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1Enraptured
I read 263 books in 2007, and will probably finish one or two more in the last couple of days of the year. This year I'm going to try to read 100 books in 100 days, and at least 300 books over the course of the year. I don't know if I'll get that many though; I'll see how it goes. I'll use this thread to keep track of the books I've read. Anyone who wants to comment is welcome to do so.
3Enraptured
Eek, sorry!
5fannyprice
Pardon my French, but HOLY CRAP - that is a lot of books read and books to be read. Color me impressed and good luck in your 2008 reading!
6Irisheyz77
I'm with fannyprice....that's A LOT of books! I am envious that you have so much reading time. Good luck in your goal!
7Enraptured
#1: Dances with Werewolves by Niki Flynn
Why I chose it: Saw a recommendation online
My first book of the year was an unusual memoir. In the book, the author talks about her life as a spanking model, and the evolution of her spanking fetish. I enjoyed reading about her life, especially since it's so different from mine. I did think, though, that she might have made too big a deal out of how kinky she is; maybe it's just because of the people I've met, but a spanking fetish doesn't seem all that strange or out-there to me.
#2: Boot Camp by Todd Strasser
Why I chose it: Amazon recommended it; it reminded me of something I'd written
I bought this book because it looked eerily similar to the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo in 2006. When I read it, the similaries were striking; it's set in a troubled-teen program instead of a reeducation center, but the main character was attacked in similar ways. It was a good book on its own merits, but those similarities were a lot of the reason I enjoyed it.
#3: Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess
Why I chose it: Amazon recommended it
This book was dark, and original, and very well-written. It was told from the perspective of a teenage girl whose father sexually abused her; he got sent to prison, but got out early and came back to liev with the family. The author never lapsed into cliches, which she could easily have done, and the main character was satisfyingly complex.
#4: Liber XXX - Liber Librae Sub Figura by Aleister Crowley (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: It was short and free, and I like occult philosophy
A short free ebook I picked up online a while ago. It did not impress me. Crowley's typical obfuscation and needless flowery language bugged me, and in addition to that, it didn't seem to say anything I hadn't already heard before.
#5: Life and Love: Positive Strategies for Autistic Adults by Zosia Zaks
Why I chose it: Saw it on a site about Asperger's Syndrome
I had read a couple of other books of this type before, but they weren't very useful, so I wasn't expecting this one to be much better. But this one was actulaly full of useful information. A lot of the things in it are things I don't need help with or have already figured out, but there were also good explanations of things I never would have even considered.
#6: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Why I chose it: It was a gift
One of my SantaThing books. I kept hearing people talk about this one, but I avoided it because of my general dislike for things set in Victorian times. I kept thinking I would pick it up eventually, because I had heard so many good things about it, but I never got around to it. As it turned out, I liked it a lot. The feminist message was nothing I hadn't heard before, and I'm still not overly fond of Victorian stuff, but I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
Why I chose it: Saw a recommendation online
My first book of the year was an unusual memoir. In the book, the author talks about her life as a spanking model, and the evolution of her spanking fetish. I enjoyed reading about her life, especially since it's so different from mine. I did think, though, that she might have made too big a deal out of how kinky she is; maybe it's just because of the people I've met, but a spanking fetish doesn't seem all that strange or out-there to me.
#2: Boot Camp by Todd Strasser
Why I chose it: Amazon recommended it; it reminded me of something I'd written
I bought this book because it looked eerily similar to the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo in 2006. When I read it, the similaries were striking; it's set in a troubled-teen program instead of a reeducation center, but the main character was attacked in similar ways. It was a good book on its own merits, but those similarities were a lot of the reason I enjoyed it.
#3: Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess
Why I chose it: Amazon recommended it
This book was dark, and original, and very well-written. It was told from the perspective of a teenage girl whose father sexually abused her; he got sent to prison, but got out early and came back to liev with the family. The author never lapsed into cliches, which she could easily have done, and the main character was satisfyingly complex.
#4: Liber XXX - Liber Librae Sub Figura by Aleister Crowley (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: It was short and free, and I like occult philosophy
A short free ebook I picked up online a while ago. It did not impress me. Crowley's typical obfuscation and needless flowery language bugged me, and in addition to that, it didn't seem to say anything I hadn't already heard before.
#5: Life and Love: Positive Strategies for Autistic Adults by Zosia Zaks
Why I chose it: Saw it on a site about Asperger's Syndrome
I had read a couple of other books of this type before, but they weren't very useful, so I wasn't expecting this one to be much better. But this one was actulaly full of useful information. A lot of the things in it are things I don't need help with or have already figured out, but there were also good explanations of things I never would have even considered.
#6: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Why I chose it: It was a gift
One of my SantaThing books. I kept hearing people talk about this one, but I avoided it because of my general dislike for things set in Victorian times. I kept thinking I would pick it up eventually, because I had heard so many good things about it, but I never got around to it. As it turned out, I liked it a lot. The feminist message was nothing I hadn't heard before, and I'm still not overly fond of Victorian stuff, but I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
8Enraptured
#7: Right Behind You by Gail Giles
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
A few years ago, when I saw the news story about the kindergartener who brought a gun to school and shot one of his classmates, I wondered what life would be like for a kid like that. How would he be punished? As he grew up, how would he live with what he had done? This book deals with that question; the main character, when he was nine, killed another kid in a fit of anger, and now - at fourteen - is trying to resume a normal life. I liked the psychology of it - how Kip tries to get past what he's done even as he understands how terrible it was. It was a short book, but overall pretty good.
#8: Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty
Why I chose it: I had read the first book in the series
This book was as good as the previous one. I'm still surprised that this series actually turned out to be good - I was expecting typical high-school romance fluff, but Jessica, the main character, is actually interesting and intelligent. I like the complexity of her relationship with Marcus, although for most of this book I was complaining at her to quit being stupid and just get back together with him already. The references to 9/11 took me by surprise - I had imagined these books taking place in some vaguely modern time, not in specific years, so I had no idea it was 2001 in the book until the sudden mentions of 9/11. It really threw me at first. But that could have been intentional, to mirror the way Jessica felt about it. And once I acclimated to it, I thought the author handled it quite well. I did have trouble relating to Jessica's obsession with sex, but I know most teenagers (and many adults, too...) probably do think about sex that much, so I didn't see it as a flaw in the book.
#9: kimmie66 by Aaron Alexovich (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Found it looking for graphic novels on Amazon
This was an interesting story, mostly for the depiction of the evolution of virtual reality. I never completely got into the actual plot for some reason; something about it just wasn't engaging enough. And the book was too short, but that's to be expected for a graphic novel. Overall, this was fun, but nothing too memorable.
#10: Daddy Needs a Drink by Robert Wilder
Why I chose it: Found it looking for funny books about parenting (along the lines of Motherhood is Not for Wimps by Elizabeth Soutter Schwarzer) on Amazon
This book was hilarious. I love funny stories abuot kids, and this book had plenty. His style reminded me a little of Lindsay Ferrier at times. The columns could have been edited a bit better to fit into book form - a lot of things were re-explained from one essay to the next, because they were originally published as columns - but that was a minor problem, and didn't really bother me.
#11: Lonely Planet Signspotting 2, compiled by Doug Lansky
Why I chose it: I had read the first book in the series
This book of strange signs from around the world was as funny as the one that came before it. It didn't take me long to get through it, but this is the kind of book that will be just as funny to go through a second time. I do wish there was a third one out, though; I love books like this.
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
A few years ago, when I saw the news story about the kindergartener who brought a gun to school and shot one of his classmates, I wondered what life would be like for a kid like that. How would he be punished? As he grew up, how would he live with what he had done? This book deals with that question; the main character, when he was nine, killed another kid in a fit of anger, and now - at fourteen - is trying to resume a normal life. I liked the psychology of it - how Kip tries to get past what he's done even as he understands how terrible it was. It was a short book, but overall pretty good.
#8: Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty
Why I chose it: I had read the first book in the series
This book was as good as the previous one. I'm still surprised that this series actually turned out to be good - I was expecting typical high-school romance fluff, but Jessica, the main character, is actually interesting and intelligent. I like the complexity of her relationship with Marcus, although for most of this book I was complaining at her to quit being stupid and just get back together with him already. The references to 9/11 took me by surprise - I had imagined these books taking place in some vaguely modern time, not in specific years, so I had no idea it was 2001 in the book until the sudden mentions of 9/11. It really threw me at first. But that could have been intentional, to mirror the way Jessica felt about it. And once I acclimated to it, I thought the author handled it quite well. I did have trouble relating to Jessica's obsession with sex, but I know most teenagers (and many adults, too...) probably do think about sex that much, so I didn't see it as a flaw in the book.
#9: kimmie66 by Aaron Alexovich (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Found it looking for graphic novels on Amazon
This was an interesting story, mostly for the depiction of the evolution of virtual reality. I never completely got into the actual plot for some reason; something about it just wasn't engaging enough. And the book was too short, but that's to be expected for a graphic novel. Overall, this was fun, but nothing too memorable.
#10: Daddy Needs a Drink by Robert Wilder
Why I chose it: Found it looking for funny books about parenting (along the lines of Motherhood is Not for Wimps by Elizabeth Soutter Schwarzer) on Amazon
This book was hilarious. I love funny stories abuot kids, and this book had plenty. His style reminded me a little of Lindsay Ferrier at times. The columns could have been edited a bit better to fit into book form - a lot of things were re-explained from one essay to the next, because they were originally published as columns - but that was a minor problem, and didn't really bother me.
#11: Lonely Planet Signspotting 2, compiled by Doug Lansky
Why I chose it: I had read the first book in the series
This book of strange signs from around the world was as funny as the one that came before it. It didn't take me long to get through it, but this is the kind of book that will be just as funny to go through a second time. I do wish there was a third one out, though; I love books like this.
9Enraptured
#12: This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman
Why I chose it: Found it looking on LibraryThing for novels about autism
I enjoyed this one a lot. It was nice and long, and made good use of its length - it was all filled with plot, instead of, say, lots of flowery descriptions. (I know a lot of people like flowery descriptions, but they make my eyes glaze over.) It had a definite message, about tolerance and acceptance, but it was done in a good way - subtle, instead of beating the reader over the head the way so many books do. I haven't been reading much science fiction lately, but this book reminded me how good it can be; I might start reading more of it.
#13: April in Paris by Michael Wallner
Why I chose it: Found it looking on LibraryThing for novels about oppression
Something about the writing style of this one grated on me; it was at once too simplistic and too artistic. I suspect, though, that it has a lot to do with the fact that the book was translated from
German. I really liked the plot itself, which isn't surprising, given my fascination with oppression. It was a little too literary for me, but I enjoyed it anyway.
