Book Challenge May 2007

[snozzberry]

To participate in this thread, just post the titles of the books you read this month and what you thought of them. A lot of us also use the thread to get recommendations to add to our to-read list. (Or sometimes we might remove a book from our list due to a review here!) Feel free to use this thread in that way as well.

Some have chosen to set a goal for the number of books they'll read for the year, so that's what the numbers are in front of some titles. Feel free to set a goal for yourself or not.

Happy reading!

[Bufomander]

#69Now You Love Me by Liesel Litzenburger

By the author of The Widower (where the dad puts the ad in the paper for a housekeeper...)

Short little story about a little girl whose father has left the family -- supposedly he's on a business trip, but her little brother is the only one who believes that. Her aunt sends her mother "away" for over a month, to a sort of psychiatric home/counseling center. Her mom starts dating a man from town, and all three of them -- the girl, her mother, and her brother have a different opinion about whether the man is a good thing to have in their lives...

Enjoyable story. The little brother reminded me sometimes of my brother after my parents divorced..

[nancy926]

#30: Gaining: The truth about life after eating disorders, by Aimee Liu

Wow. I have to read this book again, because it was amazing. I don't have an eating disorder, but anyone who has ever felt like they didn't fit in, or there was some class they never took about life that everyone else seemed to have taken, should read this. I was writing down passages in a notebook, and I haven't done that with a book in years. Liu talks about anorexia and bulimia as stemming from anxiety - yes, the media is somewhat culpable but not the Big Bad that everyone makes it out to be. Just a really, really good book and fascinating.

#31: The Great Snape Debate, by Orson Scott Card, Joyce Millman, and Amy Berner

Half of this book tries to convince you that Snape is evil; the other half puts forth the theory that he is good. Somewhat repetitive (which makes sense; I think this could have been a long essay, rather than a book!), but if you're an HP fan, it's worth reading. I think Orson Scott Card writes only one chapter, and Millman and Berner collaborated on the rest of the book. It didn't change my mind: I still believe Snape is good...but we'll see what happens come July 21.

[***Heather***]

#27 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
By Douglas Adams

Fiction. Good. The author is hilarious. I've been struggling to finish it though because a) I've been tired so would only read 10 pages before falling asleep and b) I saw the movie so I already knew what was going to happen. But I really enjoyed it and will read the other 4 books soon.


#1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, #2 Sacred Contracts, #3 Yummy Yarns, #4 The Face (Dean Koontz), #5 A Quaker Book of Wisdom, #6 Women of the Silk, #7 A Piece of Heaven (Barbara Samuel), #8 The 10th Insight (James Redfield), #9 Just listen (Sarah Dessen), #10 Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods Earth Plaster * Straw Bale * Cordwood * Cob * Living Roofs (Clarke Snell & Tim Callahan)#11 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix #12 Living Dangerously (Katie Fforde), #13 The Whole Parenting Guide: Strategies, Resources and Inspiring Stories for Holistic Parenting and Family Living (Alan Reder, Phil Catalfo, Stephanie Renfrow Hamilton), #14 An Inconenient Truth (Al Gore), #15 Urgent Message From Mother: Gather the women; save the world (Jean Shinoda Bolen), #16 The Brief History of the Dead (Kevin Brockmeier) #17 Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince #18 Second Thyme Around (Katie Fforde) #19 The Red Tent (Anita Diamont) #20 When the Heart Cries (Cindy Woodsmall), #21 The Brethren (Beverly Lewis), #22 Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt (Anne Rice), #23 The Tender Years (Janette Oke), #24 A Searching Heart (Janette Oke) #25 Plain Truth (Jodi Picoult) #26 Eragon (C. Paolini) #27 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)

[sunnylady303]

I stopped doing this thread - I'm going to try and pick it back up. I always get such good books ideas here!

So far, I finished A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon for the second time. I can't wait for the next book to come out.

And I am almost done with Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves by Naomi Aldort. It's a good book. There are things in it that make me a little uncomfortable and it's discouraging to see how far I have to go until I am the parent I want to be, but it is great for making you think and it's an easy read.

[JanB]

I just finished A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. It's about the 10th time I've read it. I am not always a fan of Bryson -- he comes across as being mean-spirited in some of his other books, IMHO -- but this one is fantastic. It's an overview of natural history from a layman's perspective, and has a lot of really good stories and info about various of the natural sciences. I especially like the bits about Yellowstone Park.

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Originally Posted by JanB

I am not always a fan of Bryson -- he comes across as being mean-spirited in some of his other books, IMHO

That's too bad to hear, I've had A Walk in the Woods on my list to read for a while now ... is that one OK?

[sunnylady303]

I love Bill Bryson. I know what you mean about mean spirited, though - especially in his earlier books. But I agree about A Short History of Nearly Everything - I've reread it about 5 times. And don't worry, A Walk in the Woods is my favorite Bryson book. I've seriously read it at least 15 times. It's wonderful.

[cathe]

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

That's too bad to hear, I've had A Walk in the Woods on my list to read for a while now ... is that one OK?

Walk in the Woods is great - I've read it 3 times and lend it to everyone I know.

