Go here for my 2007 list.

This year I think I'm going to try for 75 books. I catalogued reading 58 books total last year, but I didn't include any kids books, manga or graphic novels in that list (which would have totaled around 66 at that point), and I figure they're all books, right? So for 2008, I'm going to try cataloguing everything I read and see how that works.

Bring on 2008!

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2008, 5:53pm.

First book of the year! This was our January selection for the Graphic Novel discussion group at one of my local bookstores.

A Contract with God by Will Eisner

192 pages / 2006 / 4 Stars / Graphic Novel

Considered by some as the "first" graphic novel, Will Eisner's A Contract With God is an unapologetic look at tenement living in NYC in the 30s. Taken from his own recollections from his childhood, Eisner creates 4 stories that combine to create a novel that is both unique in its vision as well as brutal in its honesty. Told as much in pictures as in words, Eisner used this book as a stepping stone to creating a body of work using the then blossoming, now growing medium of the graphic novel.


1 / 75 books. 1% done!

Message edited by its author, Jan 2, 2008, 11:42am.

Two books today. I love days like this!!

InterWorld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves

239 pages / 2007 / 5 Stars / YA Science Fiction

A fun jaunt through multiple dimensions, InterWorld tells the story of young Joe Harker, who has the ability to Walk between dimensions, and the adventures that ensue when he discovers this ability after getting himself lost downtown. It's not so much a story about good vs. evil as it is about science vs. magic, and trying to keep the balance between the two.

Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves had originally conceived the concept as a television show, but when studios didn't seem interested, they changed the telling into a novel.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Straight forward storytelling and some imaginative plots made for an enjoyable experience. It's a quick read, but worth it if you are looking for something fun. I find myself hoping that they continue the story.


2 / 75 books. 3% done!

Message edited by its author, Jan 2, 2008, 11:42am.

A friend of mine lent me this book, so it's not part of my library.

Peter by Kate Walker

229 pages / 1991 / 4 Stars / YA Fiction

Kate Walker's Peter is a coming-of-age story told from the first person perspective of 15 year old Peter Dawson, who starts to question his sexuality after meeting his older brother's gay friend, David. David is tall, good-looking, perfectly dressed; everything that Peter is not. Peter hides his sensitive side and his love of photography from the local boys by joining them in their dirt bike races, and is increasingly concerned by his disinterest in girls; something the other boys only ever talk about. After meeting David, Peter begins to understand that you can't be the person that other people think you should be, that you can only be the person you yourself are meant to be.

I was surprised by Kate Walker's portrayal of the confusion and sometimes self-hatred that can come with discovering your sexuality may not be the "norm." Having gone through many of these same emotions myself, I could relate to Peter and sympathize with his character. I think this would be an excellent book for any young person who is questioning their sexuality to read.


3 / 75 books. 4% done!

Message edited by its author, Jan 8, 2008, 4:58pm.

Madman's Drum: A Novel in Woodcuts by Lynd Ward

144 pages / 1930 / 3 Stars / Fiction

Lynd Ward's Mad Man's Drum is a graphic novel in the truest sense of the word; told through the use of 128 woodcut prints, and using no written text, Ward tells a story of obsession and the tragedy that can be a result of succumbing to that obsession.

Given that there is no text, the reader must rely on the imagery and symbolism that is presented in each woodcut; therefore, I believe that each reader may take something different from the story. Perhaps I am not the person for this story, but it took me several "readings" to feel that I was beginning to come to an understanding of what was happening, and I still don't believe that I have a true grasp on all of the nuances of the story. This is why that I feel a true review of the story would almost be impossible for me to write.

Mad Man's Drum was Lynd Ward's second graphic novel, and is an amazing piece of art; however, given that the drawings are all in black and white and limited with the amount of detail woodcut prints can offer, I found it difficult to follow the characters and what was happening in each frame. While the basic principle is easy to understand, I felt the subtle nuances of the story are lost somewhere in the telling. I give it three stars for the complexity of the project alone. Perhaps someone with a better understanding of the psychological symbolism and imagery would be better suited to this book.


4 / 75 books. 5% done!

Message edited by its author, Feb 26, 2008, 4:31pm.

I'll be interested to read your review. I've only read one, God's Man, and still haven't made up my mind about it.

Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham

128 pages / 2002 / 4 Stars / Graphic Novel

Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham and Lan Medina collects the first 5 issues of the Fables series published by the DC Comics imprint, Vertigo. It follows the adventures of the surviving occupants of the fairy tales who have been exiled into the mundane real world after their kingdoms have been overtaken by the Adversary.

The story arc, "Legends in Exile," is basically a set up to the rest of the series. It lays the groundwork of the back story of the Adversary and introduces the characters and the concept of Fabletown. This is definitely not the fairy tale characters of our childhood; these characters are grown-up, NYC-hardened versions of the fairy tales of old. I'm interested to see where this story goes.


5 / 75 books. 7% done!

Message edited by its author, Jan 14, 2008, 8:19am.

The Translator was one of my SantaThing gifts this past year, and while this would probably not have been something that I would have picked up myself, I am thankful that my SecretSanta chose this book to send me. What a great book! I took it with me on vacation this past week, and read it on the plane.

The Translator by John Crowley

295 pages / 2003 / 5 Stars / Fiction

Told during the 1960s with the Cuban Missile Crisis as a backdrop, John Crowley has created a smart love story in The Translator. The story follows Christa, a college student who develops a relationship with one of her instructors, Falin, a Russian poet who has been exiled from his country under mysterious circumstances. Much like the translations that Christa is making for Falin of his poems, their relationship is complicated and intricate. John Crowley's prose is beautifully written and the story is well paced. An overall enjoyable book.


6 / 75 books. 8% done!

Message edited by its author, Jan 28, 2008, 10:19am.

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

221 pages / 1983 / 3.5 stars / Fantasy

The Color of Magic is Terry Pratchett's introduction to the concepts, characters and ideas that he will build on to make his Discworld series. It suffers a little from what I call "first-book-in-a-series syndrome;" the book isn't bad, but the author is clearly learning his own characters and ideas, and it's all still in a formative state. I enjoyed it enough to want to move on and try the next book.

Part fantasy, part satire, part comedy, The Color of Magic is a fun, quick read that doesn't take itself too seriously at all.


7 / 75 books. 9% done!

Message edited by its author, Feb 7, 2008, 3:30pm.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

322 pages / 1932 / 5 stars / Mystery

This is only the second book by Agatha Christie that I have read, but it cemented her as one of my favorite authors. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express. As it is only the second of her books that I have read, I can't be sure, but I can see a pattern to Christie's writing; she seems to definitely draw from a certain formula in her writing. Even with what appears to be a predisposed pattern to her writing, these are still enjoyable reads.

Murder on the Orient Express is a Hercule Poirot mystery, one of her more colorful recurring characters. Like The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Poirot finds himself in an unexpected situation; traveling to Paris on the Orient Express, there is a murder, and Poirot is pressed into service to try to solve the mystery before the killer can escape!

There isn't much thinking involved on the reader's part; most of the clues are clearly presented, but Poirot doesn't make the connections until the end, but he clearly illustrates how the crime was committed and who did it and how he came to the conclusion.

Agatha Christie obviously enjoyed writing her books, as that enjoyment is passed directly onto the reader. 5 stars!!


8 / 75 books. 11% done!

Message edited by its author, Jan 28, 2008, 1:57pm.

Once you've read a few more by Agatha Christie, you'll start to notice that she reuses some of her plots. Don't get too complacent, though: she often revamps them in completely different ways!

The February selection for my graphic novel reading group.

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sís

56 pages / 2007 / 4 stars / Graphic Novel

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain is Peter Sís' autobiographical story of growing up in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. Told primarily through pictures with side notes of a running timeline of the events during his childhood, you are given a simple but powerful account of what is was like to be a child and growing up in Czechoslovakia during this time.


9 / 75 books. 12% done!

Message edited by its author, Jan 30, 2008, 2:02pm.

December Early Reviewer Selection

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

479 pages / 2008 / 4 stars / Fiction

Firefly Lane, Kristin Hannah's latest book, is the story about unlikely friends Kate and Tully and the lifetime of friendship that they created for themselves; the type of friendship that everyone should have, a friend who is more family than friend.

To be honest, the book is rather predictable and reads much like a Lifetime movie, and there are several punctuation and spelling errors (although these may be attributed to being an Advance Readers' Edition), but these problems aside, the book is really enjoyable. Even though I knew what was coming through most of the book, I found myself really caring about the characters. The last two chapters brought the entire story together. Kristin Hannah really understood her characters and their emotions, and portrayed them perfectly.

All errors aside, Firefly Lane is a really good book that could have benefited from some tighter editing. I found myself wanting to skip over sections of the book simply due to the extent of detail that was placed in to make sure the reader knew what decade the story was taking place in. I feel that more emphasis could have been placed on when the girls were younger and when they were living on Firefly Lane; where they cemented their friendship. This particular time in their lives, which the book refers back to frequently, was only briefly touched on. It seems that for such an important time in their lives, this time period would have been more deeply developed. But even with these few flaws, after finishing the book, I found that I had really enjoyed it.


10 / 75 books. 13% done!

Message edited by its author, Feb 5, 2008, 8:44am.

Borrowed this from beserene, so it's not part of my library.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1 by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill

192 pages / 2002 / 4 stars / Graphic Novel

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1 collects the 6 issue comic series of the same name, written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Kevin O'Neill and published by America's Best Comics, an imprint of Wildstorm Studios. Following the adventures of several literary "superheroes" during the turn of the last century, the story takes place in an England that is just a step away from reality. The main characters are pulled from classic literature of every genre: there is Mina Murray from Bram Stoker's Dracula, Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea, Alan Quartermain from H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines, the title characters from Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well as H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man. There are numerous other references hidden throughout the collection of other literary characters. I felt that a reference guide would be a fun addition to the collection to point out all the easter eggs hidden in the series.

I really enjoyed reading this series. What's not to love: it's witty, smartly written, there is great character interaction, espionage, intrigue, great literary references sprinkled throughout; everything that makes a great reading experience. I give it 4 stars only for the fact that I still feel it would be been a good addition to the collected edition to have a reference guide to all the references.


11 / 75 books. 15% done!

Message edited by its author, Feb 6, 2008, 7:32pm.

Borrowed this from beserene as well, so it's not part of my library either.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2 by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill

228 pages / 2004 / 4.5 stars / Graphic Novel

The second volume in Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's Victorian superhero drama, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, takes everything that made the first volume so enjoyable and made it better. Better villains, even more ingenious literary references and all the elements that make for a good sequel (sabotage, traitors, relationships that weren't there before, teases of things before and yet to come) all made for a great read.

I look forward to reading the future releases in this series.


12 / 75 books. 16% done!

Message edited by its author, Feb 7, 2008, 3:29pm.

January Early Reviewer Selection
Seems fitting that my 13th book read this year is:

The 13th Reality: the Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner

429 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / YA Fantasy

The 13th Reality: the Journal of Curious Letters is the first in a series by James Dashner. We follow the adventures of Atticus Higginbottom, or Tick as he likes to be called, as he begins to receive mysterious letters in the mail with clues as to a secret, magical ritual that he will need to perform that will help save the lives of many people. With no idea who is sending the letters or how to perform the ritual other than the enigmatic clues hidden in the letters he receives, Tick must discover the secret to the ritual and where and when to perform it. Gaining some friends along the way, Tick overcomes many obstacles to complete his mission and save the day.

To put it simply, I really enjoyed this book. Reading this as an adult, I didn't find it a particularly challenging book, but I know that when I was younger I would have loved this book just as much, if not more. Not being a parent, I can't always comment on how these books would be perceived by children, but there was one aspect of this book that immediately stood out to me from other books in the genre. In most kids books today, the protagonists are always the same age as the target audience, which is expected, but the kids always feel the need to keep their adventures secret from their parents or the adults most capable of helping them. I suppose the idea is to instill a sense of independence in kids, to give them the feeling that they can do anything, and that's a great attribute to instill in kids. It's what I'd want to do if I were a parent. However, it seems that sometimes this idea that kids need to keep secrets from the adults around them is taken to new levels in some books. What I liked about The Journal of Curious Letters is that Dashner did away with that stereotype and had Tick go to his dad and explain what was going on, and his dad took an active role in the story and the process of discovering the secret behind the mystery. Granted, they then kept the whole secret from Tick's mom, but the idea that Tick appreciated the fact that an adult's input would help him really stood out to me. I thought that this was a nice departure from the norm; that Tick's dad allowed him to be independent and follow through with his mission while being there as a support system for his son. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of the typical young kids books notions in The 13th Reality: like many protagonists, Tick's name is unusual, he's considered an outcast in school, he has an unusual physical feature that we wants to keep hidden, he gains a select number of friends around his same age to join in the adventure; there are secrets galore, a mysterious villain, mental and physical challenges, but he always overcomes these obstacles. The scientific part of the mystery I think will help the book appeal to a wider range of kids, too.

My only real complaint would be that the buildup of the story throughout the book seemed a little long in comparison to the actual ending. I feel that with such a large buildup there could have been more fleshing out of the final battle; it just all seemed a little rushed to me. Either the buildup could have been shortened in some way, or there could have been more time spent on the final sequence with the kids in the 13th Reality. I think the characters could have been developed a little bit more, but this is the first book, so I can excuse that. There's always room in the following books to explore their backgrounds.

I don't know that The 13th Reality series will be a runaway success like some others, but based on the first book, I can't imagine that it will be disregarded either. I think The Journal of Curious Letters, and the series as a whole, should appeal to both kids and adults who enjoy kids books equally. I anxiously await Tick's continuing adventures in the Realities.


13 / 75 books. 17% done!

Message edited by its author, Feb 14, 2008, 10:18am.

The Dragon Hoard by Tanith Lee

162 pages / 1971 / 3 stars / YA Fantasy

This was completely a nostalgia read for me. I had this book when I was a kid, and I remembered it the other night, so went hunting on eBay and found it.

It's funny how you can remember some books quite vividly and then others seem to get lost over the years. I remembered parts of this book and seemed to remember it being a bit more of a grand adventure, but that could be the impression my younger self gave the book. As an adult, it's not a bad read, but it's nothing great either.

Tanith Lee's The Dragon Hoard is your typical heroes journey. We follow the adventures of Prince Jasleth as he must find his fortune in the world after an evil relative has cursed him and his twin sister on their 17th birthday. He joins a quest to find the fabled Dragon Hoard, thereby securing his fortune if the quest is completed. Meanwhile, his evil relative will do everything in her power to make sure that the quest is not completed.

Comprised of easy plot lines, easy adventures, easy danger and easy resolutions, I can see why my adult self was just a little on the bored side with this story, while my younger self would have really enjoyed it. This would be a great read for any younger kids who are beginning to be interested in the fantasy genre.


14 / 75 books. 19% done!

I've read the series before, but I saw the movie last night, so I thought I'd revisit them.

The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1: The Field Guide by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

113 pages / 2003 / 4 stars / YA Fantasy

The Field Guide, the first book in Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's The Spiderwick Chronicles, does a good job of setting up the main characters and plot ideas that the rest of the series will be built on. There are just enough answers given and just enough new questions revealed to want to draw you in to the rest of the series.

The Chronicles follow the adventures of the Grace children after they discover their great uncle's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, a map to the creatures and wonder of the land of Faerie. They are warned of the troubles that can come to them if they continue reading the book, but like most children, they can't help themselves.

Not a challenging read, but a fun one. The illustrations throughout by Tony DiTerlizzi are amazing and really add to the depth of the story. This would be a great book for any kids interested in Faerie or fantasy.


15 / 75 books. 20% done!

Message edited by its author, Feb 16, 2008, 8:01pm.

how was the movie?

You know, I really enjoyed the movie! It's been several years since I read the books, so I don't know that I remember everything that happened in the books or what they would have changed in the movie, but the essence of the story remained, and to me that's the important part. The special effects were amazing, and I thought the music was well done as well. It's worth going to see!

Pibgorn: the Girl in the Coffee Cup by Brooke McEldowney

58 pages / 2006 / 4 stars / Fantasy Graphic Novel

This was a collection of online comics by the creator of 9 Chickweed Lane, Brooke McEldowney. This started out as a short, holiday story that more or less grew into it's own story. Pibgorn, an upstart of a fairy, falls in love with a human, Geoff (an organist for the local Episcopalian church, no less) who also happens to be the love-interest of Drusilla, an evil demon-fairy (or succubus). The prince of the fairies wants to kill Pibgorn, the lord of Hell wants to kill Drusilla and both of them want to win the heart of Geoff. In typical McEldowney fashion, watch the hilarity ensue.


16 / 75 books. 21% done!

Transmetropolitan Vol. 1: Back on the Street by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson

70 pages / 1998 / 3 stars / Graphic Novel

Read this as the March selection for the Graphic Novel Discussion Group that I "belong" to (I haven't actually been able to make it to a meeting yet, but keep reading the selections every month, all the same), and really, I probably won't read anymore in this series. It's not bad, but I don't think it's for me. Lots of violence, swearing and the such, and while this isn't something that would offend me in the slightest, I didn't find the story itself all that compelling.


17 / 75 books. 23% done!

This was my second book from my LT SecretSanta this past Christmas.

Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg

469 pages / 1992 / 5 stars / Fiction

This was an amazing book. Part murder mystery, part political intrigue, and so much more; I think this would be a particularly hard book to categorize. I also think this will proudly sit on my top 5 list of books read this year.

At first, it was hard to get into the rhythm of the writing, but once I got used it and let it carry me along, I was completely swept into Smilla's life and was able to see things from her unique point of view. A very independent woman, strong and vulnerable at the same time, who has perhaps gotten in over her head but perseveres in her journey to discover the secret behind a friend's death.

Brilliantly written, haunting and detailed, once you have let yourself be absorbed into Peter Høeg's Smilla's Sense of Snow, the story will not let you go until the very end, and even then will stay with you for some time.


18 / 75 books. 24% done!

Message edited by its author, Feb 24, 2008, 8:49am.

A Door in the Woods by James Dashner

171 pages / 2003 / 3.5 stars / YA Fantasy

A Door in the Woods is the first book in James Dashner's Jimmy Fincher Saga, and it's a decent start to the series and a decent first book for Dashner. The writing isn't all that bad, but there is room for growth. Dashner relies a little too heavily on what I'm sure he is trying to play off as quaint, southern colloquialisms. Every character in the book uses them, and after several chapters, it gets a little old.

Jimmy Fincher is your typical, fourteen year old boy, who happens to stumble upon a secret that could change the world. Through his adventures, he uncovers family secrets, villains, enigmatic benefactors and unlikely friends. Unlike the typical YA book today, Jimmy has a solid family unit around him that he relies on and that supports him throughout the entire book. I find this a refreshing change.

While I could see where the book may have benefited from a little tighter editing, overall A Door in the Woods is a fun read and I think most kids would find it enjoyable; it's filled with adventure, mystery, intrigue and life or death situations. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.


19 / 75 books. 25% done!

Message edited by its author, Mar 1, 2008, 10:22am.

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

241 pages / 1989 / 4 stars / Fiction

A delightful little book, Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate is almost a modern-day fairy tale. Told in monthly installments, the novel is simultaneously story and cookbook, filled with both recipes and home remedies and as well as the story of Tita, our heroine, who was born, raised and taught in the kitchen, and who has the amazing ability to cook her emotions into her marvelous recipes. Tita's story is one of longing, love and the need to be her own person; to escape the tyrannical presence of her mother and create her own life with the man she loves. It's a relatively fast read, but enjoyable all the same.


20 / 75 books. 27% done!

Message edited by its author, Mar 1, 2008, 10:22am.

Needed something a little whimsical today, so...

Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book by Brian Froud

61 pages / 1994 / 4 stars / Humor

Lady Cottington's Fairy Album by Brian Froud

64 pages / 2002 / 4 stars / Humor

Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Letters by Brian Froud

48 pages / 2005 / 4 stars / Humor

What started out as what I assume to be a bit of comic relief, Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book, and its subsequent volumes, turned into something of its own fairy tale. Through each volume, we gain a little more insight into the world of Angelica Cottington, who masters the art of pressing fairies in her books, to preserve them and show the world the truth. I give each book 4 stars, but really, the second book is what brings the three volumes together as something more than whimsy.

The first book, Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book, I'm quite sure was meant nothing more than a bit of humor. We follow the adventures of Lady Cottington as a small girl as she begins to notice the fairies around her and as she discovers the pressing technique to preserve them in her books. In Lady Cottington's Fairy Album we learn a little more of Lady Cottington's heritage, and this is where I think the series, while still deep in it's whimsical foundations, takes a turn for the more "serious." With Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Letters, we are presented with letters from the likes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rasputin, Houdini, Helen Keller and more, as Lady Cottington continues her journey of discovery.

The artwork throughout remains consistently humorous, with each fairy pressing more ridiculous than the last. A truly unique reading experience.


23 / 75 books. 31% done!

Message edited by its author, Mar 1, 2008, 3:34pm.

The Hound of Rowan: Book One of The Tapestry by Henry H. Neff

414 pages / 2007 / 4 stars / YA Fantasy

In Henry H. Neff's The Hound of Rowan: Book One of the Tapestry, we are introduced to Max McDaniels, a thirteen year old boy who stumbles upon a room in the Chicago Institute of Art where he finds a strange tapestry, whose pictures seem to move and produce music. After discovering the tapestry, he finds a note in his pocket telling him to expect a visitor who happens to work for Rowan Academy, a school that specializes in nurturing the talents of kids with special abilities.

Setting aside the inevitable HP comparison, I found myself enjoying this book immensely. The book follows Max's first year at Rowan, where he discovers that he may be in possession of powerful magic. There is a great, ancient evil that was thought destroyed but may not be, and a legion of followers who are working to help the ancient evil regain control. There are several other similarities to HP; Max turns out to be extraordinarily good at the school's chosen sport; he has the possibility of having a huge amount of power at his disposal that he is unaware of; the school becomes his safe haven from the Enemy; the town next door is privy to the secrets of the school, and the students are allowed to spend some of their free time there; there is even a kind-hearted giant who the kids befriend (in this case, a reformed ogre who works in the kitchens); there are some other similarities to HP, but revealing those would give away some of the story. For as much as the book does seem to mirror HP, there are just as many differences within the story to make it stand on its own; Max loves his family and doesn't want to stay at the school; the magic is tied directly to ancient Irish lore rather than a more fabricated background; there is also some science tied in with the magic behind the school, so while I can see where people would jump to the conclusion that Neff is trying to create his own version of HP, I just can't see it that way. He is trying to create a world that is entirely his, and just so happens to be using some of the same techniques that JK Rowling herself borrowed from other stories to create hers; because in all fairness JKR didn't come up with these ideas all on her own. She's just become really famous for it.

I'm giving it 4 stars because Neff knows how to move his story along and ties up the plot lines nicely, leaving just enough questions to make the sequel worthwhile. I would like to see fewer plot devices akin to HP; while I understand that it is hard to not compare YA books to HP these days, there did seem to be a few too many similarities. Neff has proven that he can create a world all his own, now I'd like to see him take it further in his own direction.


24 / 75 books. 32% done!

Message edited by its author, Mar 10, 2008, 3:02pm.

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

161 pages / 1926 / 4 stars / Childrens

The charming and timeless story of Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh, their friends and their adventures.


25 / 75 books. 33% done!

Maus, A Survivor's Tale I: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

159 pages / 1986 / 4 stars / Graphic Novel

Maus, A Survivor's Tale is a son's pictorial version of his father's story of survival during WWII.
Both haunting and mesmerizing, sometimes funny and touching, this is a story of perseverance and about what the Jews had to suffer through at the hands of the Nazis in WWII Poland. Spiegleman never sugar-coats what his father had to endure in order to keep he and his wife alive. A true work of art.


26 / 75 books. 35% done!

Message edited by its author, Mar 15, 2008, 10:51pm.

The Sister by Poppy Adams

275 pages / 2008 / 3 stars / Fiction

I was selected to read Poppy Adams' The Sister through Barnes & Noble's First Look program. I thought the description of the book sounded interesting and the first chapter that they posted intrigued me enough to want to continue reading the story.

I have wanted to like this book. I felt it carried certain elements of Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale; it had a distinctly Gothic feel to the story, and the character of Ginny really intrigued me, as you never find out exactly what to make of her and her eccentricities. What I didn't enjoy about the book was the discussion group set up by B&N. There was a discussion thread set up for each individual chapter, and we weren't supposed to discuss events that happened later in the book, even though the reading was broken down into groups of chapters. It made it all very confusing for me. And then today, the author joined in on the discussion and left a very defensive post on the board concerning another of the reader's posts, and I agreed with what this other reader was posting, and now I do not want to join in on the discussion with the author, as I do not want to be attacked by the author for what I read into the story, as opposed to what the author intended you read into the story. Overall, not a very good experience and one that I will not partake in again at B&N, both due to the discussion experience and the author's reaction to her readers.

As for the book itself, not bad for a first time author. While Ms. Adams feels that she has completed in her mind a thoroughly thought out and planned story, I felt that she couldn't really decide how she wanted the story to go. Was it a Gothic mystery? Was the story about alcoholism? Alzheimer's? Dementia? It seemed that there were too many plot points and not enough explanation to let the reader in on what was going on. (Although, I thought this was the point, it would seem from Ms. Adams response on the B&N thread, she intentionally left these plots open so that you could have room to consider all these possibilities, however, she had definite ideas about all these plots in her head, and after the fact, her thoughts are the only ones to be followed.) It seems to be to be weighed down by its own ambiguity.

I need to finish this post, as the discussion on B&N has left me with a sour taste for this book. It gets 3 stars only because I did enjoy it. It may have gotten more had I not been involved in the other discussions, and would probably be getting less if I wasn't trying to hold the book to its own merits and not consider my personal feelings on the matter.


27 / 75 books. 36% done!

Message edited by its author, Mar 18, 2008, 12:41am.

Savvy by Ingrid Law

343 pages / 2008 / 3 stars / YA Fantasy

I received this through Walden Media's BookShare Club after reading the first chapter and responding with my thoughts on that first chapter. The first chapter had caught enough of my interest that I wanted to read the rest of the book.

Savvy is not a bad book; far from it. It's just not a book for me. I think that overall, the book was geared towards a younger crowd than I anticipated, and I feel the book tended to be a bit too simplistic. And it suffered from what seems to be a growing annoyance for me: the "charming" kid colloquialisms that are sprinkled on every single page of the book. I get that the books are geared for kids, but when I was younger, I never spoke like the kids do in these books, nor did any of my friends. To me, it almost seems to be talking down to the readers, as if they wouldn't understand the feelings of the characters unless they were put into an easy-to-understand, cute manner. Maybe this is again that the book is geared towards a younger audience than I imagine it should be, and thus is written perfectly for that age group.

What Ingrid Law does a great job of in Savvy is show the strength and importance of family. The book centers around Mibs Beaumont, a twelve-year-old girl who will be turning 13 in two days. What makes her 13th birthday even more special is what makes all the Beaumonts special; that's the day that her savvy will develop. Some savvy's are subtle (like her mother's savvy, which is to be perfect) and some are more violent (like her brother Flash's savvy, which is electricity, or her brother Fish's savvy, who can't live near water for fear of creating another hurricane). The idea of the savvy struck me as being very similar to the development of the powers in mutant children in Marvel Comics' X-Men franchise. I found it interesting to see how Ingrid Law took this same idea and created a non-superhero story out of it. Mibs father is in a car accident 2 days before her birthday, and is hospitalized in the next town over. After her mother and older brother goes to stay with her father, Mibs decides to run away and try to get to the hospital as well, knowing that her as yet undetermined savvy will help him wake up from his coma. She hides on a bus with her brother Fish, their younger brother Samson, and the local preacher's kids, Bobbi and Will.

From here the story develops into a road trip adventure where each of the kids, the bus driver Lester, and Lill (whom they pick up on the side of the road when her car breaks down) learn to be true to themselves and grow into their own person. Ingrid Law does a good job of developing the feelings of each individual character and showing their growth. And while the book has a happy ending, it isn't a perfect happily-ever-after, which I also feel is a strong point for the book; life doesn't always come out just the way you expect it to, and all too often I think that YA books tend to push the idea that it does.

With the few flaws aside (which I feel are really only because I'm obviously not the target audience for this book), Ingrid Law has done an admirable job on her first book, Savvy.


28 / 75 books. 37% done!

Message edited by its author, Jun 4, 2008, 1:56pm.

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham

140 pages / 2006 / 5 stars / Graphic Novel / 3-30-08

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall is something of a prequel to Bill Willingham's award winning Fables series. Taking place long before the events set forth in the regular series, 1001 Nights (re)tells the tales of several of the inhabitants of Fabletown. I've only ever read the very first Fables collection, Legends in Exile, but I never found myself lost while reading this collection of stories, as these are all based on stories that most of us are already familiar with. I find it extremely innovative how Willingham is able to tie together so many unrelated fairy tales and fables and create a new story with these plot points and bring everything together in a cohesive story that is both original and familiar at the same time.

The art of 1001 Nights is beautifully rendered, each story illustrated by a different artist, including Charles Vess, Brian Bolland, John Bolton, Michael Wm. Kaluta, James Jean, Tara McPherson, Derek Kirk Kim, Esao Andrews, Mark Buckingham, Mark Wheatley and Jill Thompson. Charles Vess' illustrations provide the beginning and ending stories, as Snow White travels as an Ambassador of Fabletown to try to drum up support against The Adversary. She travels to the lands of the Arabian Fables, and the Sultan kidnaps her and intends to marry her and kill her in the morning, but like Scheherazade, Snow tells him a story a night for 1001 nights, thus prolonging her sentence. Each of her tales involves something of a history of the inhabitants of Fabletown, including her own story, thus providing a rich background history to the rest of the Fables world.

If you have not read farther than the first collection of Fables stories, you won't be lost reading 1001 Nights. Since all these stories are based on fairy tales and fables that everyone is familiar with, there isn't much background needed to read 1001 Nights, nor does it appear to spoil anything farther along in the series, and I'm glad that I read this when I did, so that now I will have a more solid base to read the rest of the Fables tales.


29 / 75 books. 39% done!

Message edited by its author, Apr 6, 2008, 10:27pm.

Innocent Volume 1: 2006-2007 Collection by Shawn Granger

196 pages / 2007 / 3 stars / Graphic Novel / 3-31-08

I received Innocent, Vol 1 as an LT Early Reviewer edition from the March 08 batch. Overall, Innocent is an interesting premise: an angel (Innocent) is sent to Earth to dispatch demons and those whose souls are beyond redemption. He is befriended by a sociopath, David, who aids him in ridding the world of evil. There are 5 chapters in this volume, and for the most part are all unrelated, other than the fact that each chapter deals with Innocent and David hunting down a demon/evildoer and doing away with them.

I would like to see a little more background on Innocent and David's relationship to each other. This was originally published as a web comic, and I feel almost as if I've been dropped into the middle of the story. However, Granger does a good job not letting you feel too left behind in the story. The final chapter (which is Part 1 of a continuation to the next volume) I believe will be telling a little more of Innocent's background, but I'd need to wait until Vol 2 is released to know for sure.

Each chapter is illustrated by a different artist, and while as a whole the art is fluid and readable, there are some instances where I feel had this been published in color as opposed to B&W, it would have been a bit easier to distinguish what was going on on the page. This may also have something to do with the size of the physical book. Published in the very popular manga/digest sized format, sometime I think the type was a little too small and might have benefited better from a physically larger sized printing (more along the lines of a comic TPB).

This is really an interesting take on the avenging angel story, and the only thing that I would like to see in future editions is a more cohesive story line and a little more background offered on the characters and their relationship.


30 / 75 books. 40% done!

Fables Vol 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham

112 pages / 2003 / 3 stars / Graphic Novel

The continuing adventures of the inhabitants of Fabletown, Bill Willingham's Fables series continues in the second story arc, Animal Farm. With the more "un"-human occupants of Fabletown not being able to live in NYC with those that can pass as human, they have moved into the Fabletown extension in upstate New York called the Farm. Feeling they are being treated unfairly, they decide to rebel against the rules and regulations of Fabletown to try and make it back to their homelands, until one of their number decides to take things too far.

I continue to be impressed with this series. Bill Willingham is able to create ties between seemingly unrelated fairy tales and fables and create one of the most original stories I've seen in comics in a long time.

This particular volume I felt fell a little bit from the strong beginning of the first volume, Legends in Exile and the prelude volume 1001 Nights of Snowfall, but I still enjoyed it all the same. Looking forward to continuing reading this series.


31 / 75 books. 41% done!

Message edited by its author, Apr 6, 2008, 10:23pm.

Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman

104 pages / 2008 / 4 stars / Fantasy

A prequel to the events of the His Dark Materials series, Philip Pullman's Once Upon a Time in the North tells the story of Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrinson's first meeting, and how they came to be friends. While not delving at all into the mysteries or intrigues that were the heart of the rest of the His Dark Materials books, it was still a treat all the same to return to the world that Pullman created.

It is a short story (it is printed as a matching volume to Lyra's Oxford) and takes place over the course of a day or two, at most. Lee Scoresby has only had his balloon for a short time, after winning it in a hand of poker, and is still learning the ropes to flying it. He has traveled to the North to look for work, and after landing on the island of Novy Odense, is pulled into a political intrigue that he quickly discovers he wants no part of, yet his sense of honor prevails and he finds himself in the middle of a gun fight towards the end of the story, trying to help those he feels are being treated wrongly. Iorek Byrnison is also at odds with the same group, so befriends Scoresby and together they take on the enemy.

The gunfight towards the end of the book is well written, and even though I know Scoresby lives through this (as he plays a strong part in the later stories) I found myself still anxious as to the outcome of the story. I think that's a merit of Pullman's writing; that even though you know Scoresby will survive the situation, you still find yourself concerned for his well-being.

A nice edition and a good story to provide a little background to these two characters. The addition of "historically correct" documents to the book just add to the details.

There is a board game that is included in the back of the book, which has no bearing on the story whatsoever. I just thought that I'd mention that it was there.


32 / 75 books. 43% done!

The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes

353 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / Magical Realism-Mystery

I've been in need of an escape and what my fellow LT'er Irish calls a "brain candy book," and that's just what Jonathan Barnes The Somnambulist is, an escape. A fun romp through a Victorian London that isn't quite ours, with characters that are just not quite believable, telling a story that borders on the absurd... and I loved every page of it! Part historical fantasy, part murder mystery, part political intrigue, the best way to describe the book is in the authors own words, from the very opening lines of the book:

Be warned. This book has no literary value whatsoever. It is a lurid piece of nonsense, convoluted, implausible, peopled by unconvincing characters, written in drearily pedestrian prose, frequently ridiculous and willfully bizarre. Needless to say, I doubt you'll believe a word of it.

Well, let me tell you right up front, that there is probably no literary value whatsoever found by the end of the book, but that does not take away from the book at all.

The Somnambulist centers around Edward Moon, an aging, falling from fame magician, and his enigma of a partner, who is known only as the Somnambulist. While being the title character to the novel, the Somnambulist doesn't actually play in the starring role in the book, but is simply always there at the right time it seems, and is the perfect foil to Moon. In his time, it comes to light that Moon has also aided the London police on several occasions, helping them solve seemingly unsolvable crimes. And this presents my one great complaint with the book: we hear about several of these cases from Moon's past, but that's all; we are never given anymore than off-the-cuff remarks about them, no details. I want to know more about Moon and his earlier cases!

The characters in The Somnambulist are just as much fun as the story. Obviously, Edward Moon and the Somnambulist, but there is also the Human Fly, the Albino, the Prefects, the Chairman, Mrs Grossmith, Mr Cribb, Barrabas, the bearded-lady whore... the list goes on and on. Each has a part to play in the story from beginning to end, and each person's story is, for the most part, tidied up by the end of the story.

My hope remains that Jonathan Barnes continues thrilling us with tales of Edward Moon and the Somnambulist; tales of their earlier adventures and cases that are only hinted at in The Somnambulist. This book may not be for everyone, but as escapist reading, I don't think you can do much better than this!


33 / 75 books. 44% done!

A Dog About Town by J.F. Englert

271 pages / 2007 / 5 stars / Mystery

I first learned about J.F. Englert's Bull Moose Dog Run Mysteries through LT's Early Reviewer program, where they were giving away the second book in the series, A Dog Among Diplomats, this past month. The premise of the series or at least of the first book) is Harry's black lab, Randolph, helps guide Harry to help solve a murder mystery. That's what it seemed to be at first, at least. I was immediately attracted to this book due to the fact that I have a black lab of my own (her name is Mame) and I just thought the premise sounded cute, so I thought I'd give the first one a try.

What I discovered was a surprisingly well written book. A great deal of the story deals with a secondary (yet primary in Harry and Randolph's eyes) mystery, the disappearance a year ago of Harry's girlfriend and Randolph's mistress, Imogen. It is apparent from the beginning of the book that Harry has taken Imogen's disappearance hard, and it is brought up numerous times how it has affected his day to day life, and these are the parts of the book that surprised me the most, Harry's feelings and how he is dealing with the grief of loss.

The entire book is told from the POV of Randolph, who lets you know right away that he is a most peculiar and special dog, that he is sentient. He can read, write (using Alpha-Bits), has long-term memory and is all-around quite the intelligent dog. Englert handles explaining things from the POV of Randolph extremely well, even giving some insight into doggie behavior.

The mystery portion of the book is well played out, even though most of it is explained as the book progresses, but it is Randolph's way of explaining it to Harry that is the most fun (I don't want to give too much of this away, but I've left a clue in this review!).

It's certainly not a challenging read, but it is well-written and just plain fun! I'm looking forward to A Dog Among Diplomats release at the end of the month.


34 / 75 books. 45% done!

Irish Tales and Sagas by Ulick O'Connor

96 pages / 1981 / 4 stars / Mythology

Ulick O'Connor's Irish Tales and Sagas is a re-telling of Irish legends and lore. In my eyes, the stories seem to be somewhat simplified, but they are still interesting all the same. Anyone interested in Irish legend and lore would probably enjoy this book.


35 / 75 books. 47% done!

Message edited by its author, Apr 20, 2008, 12:55pm.

The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman and Gris Grimly

32 pages / 2008 / 4 stars / Childrens

Told through 13 rhyming couplets and accompanying illustrations, Neil Gaiman and Gris Grimly's The Dangerous Alphabet is a delightful (if suspiciously inaccurate) study of the alphabet. We follow the adventures of 2 children, their pet gazelle and their treasure map as they travel underground, on adventures both macabre and perilous, as the alphabet is presented in conjunction with the story.

The story is fun and the rhymes imaginative, but the art is the star here. Gris Grimly's illustrations bring the story to life, and really add an element of almost the grotesque to the story. From the almost rag doll likeness of the children, to the ghosts and ghoulies that inhabit the underground, Grimly's illustration are both beautiful and disturbing at the same time. Take time to study each page, as you'll discover something new each time you look at it.


36 / 75 books. 48% done!

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

358 pages / 1926 / 5+ stars / Mystery

I'm still relatively new to the world of Agatha Christie as The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is only the third book that Dame Agatha wrote that I have read. I've heard that she has been known to reuse plot devices and that sometimes, some of her stories can become repetitive, but if they are all written like The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, I would be happy with that. This will easily top my list of favorite books.

I don't want to go into too much detail, as I'm always afraid that I'll let something slip that will spoil the end of the story for newcomers to Christie's writing. The book is so complex that I wouldn't even know where to begin. There is a suicide, blackmail, cocaine abuse, secrets and of course, murder. In his usual flair, Hercule Poirot (who happens to be in the right place at the right time) is brought in to investigate. Through the course of the book, suspicion is plainly brought on each of the main characters in the Ackroyd household, and you will never have a clue as to "who done it" until the very end. Every chapter, I was sure I knew who had committed the murder, yet every time I was wrong. An ingenious book.


37 / 75 books. 49% done!

Message edited by its author, May 1, 2008, 9:58am.

Hi Tapestry, I just read your review of The Sister and couldn't agree with you more. Although I did sign up for this month's selection I was really overwhelmed with the discussion threads and felt like I had to take notes to not post any spoilers. I am going to give this one more try before I decide to quit for good.

I couldn't agree more. I think it's a good idea that they have over there, it's just not a very thought out system. I'll be giving it a try just this last time too, but I'm not holding my breath for it to be any easier this time around.

Superman for All Seasons by Jeph Loeb and Time Sale

206 pages / 1998 / 4 stars / Graphic Novel

Superman for All Seasons by Jeph Loeb and Time Sale was the May selection for my Graphic Novel Discussion Group. It wasn't your typical spandex-wearing superhero adventure story. The story actually gets underneath the costume to the actual "character" of the character; in other words, what makes Clark Kent, Superman. Why he has all these amazing abilities, and uses them for the benefit of others and not for his own well-being.

Told originally over the course of 4 issues, each during one of the four seasons of the year, we follow the growing pains of young Clark Kent as he graduates high school and is deciding what he wants to do with his life in the Spring. During the Summer, we find Clark adjusting to life as both Clark Kent in Metropolis and as Superman in the public eye, doing what he can to help those around him. In the Fall, Lex Luthor confronts Superman and causes him to question his place in the world, so that during the Winter, he is back home in Smallville, striving to understand his place and where he fits into the bigger the picture. Each month is told from the perspective of a different character in Superman's life, who is looking in from the outside and is giving their impression of the man they know, be it Clark Kent or Superman.

I liked this story. I haven't read much of the Superman comics in my day, but he is something of an American mythology, and it was easy to read this book only knowing the basics of the Superman mythos. If you're looking for a well-paced, smartly written story about a superhero and why they choose right over wrong and what price they must pay for that choice sometimes, this is the book for you.


38 / 75 books. 51% done!

Pibgorn Rep: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, adapted by Brooke McEldowney

175 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / Graphic Novel

Pibgorn Rep: A Midsummer Night's Dream is William Shakespeare's play told through the eyes and visuals of Brooke McEldowney. McEldowney is the creator and writer/illustrator of the daily comic strip 9 Chickweed Lane and the online Comic strip Pibgorn. I truly think that McEldowney may be one of the funniest, wittiest and smartest writers doing comic strips today. I regularly read both comics online, and it's not a day that goes by that I'm not thoroughly entertained.

I had read 9 Chickweed Lane years ago when I lived in Florida, and our local paper ran the strips. I can't be sure, but I think I read it from the very first strip. When I moved to Michigan, I lost track of the strip (I don't think it was run in the papers here). Within the last couple of months, I rediscovered the daily joy of 9 Chickweed Lane online, and by association, discovered McEldowney's other online-exclusive strip, Pibgorn, a fairy and her adventures. I've missed quite a bit of the beginning of Pibgorn, but as luck would have it, McEldowney, through his Pib Press, recently published the very first strips in a collection, Pibgorn: the Girl in the Coffee Cup. I was instantly enamored. I dashed off an email to the lovely people at Pib Press inquiring about further editions of either Pibgorn or 9 Chickweed Lane and was informed to be on the lookout for A Midsummer Night's Dream, which has now been recently published.

This is a real treat; a little candy confection of Shakespearean fun, told through McEldowney's fluid, organic line drawings. Taking a mix of characters from both strips, and changing character's sexes where appropriate for his telling (for instance, Egeus, Hermia's father, has become Egea, her mother and the acting troupe of Pyramus and Thisby are now chorus girls), and with slight changes in the text (in his foreword, McEldowney explains that what is appealing for stage is not always so in the printed word, so some soliloquies were left out of his edition), McEldowney has taken Shakespeare's play and reworked it into a 1930's fashioned gangster presentation.

And it works.

McEldowney has kept true to the story, the words and the essence of Shakespeare's play, and has added his own visual flair, creating a refreshing and just plain fun version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. If you are interested in acquiring a copy of your own, you can contact the fine people at pibpress@verizon.net, provide them with your zip code and how many copies you would like, and they will let you know a cost. (No, I am in no way affiliated with Pib Press, but I feel that if enough people are introduced to the joy that is McEldowney's work, perhaps we will be smiled upon and more of his strips will be published in collected editions. It's purely selfish reasons for this, as I would love to have more collected editions, but I also feel that most people may not have heard of him before, and he's worth reading.)


39 / 75 books. 52% done!

Message edited by its author, May 3, 2008, 5:54pm.

A Dog Among Diplomats by J.F. Englert

305 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / Humorous Fiction

Randolph and Harry are back for more!

A great follow-up to A Dog About Town, J.F. Englert picks right up where he left off with A Dog Among Diplomats, keeping the pace going and the characters strong.

Imogen's story is moved forward as the motives behind her disappearance become clearer. It appears that she is involved in much a much bigger picture than first thought possible, and this time it's possible that she's involved in a murder. It's Randolph's job to put the pieces together to help Harry find out what's going on and clear his mistress' name.

I really like the fact that Harry and Randolph's characters are clearly growing both emotionally and as individuals. They both are coming to terms with Imogen's disappearance, possible betrayal and what that means in their lives and how they need to move forward. Jackson returns to give Harry some much needed focus in a new art project, and Zest Kilpatrick is back to try to lead Harry's heart astray. I like to see Englert moving forward with these aspects of the story, and not letting Harry and Randolph wallow in misery. The characters are clearly becoming their own.

There is a murder, of course, and Randolph is up to the challenge again. Englert leaves Randolph to his own devices this time and creates new ways for him to communicate with Harry, and even lets his more doggie attributes take over, helping him gather the clues through his own cunning. I think Englert has paid attention to his own dog in creating Randolph; there are so many doggie attributes (the snout stamp, for instance) that I can see in my own dog. I like seeing Randolph handle things in a very doggie-fashion (surfing the net and reading aside). It's an original idea that Englert handles perfectly.

The ending is left wide open for another, and I can't wait to run off with Randolph and Harry for more adventures.


40 / 75 books. 53% done!

Message edited by its author, May 30, 2008, 10:47am.

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

216 pages / 1950 / 3.5 stars / Fantasy

I decided to reread Prince Caspian this weekend after having seen the new, big screen version (which I am very disappointed in).

It's funny, how you come at these books as an adult and take something completely different away from them than you would as a child. I read these books about 20 years ago when my uncle gave me a complete set for my birthday. I think as a child, I think I read them simply as a fantasy/adventure story. As an adult, I can see the subtle religious references sprinkled throughout, and while some may see this as a hindrance to the story, at least through the first 2 books (I go by the original published order, not the new chronological order), I can look beyond that to the story underneath.

However, in the case of Prince Caspian, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of story. It seems to me that the book can be broken up into two sections: the first being the Dwarf relating Caspian's understanding of his role of Narnia's future leader (the entire importance of this seems to be related to him over the course of one evening while star-gazing) and the second being Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy's trek through the jungle to get to Caspian. The ending seemed too contrived for my liking and far too rushed. It was all build up and no follow through as far as I'm concerned.

Looking at the story differently, it is a story about faith; about how faith can be hard to see sometimes, but it's always there and as long as you believe in that faith, it will lead you where you need it to. Overall a good moral to the story, if a little didactic in the telling.


41 / 75 books. 55% done!

Message edited by its author, May 19, 2008, 12:25pm.

I've been meaning to re-read Prince Caspian too. I love the Narnia series and the new movie looks so good.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

270 pages / 2006 / 3 stars / YA

The Tale of Despereaux is really 3 stories in one that all intertwine around one central character, the Princess Pea, at the end. It is the story of Despereaux Tilling, an uncommonly small mouse who was born with his eyes open and who has uncommonly large ears and who falls in love with the Princess Pea; it is the story of the rat Chiaroscuro, who discovers the joys of light even though his place should be in the dungeon and learns a great hatred for and wishes for revenge on the Princess Pea; and it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted servant girl whose greatest wish in the world is to be just like the Princess Pea.

I was intrigued by this book after a friend recommended DiCamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, which I think is a charming story. The Tale of Despereaux just doesn't seem to have the same impact on me. Ultimately, it is a story of forgiveness and redemption, but it all seemed a little too mannered and forced for my taste. Perhaps in the right hands, this story would be perfect, but I found it lacking in any real substance. It's not a bad tale, but not perfect.


42 / 75 books. 56% done!

Bone: One Volume Edition by Jeff Smith

1,332 pages / 2004 / 5 stars / Fantasy Graphic Novel

Jeff Smith's Bone series, I can honestly say, is one of those occasions where a comic book series grows out of itself into actual literature (and not to bring up the question of what does the "genre" literature actually consist of, I hope you understand my meaning). It is a grand, sweeping, epic story interspersed with humour, tragedy and love. I have heard it compared in some ways to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and I can see that comparison. It is a story of good versus evil, where the side of good can only hope to overcome the perils of evil, and yet they find a way. I'd love to be able to recount the entire adventure, but that would take too long.; the series consisted of 51 issues, and the One Volume Edition collects all 1,332 pages of the entire story in one huge tome.

The artwork is beautiful, all rendered in black and white line drawings. It has a cartoony feel to it, but it fits the feel and pace of the story. The dialogue is well written, the characters are fleshed out and believable and the flow of the narrative is perfect. I really can't recommend this more.


43 / 100 books. 43% done!

Message edited by its author, May 28, 2008, 1:55pm.

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

284 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / Fiction

I received The Wednesday Sisters through the Early Reviewer program at LibraryThing. It's an excellently written story about friendship and family (and especially how friends can grow into being more than just friends, they can become family too). From the moment I started reading, I knew that this was going to be a great book.

The story revolves around no-nonsense, athletic Linda, super smart Brett, quiet Frankie, Southern Belle Kath & shy Ally, friends who first meet every Wednesday in the park for play time with their kids, but where they eventually start to discuss what books they've been reading and the general small talk of forming friendships. Later, they discover that each has had a small desire in one way or another to become writers, so the Wednesday meetings change to writing critiques, as they each try to help the other into becoming better writers. The book is so much more than just about their writing, though. It's also about the hopes, dreams and challenges of young families and budding friendships. We get a glimpse into 5 years of their friendship and watch through their eyes as the world is changing around them (the story starts in the summer of 1967) and how they themselves grow as individuals with the rest of the world.

This was a delight to read; smartly written and nicely paced, with believable characters living real lives. I think Meg Waite Clayton describes her own book best, when the Wednesday Sisters are critiquing Brett's book and Frankie asks, "How did you make it so funny and so touching at the same time(?)... It's a little bit of magic, that." When I read that line, I thought the exact same thing about The Wednesday Sisters.


44 / 100 books. 44% done!

Message edited by its author, May 30, 2008, 9:10am.

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

334 pages / 1995 / 4 stars / Graphic Novel

The only graphic novel on the list of 1001 books you should read in your lifetime, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen is an interesting deconstruction of the superhero mythos.

For more, click here.


45 / 100 books. 45% done!

Message edited by its author, May 30, 2008, 9:09am.

you've been busy.....and I still think that you should try for 100. this whole 75 book goal you'll make easily. ;-)

Yeah, I took advantage of the long weekend to tackle to TBR pile. And you are probably right, I should try to make it to 100 this year.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

221 pages / 2003 / 5 star / Fiction

Christopher Boone doesn't like to be touched, he doesn't understand jokes, he loves maths and he wants to know who killed the neighbor's dog, Wellington. But be careful! The emotional impact of this story will sneak up on you.

For more, click here.


46 / 100 books. 46% done!

Message edited by its author, May 30, 2008, 9:10am.

Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan

287 pages / 2008 / 3 stars / Fiction

I received Stewart O'Nan's Songs for the Missing through the Barnes & Noble First Look Program. I was really looking forward to reading this, as it seemed like an interesting premise: high school student Kim Larsen simply disappears one summer day, and her family tries to pick up the pieces of their lives after dealing with this loss while at the same time trying to get answers to their daughter's disappearance. What I received, however, seemed to be a story that O'Nan didn't quite seem to know how to come at; whose voice he wanted to use. Jumping from protagonist to protagonist, he attempted to let us in on the feelings of all those around Kim, but ultimately, he created a story that I just wanted to get over with, without much care as to how the story ended.

You can read more here.


47 / 100 books. 47% done!

Message edited by its author, Jun 2, 2008, 3:06pm.

You started at 75 and moved to 100. What motivated the increase?

My friend Gail (Irisheyz) kept prompting me that I should try the increase, and it seems like she has the right idea. After only 5 months, I've got nearly 50 books done, so it doesn't seem like it should be too difficult to get the other 50 done by the end of the year.

I work in QA....I can see the big picture...and its part of my job to challenge others to be better and live up to the full potential. Its all about continual improvement and all that mumbo jumbo. ;-)

I'm looking forward to see what your take is on Songs for the Missing.

Posted my review up for Songs of the Missing. The more I thought about it, the more I stilled wasn't all that impressed. Not that it was a bad book, but I just wanted it to be over with by the end. It just seemed to draw everything out too much.

Message edited by its author, Jun 2, 2008, 2:37pm.

Storm Front, The Dresden Files Book 1 by Jim Butcher

336 pages / 2000 / 4 stars / Fantasy

This was just plain fun! I'm sorry it took me so long to get around to the Dresden Files!

More here.


48 / 100 books. 48% done!

Message edited by its author, Jun 15, 2008, 10:05am.

OK, so I read this at B&N tonight and didn't buy it, but it's a book and I read it, so it counts, right?

Mr. Fooster Traveling on a Whim by Tom Corwin and Craig Frazier

101 pages / 2008 / 3(ish) stars / Parable(?)

So... I'm not really sure what to make of this book. Mr. Fooster decides to go for a walk one day, and ponders questions such as How do mandarin oranges come in perfect little segments without any mechanical engineering? and How come we never see baby pigeons? while he's walking. He then decides to sit for a spell, and blows a bubble with a wand which becomes a car that he drives home, and then decides to sell on eBay and give the proceeds to his favorite charity.

That's chapter one.

Huh? (You probably have this same expression on your face right now). Yeah, I felt the same way.

I think the book is supposed to be about how you shouldn't take yourself too seriously and ponder the little things in life, and in doing this, you won't be tied down to your boring, overly-serious earthly existence (ask the bug who was eating his way across the world, discovered his folly through the bubble blowing magic of Mr. Fooster and floated off into space and ended up somewhere around Alpha Centauri - no kidding. What's in those bubbles, and did Mr. Fooster get it from Alice's Caterpillar?).

Maybe I'm too tired from an entire day spent at the hospital so my mom could have a 20 minute hand surgery, but the book seemed to be aiming at being clever and introspective, but seemed to miss the mark just a little.

The illustrations were nice. In fact, I was more interested in the graphic design elements used in the book's construction that were mentioned in the back of the book.

I don't know what rating to give it either. It's not bad, but it isn't anything note worthy either. Hence, 3(ish) stars. I guess that's somewhere around the middle.


49 / 100 books. 49% done!

Message edited by its author, Jun 19, 2008, 11:09pm.

re Agatha Christie--for a different style of Christie mystery I recommend you try And Then There Were None. This is a novel without either of her famous dectevie characters but a fascinating psychological study. It is one of my favorites of her books.

As a matter of fact, I have that coming in the mail right now from Amazon. It was my grandmother's favorite Christie.

Asterix the Gaul by René Goscinny & Albert Uderzo

48 pages / 1961 (2004) / 3.5 stars / Graphic Novel

I bought this in a fit of middle/high school French class nostalgia, as these were a favorite in class for a comical way to read something in French that wasn't from a text book.

A fairly light and quick read, you get a good introduction to Asterix and his friends, mainly his best friend Obelix and the Druid, Getafix, who brews the magical potion that gives the Gauls their super-strength, which they use to keep the invading Romans at bay, thereby keeping their village the only remaining free village in Gaul. There is quite a bit of humor mixed into the story, especially with the characters names (such as Vitalstatistix, the village leader; Cacofonix, the village bard; and Centurion Crismus Bonus).

In Asterix the Gaul, after Asterix singlehandedly defeats four Roman guards, Crismus Bonus sends a spy into the Gaul village to find out their secret. The Romans then kidnap Getafix to force him to make the magic potion that gives the Gauls their super-strength. Asterix goes to the rescue and then allows himself to be captured so that he and Getafix can have some fun at the Romans' expense. After some calamity with a super-strength potion that has some adverse effects, Asterix and Getafix are released through the help of an unlikely ally.

Asterix the Gaul is a fun introduction to the Asterix characters and world. The art is fluid, colors are bright and the story is clever and humorous. Worth reading if you want a light, fun read.


50 / 100 books. 50% done!

Message edited by its author, Jul 1, 2008, 12:47pm.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

190 pages / 1899 (1972) / 3.5 stars / Fiction

A novel of growth, both personal and emotional, Kate Chopin's The Awakening follows the journey of Edna Pontellier, who after spending a summer vacationing with her husband and children, decides to give up the archetypical role of wife and mother and strikes out on her own, realizing there is more to life than what society deems appropriate for a woman. The principal reasoning for her "awakening" is the realization that she is in love with another man, and believes that he loves her in return. Feeling overpowered by her own life and obligations to family, she does what few women did in that time, and moved out of her home into another house, and begins a life that is her own.

When The Awakening was first published, is was looked on as being "unwholesome," both in its independent attitude towards women and its rather frank attitude towards Edna Pontellier's sexual nature. In today's regard, the novel wouldn't be seen as being all that shocking, but it still speaks clearly for the need of independence and freedom in one's own life.

To be frank, I had a hard time getting into the book. I think I found the flow of the writing to be distracting, and halfway through reading switched to an audio book, and was able to follow the story much more clearly this way. The story did prove to be powerful in its telling, and in how Edna finally moves forward with her life.


51 / 100 books. 51% done!

Message edited by its author, Jul 1, 2008, 12:47pm.

I read The Awakening way back in high school and really don't remember much of it other than I didn't like it at the time. I may give it another try someday. Congratulations, you're half-way to your goal!

Howards End by EM Forster

319 pages / 1910 (2003) / 5 stars / Fiction

This is one of my favorite books, and every couple of years I pull it down off the shelf to reacquaint myself with it.

You can read more of my thoughts here.


52 / 100 books. 52% done!

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

351 pages / 2006 / 4 stars / YA Fantasy

This was a really fun book to read. You can read my review of it here.


53 / 100 books. 53% done!

Message edited by its author, Jul 8, 2008, 7:24pm.

The Spirit of the Place by Samuel Shem

334 pages (only read 132 pages) / 2008 / 2 stars / Fiction

Samuel Shem's The Spirit of the Place is the story of Orville Rose, who is forced to leave Europe and live in his mother's home after her death by the bequest of her will; he is to live in the house for 1 year and 13 days in order to receive his inheritance. I am assuming that it is his mother's idea that after that much time, he will settle down and stop running from the things in his life that make him unhappy.

I tried to finish this book. I even went beyond my 100 page mark, even though the I did not care what happened with the sometimes overly clichéd story or to the sometimes overly stereotyped characters (if by 100 pages, it hasn't entirely grabbed my attention yet, I'm done with it - there are far more books on my shelf that warrant reading at that point). I waded through overbearing remarks on how a man is only happy with a family that included a child; an overbearing over-Jewish mother who seems to find it necessary to bring guilt on her son even after death, through "mysterious" letters written to him from beyond the grave, and then also haunting him as a ghost; constant reminders for what a poor excuse for a town Columbia is. I can't decide if Samuel Shem is writing a love story or some sort of medical story steeped in magical realism.

I was willing to give this all a try until the explosion. We've all read the story in our emails, of the drunken fishermen using dynamite to break a hole in the ice; the dog fetching the stick of dynamite and bringing it back to the stunned fishermen, only to have it then explode. Fun little story to be emailed back and forth ad nauseam, right? Well, apparently Samuel Shem thinks this is worthy of placing in his novel, as well. At that point, I'm through with the story. If he can't come up with a plausible type of tragedy on his own, that he has to resort to ridiculous emailed urban legends and pass them off as his own, then I don't see much hope for the rest of the book.

Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book 10 3/4 Anniversary Edition by Brian Froud

72 pages / 2005 / 4 stars / Humorous Fantasy / 7-8-08

OK, I admit, this is cheating on my reading challenge just a little bit. I read the original edition of Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book earlier in the year after I received the next 2 books in Brian Froud's "series" of Lady Cottington books for Christmas. I found this edition at an outlet store for $4 and couldn't pass it up. In addition to the original text, the new 10 3/4 Anniversary Edition comes with new cover art, a new foreword, 8 additional pages of story, a DVD mockumentary about Lady Cottington and her unique ability to trap fairies in her scrapbook and a new pressed fairy window cling (which I admit to having the first one in my car now - I have it on the corner of my windshield, so that it doesn't look so much as a pressed fairy as a fairy that has been smashed on my windshield whilst driving down the road). It's a very witty and clever book, and the drawings of the pressed fairies are hysterical.


54 / 100 books. 54% done!

Message edited by its author, Jul 9, 2008, 9:50am.

A Wild Ride Through the Night by Walter Moers

182 pages / 2003 / 4 stars / Fantasy / 7-12-08

Walter Moers' A Wild Ride Through the Night is a very clever book. Moers takes 21 of Doré's illustrations and uses them to create a story of how Doré grew up to became the artist that he did. The illustrations are taken from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Orlando Furioso, The Raven, Don Quixote, Legend of Croquemitane, Gargantua and Pantagruel, Paradise Lost, and the Bible. While the story can seem a little simplistic in some parts and rather contrived in others, but remember, he's needing to create a story to fit around previously created works of art.

The idea works well. You can read more here.


55 / 100 books. 55% done!

Message edited by its author, Jul 13, 2008, 9:50am.

Aberrations by Penelope Przekop

241 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / Fiction / 7-13-08

A marvelous and unique coming of age story. Read more here.


56 / 100 books. 56% done!

Message edited by its author, Jul 14, 2008, 3:36pm.

100 Years of Ermintrude by Tom Evans

33 pages / 2008 / 3 stars / Fiction-Poetry / 7-20-08

You can read my review here.


57 / 100 books. 57% done!

Message edited by its author, Jul 21, 2008, 4:39pm.

Genuine Men: Journeys in Stories and Stills by Nancy Bruno

105 pages / 2008 / 4 stars / Photography, Non-Fiction / 7-28-2008

Nancy Bruno saw a need; a need for positive, real, everyday male role models. Men who have risen above the obstacles of their lives and have become men that both they themselves and their families can be proud of. Out of this need, the Genuine Men Project was born. You can read more here.


58 / 100 books. 58% done!

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

333 pages / 1937 (2001) / 5 stars / Fantasy / 7-31-2008

Realistically, what more could be said about The Hobbit that hasn't been said before? J.R.R. Tolkien's classic introduction to Middle-Earth and the humans, hobbits, elves, magicians and every other sort of magical creature that inhabits it. A fun story that starts out humbly and slowly becomes something grander than what it seems should be possible, much like the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.


59 / 100 books. 59% done!

Message edited by its author, Aug 3, 2008, 7:04pm.

I just realized that I passed my catalogued number of books from last year (58)! While I haven't quite reached the actual number from last year (66), it's still an accomplishment all the same.

I have passed the number of books that I read last year...its a good feeling. =)

Hellboy Volume 1: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola

128 pages / 2003 / 4 stars / Graphic Novel / 7-31-08

Read more here.


60 / 100 books. 60% done!

Farworld: Water Keep by J. Scott Savage

413 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / YA Fantasy / 8-10-08

This was a fun read!


61 / 100 books. 61% done!

Message edited by its author, Aug 10, 2008, 4:05pm.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

335 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / Fiction / 8-10-08

What an amazingly beautiful story. You can read more here.


62 / 100 books. 62% done!

Message edited by its author, Aug 18, 2008, 2:06pm.

Farworld: Waterkeep sounds good I will have to keep my eyes open for it at my library. I loved Percy Jackson and it sounds like it is right up that alley.

My roomie has been telling me for ages that I should read the Percy Jackson books. He has the whole series to date, so I should probably go pull one off his shelf and give it a read.

Hahaha yes give it a go. I have only been able to get my hands on the first one but I loved the humor in it. I think I will have to buy the series myself as I cant seem to get it by other means (ie mum or library).

Message edited by its author, Aug 12, 2008, 7:52am.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

48 pages / 1963 / 4 stars / Childrens / 8-17-08

Not much more can be said for this children's classic tale that hasn't already been said before. I'm almost sure that everyone has read this at one point or another in their lives, and if you haven't, it's worth it. I know that it was the illustrations that I remember most from my childhood, and as I read it again last night, they all came back to me in a rush of nostalgia!


63 / 100 books. 63% done!

Message edited by its author, Aug 18, 2008, 2:05pm.

48 pages? and a reread of a children's book at that. Aren't you cheating just a bit. ;-)
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lol
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only kidding

I have no idea what you're talking about.... ;) :P

Besides, anything to help me catch up to you!

Message edited by its author, Aug 18, 2008, 2:07pm.

Finally posted up my review for Water for Elephants.

I'm only up to 64 books...we are neck and neck. So its not like I'm oodles of books ahead.

Encounter in April by May Sarton

85 pages / 1937 / 5 stars / Poetry / 8-19-08

Truth be told, I always have a hard time reviewing poetry. Poetry can be so ethereal; each reading can give me something different to think about, so I never know quite what to write.

With Encounter in April, you can clearly see the beginnings of the life-long poet that May Sarton would become; the works are structured and clean, but don't quite have the polished emotion and raw confidence of her later poetry. These aren't poems to be taken lightly, however, as they are still powerful in their own right.

A prolific writer, May Sarton produced more than fifty volumes of fiction, poetry, children's books and journals over the course of her lifetime, as well as several self-published poetry editions. Encounter in April is her first published work, printed in 1937, followed in 1938 by her first novel, The Single Hound. She continued writing until the year she died in 1995, with her last journal, At Eighty-two: A Journal, published posthumously in 1996.

If you have never had the pleasure of reading May Sarton, I would recommend the following: Journal of a Solitude (perhaps her best known work, her record of living alone over the course of a year), A Reckoning (my first introduction to her writing, a powerful novel about coming to terms with your own death), Joanna and Ulysses (a charming tale about compassion and a donkey), The Fur Person (for anyone who loves their cat) and Coming into Eighty (her final book of poetry, and I think her most personal as she discovers that she is a stranger in the land of old age). It's hard to narrow down to just a few recommendations, as I think anything that Sarton wrote is worth reading, but these always stick out in my mind.


64 / 100 books. 64% done!

Michigan's Most Haunted, A Ghostly Guide to the Great Lakes State by Sandy Arno Lyons

100 pages / 2007 / 3 stars / Haunted Travel / 8-23-08

I love me a good, "real" ghost story, so I'm always picking up these types of books. My friend S brought this one back for me and my roomie from her trip to upper Michigan. I never know whether to take these stories with a grain of salt, but I do think that sometimes there is something of truth in the tales.

Michigan's Most Haunted has some interesting stories in it, but it could have benefited from stories that had some more concrete evidence to their "hauntings" and maybe some pictures of the actual "ghosts." Lyons did provide pictures of each of the locations talked about in her book, along with information on contacting the locale in case you want to visit it yourself.


65 / 100 books. 65% done!

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

424 pages / 1954 (2001) / 5 stars / Fantasy / 8-25-08 / Audiobook

Just like the rest of The Lord of the Rings series, I can't say much more than what has already been said before about the books. I can say that it has been a long time since I had read the entire series, and I am really enjoying reacquainting myself with the characters and their world. I find it interesting, having recently rewatched the movies, to see how events were rearranged and changed to fit the film version.

This is one of those books that I think everyone should read at least once. You really can't appreciate the epic scale of the story until you've experienced it for yourself.


66 / 100 books. 66% done!

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

275 pages / 1966 (2001) / 4 stars / Mystery / 8-27-08

Not my favorite Christie to date, but still not bad. You can read my review here.


67 / 100 books. 67% done!

Message edited by its author, Sep 7, 2008, 11:24am.

Sorry you didn't enjoy it more. What is your favorite Christie?

I enjoyed your post about May Sarton. My father was a big fan of her poetry and I have his book or her poems--I think it all of them. I love poetry and you've encouraged me to find the book and try her.

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

241 pages / 1992 / 4 stars / Fairy Tale / 8-31-08

A powerful, modern day retelling of Sleeping Beauty. You can read me review here.


68 / 100 books. 68% done!

Message edited by its author, Sep 7, 2008, 11:23am.

>>93

To be honest, this is only the fourth Agatha Christie book that I have read. I've also read The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Murder on the Orient Express. Of those, I think I've enjoyed Roger Ackroyd the most.

Message edited by its author, Sep 1, 2008, 12:27am.

Roger Ackroyd is the most unusual -- in this one she broke a cardinal rule of detective fiction and fans either loved it or hated it. I loved it because I was so blown away by being entirely fooled--which doesn't happen to me often in mysteries.

you read a wide--and interesting -- range of books. I've enjoyed reading your posts.

I finally got my review of Briar Rose posted here.

And here is my review for And Then There Were None.

Message edited by its author, Sep 3, 2008, 8:12pm.

>>96

I was completely blown away by the ending of Roger Ackroyd, as well. I would have never seen that coming! My aunt and I have set ourselves up a challenge to read through Christie's mysteries. She has had about a year of a head start on me however, and she just finished her 40th-something book, so I've got a ways to go.

And thank you for the compliment!

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

342 pages / 2001 / 4 stars / Fantasy / 9-3-08

Werewolves and lycanthropes and loup-garou, oh my!

You can read my review here.


69 / 100 books. 69% done!

I've been doing that,too--reading all of Agatha C. I started last year when someone who knew I loved reading her gave me a box of used AC paperbacks of hers and from it I could fill out my collection and now I own them all. I sort of read her in spurts--read 2 or 3 (or 4!) in a relatively short space of time and then come back to them when I get a break in my other reading.

How insane was the loup-garou? Fool Moon was an awesome book for action. Not that the others are any less so. I think the loup-garou is one of my top pics for scary creatures in the Dresden World.

The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

336 pages (only read about 150ish) / 2008 / ~ stars / Fiction / Quit 9-7-08

This has been a very tedious book to read, and I've been working on it for the better part of a month, so I've decided to set it aside for the time being. You can read more about it here.

Oh dear. I thought the good theif sounded interesting. But if you found it tedious then I probably will too as our book tastes seem to run pretty close. Might be a library one I think when it eventually comes out here.

I feel bad about it, too. That's why I kept reading for so much longer than I usually would have and waited awhile before I posted up my thoughts on it. It seems like it should be a great book, but it just seemed like it was becoming a chore to read it. I would like to go back sometime and revisit it and see if I can get into the rhythm of the story then.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

304 pages / 2005 / 5 stars / Fiction / 9-10-08 / audiobook

You can read my review here.


70 / 100 books. 70% done!

Message edited by its author, Oct 2, 2008, 11:28am.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this one.

300 by Frank Miller & Lynn Varley

88 pages / 1999 / 4.5 stars / Graphic Novel / 9-11-08

You can read my review here.


71 / 100 words. 71% done!

Message edited by its author, Oct 2, 2008, 11:55am.

Gail-

I was consistently surprised by how powerful Never Let Me Go is. What an amazing book. Like I say, I think it's going to take me awhile to gather up my thoughts entirely on this one.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

203 pages / 1996 / 3 stars / Non-Fiction / 9-20-08

You can read my review here.


72 / 100 books. 72% done!

Message edited by its author, Oct 2, 2008, 1:18pm.

At some point I need to catch up on my reviews!

3 stars for Into the Wild? It's on my TBR list--should I leave it until I have more time?

Hi MusicMom-

The book is well written and you can tell that Krakauer did his homework before writing it, but there were a couple of things that irked me.

**these may be possible spoilers, I'm not sure**

First off, there was mention several times of rolls of film that McCandless had when they found his remains, but only one of them was reproduced in the book. I'm sure that the family had some say in that, but a very cursory search on Google will find them instantly, and I think that the inclusion of the photos in the book would have made it a little more powerful. Maybe in the later, movie-tie-in edition they were shown, but in the earlier edition that I have, there is only one picture from McCandless' film that is shown at the front of the book.

Then, Krakauer takes 2 chapters to tell his own story of a mountain climbing adventure of his own. This annoyed me. The book wasn't about Krakauer, it was about McCandless. Earlier in the book, Krakauer had already discussed some other adventurous souls who had wandered into the wilderness and their fates. I wasn't as bothered by those; he was making comparisons to others that had shared McCandless' passions. It just seemed to me that the 2 chapters about his own adventures were a little self serving, and I ended up skipping right over them.

Am I sorry that I read it? Absolutely not. I think the book is worth reading, but I wouldn't be rushing it to the top of my pile.

Message edited by its author, Sep 20, 2008, 10:51pm.

Thanks for the info. I do plan to read it--Thanks for the tips about the chapters to skip (I agree--I want McCandless' story, not the authors!) and about googling to find the pictures. My copy only has one picture.

Owly Volume 1 by Andy Runton

160 pages / 2004 / 4 stars / Graphic Novel / 9-22-08 / Library

OK, this was just a really quick read, but it was absolutely adorable! Owly lives in the forest where he tries to make friends, but most of the forest animals are scared of him because he is an owl. The first story in this collection, "The Way Home," Owly helps a small worm find his way home after he was separated from his parents and in the second story, "The Bittersweet Summer," Owly befriends 2 hummingbirds.

There is almost no text whatsoever in the story, but Runton does an amazing job conveying the emotions of his characters through their expressions and simple illustrated idea thought bubbles. The artwork is simply black and white line drawings, and the sequential art is easy to follow and understand. This would be an excellent book for younger kids who are interested in the graphic novel form.

Really, this was a pleasant surprise of a book and I think I'm going to have to check out the other editions from my library.


73 / 100 books. 73% done!

Message edited by its author, Sep 23, 2008, 8:49am.

Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland as retold by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Mary Blair

64 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / Fantasy-Animation History / 9-25-08

This was an enjoyable find for someone who loves animation and Disney history as much as I do. It is a retelling by Jon Scieszka of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, following the animated film version of the story. What delighted me most about this book is the accompanying illustrations by Mary Blair. Blair's preliminary storyboard sketches are used to illustrate Scieszka's retelling of the story. I love Disney animation, and to be able to see some of these earlier sketches is a real treat for me.

Blair was one of the most important artists of her time with Disney, influencing the look of such films as Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella and Peter Pan, in addition to numerous other projects including some of the theme park attractions at Disneyland (most notably the It's a Small World ride).

The retelling of the story is very simple, and based entirely on the Disney animated film version of the story. It's a simplistic retelling, geared towards kids, but still a fun little read. Accompanied by Blair's illustration, this is a real gem of a little book!


74 / 100 books. 74% done!

I've finally gotten around to posting some reviews!

Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go

Frank Miller's 300

Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild

Message edited by its author, Oct 2, 2008, 1:19pm.

Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie Mallowan

188 pages / 1946 (1985) / 4 stars / Memoir / 10-8-08 / Library

Agatha Christie's memoir of her time spent with her husband while he was on an archaeological dig in Syria. Christie proves she is just as capable of writing about her everyday life as she is her murder mysteries. And she's surprisingly funny, too! You can read more here.


75 / 100 books. 75% done!

Message edited by its author, Oct 15, 2008, 12:57pm.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

307 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / Fantasy / 10-10-08

The story of Nobody Owens, a boy raised in a graveyard. In typical Gaiman fashion, even though this story is completely implausible, you completely believe that a boy can be raised by ghosts in a graveyard. You can read more about it here.


76 / 100 books. 76% done!

Message edited by its author, Oct 15, 2008, 1:36pm.

I have got find Come, Tell Me How You Live! Did you know that Christie's mystery Murder in Mesopotamia was her "revenge" on the wife of the leader of an expedition that Mallowan worked on which is where Christie met him--she was a guest that summer and Mallowan followed her back to England to woo her. After they were married the director's wife refused permission for Christie to accommpany her husband on the next trip. The victim in the mystery is the wife of the dig's director. Poetic justice!

I didn't know that! She talks about writing a book during one of the seasons that she was in Syria when she wrote Come, Tell Me How You Live, but she doesn't mention which one! Of love to know, to see if there is any influence on that book based on where she was staying.

Thanks for the information! I live learning about interesting backgrounds behind books like that.

I just requested Come, Tell Me How You Live from my library. I guess I'll squeeze another book in these very busy weeks! I do hope it takes a couple of weeks to get here so i can catch up!

Ghosts on the Coast of Maine by Carol Olivieri Schulte

160 pages / 1989 / 3 stars / Travel / 10-13-08

You can read more here.


77 / 100 books. 77% done!

Message edited by its author, Oct 15, 2008, 1:53pm.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

390 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / Fiction / 10-14-08

This was an amazing book! Read more here.


78 / 100 books. 78% done!

Message edited by its author, Oct 15, 2008, 2:30pm.

Glad to hear that its good...if all goes according to plan i should be starting this today at lunch.

I read it all the way home yesterday and was glad that I had the whole day to read it, because I don't think I could have put it down!

hmm...maybe I should save it for my own plane ride on the 25th.

>>126 - I'd recommend being able to read it all at one time!

And I've gotten my reviews up my last couple of books.

The Lace Reader looks fascinating and I have not heard one bad thing about it so I look forward to getting this from my library.

@127 - GAH! I wish that I had seen this before lunch yesterday. I started to read it....didn't get far (only a few chapters) but fell in love with the story telling. Was able to read more during lunch today...and fell further in. Really hated when lunch ended because I didn't want to stop reading! And I can't put it down now for the plane ride because I don't want to wait that long to read more of what Towner has to say.

#129 Thats one reason I try not to bring books to work as I just dont want to stop when lunch break is over. So I stick to the newspapers and mags people bring in at least I dont care if I cant finish them.

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

352 pages / 1954 (1993) / 5 stars / Fantasy / 10-17-08 / audiobook

As with previous books in The Lord of the Rings series that I've read, there's not much more I can say about The Two Towers that hasn't been said before. It reads very much as the bridge between Fellowship and The Return of the King. I always get the impression that this volume could have been trimmed down a little, but I don't think it would carry the same scope at that point.


79 / 100 books. 79% done!

Message edited by its author, Oct 17, 2008, 9:58am.

All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, Volume 1 by Frank Miller & Jim Lee

240 pages / 2008 / 4.5 stars / Graphic Novel / 10-19-08

Collecting the first 9 issues of the series, this new, re-imagined, re-telling of the Batman mythos and his origin, All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder is really a muddled mess of a book. The story trundles along at a painfully slow pace (when published as a series of individual issues, it took Batman and Robin 4 issues to get OUT OF THE BATMOBILE! I'm not kidding.) and while Frank Miller may have been THE Batman writer in his day, he has to resort to a constant string of violence and profanity to make his story seem shocking and edgy in the very slightest.

So why, you ask, did I give it such a high rating? That all comes down to Jim Lee's artwork. It is beautiful. Lee is able to make even the most mundane and insipid story seem appealing. His art is crisp, clean and dynamic and reallly takes the story to an acceptable level.

Only diehard fans of either Miller, Lee or Batman will find this book any good. If you are coming into this as a fan of none of these, then chances are you won't enjoy this book at all. And to be frank, if Jim Lee were to ever quit as artist to this series, I wouldn't have any problem never reading it again.


80 / 100 books. 80% done!

Message edited by its author, Oct 20, 2008, 10:39am.

Hatter M, the Looking Glass Wars, Volume 1 by Frank Beddor, Liz Cavalier & Ben Templesmith

176 pages / 2008 / 4 stars / Graphic Novel / 10-20-08

Read my thoughts here.


81 / 100 books. 81% done!

Message edited by its author, Nov 24, 2008, 1:31pm.

Have you read the book series that this graphic novel is based on? I've only read the first but I enjoyed it enough to pick up the 2nd book in the series. Need to get my hands on the GN eventually too.

I love the Looking Glass Wars! It is such a clever re-imagining of the Wonderland story.

I've been buying the hardcover editions of the books, but I just flipped through the new paperback edition of Seeing Redd, and it has the most gorgeous illustrations in it of the characters from the story. I think I'm going to have to go buy the paperback editions now just for these new pieces of art!

I'm hoping the third book comes out sometime soon, though. I can't wait to see how the story ends!!

**tumbleweeds roll by and crickets chirp**

Look!! I "read" a book!!



On Beauty by Zadie Smith

464 pages / 2005 / 4 stars / Fiction / 11-7-08 / audiobook

A retelling of Howards End, Smith deftly recasts Forster's characters in today's age and sensibilities. Some bits I found a little off (Carlene's bequest to Kiki, for instance, seemed a little out of place) but overall, as a self-proclaimed "homage" to Howards End, Smith created an admirable work, though I did grow tired of the story by the end. More thoughts here.


82 / 100 books. 82% done!

Message edited by its author, Nov 10, 2008, 9:06am.

Star Over Bethlehem by Agatha Christie Mallowan

84 pages / 1965 (1999) / 4 stars / Fiction-Poetry / 11-9-08 / library

Star Over Bethlehem is a collection of Christian short stories and poetry.The stories are not deep or really thought-provoking, but they are touching and kind stories. Christie tells some stories from the Bible and then other stories are about how religion can touch a person's life and leave a positive mark. I like that the stories are not preachy in anyway. They are simple tales that tell their story well.


83 / 100 books. 83% done!

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

208 pages / 2001 / 4 stars / Fiction / 11-11-08 / library

This was just a plain fun little book to read. What would happen if letters of the alphabet were systematically forbidden to be used? What would you do? This book answers that question! More thoughts here.


84 / 100 books. 84% done!

Message edited by its author, Nov 21, 2008, 2:36pm.

Never heard of this book so I checked it out--I have to find it and read it! It sounds fantastic--figuratively and literally. This is why I love LT--I might never have about this book if I hadn't marked you as thread to watch. Thanks!

I would never have heard of it either if it weren't for my friend Gail, who I met on LT! It really is such a great community around here for finding out about new books.

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

128 pages / 1993 / 4 stars / Non-Fiction / 11-20-08

More thoughts here.


85 / 100 books. 85% done!

Message edited by its author, Nov 21, 2008, 2:50pm.

Santa Responds: He's Had Enough... And He's Writing Back! by Santa Claus

128 pages / 2008 / 3.5 stars / Humor / 11-24-08

A comical look at what would happen if Santa finally snapped under the pressure and instead of bringing kids the presents that they asked for, instead delivered letters back telling these kids exactly what's on Santa's mind. You can read more here.


86 / 100 books. 86% done!

Message edited by its author, Nov 25, 2008, 10:43am.

Now this sounds like my kind of christmas book not syrupy lovey stuff that normally comes out. Good review!

I was telling my mother about this book, and she was shocked by it. I read her one of the letters, and her initial response was "Are you going to finish it? And how are you going to review that. It's awful!" lol

I told her that it was hysterical and original and that's how I was going to review it! She seemed very scandalized by that.

ROFL that cracks me up.

The Customer Is Always Wrong: The Retail Chronicles edited by Jeff Martin

166 pages / 2008 / 3 stars / Humorous Essay / 11-28-08 / library

A collection of 21 stories and essays about working in retail, The Customer Is Always Wrong is a humorous look at life and times of the retail associate. Having worked for 11ish years in retail myself, I can relate to quite a few of these stories. While some are better than others, overall the book was fun to read. More later. Maybe.


87 / 100 books. 87% done!

The Twelve Terrors of Christmas: Drawings by Edward Gorey by John Updike

32 pages / 2006 / 3.5 stars / Humor / 12-5-08 / B&N

A gruesome re-imagining of the 12 Days of Christmas, John Updike's The Twelve Terrors of Christmas isn't anything special or amazing, but it was a fun little book to read. The accompanying Edward Gorey illustrations really make the book. It typical Gorey fashion, he takes everyday events and gives them that twist of the macabre to really make you think about what you're looking at.


88 / 100 books. 88% done!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

111 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / Fantasy / 12-6-08

The Tales of Beedle the Bard first came to light in J.K. Rowling's seventh HP book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Bequeathed in Professor Dumbledore's will to Hermione Granger, The Tales seemed to be a mystery. However, J.K. Rowling finally presents these five stories in a charity edition, with all proceeds benefiting the Children’s High Level Group.

More here.


89 / 100 books. 89% done!

Message edited by its author, Dec 6, 2008, 5:26pm.

The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett

118 pages / 2007 / 5 stars / Fiction / 12-6-08 / sarah

A surprisingly enjoyable little book, Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader is fundamentally a book about books and the power that they can have over our lives.

When the Queen's dogs accidentally wander by way of a mobile library near Buckingham Palace, she feels obligated to check out a book. From there, she is enthralled by books and soon begins to become obsessed with reading, feeling that she has discovered something important to her that she has missed out on over the years. We get to see her journey as she grows as a reader to a most surprising conclusion to the story.

More here.


90 / 100 books. 90% done!

Message edited by its author, Dec 6, 2008, 5:44pm.