Why I chose it: Found it looking on LibraryThing for novels about autism
I enjoyed this one a lot. It was nice and long, and made good use of its length - it was all filled with plot, instead of, say, lots of flowery descriptions. (I know a lot of people like flowery descriptions, but they make my eyes glaze over.) It had a definite message, about tolerance and acceptance, but it was done in a good way - subtle, instead of beating the reader over the head the way so many books do. I haven't been reading much science fiction lately, but this book reminded me how good it can be; I might start reading more of it.
#13: April in Paris by Michael Wallner
Why I chose it: Found it looking on LibraryThing for novels about oppression
Something about the writing style of this one grated on me; it was at once too simplistic and too artistic. I suspect, though, that it has a lot to do with the fact that the book was translated from
German. I really liked the plot itself, which isn't surprising, given my fascination with oppression. It was a little too literary for me, but I enjoyed it anyway.
10fannyprice
Its interesting to read your reviews and I especially think the addition of "why I chose it" is neat. I had never really thought about noting WHY I read a particular book instead of another. Off to redo my private comments!
11Enraptured
#14: Incantation by Alice Hoffman
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation, after I looked at a different book that I found on LibraryThing looking for novels about oppression
This one was quite well-written, like all the books I've read by Alice Hoffman. I should read more of her books, since I always enjoy them when I pick them up. It was surprisingly poetic. The main character, despite being a teenager, had a lot of maturity, which I liked to see. It was kind of grim - like you might expect for a book about the Inquisition - but I tend to like grim. And I liked how the conflict between the two friends ended up leading to something much bigger - Catalina thought she was just getting revenge, because she didn't understand the full import of what she was doing. I found that much more interesting than if her role had been played by, say, an enemy. (And I'm still irritated by the review on Amazon that I saw, the one that said the Inquisition theme might be a bit too deep for teenagers but that there's a romance plot that might be more interesting to them. How condescending.)
#15: Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty
Why I chose it: I read the other books in the series
This was the most depressing thing I've read in a long time. I know it sounds strange for me to say that about a contemporary YA novel, when I read all sorts of stuff about oppresive governments. And I don't think it was intended to be depressing; I doubt many other people would see it that way. But the main character's seemingly aimless soul-searching, and the way she can't seem to get her love life right, gave the book a feeling of futility. It could be because I'm the same age as the main character, and I could easily imagine being in college and trying - and failing - to relate to people who are going through the same kinds of things the main character was.
#16: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
I loved the premise of this book - like I said in last year's thread, I'm a sucker for amnesia stories - but the way it was done seemed lackluster to me. Maybe that was just because of what I expected from the story. I expected more conflict between her old self and her new self - that's how I would have written it, after all (I know, it's not fair to judge it based on how I would have done it) - but that was glossed over after the beginning. (spoilers) ************ ************ At first she can't imagine liking the things - or the people - her old self liked, but after she regains her memory she gravitates back towards them with no fanfare. I also didn't really like the character of Will. I didn't actively dislike him, but I didn't find him appealing either, so the romance between him and Naomi left me cold.
#17: The Insider by Ingrid Weaver
Why I chose it: Looking for novels about brainwashing on booksfree.com, since I've written one (despite how I found it, this one actually had no brainwashing in it)
This one was sitting on my chest of drawers for months, waiting for me to read it. I avoided it because after I got it from booksfree.com I realized that it looked like it was in the middle of a series, and the earlier books weren't available. I love finding a nice long series, but I hate coming in in the middle. But I decided to try it, and it turned out to stand alone quite nicely. It was a lot better than I expected it to be. I love characters who have spent a good amount of time isolated from the world and then are thrust out into it to make sense of it. I would have liked a bit more explanation of the villains, but that's probably done in the earlier books in the series.
#18: Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation; I was intrigued by the large amount of YA books Amazon seemed to be recommending me about teenagers who have done something terrible (I ended up buying both this one and Right Behind You, which I talked about earlier)
This book did not have the effect on me that it was supposed to have. The main character is trying to convince the reader - and himself - that he didn't rape his girlfriend. The reader is obviously supposed to like the main character, maybe even relate to him. It has to be that way for the book to work. But I did not like the main character. I'm not sure what, but something about him rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was that I couldn't relate to him at all; maybe it was that he reminded me of an older version of the type of person who tended, in school, to either ignore me or treat me badly. Whatever the reason, this book just didn't work for me, and left me with a bad taste in my mouth and no desire to read anything else. (My next book cured me of that, but since I'm not done reading it yet, you'll have to wait for that review.)
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation, after I looked at a different book that I found on LibraryThing looking for novels about oppression
This one was quite well-written, like all the books I've read by Alice Hoffman. I should read more of her books, since I always enjoy them when I pick them up. It was surprisingly poetic. The main character, despite being a teenager, had a lot of maturity, which I liked to see. It was kind of grim - like you might expect for a book about the Inquisition - but I tend to like grim. And I liked how the conflict between the two friends ended up leading to something much bigger - Catalina thought she was just getting revenge, because she didn't understand the full import of what she was doing. I found that much more interesting than if her role had been played by, say, an enemy. (And I'm still irritated by the review on Amazon that I saw, the one that said the Inquisition theme might be a bit too deep for teenagers but that there's a romance plot that might be more interesting to them. How condescending.)
#15: Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty
Why I chose it: I read the other books in the series
This was the most depressing thing I've read in a long time. I know it sounds strange for me to say that about a contemporary YA novel, when I read all sorts of stuff about oppresive governments. And I don't think it was intended to be depressing; I doubt many other people would see it that way. But the main character's seemingly aimless soul-searching, and the way she can't seem to get her love life right, gave the book a feeling of futility. It could be because I'm the same age as the main character, and I could easily imagine being in college and trying - and failing - to relate to people who are going through the same kinds of things the main character was.
#16: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
I loved the premise of this book - like I said in last year's thread, I'm a sucker for amnesia stories - but the way it was done seemed lackluster to me. Maybe that was just because of what I expected from the story. I expected more conflict between her old self and her new self - that's how I would have written it, after all (I know, it's not fair to judge it based on how I would have done it) - but that was glossed over after the beginning. (spoilers) ************ ************ At first she can't imagine liking the things - or the people - her old self liked, but after she regains her memory she gravitates back towards them with no fanfare. I also didn't really like the character of Will. I didn't actively dislike him, but I didn't find him appealing either, so the romance between him and Naomi left me cold.
#17: The Insider by Ingrid Weaver
Why I chose it: Looking for novels about brainwashing on booksfree.com, since I've written one (despite how I found it, this one actually had no brainwashing in it)
This one was sitting on my chest of drawers for months, waiting for me to read it. I avoided it because after I got it from booksfree.com I realized that it looked like it was in the middle of a series, and the earlier books weren't available. I love finding a nice long series, but I hate coming in in the middle. But I decided to try it, and it turned out to stand alone quite nicely. It was a lot better than I expected it to be. I love characters who have spent a good amount of time isolated from the world and then are thrust out into it to make sense of it. I would have liked a bit more explanation of the villains, but that's probably done in the earlier books in the series.
#18: Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation; I was intrigued by the large amount of YA books Amazon seemed to be recommending me about teenagers who have done something terrible (I ended up buying both this one and Right Behind You, which I talked about earlier)
This book did not have the effect on me that it was supposed to have. The main character is trying to convince the reader - and himself - that he didn't rape his girlfriend. The reader is obviously supposed to like the main character, maybe even relate to him. It has to be that way for the book to work. But I did not like the main character. I'm not sure what, but something about him rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was that I couldn't relate to him at all; maybe it was that he reminded me of an older version of the type of person who tended, in school, to either ignore me or treat me badly. Whatever the reason, this book just didn't work for me, and left me with a bad taste in my mouth and no desire to read anything else. (My next book cured me of that, but since I'm not done reading it yet, you'll have to wait for that review.)
12Enraptured
#19: Journey Into the Whirlwind by Eugenia Semoynovna Ginzburg
Why I chose it: It was referenced briefly in The End of America by Naomi Wolf (no touchstone), which I read last year
This one, a memoir of life as a prisoner under Stalin, was very different from my previous one - which was good, given the extremely negative impression the previous one left on me. I was interested to learn more about the Russian gulags, and I'm always interested in oppression memoirs, so this one left a much better impression on me than the other book did.
#20: Fire Dancer by Ann Maxwell
Why I chose it: I read and liked a couple of other books by the author
So many people were raving about this trilogy on Amazon that I expected it to be better than it was. I didn't dislike it, but I did find it kind of uneven. Some parts of the plot were interesting, but the whole slave circus idea aseemed a bit contrived to me, and the main character had a hint of Mary Sue about her. I also got tired of hearing about her fondness for children; I understand that her species evolved that need for children in order to keep from mating only with the other intelligent species and dying out, but it got really annoying to keep hearing about how she'll do anything to protect a child in danger.
#21: Chinglish by Oliver Lutz Radtke
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
Another language humor book. This one is like the Signspotting books, except focusing exclusively on China. Some of the examples weren't all that funny, but most of them were. I slightly prefer the Signspotting books, but I liked this one too.
#22: Benighted by Kit Whitfield
Why I chose it: You know, I can't remember. I may have found it browsing on Librarything.
This book was amazingly good. It was the best urban fantasy I've read in a long time. I normally don't read werewolf books, but I made an exception for this one, and I'm glad I did. The premise was one I hadn't seen before - instead of just a few werewolves, almost everyone in the world is a werewolf. The main character isn't, and like all non-werewolves, she's been discriminated against all her life. The issues of power in this book are fascinating - the non-werewolves are seen as inferior, and looked down on, but they're responsible for hunting down wayward werewolves during the full moon, which makes the werewolves dependent on them. The book is quite dark, but to me that's a good thing. And the main character had a very strong voice. Overall it was just excellent.
Why I chose it: It was referenced briefly in The End of America by Naomi Wolf (no touchstone), which I read last year
This one, a memoir of life as a prisoner under Stalin, was very different from my previous one - which was good, given the extremely negative impression the previous one left on me. I was interested to learn more about the Russian gulags, and I'm always interested in oppression memoirs, so this one left a much better impression on me than the other book did.
#20: Fire Dancer by Ann Maxwell
Why I chose it: I read and liked a couple of other books by the author
So many people were raving about this trilogy on Amazon that I expected it to be better than it was. I didn't dislike it, but I did find it kind of uneven. Some parts of the plot were interesting, but the whole slave circus idea aseemed a bit contrived to me, and the main character had a hint of Mary Sue about her. I also got tired of hearing about her fondness for children; I understand that her species evolved that need for children in order to keep from mating only with the other intelligent species and dying out, but it got really annoying to keep hearing about how she'll do anything to protect a child in danger.