[JanB]

Agreed, Walk in the Woods is one of Bryson's better books. (How alliterative!) I actually think that most of his books are worth reading at least once, it's just that sometimes there's a mean-spirited humor in them that I don't really respond to. I am thinking specifically of a passage in one of his books (can't remember which one anymore) where he makes fun of an obese family overeating at a buffet. It was just really off-putting for me. But I have no beef with Walk in the Woods.

[mz_libbie22]

: :

I'm officially DONE with the school year and now I have time to read all those books that have been piling up. My goal for the summer is 20-30 books and I have them all chosen already. But I'll list the ones I want to read this month:

1. D.H Lawrence~Women in Love

2. Elizabeth Gaskell~Ruth

3. Gabriel Garcia Marquez~Love in the Time of Cholera and some short stories

4. Ray Bradbury~Fahrenheit 451

5. Kafka~book of short stories

6. Sylvia Plath~The Bell Jar

[kofduke]

See Jane Hit, Garbarino

a fascinating look at girls getting physical—from the assertive physicality expressed by healthy girls to criminal violence on the part of troubled ones. Examining biology, early childhood development and the effects of mass media, he builds on the work of other psychologists and social historians while adding texture to his accessible narrative with first-person accounts of girls' experiences

Eh, not as great as I was expecting...a good overview but a bit pop psychology for me.


#1 - Tiger in the Well, #2 - Laptop Lunch User's Guide, #3 An Inconvenient Truth, #4 Lucifer's Shadow, #5 A Woman's Eye, #6 - A Cold Day for Murder, #7 The Visitant, #8 - Mothering the New Mother, #9- Pharos, #10 - Neverwhere, #11 - How does your Engine Run?, #12 - The Memory Keeper's Daughter, #13 - Nursery Crimes, #14 - Coraline, #15 - Playful Parenting, #16 - Vanishing Acts, #17 - Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth, #18 - Super Suppers, #19 - See Jane Hit

[JanB]

Just finished Live from New York, an oral history of Saturday Night Live in the words of cast members, hosts, and other people involved with the show over the years. I'm a huge SNL buff so I love this kind of thing.

[cathe]

"The Thief of Time" by John Boyne

Story of a man who has been alive 250 years - stopped aging in his 50's. The book alternates between stories of his various wives/loves and the present where he tries to save one of his brothers decendents.

Pretty good.

[Mamax3]

The Doctor's Wife by Elizabeth Brundage

I liked it, it was a page turner for me because I enjoy psychological thrillers.

Right now I am reading Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald. I read this years ago. I recently read another book by this author, so I thought i'd read this again.

[konamama]

catching up on the mags on my bedside table... essentially short stories :-))

[cathe]

Originally Posted by JanB

Just finished Live from New York, an oral history of Saturday Night Live in the words of cast members, hosts, and other people involved with the show over the years. I'm a huge SNL buff so I love this kind of thing.

I'll have to get this for my dh. He loves that show. (I can't stay up that late.)

[hrutledge]

#10 We Need To Talk About Kevin
disturbing,chilling, page turner
two thumbs up

[nancy926]

#32: Miss American Pie, by Margaret Sartor

An edited version of Sartor's diaries from her jr high/high school years, growing up in rural Louisiana. Funny and interesting -- made me realize that things really haven't changed as much as we think they have, in some ways. It also motivated me to try to find my diaries from jr high and high school, though I am not sure i want to read them!

[Keeta]

Magic's Child - Justine Larbalestier
The third in a trilogy called Magic or Madness. The idea is that magic is real, most people have a little but others have a lot and can use it - sort of like Harry Potter. The catch with this series, though, is that the magic people have to use some of it or they go crazy - but if they use it, they die young (when they run out of magic). It's YA, so I should expect tooo too much, I guess, but I was disappointed in this series - it had so much potential, but I just felt like it fell short; it could have been so much more...everything. But I'm not sorry I read them.

All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris
The newest in the Sookie Stackhouse series (Sookie is a barmaid in a small Louisiana town, and she can read minds. Oh yeah, and vampires are real and are "out" in society, while werewolves, shapeshifters, fairies and the like are real, but normal people don't know about them). This latest installment - which I knew would be a light, fluffy read - was pretty much what I expected. Thankfully, this time the author didn't do too much rehashing of the other books (which she has in the past and it's unbelievably annoying) but the plot was kind of convoluted - like she couldn't decide between storylines, so she just included them all. Eh. Quick, fun read, definitely won't change anyone's life.
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1. The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson 2. Light My Fire - Katie MacAlister 3. Camouflage - Joe Halderman 4. Magic or Madness - Justine Larbelestier 5. Magic Lessons - Justine Larbelestier 6. Midnighters #1: The Blue Hour - Scott Westerfeld 7. Midnighters #2: Touching Darkness - Scott Westerfeld 8. Blood Bound - Patricia Briggs 9. Midnighters #3: Blue Noon - Scott Westerfeld 10. Ecotopia Emerging - Ernest Callenbach 11. Homeschooling Our Children, Unschooling Ourselves - Alison McKee 12. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. LeGuin 13. Over Sea, Under Stone - Susan Cooper 14. The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper 15. For a Few Demons More - Kim Harrison 16. Deep Economy - Bill McKibben 17. Stop Global Warming: The Solution is You! - Laurie David 18. Greenwitch - Susan Cooper 19. The Grey King - Susan Cooper 20. Orphans of Chaos - John C. Wright 21. Magic's Child - Justine Larbalestier 22. All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris