October 2008 Book Challenge - Page 3

[nancy926]

Originally Posted by snozzberry

anyone here doing nanowrimo?

I might be. I did it in 2006 but only made it to about 13K words.

cathe - NaNoWriMo is November. Up here in VT, November is a great month to stay inside, usually.

[cathe]

Okay--let's have a little poll. How many of us avid readers are also writers . . . .

[kaliki_kila]

The Girls by Lori Lansens

Conjoined twins Rose and Ruby write their life story (fiction).

I didn't like it. I was eager to read it because it sounds like a fascinating premise for a story but the whole thing just fell flat.

[snozzberry]

Originally Posted by cathe

Maybe we could start a writing challenge thread?

Ooh, good idea! I'll search to see if anyone's already created one, then post back here after I find/create one!

[snozzberry]

Avid readers doing NaNoWriMo!!!

[friendtoall]

#47 Hot property : easy home staging to sell your house for more money in any Market – Lots of good info for anyone who has not watched a lot of decorating shows on cable.

#48 In defense of food : an eater's manifesto (audio) – A few great nuggets of information (or misinformation corrected) and a nice reminder of how to eat healthily.

[kofduke]

#36 Freakonomics, Levitt & Dubner

Dubner and Levitt deconstruct everything from the organizational structure of drug-dealing gangs to baby-naming patterns. While some chapters might seem frivolous, others touch on more serious issues, including a detailed look at Levitt's controversial linkage between the legalization of abortion and a reduced crime rate two decades later. Underlying all these research subjects is a belief that complex phenomena can be understood if we find the right perspective. Levitt has a knack for making that principle relevant to our daily lives, which could make this book a hit.

I found the author's take on the world at large and economics and statistics in particular to be really interesting. I especially liked the chapters on the economics of drug dealing and on the distinction between traditionally black and white names. The authors tend to question the conventional wisdom and help you to see a basis for why.

I listened to this as an audio book -- it's the first time I've ever done that, and since my commute is 20-40 minutes based on traffic it feels like a good use of time rather than sitting there frustrated.


#1-Garden of Beasts, #2-Passporter Guide to WDW, #3-Skylight Confessions, #4 - The Secret, #5 - The Kite Runner, #6 - Gone, #7 - Hidden Mickeys, #8 - Into Thin Air, #9 - Wolf Point, #10 - Ocean Breezes, #11 - Harmony Guide to Cables and Aran, #12 - East, #13 - Getting Started Knitting Socks, #14 - Keeping Faith, #15 - The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, #16 The Big Nap, #17 - Grave of God's Daughter, #18 - Daddy's Girl, #19 - Behind the Scenes at the Museum, #20 - America, #21 - The Little Friend, #22 - Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, #23 - Candyfreak, #24 - Devil in the White City, #25 A Playdate with Death, #26 - Lunch Lessons, #27 - Hidden, #28 Garden of Eden and other Criminal Delights, #29 The Amber Room, #30 The Keep, #31 March, #32 Triathlons for Women, #33 Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, #34 - Mirror, Mirror, #35 - The Kingdom Keepers, #36 Freakonomics

[kaliki_kila]

Originally Posted by friendtoall

#48 In defense of food : an eater's manifesto (audio) – A few great nuggets of information (or misinformation corrected) and a nice reminder of how to eat healthily.

You reminded me I have been wanting to read this!

[cathe]

"The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

This was a great sci-fi/futuristic book that someone recommend to me when talking about "Life As We Knew It." I loved the writing style and the story was great too--EXCEPT THE END. I hate, hate when books end with a cliffhanger and you have to wait for the next in the series. Arg!

[OMama]

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

While McEwan is an excellent author, this was just okay. Fortunately, it was a quick read, but not that satisfying overall. Out of recent McEwan books I have read, I liked Saturday better. But if you are looking for something well-written and brief, this might appeal to you. Briefly, it is about a newlywed couple in the 1960s on their wedding night--and what has happened before in the lives and after.

[MountainMamaGC]

I am reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. So far i love it.

[kaliki_kila]

Originally Posted by cathe

[B]I hate, hate when books end with a cliffhanger and you have to wait for the next in the series. Arg!

That's why I always wait until the series is complete! Seriously, I waited until a few months before the last Harry Potter book came out before I picked up the first book and I did the same thing with Twilight.

[snozzberry]

#53 Baby Minds: Brain-Building Games Your Baby Will Love by Linda Acredolo, Susan Goodwyn

This book is similar to another book I read this year: What's Going on in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life.