#21: Chinglish by Oliver Lutz Radtke
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
Another language humor book. This one is like the Signspotting books, except focusing exclusively on China. Some of the examples weren't all that funny, but most of them were. I slightly prefer the Signspotting books, but I liked this one too.
#22: Benighted by Kit Whitfield
Why I chose it: You know, I can't remember. I may have found it browsing on Librarything.
This book was amazingly good. It was the best urban fantasy I've read in a long time. I normally don't read werewolf books, but I made an exception for this one, and I'm glad I did. The premise was one I hadn't seen before - instead of just a few werewolves, almost everyone in the world is a werewolf. The main character isn't, and like all non-werewolves, she's been discriminated against all her life. The issues of power in this book are fascinating - the non-werewolves are seen as inferior, and looked down on, but they're responsible for hunting down wayward werewolves during the full moon, which makes the werewolves dependent on them. The book is quite dark, but to me that's a good thing. And the main character had a very strong voice. Overall it was just excellent.
13Enraptured
#23: Elijah's Cup by Valerie Paradiz
Why I chose it: Found it looking for memoirs about autism
This was a relatively good memoir; I liked the author's attitude towards her son's autism a lot. It was hard for her to deal with at times, but she didn't wish he was different, and didn't try to get him to be somebody he wasn't. The book wasn't very well-written, though; it wasn't badly written either, but the writing seemed kind of rough to me, and not as engaging as it could have been.
#24: A Suburban Mom: Notes from the Asylum by Meredith O'Brien
Why I chose it: Looking for parenting humor on Amazon
Some of the essays in this book did make me laugh, but overall it wasn't nearly as entertaining as the other parenting humor books I've read. It, more than the others, was written primarily for an audience of other parents, which made me feel a little left out while I was reading it; I obviously wasn't who it was intended for. And there were quite a few typos and/or gramattical errors, which, while not important, did make me wish the book had been edited more thoroughly.
#25: The Moon Bridge by Marcia Savin
Why I chose it: One of my favorite books when I was a kid; I think I may have gotten it from a school book fair
This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid, but I didn't remember it very well, so I decided to pick it up and reread it. Bad idea - this one should have stayed as a childhood memory. The characters didn't have much depth, the dialogue was wooden, and in general it just wasn't very good.
#26: Blade Dancer by S.L. Viehl
Why I chose it: I read and liked other books by the author, and I was in the mood for science fiction
This was a fun story. I was looking for some light fun science fiction, and this fit that requirement nicely. The surprise ending was pretty predictable; on the other hand, if it had been hidden more, it might have seemed implausible.
#27: Plague by Jean Ure
Why I chose it: Found it browsing on Librarything (possibly looking for post-apocalyptic novels)
Despite the intriguing plot, I didn't enjoy this one very much. It had a wooden and slightly old-fashioned style that older middle-grade novels are prone to (though I'm surprised this one had it, since it's not that old - it's from 1991!). The character of Harry was nothing but annoying; I didn't like her at all, and kept wanting her to either shut up, die, or disappear. And it ended with no real resolution, although I shouldn't hold this against it, since it was supposed to be the first in a trilogy. I don't know whether the other books in the trilogy were published, or whether only the first book was; it doesn't really matter, since I have no desire to go looking for them.
Why I chose it: Found it looking for memoirs about autism
This was a relatively good memoir; I liked the author's attitude towards her son's autism a lot. It was hard for her to deal with at times, but she didn't wish he was different, and didn't try to get him to be somebody he wasn't. The book wasn't very well-written, though; it wasn't badly written either, but the writing seemed kind of rough to me, and not as engaging as it could have been.
#24: A Suburban Mom: Notes from the Asylum by Meredith O'Brien
Why I chose it: Looking for parenting humor on Amazon
Some of the essays in this book did make me laugh, but overall it wasn't nearly as entertaining as the other parenting humor books I've read. It, more than the others, was written primarily for an audience of other parents, which made me feel a little left out while I was reading it; I obviously wasn't who it was intended for. And there were quite a few typos and/or gramattical errors, which, while not important, did make me wish the book had been edited more thoroughly.
#25: The Moon Bridge by Marcia Savin
Why I chose it: One of my favorite books when I was a kid; I think I may have gotten it from a school book fair
This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid, but I didn't remember it very well, so I decided to pick it up and reread it. Bad idea - this one should have stayed as a childhood memory. The characters didn't have much depth, the dialogue was wooden, and in general it just wasn't very good.
#26: Blade Dancer by S.L. Viehl
Why I chose it: I read and liked other books by the author, and I was in the mood for science fiction
This was a fun story. I was looking for some light fun science fiction, and this fit that requirement nicely. The surprise ending was pretty predictable; on the other hand, if it had been hidden more, it might have seemed implausible.
#27: Plague by Jean Ure
Why I chose it: Found it browsing on Librarything (possibly looking for post-apocalyptic novels)
Despite the intriguing plot, I didn't enjoy this one very much. It had a wooden and slightly old-fashioned style that older middle-grade novels are prone to (though I'm surprised this one had it, since it's not that old - it's from 1991!). The character of Harry was nothing but annoying; I didn't like her at all, and kept wanting her to either shut up, die, or disappear. And it ended with no real resolution, although I shouldn't hold this against it, since it was supposed to be the first in a trilogy. I don't know whether the other books in the trilogy were published, or whether only the first book was; it doesn't really matter, since I have no desire to go looking for them.
14nancyewhite
Really enjoying your thread and stole your "Why I chose it" for my own challenge. Hope you don't mind :-)
16Enraptured
#28: Check Mate by Beverly Barton
Why I chose it: I read the previous book in the series
This was the sequel to The Insider, but it wasn't written by the same author. If I hadn't already noticed that, I would have suspected as soon as I started reading. It was not well written. It just wasn't. The female main character also really rubbed me the wrong way; she kept thinking about how she had to resist her mushy feminine instincts because she was a strong tough FBI agent. (In the end, of course, she abandons her toughness and gives in to her mushy side.) That kind of dichotomy always irritates me - why are the two things mutually exclusive? (spoilers) ...................... .............................. The brainwashing part kept me interested, and was enough to help me get through the badness, but when it turned out she wasn't actually there to brainwash him, my interest all but disappeared. I would have stopped, except I was already a good portion of the way through the book.
#29: Fall from Grace by Kristi Gold
Why I chose it: I was going through Amazon snapping up Harlequin Everlasting Love books
This book wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I didn't find the hero very appealing - he was fine as a person, but not someone I'd be attracted to, which isn't so good for a romance hero. Also, it seemed like they didn't do enough to fix the problems in their relationship; the problems were supposed to all be gone at the end of the book, but I wasn't convinced.
#30: Testament: Akedah
Why I chose it: I was looking at books about brainwashing on Amazon, which led me to this author, whose Amazon blog led me to this book
This book was really interesting. A comic book combining Bible stories with dystopia - I love adaptations of Christianity, and I love dystopian stuff, so this one was bound to appeal to me. The author's note at the beginning amused me, though; apparently the author thinks retelling Bible stories is a new and subversive thing. He's not as subversive as he thinks he is.
#31: Have a Nice Doomsday by Nicholas Guyatt (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
This one was about apocalyptic Christianity in America - things like Left Behind and the people who say the Rapture will be here any day now. Christian fundamentalism interests me, which is why I picked this up, and I really liked it - both the subject and the friendly style. It brought up points I hadn't thought of before, like how strange it is that the same people who think America will be completely obliterated in the coming apocalypse also think that America is chosen by God.
#32: Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell
Why I chose it: I was looking for a book about plotting
This book brought up some good ideas about plotting, but it also had some glaring limitations. For example, apparently you should never write a novel that doesn't have a villain (a villain who is an actual person). I've written more than one without a villain, and it didn't keep them from having a plot. Also, every novel must use the three-act structure, or readers won't be able to connect to it. That doesn't make any sense to me. It seems like an unnecessary limitation. And advice like that might keep people from studying other structures that could be useful to them.
#33: A Secret to Tell You by Roz Denny Fox (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Looking for Harlequin Everlasting Love books on Amazon
This would have been a lot more interesting if it had focused on Norma's love story. She could have been the main character, and more details about her story could have been given in flashbacks. Instead, even though the story was supposedly about her, it instead focused on April Trent and her relationship with Norma's grandson. I didn't find that relationship very interesting, so overall the book was disappointing.
Why I chose it: I read the previous book in the series
This was the sequel to The Insider, but it wasn't written by the same author. If I hadn't already noticed that, I would have suspected as soon as I started reading. It was not well written. It just wasn't. The female main character also really rubbed me the wrong way; she kept thinking about how she had to resist her mushy feminine instincts because she was a strong tough FBI agent. (In the end, of course, she abandons her toughness and gives in to her mushy side.) That kind of dichotomy always irritates me - why are the two things mutually exclusive? (spoilers) ...................... .............................. The brainwashing part kept me interested, and was enough to help me get through the badness, but when it turned out she wasn't actually there to brainwash him, my interest all but disappeared. I would have stopped, except I was already a good portion of the way through the book.
#29: Fall from Grace by Kristi Gold
Why I chose it: I was going through Amazon snapping up Harlequin Everlasting Love books
This book wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I didn't find the hero very appealing - he was fine as a person, but not someone I'd be attracted to, which isn't so good for a romance hero. Also, it seemed like they didn't do enough to fix the problems in their relationship; the problems were supposed to all be gone at the end of the book, but I wasn't convinced.
#30: Testament: Akedah
Why I chose it: I was looking at books about brainwashing on Amazon, which led me to this author, whose Amazon blog led me to this book
This book was really interesting. A comic book combining Bible stories with dystopia - I love adaptations of Christianity, and I love dystopian stuff, so this one was bound to appeal to me. The author's note at the beginning amused me, though; apparently the author thinks retelling Bible stories is a new and subversive thing. He's not as subversive as he thinks he is.
#31: Have a Nice Doomsday by Nicholas Guyatt (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
This one was about apocalyptic Christianity in America - things like Left Behind and the people who say the Rapture will be here any day now. Christian fundamentalism interests me, which is why I picked this up, and I really liked it - both the subject and the friendly style. It brought up points I hadn't thought of before, like how strange it is that the same people who think America will be completely obliterated in the coming apocalypse also think that America is chosen by God.
