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!
#2 The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee
Pretty good story about an Englishwoman in China after WWII--it reminded me a lot of Empire of the Sun b/c the story went back and forth with pre-war, during war, and after war storyline.
#3 Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea
Wanted to love, story about a group of teenagers, mostly girls, in rural Mexico. Their town is mostly women b/c almost all of the men are in the US working. Gangsters have taken over their town, so the girls go on a quest to the US to find men to bring back and fight the gangsters for their town. Kind of a modern Ulysses quest type story. Pretty good, didn't LOVE it though.
#4 The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball
Memoir about a woman who left NYC and married an organic farmer and established a farm in upstate NY. Humorous, real, gritty.
#5 On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Still liking the series. We're excited to read the next one.
#6 The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Lots of good ideas. I enjoyed it, and even tried to do a few of the things she tried/recommended.
#7 Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Story about the first Native American to attend Yale back in colonial times when Yale was still just one or two big wooden buildings. I love Geraldine Brooks, I think she is most amazing writer. Really liked this book.
#8 The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Lemmon
Non-fiction about a woman who helped her family survive the Taliban rule in Afghanistan by establishing a livingroom sewing business. Pretty amazing what they did to survive.
#9 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Non-fiction about the cells of an African American woman that were cultured and now are used throughout the world in pretty much all cell cultures. The story goes back and forth between chapters about her family before and after the cells, and the science of the topic. Very fascinating and great discussion topic on ethics, etc.
#10 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Could not put it down. Loved.
#11 Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
ditto
#12 Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
ditto
#13 The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
boring and egotistical
subbing. just started Faithful Place, my first by Tana French. not usually a mystery reader but my best friend gave her such a hearty endorsement. well, I could not get to sleep because of creepiness and wanting to know what would happen next. sure to be finished within the next day or 2, unless i get too spooked.
Subbing. I'll be back, as I have 3 books about to be finished.
25) The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Fay.
This was such a great read! I loved all the details about NYC in 1845, the characters, the bits and pieces of history. And a very enjoyable mystery too!
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780399158377/lyndsay-faye/gods-gotham
When Zachary Beaver came to town by Kimberly Willis Holt
I really enjoyed this book for middle grade readers/YA. I had picked it up several times and I'm glad I finally read it. I love "summer of crisis"/coming-of-age stories, and it was a bonus that it was set in a little TX town. (Once upon a time lived in Austin, and love stories set in the region.)
The Replacement
Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.
I do really like the genre of changeling tales. While this one is not as wonderful as The Stolen Child, it is still a fun, quick read.
Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
The most lovable murder mystery heroine ever!
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
I found this book really odd...I liked the idea of interspersing the pictures, but I felt they could have done a better job of moving the story along.
I recently read The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland which is very sad about a woman who lived in Sierra Leone and when she was 12 years old, a man who she was betrothed to raped her, then the rebel army cut off her hands. Such a sad story.
I also read Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman about a young woman who left the horribly legalistic New York Hasidic Jewish culture that she was raised in.
and I read
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Now I am reading Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad For America, Israel and The War On Terror by Nonie Darwish - A Muslim Shahid's Daughter.
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)
11. Ella Enchanted - Gail Levine (Library)
12. House of Secrets - Tracie Peterson (Library)
April
13. Victims - Jonathan Kellerman (Library)
* i have been super busy with planning a cross country move that I honesty can't remember what I've done for the past 2 months, but I doubt I've read anything. Picking up at lucky #13 and going from there.
Quote:
zebra, good luck with your move. i hope you get a moment's respite here & there. —kanga
26) Heartless by Gail Carriger. A wee bit of steampunk lit. These book are funny, creative and a nice break from some of the more serious topics.
18 - The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) - Suzanne Collins (re-read 4/3/2012)
Love this book. After I saw the movie I needed to reread it. Just as good the second time around. I definitely recommend everyone to read this. Even if you are thinking, "It's a YA book, why would I be interested in it?!" Trust me, that was my thought too... but I could.not put the series down once my friend let me borrow the first book.
