld by Maylene and William for many years, but now Maylene has been killed by one of the hungry dead.  Her granddaughter, returning home to bury her grandmother, is in for a shock when she realizes that the task of keeping the dead in their graves has now passed to her.

I really enjoyed this book a lot.  The town and the way the pact is kept with death is fascinating, especially with regard to what different townspeople can know and remember.  The world of the dead is wonderfully imagined and drawn.  This isn't a horror book that's going to keep you up at night, but it's pleasantly creepy.

[kangamitroo]

Originally Posted by mrsmischief 

Originally Posted by kangamitroo 

mrsmischief, how did you like Once in a Promised Land? it sounds very good.

I liked Once in a Promised Land enough to accidentally stay up to 1AM to finish it in one sitting. 

that's just the kind of endorsement i like to hear .