#32: Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell
Why I chose it: I was looking for a book about plotting
This book brought up some good ideas about plotting, but it also had some glaring limitations. For example, apparently you should never write a novel that doesn't have a villain (a villain who is an actual person). I've written more than one without a villain, and it didn't keep them from having a plot. Also, every novel must use the three-act structure, or readers won't be able to connect to it. That doesn't make any sense to me. It seems like an unnecessary limitation. And advice like that might keep people from studying other structures that could be useful to them.
#33: A Secret to Tell You by Roz Denny Fox (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Looking for Harlequin Everlasting Love books on Amazon
This would have been a lot more interesting if it had focused on Norma's love story. She could have been the main character, and more details about her story could have been given in flashbacks. Instead, even though the story was supposedly about her, it instead focused on April Trent and her relationship with Norma's grandson. I didn't find that relationship very interesting, so overall the book was disappointing.
17Enraptured
#34: The Feeling's Unmutual: Growing Up With Asperger's Syndrome (Undiagnosed) by Will Hadcroft
Why I chose it: Looking for books (especially memoirs) about Asperger's and autism
I was afraid this one might not turn out to be well-written, since there seem to be lower standards for memoirs, but that turned out not to be the case. I could relate to a lot of this book - not the television obsessions, but problems the author has in relating to the world.
#35: Brainwash: The Secret History of Mind Control by Dominic Streatfeild
Why I chose it: Read about it on the changingminds.org blog; I used the site to help with a novel I was writing, and I still visit occasionally
I'm not used to reading dense nonfiction like this, so it took me a while to get into it. But I really enjoyed it, especially once I got used to the style. The subject fascinates me, and the author approached it from all sorts of angles, from CIA experiments to mental institutions to cults. There seemed to be lots of examples of the CIA not being able to do anything right. (For example, putting a microphone inside a cat so they could direct the cat to something they wanted to overhear... and then getting the cat run over by a taxi the first time it went out.)
Why I chose it: Looking for books (especially memoirs) about Asperger's and autism
I was afraid this one might not turn out to be well-written, since there seem to be lower standards for memoirs, but that turned out not to be the case. I could relate to a lot of this book - not the television obsessions, but problems the author has in relating to the world.
#35: Brainwash: The Secret History of Mind Control by Dominic Streatfeild
Why I chose it: Read about it on the changingminds.org blog; I used the site to help with a novel I was writing, and I still visit occasionally
I'm not used to reading dense nonfiction like this, so it took me a while to get into it. But I really enjoyed it, especially once I got used to the style. The subject fascinates me, and the author approached it from all sorts of angles, from CIA experiments to mental institutions to cults. There seemed to be lots of examples of the CIA not being able to do anything right. (For example, putting a microphone inside a cat so they could direct the cat to something they wanted to overhear... and then getting the cat run over by a taxi the first time it went out.)
18Enraptured
#36: Liber III vel Jugorum by Aleister Crowley
Why I chose it: It was short and free and had been sitting on my computer for awhile
A short free ebook. Crowley's overblown writing style is annoying, but the book was fairly simple - ways to learn control of yourself. I would have liked a little more elaboration, but I guess it wasn't necessary.
#37: The Scrapbook by Lynette Kent (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: I bought a bunch of Harlequin Everlasting Love books when I heard the series was being discontinued
Another Harlequin Everlasting Love book. I like how these books focus not just on the beginning of a relationship, the way most romance novels do, but on the whole thing. This one did that very well, showing the challenges this couple went through. Just like in Fall From Grace, the problems seemed to revolve around the husband focusing more on work than on his wife; is that a very common problem, or just something that comes quickly to mind when people think about the problems a long-term relationship can have? My main problem with the book came near the end; the couple's oldest son skipped college, and instead moved out to become a surfer and lifeguard. Everyone was furious with him - his grandfather even flew in to yell at him. The only problem, as far as I could tell, was that he wouldn't make very much money as a lifeguard. Would that really provoke that much anger? I would have thought they would be happy that he was spending his life doing what he loved.
Why I chose it: It was short and free and had been sitting on my computer for awhile
A short free ebook. Crowley's overblown writing style is annoying, but the book was fairly simple - ways to learn control of yourself. I would have liked a little more elaboration, but I guess it wasn't necessary.
#37: The Scrapbook by Lynette Kent (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: I bought a bunch of Harlequin Everlasting Love books when I heard the series was being discontinued
Another Harlequin Everlasting Love book. I like how these books focus not just on the beginning of a relationship, the way most romance novels do, but on the whole thing. This one did that very well, showing the challenges this couple went through. Just like in Fall From Grace, the problems seemed to revolve around the husband focusing more on work than on his wife; is that a very common problem, or just something that comes quickly to mind when people think about the problems a long-term relationship can have? My main problem with the book came near the end; the couple's oldest son skipped college, and instead moved out to become a surfer and lifeguard. Everyone was furious with him - his grandfather even flew in to yell at him. The only problem, as far as I could tell, was that he wouldn't make very much money as a lifeguard. Would that really provoke that much anger? I would have thought they would be happy that he was spending his life doing what he loved.
19Enraptured
#38: Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
Why I chose it: I read the first book in the series
I'm going to have to rethink my opinion of werewolf books. While the werewolf myth isn't something that normally interests me, there seem to be a lot of excellent authors writing werewolf books. I avoided this series for a long time because they looked like standard chick-lit urban fantasy with lots of sex, but when I finally picked up the first one in the series, it turned out it wasn't like that at all. (Yay, a heroine who doesn't think about shoes even once!) And the second book was even better. This one drew me in and had me reading all afternoon and into the evening. Not only did it have the same good characters as last time, it had a captivity theme, which always makes me happy.
#39: The Treasure of Treasures for Alchemists by Philippus Theophrastus Bombast
Why I chose it: Another short free ebook sitting on my computer. I admit it, I was trying to catch up to my one-a-day pace
I don't understand a thing about alchemy, as this book made quite clear. None if it made any sense to me. It was still somewhat interesting to read, but also kind of frustrating, because I couldn't figure out what on earth it was talking about. :P
#40: The Night We Met by Tara Taylor Quinn
Why I chose it: Bought a whole bunch of Harlequin Everlasting Love books
This was the best of the Harlequin Everlasting Love books I've read so far. The title isn't very good, but the book itself is. The main character had a clearly defined personality, which romance heroines sometimes don't. And she was quiet without being wimpy; it seems like a lot of the time, authors feel like they have to make their heroines extra-tough so they won't look weak, which means there aren't that many that I can relate to - I'm not wimpy, but I don't radiate toughness either. I also liked the fact that when she met her husband-to-be, she was about to become a nun - that's a twist I haven't seen before.
#41: The Folk of the Fringe by Orson Scott Card
Why I chose it: I love Orson Scott Card's books, and this one is post-apocalyptic
I would have liked this one better if it had been a single novel instead of five stories, but I enjoyed it anyway. I thought it was strange and somewhat implausible that the Mormons were the only ones rebuilding civilization after the nuclear war, but I suppose it makes sense considering it was written from a Mormon point of view. The last story was jarring to me; it didn't seem to fit with the theme of the others. (spoilers)...................... ...................... Four stories about the civilization the Mormons are building, and then, bam, a story about how the Native Americans are reclaiming America for themselves? It seemed to belong to a completely different book.
Why I chose it: I read the first book in the series
I'm going to have to rethink my opinion of werewolf books. While the werewolf myth isn't something that normally interests me, there seem to be a lot of excellent authors writing werewolf books. I avoided this series for a long time because they looked like standard chick-lit urban fantasy with lots of sex, but when I finally picked up the first one in the series, it turned out it wasn't like that at all. (Yay, a heroine who doesn't think about shoes even once!) And the second book was even better. This one drew me in and had me reading all afternoon and into the evening. Not only did it have the same good characters as last time, it had a captivity theme, which always makes me happy.
#39: The Treasure of Treasures for Alchemists by Philippus Theophrastus Bombast
Why I chose it: Another short free ebook sitting on my computer. I admit it, I was trying to catch up to my one-a-day pace
I don't understand a thing about alchemy, as this book made quite clear. None if it made any sense to me. It was still somewhat interesting to read, but also kind of frustrating, because I couldn't figure out what on earth it was talking about. :P
#40: The Night We Met by Tara Taylor Quinn
Why I chose it: Bought a whole bunch of Harlequin Everlasting Love books
This was the best of the Harlequin Everlasting Love books I've read so far. The title isn't very good, but the book itself is. The main character had a clearly defined personality, which romance heroines sometimes don't. And she was quiet without being wimpy; it seems like a lot of the time, authors feel like they have to make their heroines extra-tough so they won't look weak, which means there aren't that many that I can relate to - I'm not wimpy, but I don't radiate toughness either. I also liked the fact that when she met her husband-to-be, she was about to become a nun - that's a twist I haven't seen before.
#41: The Folk of the Fringe by Orson Scott Card
Why I chose it: I love Orson Scott Card's books, and this one is post-apocalyptic
I would have liked this one better if it had been a single novel instead of five stories, but I enjoyed it anyway. I thought it was strange and somewhat implausible that the Mormons were the only ones rebuilding civilization after the nuclear war, but I suppose it makes sense considering it was written from a Mormon point of view. The last story was jarring to me; it didn't seem to fit with the theme of the others. (spoilers)...................... ...................... Four stories about the civilization the Mormons are building, and then, bam, a story about how the Native Americans are reclaiming America for themselves? It seemed to belong to a completely different book.
20Enraptured
#42: A Rendezvous to Remember by Geri Krotow
Why I chose it: Bought a whole bunch of Harlequin Everlasting Love books
This one was nothing special, but still pretty good. It involved World War II, which was a plus for me, and a lot of it was in journal format, something else I tend to like. And I thought the author did well at pulling off a romance where the hero and heroine are separated for a lot of the time. (spoilers).................. ....................... One thing that irritated me - the heroine hadn't been able to get pregnant, and at the end it turned out that it was just because she hadn't been opening herself to love, or something like that. Someone might be able to do that plot well, but it wasn't done particularly well here.
#43: Testament vol. 2: West of Eden by Douglass Rushkoff
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
I still love the premise of this series, but this book wasn't quite as good as the first one. It's not exactly meant to be realistic, I know, but this one was a lot farther outside the realm of possibility than the previous one. (spoilers)................. ................... I do not understand the concept of conscious currency. That really needed a lot more explanation. And I couldn't figure out what was so bad about the universal currency anyway; did the author figure he didn't need to explain that part, because he was counting on people to think, "Ack! Universal currency! Sign of the Antichrist!!"? Speaking of the Antichrist, it looked in this one like the series might be starting to head into Left Behind territory. I'll be curious to see if it gets apocalyptic.