19 - Divergent (Divergent, #1) - Veronica Roth (completed 4/5/2012)
I'm really into dystopian novels right now. After the Hunger Games, I didn't think any other book would match up. Divergent is AMAZING! I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. The next book of the series comes out May 1st, and I already have it preordered. Seriously, could not put it down!
20 - The Maze Runner (Maze Runner #1) - James Dashner (completed 4/10/2012)
My friend recommended it.. and since she told me about The Hunger Games and Divergent - I wasn't going to say no to it. It was a little slow in the beginning. However, it definitely made up for the slowness at the end. There are so many twists and turns.. it keeps you guessing right up to the end. I tried to predict what was going to happen, but it always switched things up - and nothing was what I thought.
21 - The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner #2) - James Dashner (completed 4/11/2012)
This one started off running. It was amazing! Again, keeps you guessing right to the end. Couldn't put it down.
22 - The Death Cure (Maze Runner #3) - James Dashner (completed 4/11/2012)
The last book of the Maze Runner trilogy - and I felt it was a little slow. Didn't feel like too much happened, but still had you guessing up until the end. I felt like it was tricking me more than it really was. Couldn't put it down though.
23 - Delirium (Delirium #1) - Lauren Oliver (currently reading)
So sllllooooowwwww in the beginning. So much talk about the "disease" in the book. Not much action. I honestly wanted to just put it down. But towards the middle it started to pick up some. I still feel like screaming at the main character... but I am flying through it now.
Oh, and my goal is to read 100 books in 2012. I was flying through it in Jan. and Feb... but really lacked in March. So, I'm playing catch up now.. but I don't see 100 being a problem.
So, somehow, even though it says I'm subscribed to daily updates, I'm not getting emails? Weird right? I can't figure out what box I haven't checked.....
Also, any great book club book ideas? We read The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver last time. We somehow always end up reading books on the tragic side of things, and I'd like to veer more towards a rollicking ride of a good read. Any ideas? So far I have The Sisters Brothers, and Half Broke Horses....We usually try to bring three to the table to vote on......
The Replacement
I do really like the genre of changeling tales. While this one is not as wonderful as The Stolen Child, it is still a fun, quick read.
Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
The most lovable murder mystery heroine ever!
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
I found this book really odd...I liked the idea of interspersing the pictures, but I felt they could have done a better job of moving the story along.
Oh, I do love that Flavia de Luce! :) Fun stuff!
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)
11. Ella Enchanted - Gail Levine (Library)
12. House of Secrets - Tracie Peterson (Library)
April
13. Victims - Jonathan Kellerman (Library)
* i have been super busy with planning a cross country move that I honesty can't remember what I've done for the past 2 months, but I doubt I've read anything. Picking up at lucky #13 and going from there.
Oh, good luck with your move! Cross country is a big deal!
We've got kind of a slow thread this month! I have more books to post, lemme get organized and I'll come back to post them. :)
Crazy-busy month for me.
May will be better!
27) Timeless by Gail Carriger.
#14 Battle Royale by Koushon Takami
I picked this up b/c so many comparisons were made between it and The Hunger Games. True, there was a group of teenagers fighting to the death in a game the government set up. That's about the only similarity though. Way more gruesome than The Hunger Games, I found myself skimming in a few parts. It's all game, each character gets a little back story. I'm glad I read it just to compare it, but I'm not jumping up and down about it.
#15 The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon
I love every Diana Gabaldon book. She weaves a fantastically written story every time. This one serves as sort of an elaborate aside to the Outlander series.
#16 The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
Eh. I love Barbara Kingsolver normally. And I'm a big fan of Frida Kahlo. But I couldn't get into this.
#17 The Submission by Amy Waldman
A fictional account of a selection process for a memorial to 9/11. The submissions are all anonymous and reviewed by a jury panel without any connection to the artist. The winner is selected and the jury finds out the artist is a Muslim. The author examines this from all the angles. It's the Seattle Public Library's Seattle Reads book for this season. I can see why they picked it, lots of good discussion fodder.
PS--started the May thread. Can't believe it's May!!
http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1352205/may-2012-book-challenge
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