I find it interesting that after all JKs protests of no more Harry her first non Harry Potter book is still firmly set in that world. But I guess it would be hard for an author of that renown to do something "different". I once hear either Beatrix Potter or Enid Blyton (cant not recall which) once tried to write adult crime but it was such a dismal failure she went back to her children's books.

The uncommon reader sounds just delightful.

I've borrowed The Uncommon Reader twice now from the same person, so I'm thinking I just need to go buy my own copy. I've really enjoyed it that much.

LOL well I will definitely have to check and see if my library has it.

Rose by Jeff Smith & illustrated by Charles Vess

160 pages / 2002 / 5 stars / Graphic Novel Fantasy / 12-8-08

A prequel to Jeff Smith's epic Bone, Rose is the story of Rose and her rise and fall. Charles Vess' artwork is breathtaking throughout. I don't know that this story packs as much of a punch as the main series, Bone does given that I know the outcome, but it is still a great companion piece and worth reading if you enjoyed the main series.


91 / 100 books. 91% done!

Message edited by its author, Dec 8, 2008, 5:19pm.

Stupid Stupid Rat-Tails by Jeff Smith

104 pages / 1997 / 4 stars / Graphic Novel / 12-8-08

A prequel of sorts to Jeff Smith's Bone saga, Stupid Stupid Rat-Tails tells the story of Big Johnson Bone, Frontier Hero, the founder of Boneville. Quite a funny story, this doesn't tie directly into the Bone series, but if you enjoyed that, you'll definitely want to read this as well.


92 / 100 books. 92% done!

Only 8 to go!!

Wahoo congrats on only 8 to go.

Into the Tangle of Friendship: A Memoir of the Things That Matter by Beth Kephart

224 pages / 2000 / 5 stars / Memoir / 12-9-08

This is a beautiful book on the power of friendship. Lovingly written and to-the-point, Beth Kephart has put on paper so many of my own feelings that I was never able to put words to. Not all friendships are easy, some are a challenge, but Beth shows us that we can take something away from each friendship and that even the challenging friendships matter. More here.


93 / 100 books. 93% done!

Message edited by its author, Dec 10, 2008, 9:22am.

His Bright Light: The Story of Nick Traina by Danielle Steel

336 pages / 2000 / 4 stars / Biography / 12-22-08

A friend of mine lent me this book, and I was a little apprehensive about reading it, given it was written by Danielle Steel. However, I was quite surprised by how moving this book was, and read it in two sittings. This is the story of Steel's son Nick, who suffered from severe manic-depression his whole life, to the extent that he finally took his own life at 19 because of it. It's a powerful story of their struggle to help Nick with his illness and to let him live as close to a normal life as possible. Steel doesn't mince words or sugar-coat anything; she details every bit of his life, including entries from his journals that must have been heart-wrenching for her, as his mother, to have read. I think this would be an important book for anyone who knows someone who suffers from mental illness to read.


94 / 100 books. 94% done!

Message edited by its author, Dec 28, 2008, 10:14pm.

His Bright Light sounds like an interesting book. I think it is also important for "stars" to tell these stories and show that these sort of illnesses (mental or otherwise) can affect any body.

To be honest, I rolled my eyes when my friend told me about this book simply because it is written by Danielle Steel, but I finally relented and I'm sorry I felt that way. It really is an amazing book.

That how I was at first with Harry Potter. I'd roll my eyes and exclaim..its a children's book. I'm an adult I wouldn't like that. Yeah...I was proven wrong and now I try not to judge books based on things like that. Sometimes you just never know...and others your prejudices are supported.

#95

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

129 pages / 2003 (1843) / 4 stars / Fiction / 12-23-2008

Dickens' perennial Christmas classic about Ebenezer Scrooge and his visits from the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come and the Christmas lessons Scrooge learns from them. I try to read this every year around the holidays, and it never seems to get old.

Message edited by its author, Dec 24, 2008, 9:09am.

#96



Locke & Key, Vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill

158 pages / 2008 / 4 stars / Graphic Novel / 12-27-2008

The introduction to the new series, Locke & Key, Welcome to Lovecraft sets up a nice storyline and some very interesting story concepts for future installments. The basic premise follows the Locke family, who has moved to the west coast trying to start a new life after the family has been attacked and the father, Renny Locke, is killed by some local high school students. The home that they move to in Lovecraft, Massachusetts, is called Keyhouse. Keyhouse is a mansion with numerous doors and keys, and depending on which key you use, these doors open onto different realities or can change a person (in one case, into a ghost or in another, using the key will change your sex if you walk through a door). The house has apparently been in the family for decades, and Renny Locke's brother is the current resident of the house.

There is a ghost who lives in the well house who is unable to escape from the well house without the aid of the Anywhere Key, a key able to open any of the doors in Keyhouse to anywhere else the user wants to go. The well house ghost uses numerous means to escape, both the psychopathic high school student who murdered Renny Locke, and the youngest Locke child, Bode, to try to locate the Anywhere Key. Whether or not this ghost is benevolent is uncertain by the end of the story.

Joe Hill's writing is just creepy enough to give the story a real edge while at the same time not making it seem too far-fetched. Gabriel Rodriguez's art really captures the essence of the story.

I'm really intrigued by how future volumes will play out, and I guess that's the important part; that the story has kept my attention enough to want to read more.

Message edited by its author, Dec 27, 2008, 10:36pm.

sounds interesting.

I agree.

It is. It's a little violent, but the idea behind finding the different keys to the house and what they do sounds like it will be interesting. I don't know that the second volume has been released in monthly form yet, but I'm just going to wait until it's all released at once.

#97

The Forest King: Woodlark's Shadow by Dan Mishkin & Tom Mandrake

103 pages / 2006 / 4 stars / YA Fantasy / 12-28-2008

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, but Dan Mishkin packed quite a story into these 101 pages. A coming of age story of sorts, The Forest King is the story of Justin Woodlark, who has moved with his family to his father's childhood home in New England after his father, a police officer, is injured and unable to to work in the police force anymore.

Justin makes several friends within months of arriving, and one of their favorites games is to play Old Man of the Forest in the woods behind town. During one of these games, Justin discovers that there is in fact a monster living in the woods, who Justin believes to the actual Old Man of the Forest. He has to decide to either run away from his fear and let the monster continue to stalk the woods, or stand up to his fear and confront the monster.

The accompanying illustrations by Tom Mandrake really accent the story well and do not take away from it at all. If anything, the illustrations make the story even better.

Message edited by its author, Dec 29, 2008, 4:17pm.

#98

The Gift of the Magi/The Purple Dress by O. Henry & illustrated by Chris Raschka

48 pages / 2006 / 3 stars / Short Stories / 12-28-08

O. Henry's classic tale of the sometime cost of giving gifts, The Gift of the Magi is the story of a couple almost too poor to afford their small apartment, and who each sell their only prized possession in order to afford a Christmas gift for the other, only to discover that their gift was intended to accentuate the others prized possession, which neither own anymore. It's a touching tale that illustrates the importance more of your loved ones in your life than your possessions.

The Purple Dress is an even shorter story, and tells the tale of a young girl who dreams of her new purple dress that she is having made to wear to her upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. When the time comes to put the final $4 down on her dress, she discovers that a friend is in need of exactly $4 so that she is not evicted from her apartment, so she sacrifices her $4 and her new dress for her friend. However, in the end, she is rewarded for her kindness to her friend.

Both stories are told very quickly and to the point and O. Henry doesn't mince words. As my first experience with O. Henry, it doesn't make me want to rush right out and pick up another volume, but I won't go out of my way to avoid him either. I wasn't that impressed with the accompanying illustrations by Chris Raschka. All I see is splotchy watercolor marks and chunks of fabric that are supposed to be people and the city; it's all representational art, but I think it just looks messy in most cases.

Message edited by its author, Dec 29, 2008, 4:13pm.

#99

Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan & Niko Henrichon

136 pages / 2008 / 5 stars / Graphic Novel / 12-29-08

Very rarely a book will take me by surprise like this did. I was angry. I was sad. And I think everyone should read this book.

I think part of the shock from this book is that I didn't know what was coming. I'd heard about Pride of Baghdad but didn't know anything about the story, so had gone into it blind, so if you want to read this and be just as surprised by the ending as I was, just skip the rest of this and go read the book.

In 2003, American soldiers invaded Baghdad and in that invasion, the zoo in Baghdad was destroyed. Of the 650-700 animals housed in the zoo, only 35 survived the aftermath of the attack. Some of the animals were looted from the zoo and there was a group of lions that escaped and were roaming the streets of Baghdad. Four of these lions were shot and killed by American soldiers when they wouldn't return to their cages. Pride of Baghdad is Brian Vaughan's fictionalized account of this story through the eyes of these lions.

The story follows Zill, Zafa, Noor and Ali, a pride of lions who escape from the zoo after it is destroyed by American forces and have a brief taste of freedom. They roam the city of Baghdad, encountering several other animals (a sea turtle, horses, another lion kept in private captivity who is close to death, and a blood-thirsty bear) and how they persevere as a small pride to survive their situation. Just as they come to terms with their freedom and come to understand it for what it is, they are all shot dead by American soldiers.

To be honest, I couldn't believe what I read at first. I had to jump back and forth between pages to make sure I was understanding what was happening to the lions. While Vaughan obviously took liberties with the lions by anthropomorphizing them to make us feel more for them, when I discovered that this was based on a true story, I was even more outraged. Who knows exactly what happened to the lions, but the injustice of it seemed to quake through this book by the last page.

Niko Henrichon's artwork is dazzling throughout the book. The emotion that he is able to render in the animals, their terror at the attacks from the American soldiers, their amazement at their freedom, all spills from each page.

Don't let the fact that this is a graphic novel deter you from reading it. An incredibly powerful tale that will shock you by its strength, Pride of Baghdad is one story that will stay with you far after you've read it.

Message edited by its author, Dec 30, 2008, 9:27am.

So close to 100...and one day left to do it in...you can do it. Just pick a quick read. =)

I've already got it started at home! **wink** 100 here I come!!

Pride sounds like a really fascinating book.

Hope you make the 100 before end of 2008. I dont think I am going to make my 50 but as I technically only started the challenge in April I guess I still have a while to go yet. Well thats my reasoning and Im sticking to it LOL

#100!!



Wicked: The Grimmerie, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical by David Cote

192 pages / 2005 / 5 stars / Broadway / 12-31-08

If you are a fan of the Broadway hit musical, Wicked, than this book is for you! The title speaks for itself, this is nothing more than a look behind the creation of Wicked, with photos and design sketches, info on the cast, spells, inside stories and more throughout. If you love the musical like I do, you have to have this book.

Message edited by its author, Dec 31, 2008, 4:00pm.

Woo!!! Congrats!

*tosses confetti up into the air*

Thanks! I really didn't think I was going to make it, but nothing like squeezing that last book in on the last day!

if i didn't know better i'd swear that you worked at my company. getting things done at the last moment is what we seem to specialize in!

Congratulations!

There is a sequal as well I think it is called witches son. I haven't read that one myself.

Congratulations! Just in time to start on the list for 2009. :-)

Of course you would make it--it's in your name!

Message edited by its author, Dec 31, 2008, 10:37pm.

Thanks everybody! It felt really good to squeeze that last book in.

Irish - Yeah, we're pretty good at that at my office too! I seem to be making it a habit tho! lol

Caspattee - The sequel is called Son of a Witch, and Maguire just released a third called A Lion Among Men. I've only read Wicked, and didn't enjoy it very much. The Broadway show, while based on the book, is an entirely separate creation and needs to be looked at separately from the book. They carry similar elements and plot points, but they do tell their stories in slightly different ways, and the Broadway show is AMAZING! If you ever have an opportunity to see the show, I can't recommend it highly enough.

MusicMom41 - I never thought of that! lol

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2009, 11:52am.

Well, 2008 has been, without a doubt, my best reading year ever, and I'm looking forward to the coming year!

My breakdown for 2008 is:

* Graphic Novels - 26
* Fiction - 21
* YA - 14
* Fantasy - 9
* Humor - 7
* Mystery - 5
* Childrens - 5
* Non-fiction - 5
* Memoir - 3
* Short Fiction - 3
* Poetry - 1
* Biography - 1
* Total Page Count - 21,582

Happy reading in 09!

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2009, 1:38pm.

Started my 09 list here.