#44: Why We Read What We Read by Lisa Adams and John Heath (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Saw it described on the 50bookchallenge livejournal community; the subject interests me
I visited the 50bookchallenge livejournal community and saw someone talking about this book; the way it was described, it sounded like a criticism of how we read genre books instead of classics and literary books, which meant it definitely wasn't a book I wanted to read - that kind of criticism irritates me. But I looked it up on Amazon, and from the reviews there, it looked like it wasn't that kind of book at all. It turned out to be fascinating - an analysis of different kinds of bestselling books and what they have in common, and what they might say about the people reading them. Just the kind of thing I like. It did have some criticism of people's reading habits, which rubbed me the wrong way a little, even though personally I would love to see the kind of books they think people should be reading more of: books that are more complex and have more ambiguity.
#45: Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I still love Kelley Armstrong, and I liked Paige as a herione even more than I liked Elena. I was concerned that when the author switched heroines, she would give us a stereotypical chick-lit urban fantasy heroine, but I needn't have worried. Paige was definitely someone I could relate to - and she doesn't mention shoes once. I'd really like to see a book from Savannah's POV eventually; I wonder if there's one in the works.
#46: Testament vol. 3: Babel by Douglass Rushkoff
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
This series is getting weirder and weirder - and not in a good way. There were some parts of this volume that I could barely follow. The currency was explained a little more, at least - not how its consciousness works, but why it's bad. But the connection between the science fiction story and the Bible story seemed more tenuous this time around.
#47: Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
This one was just as good as its predecessor. I realy like Paige as a main character, and the idea of the Cabals is really interesting, although with them as prominent as they are, it seems a bit improbable that the werewolves in the first two books have never heard of them. (spoilers).................. ................. When Lucas got shot, I was really expecting him to die. I was really glad when he didn't, which is a sign of a very good story and/or good characterization - usually when a character is in danger like that, I want him to die to increase the angst.
Why I chose it: Bought a whole bunch of Harlequin Everlasting Love books
This one was nothing special, but still pretty good. It involved World War II, which was a plus for me, and a lot of it was in journal format, something else I tend to like. And I thought the author did well at pulling off a romance where the hero and heroine are separated for a lot of the time. (spoilers).................. ....................... One thing that irritated me - the heroine hadn't been able to get pregnant, and at the end it turned out that it was just because she hadn't been opening herself to love, or something like that. Someone might be able to do that plot well, but it wasn't done particularly well here.
#43: Testament vol. 2: West of Eden by Douglass Rushkoff
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
I still love the premise of this series, but this book wasn't quite as good as the first one. It's not exactly meant to be realistic, I know, but this one was a lot farther outside the realm of possibility than the previous one. (spoilers)................. ................... I do not understand the concept of conscious currency. That really needed a lot more explanation. And I couldn't figure out what was so bad about the universal currency anyway; did the author figure he didn't need to explain that part, because he was counting on people to think, "Ack! Universal currency! Sign of the Antichrist!!"? Speaking of the Antichrist, it looked in this one like the series might be starting to head into Left Behind territory. I'll be curious to see if it gets apocalyptic.
#44: Why We Read What We Read by Lisa Adams and John Heath (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Saw it described on the 50bookchallenge livejournal community; the subject interests me
I visited the 50bookchallenge livejournal community and saw someone talking about this book; the way it was described, it sounded like a criticism of how we read genre books instead of classics and literary books, which meant it definitely wasn't a book I wanted to read - that kind of criticism irritates me. But I looked it up on Amazon, and from the reviews there, it looked like it wasn't that kind of book at all. It turned out to be fascinating - an analysis of different kinds of bestselling books and what they have in common, and what they might say about the people reading them. Just the kind of thing I like. It did have some criticism of people's reading habits, which rubbed me the wrong way a little, even though personally I would love to see the kind of books they think people should be reading more of: books that are more complex and have more ambiguity.
#45: Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I still love Kelley Armstrong, and I liked Paige as a herione even more than I liked Elena. I was concerned that when the author switched heroines, she would give us a stereotypical chick-lit urban fantasy heroine, but I needn't have worried. Paige was definitely someone I could relate to - and she doesn't mention shoes once. I'd really like to see a book from Savannah's POV eventually; I wonder if there's one in the works.
#46: Testament vol. 3: Babel by Douglass Rushkoff
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
This series is getting weirder and weirder - and not in a good way. There were some parts of this volume that I could barely follow. The currency was explained a little more, at least - not how its consciousness works, but why it's bad. But the connection between the science fiction story and the Bible story seemed more tenuous this time around.
#47: Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
This one was just as good as its predecessor. I realy like Paige as a main character, and the idea of the Cabals is really interesting, although with them as prominent as they are, it seems a bit improbable that the werewolves in the first two books have never heard of them. (spoilers).................. ................. When Lucas got shot, I was really expecting him to die. I was really glad when he didn't, which is a sign of a very good story and/or good characterization - usually when a character is in danger like that, I want him to die to increase the angst.
21Enraptured
#48: The Manga Bible by Siku
Why I chose it: Dad gave it to me
My dad gave me this one - actually, he got it for both of us - because we share an interest in Bible mythology, and because I told him about the Testament series. It's stories from the Bible told in manga form. It was done quite well, and showed that there are some very strange stories in the Bible - the story of Samson, for instance. Sometimes it was a little obvious that they were trying to draw people in and make the Bible seem attractive to manga readers so they would pick up the actual Bible, but it wasn't blatant enough that it got in the way of the story.
#49: Belle de Jour by Anonymous
Why I chose it: Got a craving to reread it
I was sick with some mild flu-like bug, and couldn't concentrate on much of anything. For some reason, I got a craving to reread this book - nothing else would do. So that's what I did. It used to be a blog; it tells about the daily life of a prostitute in London. It was light and entertaining - just what I needed.
#50: The Golden Tractate of Hermes Trismegistus
Why I chose it: One of my short ebooks; I was trying to catch up to the number of books I was supposed to have read
This one was in the General Hermetics section, but it was more alchemy instead. Ack! I really should read something at some point that explains alchemy a bit better, so that maybe I can understand at least some of these things. I tried to understand this book, but it made no sense. It didn't help that I was reading it while I had a fever.
#51: Haunted by Kelley Armstrong
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the previous ones, probably because I didn't like Eve quite as well as Elena or Paige. It was kind of jarring to have heard in previous books about Eve and Kristof's involvement in dark things, and then to have that aspect relegated to a couple of offhand mentions in this book. (spoilers)............... ............... I did keep wondering whether Eve was going to choose to be an angel or not; neither solution seemed like it would leave her someplace good. I was afraid the author would have her turn her back on that path and spend eternity with Kristof, with the excuse that she would no longer keep longing for a purpose because having lots of sex with Kristof was all the purpose she needed. I was very glad she didn't go that route; I thought the solution she chose was a good one, though I was half-expecting the Fates to make Kristof an angel so he could continue to be with Eve.
Why I chose it: Dad gave it to me
My dad gave me this one - actually, he got it for both of us - because we share an interest in Bible mythology, and because I told him about the Testament series. It's stories from the Bible told in manga form. It was done quite well, and showed that there are some very strange stories in the Bible - the story of Samson, for instance. Sometimes it was a little obvious that they were trying to draw people in and make the Bible seem attractive to manga readers so they would pick up the actual Bible, but it wasn't blatant enough that it got in the way of the story.
#49: Belle de Jour by Anonymous
Why I chose it: Got a craving to reread it
I was sick with some mild flu-like bug, and couldn't concentrate on much of anything. For some reason, I got a craving to reread this book - nothing else would do. So that's what I did. It used to be a blog; it tells about the daily life of a prostitute in London. It was light and entertaining - just what I needed.
#50: The Golden Tractate of Hermes Trismegistus
Why I chose it: One of my short ebooks; I was trying to catch up to the number of books I was supposed to have read
This one was in the General Hermetics section, but it was more alchemy instead. Ack! I really should read something at some point that explains alchemy a bit better, so that maybe I can understand at least some of these things. I tried to understand this book, but it made no sense. It didn't help that I was reading it while I had a fever.
#51: Haunted by Kelley Armstrong
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the previous ones, probably because I didn't like Eve quite as well as Elena or Paige. It was kind of jarring to have heard in previous books about Eve and Kristof's involvement in dark things, and then to have that aspect relegated to a couple of offhand mentions in this book. (spoilers)............... ............... I did keep wondering whether Eve was going to choose to be an angel or not; neither solution seemed like it would leave her someplace good. I was afraid the author would have her turn her back on that path and spend eternity with Kristof, with the excuse that she would no longer keep longing for a purpose because having lots of sex with Kristof was all the purpose she needed. I was very glad she didn't go that route; I thought the solution she chose was a good one, though I was half-expecting the Fates to make Kristof an angel so he could continue to be with Eve.
22Enraptured
#52: Liber VIII - 8th Aether of Liber CCCCXVIII by Aleister Crowley (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: One of my short free ebooks
Some sort of ritual. I'm guessing this is meant to go with something else that gives it some context (maybe Liber CCCCXVIII... which I actually have in my ebook folder, though I haven't read it yet). Or, knowing Crowley, maybe not. In any case, it was interesting to read, even without the context.
#53: Liber X - Liber Porta Lucis by Aleister Crowley
Why I chose it: One of my short free ebooks
This one seemed like a bunch of generic mystical insights, written enigmatically to make them sound like they have more substance than they do. This book isn't bad, exactly, but there's nothing here I haven't seen before.
#54: Broken by Kelley Armstrong
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
This one was good, like the other Women of the Otherworld books, but it didn't grab me as much as the others did. After getting used to the witches, it was kind of jarring to go back to Elena. And the whole "Jack the Ripper" thing seemed kind of hokey to me.
#55: Liber XXXIII - An Account of A:.A:. by Aleister Crowley (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: One of my short free ebooks
The author explains how the magical order he founded has actually been around since the beginning of time, and is the only place to find the Truth, and is basically the Illuminati. Would have worked better in a novel.
#56: The Child that Books Built by Francis Spufford
Why I chose it: Looking on Amazon for books about reading
I loved this book. I could relate to so much of what the author was saying. I wrote about my reactions to the book here: http://zoecannon.com/wordpress/?p=153
#57: I Feel Like the Morning Star by Gregory Maguire
Why I chose it: I don't really remember... I think I was looking on Librarything for dystopian books
The premise was really interesting - a group of people living in a giant bomb shelter after a nuclear war, and the people in charge are turning totalitarian. But the execution was... off. I didn't like the writing style very much; it had that "children's book from a few decades ago" tone to it. The shelter's society was supposed to come across as dystopian, but there weren't enough details put in for that to be effective. (spoilers)................... ..................... Serb's insanity/psychic visions dxidn't sit well with me either; I never really understood what he was talking about.