Although I enjoyed What's Going on in There?, I *loved* Baby Minds because it focused more on what you can do to help your baby's brain grow. And not in a baby-flashcards sort of way, either. The games they suggest are fun and easy to incorporate into your routine. For example, they recommend modeling some pretend play starting at around 6 months to foster creativity. So we've instituted a 3:00 Puppet Show in our house. My 8-month-old daughter loves it of course, but so do I! 3:00 is about the time I start counting down the minutes til my husband gets home from work so it takes my mind off the clock for a bit.

I also preferred how this book summarized the relevant research studies in an accessible way. The research they highlighted made me that much more motivated to try the corresponding games. And this book was much lighter on the biological details of development, which I didn't mind at all considering those were the parts of What's Going on in There? I found myself skimming.

Both books had needed reminders to parents that there's no way to be a "perfect parent." The message in Baby Minds is: Just do what works for you, and don't stress out if you're not doing every single game they recommend because every single game won't work for everyone.

This book also has a handy list of all the games at the back, which I find myself using a lot lately. On the weekdays when I'm at home with my daughter all day, I use up all my tricks by the early afternoon—we read books, we take a walk, we have a tickle fest, I feed her solid food. Then I'm bored and she's bored, and that's not good. So the list at the back is helpful for jogging my memory about other things we can do together that will be fun for both of us. In fact, that's exactly how the 3:00 Puppet Show came into existence!

[Fiestabeth]

Fledgling by Octavia Butler

I really liked this, and just had the luxury of reading the last half completely uninterrupted. I got it read BEFORE book club this time.

[Keeta]

Originally Posted by kaliki_kila

That's why I always wait until the series is complete! Seriously, I waited until a few months before the last Harry Potter book came out before I picked up the first book and I did the same thing with Twilight.

Yeah, but sometimes you don't know what you're getting into and then you get to the end with the page ad of "Coming in February 2050: The next in the series!" Now I know to always check the back of the book first, but sometimes they're sneaky and you just can't tell!!! I hate this, too, Cathe!

[kaliki_kila]

Originally Posted by snozzberry

#53 Baby Minds: Brain-Building Games Your Baby Will Love by Linda Acredolo, Susan Goodwyn

This book is similar to another book I read this year: What's Going on in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life.

I have What's Going on in There? and it's a fascinating read. I will have to get this one as well.

[cathe]

Originally Posted by Keeta

Yeah, but sometimes you don't know what you're getting into and then you get to the end with the page ad of "Coming in February 2050: The next in the series!" Now I know to always check the back of the book first, but sometimes they're sneaky and you just can't tell!!! I hate this, too, Cathe!

Exactly! I didn't know this was even a series until I got to the the end. Though I guess if I had looked at the cover more closely I would have seen it--but I just picked it off the hold shelf and started reading.

Actually, most series I don't mind reading alone--like Harry Potter, each book had a satisfying ending. But this was like Uglies in that it leaves you in the middle of a problem and you need to find out what happens.

[Jenifer76]

The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman

Single businesswoman suddenly becomes guardian of two children when her best friend dies. A pretty formulaic plot: She never wanted kids, gets kids, starts to feel attached to kids, biological father comes on scene to take kids. I will say the final romantic twist was a bit of a suprise. Despite being formulaic, the book was still a decent read.

[DaughterOfKali]

Arthur of Albion by John Matthews

Definitely a book to own. Unbelievably gorgeous illustrations. The book is geared toward ages 8-adult. Of course, being what the book is about, there is some violence in it. But, it's not gratuitous.

For those interested in knights/kings/King Arthur, this book is a must. It's chock full of information and transports you back in time. The book also comes with a poster which my son is very excited about.

It's a cloth bound, hardcover book with gilded accents. Truly a display book.

[nancy926]

#52: The Shack, by William Paul Young

From the back cover: "Mackenzie Allen Phillips's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack....Four years later, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend."

The protagonist shares a first and last name with an actress from One Day At A Time. This, and one plot twist, are the most interesting things about this book. People have said it changed their lives, etc., but I didn't see it as doing more than a lower-shelf self-help book might do. You know: live in the moment, let go of control, love others no matter what. As an agnostic at best, it's not clear to me why we needed G*d to tell us these things (although in the book, he appears as a black woman, which is refreshing). I didn't follow any of the answers to the Big Questions, such as why G*d allows horrible things to happen and why humans should accept Him. But I didn't really expect to, given my heathen status.

This book has apparently become extremely popular by word of mouth. The writing is fairly good, though the parts after Missy goes missing (perhaps another bad name choice) I just skipped because they didn't hold my attention at all.

And yes, I am a writer too....I'll check out snozzberry's thread!