Why I chose it: One of my short free ebooks
Some sort of ritual. I'm guessing this is meant to go with something else that gives it some context (maybe Liber CCCCXVIII... which I actually have in my ebook folder, though I haven't read it yet). Or, knowing Crowley, maybe not. In any case, it was interesting to read, even without the context.
#53: Liber X - Liber Porta Lucis by Aleister Crowley
Why I chose it: One of my short free ebooks
This one seemed like a bunch of generic mystical insights, written enigmatically to make them sound like they have more substance than they do. This book isn't bad, exactly, but there's nothing here I haven't seen before.
#54: Broken by Kelley Armstrong
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
This one was good, like the other Women of the Otherworld books, but it didn't grab me as much as the others did. After getting used to the witches, it was kind of jarring to go back to Elena. And the whole "Jack the Ripper" thing seemed kind of hokey to me.
#55: Liber XXXIII - An Account of A:.A:. by Aleister Crowley (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: One of my short free ebooks
The author explains how the magical order he founded has actually been around since the beginning of time, and is the only place to find the Truth, and is basically the Illuminati. Would have worked better in a novel.
#56: The Child that Books Built by Francis Spufford
Why I chose it: Looking on Amazon for books about reading
I loved this book. I could relate to so much of what the author was saying. I wrote about my reactions to the book here: http://zoecannon.com/wordpress/?p=153
#57: I Feel Like the Morning Star by Gregory Maguire
Why I chose it: I don't really remember... I think I was looking on Librarything for dystopian books
The premise was really interesting - a group of people living in a giant bomb shelter after a nuclear war, and the people in charge are turning totalitarian. But the execution was... off. I didn't like the writing style very much; it had that "children's book from a few decades ago" tone to it. The shelter's society was supposed to come across as dystopian, but there weren't enough details put in for that to be effective. (spoilers)................... ..................... Serb's insanity/psychic visions dxidn't sit well with me either; I never really understood what he was talking about.
23Enraptured
#58: Liber XI - Liber NU by Aleister Crowley
Why I chose it: Another of my short free ebooks; I keep choosing Crowley ones because lately whenever I pick one of the others it turns out to be about alchemy
This one was just plain weird. I get the feeling it was weird for the sake of being weird. It's supposed to be some sort of spiritual exercises, and maybe they have some merit, but I think it would have worked better as straight explanation, rather than exercises - either that or some more philosophy should have been included along with the exercises. The philosophy that goes with them could be hidden in another of the ebooks I've got, though.
#59: Girlbomb by Janice Erlbaum
Why I chose it: Got it for free as thanks for reviewing Have You Found Her in the Early Reviewers program
I didn't like this one quite as much as I liked Have You Found Her - probably because the story in Have You Found Her was inherently more compelling - but I still liked it a lot. The author has a very immediate writing style. She described her teenage life vividly enough that I could imagine it clearly.
#60: Lights, Camera, Amalee by Dar Williams
Why I chose it: I read the first book in the series; Dad bought them both, since he loves Dar Williams's music (so do I, but he's more of a fan than I am)
This book has been sitting in my TBR pile for so long that it was a relief to finally get it read. The book wasn't as good as the first one, though. The first book's plot was more interesting - Amalee trying to deal with her dad's illness. In this one, she was making a movie about endangered species, which wasn't nearly as compelling. The author did do a good job at capturing the awkwardness of being twelve, though.
#61: Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah
Why I chose it: Read another of Kristin Hannah's books a few months ago (*looks it up* eek, a year and a half ago! time flies) and liked it; was reminded of her existence when one of her books was offered in the Early Reviewers program
This was a solidly good book. The plot could have been handled very badly, but the book was well-written; it gave me a lot of faith in Kristin Hannah's writing ability. I did hope for a little more time when Mikaela was awake and didn't recognize her new family, because I love amnesia stories, but even though it wasn't done the way I would have written it, it was done well. The lesson it was supposed to leave you with, about what love is, was kind of cheesy, but again, the author managed to pull it off fairly well.
#62: Indecent: How I Make It and Fake It as a Girl for Hire by Sarah Katherine Lewis
Why I chose it: After rereading Belle de Jour, was looking online for the sequel (which seems to be out of print), which led me to looking for other prostitution memoirs
This book gave me a good view into the author's life. It showed the author's ambivalence towards her work in the sex industry - there were times she loved it, times she hated it, and times when she felt both at once. She was honest about the disgust she often felt towards her clients, to the point of fantasizing about killing them. She didn't try to portray herself as naturally polished and sexy, either - for example, when she first started, she didn't wear makeup or shave her armpits or wear sexy lingerie. I can relate to a woman like that.
Why I chose it: Another of my short free ebooks; I keep choosing Crowley ones because lately whenever I pick one of the others it turns out to be about alchemy
This one was just plain weird. I get the feeling it was weird for the sake of being weird. It's supposed to be some sort of spiritual exercises, and maybe they have some merit, but I think it would have worked better as straight explanation, rather than exercises - either that or some more philosophy should have been included along with the exercises. The philosophy that goes with them could be hidden in another of the ebooks I've got, though.
#59: Girlbomb by Janice Erlbaum
Why I chose it: Got it for free as thanks for reviewing Have You Found Her in the Early Reviewers program
I didn't like this one quite as much as I liked Have You Found Her - probably because the story in Have You Found Her was inherently more compelling - but I still liked it a lot. The author has a very immediate writing style. She described her teenage life vividly enough that I could imagine it clearly.
#60: Lights, Camera, Amalee by Dar Williams
Why I chose it: I read the first book in the series; Dad bought them both, since he loves Dar Williams's music (so do I, but he's more of a fan than I am)
This book has been sitting in my TBR pile for so long that it was a relief to finally get it read. The book wasn't as good as the first one, though. The first book's plot was more interesting - Amalee trying to deal with her dad's illness. In this one, she was making a movie about endangered species, which wasn't nearly as compelling. The author did do a good job at capturing the awkwardness of being twelve, though.
#61: Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah
Why I chose it: Read another of Kristin Hannah's books a few months ago (*looks it up* eek, a year and a half ago! time flies) and liked it; was reminded of her existence when one of her books was offered in the Early Reviewers program
This was a solidly good book. The plot could have been handled very badly, but the book was well-written; it gave me a lot of faith in Kristin Hannah's writing ability. I did hope for a little more time when Mikaela was awake and didn't recognize her new family, because I love amnesia stories, but even though it wasn't done the way I would have written it, it was done well. The lesson it was supposed to leave you with, about what love is, was kind of cheesy, but again, the author managed to pull it off fairly well.
#62: Indecent: How I Make It and Fake It as a Girl for Hire by Sarah Katherine Lewis
Why I chose it: After rereading Belle de Jour, was looking online for the sequel (which seems to be out of print), which led me to looking for other prostitution memoirs
This book gave me a good view into the author's life. It showed the author's ambivalence towards her work in the sex industry - there were times she loved it, times she hated it, and times when she felt both at once. She was honest about the disgust she often felt towards her clients, to the point of fantasizing about killing them. She didn't try to portray herself as naturally polished and sexy, either - for example, when she first started, she didn't wear makeup or shave her armpits or wear sexy lingerie. I can relate to a woman like that.
24Enraptured
#63: I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
I was a bit disappointed by the fact that this was a novel in verse; the Amazon description didn't mention that, and I didn't read enough of the reviews to find out. I think the only verse novel I've read before this one was when I was a kid; it was about the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, and it had won some kind of award, and everyone else absolutely loved it, and I just found it boring. But this book turned out to be better than that one. I still prefer a more traditional format, but I liked the story, and I think poetry was an effective way to present it.
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
I was a bit disappointed by the fact that this was a novel in verse; the Amazon description didn't mention that, and I didn't read enough of the reviews to find out. I think the only verse novel I've read before this one was when I was a kid; it was about the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, and it had won some kind of award, and everyone else absolutely loved it, and I just found it boring. But this book turned out to be better than that one. I still prefer a more traditional format, but I liked the story, and I think poetry was an effective way to present it.
25Enraptured
#64: Free For All by Don Borchert (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
This was an entertaining memoir about working in a library. I don't know much about what that particular job is like, so I enjoyed reading about it, and found the anecdotes amusing. It's strange that I was recommended this book so soon after I had been reading funny library stories on a couple of different blogs - an interesting yet slightly creepy coincidence.
#65: Enemy Combatant by Moazzam Begg
Why I chose it: Looking for oppression memoirs
This one was kind of unnerving. I read a lot of oppression memoirs, and this one fit very well into the genre. It had the same kind of style. Except that while the villains in those books are normally Nazis or Communists, this time they were Americans. It was disorienting.
#66: Fleeing Fundamentalism by Carlene Cross
Why I chose it: Looking for fundamentalism memoirs
This was an interesting look at life in fundamentalist Christian culture. The thing that stood out the most was the hypocrisy of the author's husband and the people they hung around with - they pretended to be pious fundamentalists while in their free time they were drinking and wife-swapping and going to gay bars. But the whole thing seemed implausible to me - the immorality seemed too heavy-handed and too widespread. So I'm taking this one with a grain of salt.
#67: Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult (no touchstone)
I enjoyed this one, just like I enjoy most of Jodi Picoult's books. At times there seemed to be a bit too much going on, just like in Second Glance, but unlike in Second Glance, I think she pulled it off this time. The quotes from the Gospel of Thomas seemed thrown in a bit awkwardly, but that might be because I'm somewhat familiar with the Gospel of Thomas already and so recognized the quotes immediately.
#68: Truancy by Isamu Fukui (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Heard about it on literary agent Kristin Nelson's blog (she's not the author's agent, but she mentioned the book as an example of YA novels that deal with social issues without being heavy-handed)
Gyah. This book as not well-written. It was full of cliches, the worldbuilding was implausible, and the writing itself was clumsy. The author wrote it when he was fifteen, and it reads like something a fifteen-year-old wrote. The main messages of the book - which are not subtle by any means - seem to be "School is designed to brainwash kids" and "Terrorism only breeds violence" - nothing new there. And the name of the wise mentor character is the author's first name spelled backwards.
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
This was an entertaining memoir about working in a library. I don't know much about what that particular job is like, so I enjoyed reading about it, and found the anecdotes amusing. It's strange that I was recommended this book so soon after I had been reading funny library stories on a couple of different blogs - an interesting yet slightly creepy coincidence.
#65: Enemy Combatant by Moazzam Begg
Why I chose it: Looking for oppression memoirs
This one was kind of unnerving. I read a lot of oppression memoirs, and this one fit very well into the genre. It had the same kind of style. Except that while the villains in those books are normally Nazis or Communists, this time they were Americans. It was disorienting.
#66: Fleeing Fundamentalism by Carlene Cross
Why I chose it: Looking for fundamentalism memoirs
This was an interesting look at life in fundamentalist Christian culture. The thing that stood out the most was the hypocrisy of the author's husband and the people they hung around with - they pretended to be pious fundamentalists while in their free time they were drinking and wife-swapping and going to gay bars. But the whole thing seemed implausible to me - the immorality seemed too heavy-handed and too widespread. So I'm taking this one with a grain of salt.
#67: Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult (no touchstone)
I enjoyed this one, just like I enjoy most of Jodi Picoult's books. At times there seemed to be a bit too much going on, just like in Second Glance, but unlike in Second Glance, I think she pulled it off this time. The quotes from the Gospel of Thomas seemed thrown in a bit awkwardly, but that might be because I'm somewhat familiar with the Gospel of Thomas already and so recognized the quotes immediately.
#68: Truancy by Isamu Fukui (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Heard about it on literary agent Kristin Nelson's blog (she's not the author's agent, but she mentioned the book as an example of YA novels that deal with social issues without being heavy-handed)
Gyah. This book as not well-written. It was full of cliches, the worldbuilding was implausible, and the writing itself was clumsy. The author wrote it when he was fifteen, and it reads like something a fifteen-year-old wrote. The main messages of the book - which are not subtle by any means - seem to be "School is designed to brainwash kids" and "Terrorism only breeds violence" - nothing new there. And the name of the wise mentor character is the author's first name spelled backwards.
26Enraptured
#69: Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
Why I chose it: Wasn't feeling well and wanted to reread something
I had read this years ago, but I didn't remember most of it. It was more literary than I remembered. I enjoyed it; it was a good story, albeit a grim one. It gave a good sense of the main character's mental state as she tried to put her life back together after escaping from her abusive husband. I liked how it handled her conflicting feelings about her husband - she knew she had to get away from him, but a part of her still loved him.
#70: Twilight Children by Torey Hayden
Why I chose it: Wasn't feeling well and wanted to reread something
I remembered more of this one than I did of the previous one, since I had read it more recently, but I had forgotten most of the details. The three stories - the two kids and the one adult that the author was trying to help - wove together well, although they weren't related. The story of Gerda, the adult, wasn't very interesting to me, especially since it was never really resolved, but the author also spent the least amount of time on that one.
#71: Tithe by Holly Black
Why I chose it: A friend recommended it
I liked this one. It was fast and fun, and darker than the usual YA fantasy. I particularly liked the author's grim view of fairies. I'm not sure whether I'll seek out the sequel just yet, but I'll probably read it eventually.
#72: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Why I chose it: Looking for memoirs
I heard about this one when it first came out, but it didn't sound very interesting to me, so I avoided it. But when I came across it again, it did sound interesting. And it was - the author's childhood was an unusual one, sometimes bordering on abusive, and she described it quite well. She didn't do the easy thing, which would have been to present her childhood solely as a traumatic one; instead she offered a pretty balanced view.
#73: I Was a Teenage Dominatrix by Shawna Kenney
Why I chose it: Looking for memoirs
This short memoir about the author's experiences during her time working as a dominatrix was somewhat entertaining, but it was marred by her lack of writing ability. The whole thing felt rough and flat; I was surprised when the author mentioned that she was a writer by trade.
#74: Resistance by Anita Shreve
Why I chose it: Looking for women's fiction
When I found this one I was actually looking for contemporary women's fiction, not historical novels, but this one was set during World War II, a time period which intrigues me. It was hard to get into at first - the writing style was literary and dense - but I did end up enjoying it. (spoilers).................. ................... I did find the ending depressing - I wished the main characters had found a way to find each other again, instead of him marrying somebody else. But that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book.
#75: A Question of Torture by Alfred McCoy
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
An overview of CIA torture, ranging from the Vietnam war to the present day. There was a lot in here that I had heard before, but a lot of the stuff about Vietnam was new to me.
#76: Damaged by Cathy Glass
Why I chose it: I heard about it months ago - possibly on a message board, possibly from an Amazon recommendation
A story of an abused child, along the lines of Torey Hayden's books but from the perspective of a foster mother rather than a teacher. What this kid went through was truly awful; it was bad enough that I went through most of the book half-convinced that she would turn out to be mentally disturbed and imagining a lot of it - I couldn't imagine it actually being as bad as she said. But sadly, it really was that bad. A grim book, but an interesting one.
#77: Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison
Why I chose it: Looking for more books by foster parents
Like Damaged, this book was written from the perspective of a foster parent, and talked about some of the kids she had taken care of over the years. Thankfully, none of them had been abused as badly as the girl in Damaged; their stories were still not happy ones though. And they didn't always end well - one girl found adoptive parents she loved, but another ended up in a mental institution. I admire the author for being willing to take care of all those kids, and for being able to handle so many of them at once.
#78: The Zokutou Anthology: Volume 7 - The Apocalypse
Why I chose it: Found it for free online; apocalypse stories intrigue me
I enjoyed these stories, for the most part. They were quick to read, and many of them had a theological element that I tend to enjoy. The one that stuck with me the most was the one where a woman who may be one of the last surviving members of the human race has to help kill all the survivors, including herself, in order to save all other species on earth after an alien attack. I found the poetry, for the most part, incomprehensible; by the end I was skipping over it.
Why I chose it: Wasn't feeling well and wanted to reread something
I had read this years ago, but I didn't remember most of it. It was more literary than I remembered. I enjoyed it; it was a good story, albeit a grim one. It gave a good sense of the main character's mental state as she tried to put her life back together after escaping from her abusive husband. I liked how it handled her conflicting feelings about her husband - she knew she had to get away from him, but a part of her still loved him.
#70: Twilight Children by Torey Hayden
Why I chose it: Wasn't feeling well and wanted to reread something
I remembered more of this one than I did of the previous one, since I had read it more recently, but I had forgotten most of the details. The three stories - the two kids and the one adult that the author was trying to help - wove together well, although they weren't related. The story of Gerda, the adult, wasn't very interesting to me, especially since it was never really resolved, but the author also spent the least amount of time on that one.
#71: Tithe by Holly Black
Why I chose it: A friend recommended it
I liked this one. It was fast and fun, and darker than the usual YA fantasy. I particularly liked the author's grim view of fairies. I'm not sure whether I'll seek out the sequel just yet, but I'll probably read it eventually.
#72: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Why I chose it: Looking for memoirs
I heard about this one when it first came out, but it didn't sound very interesting to me, so I avoided it. But when I came across it again, it did sound interesting. And it was - the author's childhood was an unusual one, sometimes bordering on abusive, and she described it quite well. She didn't do the easy thing, which would have been to present her childhood solely as a traumatic one; instead she offered a pretty balanced view.
#73: I Was a Teenage Dominatrix by Shawna Kenney
Why I chose it: Looking for memoirs
This short memoir about the author's experiences during her time working as a dominatrix was somewhat entertaining, but it was marred by her lack of writing ability. The whole thing felt rough and flat; I was surprised when the author mentioned that she was a writer by trade.
#74: Resistance by Anita Shreve
Why I chose it: Looking for women's fiction
When I found this one I was actually looking for contemporary women's fiction, not historical novels, but this one was set during World War II, a time period which intrigues me. It was hard to get into at first - the writing style was literary and dense - but I did end up enjoying it. (spoilers).................. ................... I did find the ending depressing - I wished the main characters had found a way to find each other again, instead of him marrying somebody else. But that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book.
#75: A Question of Torture by Alfred McCoy
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
An overview of CIA torture, ranging from the Vietnam war to the present day. There was a lot in here that I had heard before, but a lot of the stuff about Vietnam was new to me.
#76: Damaged by Cathy Glass
Why I chose it: I heard about it months ago - possibly on a message board, possibly from an Amazon recommendation
A story of an abused child, along the lines of Torey Hayden's books but from the perspective of a foster mother rather than a teacher. What this kid went through was truly awful; it was bad enough that I went through most of the book half-convinced that she would turn out to be mentally disturbed and imagining a lot of it - I couldn't imagine it actually being as bad as she said. But sadly, it really was that bad. A grim book, but an interesting one.
#77: Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison
Why I chose it: Looking for more books by foster parents
Like Damaged, this book was written from the perspective of a foster parent, and talked about some of the kids she had taken care of over the years. Thankfully, none of them had been abused as badly as the girl in Damaged; their stories were still not happy ones though. And they didn't always end well - one girl found adoptive parents she loved, but another ended up in a mental institution. I admire the author for being willing to take care of all those kids, and for being able to handle so many of them at once.
#78: The Zokutou Anthology: Volume 7 - The Apocalypse
Why I chose it: Found it for free online; apocalypse stories intrigue me
I enjoyed these stories, for the most part. They were quick to read, and many of them had a theological element that I tend to enjoy. The one that stuck with me the most was the one where a woman who may be one of the last surviving members of the human race has to help kill all the survivors, including herself, in order to save all other species on earth after an alien attack. I found the poetry, for the most part, incomprehensible; by the end I was skipping over it.
27Enraptured
#79: Party of One: The Loners' Manifesto by Anneli Rufus
Why I chose it: It was a gift from my mother
I enjoyed this one a lot. It's rare that somebody is willing to say that wanting to be alone can be a normal thing, let alone a positive one. I could relate to a lot of what the book talked about. And I had never noticed it before, but the author is right in that there really is a lot of societal mistrust of loners - for example, how killers are often painted as loners, when their lives show that these same killers are desperate for human contact.
#80: How to Create an e-Course in Only One Dayby Jimmy D. Brown (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Got it for free from Holly Lisle's "Money to Write" mailing list
Something different this time around. Holly Lisle is one of my favorite authors, and she's been giving ebooks away on her mailing list about making money online. (Not her personal newsletter; she has two - one, the personal newsletter, about writing in general, and one about making money to supplement writing income. This is the latter.) The method the ebook describes is basically to choose a subject for your e-course, find articles online that relate to the subject, and compile them into a course (with the permission of the articles' owners, of course). It's an interesting idea, but not something I would do.
#81: Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas
Why I chose it: Found the author's blog through another library blog
Another library memoir. Who knew there was even one of these around, let alone two? This one is more focused on humor, which suited me fine, since that's what I was in the mood for. The author's style was engaging, and the book made me laugh out loud at some points - like when he was describing the woman who thought the government was after her.
#82: Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: I've been hearing about it for years; I picked it up when I found out it was written like a memoir and not like a standard nonfiction book
For three months, the author abandoned the life she was used to, and lived as a member of the working poor, in an experiment to find out whether she could make ends meet with the money she would get from her low-paying jobs. The answer she came to was that no, she couldn't. Not a happy conclusion, but an important one. I was surprised to find out how many waitresses, Wal-Mart workers, and so on live the way she was living, with not even enough money to pay rent without taking a second job.
#83: Unlocking the Niche Code
Why I chose it: Free ebook from Holly Lisle's mailing list
Another book about making money online, this one related to finding an appropriate niche to sell in. The method was interesting; I didn't know there were so many sites out there that kept track of what people search for online. Not useful to me, since I'm not running a business and don't plan to, but interesting nonetheless.
#84: How to Make a Six-Figure Income Online by Jimmy D. Brown (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Free ebook from Holly Lisle's mailing list
Again, not something I'm interested in doing. But the main advice of the book, which is to make a schedule so you know you're always doing something to bring yourself closer to your goals, is good advice no matter what you're doing. The whole concept, though, seems stranger the more I think about it. The point is to find something that people might be willing to spend money on, and then get them to spend as much money as possible. It's not about the product; the product is only a vehicle to get people to give you money. It's weird. Or maybe my viewpoint is just skewed, since my writing has always been first and foremost about the stories, and about publication only secondarily.
#85: Innocent Volume 1: 2006-2007 Collection by Shawn Granger
Why I chose it: Saw it on the Early Reviewers list
I requested this book through Early Reviewers, and when I didn't get it I ordered myself a copy. I seem to have gotten it before the reviewers, too. I liked the concept - an angel whose task is to kill people who have turned evil, and a mentally unbalanced man who loves to kill people and is happy to assist the angel. I would have liked it better if it were one big story rather than a bunch of little ones, but I enjoyed it plenty regardless.
#86: Hope and Help for Your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes
Why I chose it: Saw it recommended several places online for help with panic attacks
This book was originally published in 1969, and the style is definitely dated. As is some of the content - for example, when the author talks about how the goal is to get better without shock therapy, but how for some people shock therapy is the only way. The advice was fairly basic, but was useful in places.
Why I chose it: It was a gift from my mother
I enjoyed this one a lot. It's rare that somebody is willing to say that wanting to be alone can be a normal thing, let alone a positive one. I could relate to a lot of what the book talked about. And I had never noticed it before, but the author is right in that there really is a lot of societal mistrust of loners - for example, how killers are often painted as loners, when their lives show that these same killers are desperate for human contact.
#80: How to Create an e-Course in Only One Dayby Jimmy D. Brown (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Got it for free from Holly Lisle's "Money to Write" mailing list
Something different this time around. Holly Lisle is one of my favorite authors, and she's been giving ebooks away on her mailing list about making money online. (Not her personal newsletter; she has two - one, the personal newsletter, about writing in general, and one about making money to supplement writing income. This is the latter.) The method the ebook describes is basically to choose a subject for your e-course, find articles online that relate to the subject, and compile them into a course (with the permission of the articles' owners, of course). It's an interesting idea, but not something I would do.
#81: Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas
Why I chose it: Found the author's blog through another library blog
Another library memoir. Who knew there was even one of these around, let alone two? This one is more focused on humor, which suited me fine, since that's what I was in the mood for. The author's style was engaging, and the book made me laugh out loud at some points - like when he was describing the woman who thought the government was after her.
#82: Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: I've been hearing about it for years; I picked it up when I found out it was written like a memoir and not like a standard nonfiction book
For three months, the author abandoned the life she was used to, and lived as a member of the working poor, in an experiment to find out whether she could make ends meet with the money she would get from her low-paying jobs. The answer she came to was that no, she couldn't. Not a happy conclusion, but an important one. I was surprised to find out how many waitresses, Wal-Mart workers, and so on live the way she was living, with not even enough money to pay rent without taking a second job.
#83: Unlocking the Niche Code
Why I chose it: Free ebook from Holly Lisle's mailing list
Another book about making money online, this one related to finding an appropriate niche to sell in. The method was interesting; I didn't know there were so many sites out there that kept track of what people search for online. Not useful to me, since I'm not running a business and don't plan to, but interesting nonetheless.
#84: How to Make a Six-Figure Income Online by Jimmy D. Brown (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Free ebook from Holly Lisle's mailing list
Again, not something I'm interested in doing. But the main advice of the book, which is to make a schedule so you know you're always doing something to bring yourself closer to your goals, is good advice no matter what you're doing. The whole concept, though, seems stranger the more I think about it. The point is to find something that people might be willing to spend money on, and then get them to spend as much money as possible. It's not about the product; the product is only a vehicle to get people to give you money. It's weird. Or maybe my viewpoint is just skewed, since my writing has always been first and foremost about the stories, and about publication only secondarily.
#85: Innocent Volume 1: 2006-2007 Collection by Shawn Granger
Why I chose it: Saw it on the Early Reviewers list
I requested this book through Early Reviewers, and when I didn't get it I ordered myself a copy. I seem to have gotten it before the reviewers, too. I liked the concept - an angel whose task is to kill people who have turned evil, and a mentally unbalanced man who loves to kill people and is happy to assist the angel. I would have liked it better if it were one big story rather than a bunch of little ones, but I enjoyed it plenty regardless.
#86: Hope and Help for Your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes
Why I chose it: Saw it recommended several places online for help with panic attacks
This book was originally published in 1969, and the style is definitely dated. As is some of the content - for example, when the author talks about how the goal is to get better without shock therapy, but how for some people shock therapy is the only way. The advice was fairly basic, but was useful in places.
28Enraptured
#87: Escape by Carolyn Jessop (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation, plus I was looking for memoirs
The author's story was fascinating. She described how she had been raised in a sect of Mormonism that still practices polygamy. She had to marry a man over thirty years older than her; both he and his wives mistreated her; and she was pregnant almost constantly. Not only that, but one of her children had serious health problems. It seemed like she just had one problem after another. Although I knew she would flee her husband and the cult in the end, I was relieved when she managed to keep herself free of their influence; they seemed dangerous enough that I could imagine them, for example, kidnapping her and dragging her back.
#88: Six Keys to Getting Email Results by Jimmy D. Brown
Why I chose it: Free ebook from Holly Lisle's mailing list
Another thing to help with online marketing, which, again, I'm not interested in doing. But reading these books has made me a lot more aware of the patterns in other people's marketing; I can see a lot of the books' suggestions being put to use.
#89: Turning Stones: My Days and Nights with Children at Risk by Marc Parent
Why I chose it: Looking for foster care memoirs; that's not precisely what this was, but it was close enough
This memoir described several of the author's most memorable - and worst - experiences working for Emergency Children's Services. His job was to investigate claims of child abuse, often in the middle of hte night, and, if necessary, remove the children from their homes. The stories were horrifying, moreso because most of the time there was no real villain (for example, the woman who was clearly doing everything she could to keep her kids safe, but just as clearly couldn't take care of them because of how terrified she was of the curse she thought her ex had placed on her). I'm not surprised he chose to leave the job after only a few years; I can't imagine being able to do something like that for very long.
#90: Journaling Your Past by Aisling D'Art
Why I chose it: Looking for free journaling ebooks
This was not a very good ebook. A lot of it was taken up with questions to fill out in your journal, and a lot of them weren't very interesting. In the section where she lists things to spark people's nostalgia, there's hardly anything for any decades besides the 60s and 70s (not too useful for me, since I wasn't alive then). And a lot of the book talked about geneaology, which is clearly an interest of the author's but is not one of mine.
#91: Top Ten Tips for Keeping a Journal that will Awaken Your Inner Voice, Heal Your Life and Manifest Your Dreams by Sandy Grason
Why I chose it: Bought a book by the author and found this free ebook while browsing her website
This one still wasn't great, but it was better than the previous one. Most of the tips were fairly basic, but I could see them being useful for someone who had never kept a journal before.
#92: One to One by Christina Baldwin
Why I chose it: Looking for books on my bookshelf about journal writing
I first read this years ago; it had been long enough that I had forgotten a lot of it and decided to reread it, since I felt like reading books on journal writing. For the most part, it was good, talking about ways to use journaling to get to know yourself better and come to terms with your past. I did think the author put a bit too much of her own past traumas into it, but on the other hand, her experiences did serve as a good example.
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation, plus I was looking for memoirs
The author's story was fascinating. She described how she had been raised in a sect of Mormonism that still practices polygamy. She had to marry a man over thirty years older than her; both he and his wives mistreated her; and she was pregnant almost constantly. Not only that, but one of her children had serious health problems. It seemed like she just had one problem after another. Although I knew she would flee her husband and the cult in the end, I was relieved when she managed to keep herself free of their influence; they seemed dangerous enough that I could imagine them, for example, kidnapping her and dragging her back.
#88: Six Keys to Getting Email Results by Jimmy D. Brown
Why I chose it: Free ebook from Holly Lisle's mailing list
Another thing to help with online marketing, which, again, I'm not interested in doing. But reading these books has made me a lot more aware of the patterns in other people's marketing; I can see a lot of the books' suggestions being put to use.
#89: Turning Stones: My Days and Nights with Children at Risk by Marc Parent
Why I chose it: Looking for foster care memoirs; that's not precisely what this was, but it was close enough
This memoir described several of the author's most memorable - and worst - experiences working for Emergency Children's Services. His job was to investigate claims of child abuse, often in the middle of hte night, and, if necessary, remove the children from their homes. The stories were horrifying, moreso because most of the time there was no real villain (for example, the woman who was clearly doing everything she could to keep her kids safe, but just as clearly couldn't take care of them because of how terrified she was of the curse she thought her ex had placed on her). I'm not surprised he chose to leave the job after only a few years; I can't imagine being able to do something like that for very long.
#90: Journaling Your Past by Aisling D'Art
Why I chose it: Looking for free journaling ebooks
This was not a very good ebook. A lot of it was taken up with questions to fill out in your journal, and a lot of them weren't very interesting. In the section where she lists things to spark people's nostalgia, there's hardly anything for any decades besides the 60s and 70s (not too useful for me, since I wasn't alive then). And a lot of the book talked about geneaology, which is clearly an interest of the author's but is not one of mine.
#91: Top Ten Tips for Keeping a Journal that will Awaken Your Inner Voice, Heal Your Life and Manifest Your Dreams by Sandy Grason
Why I chose it: Bought a book by the author and found this free ebook while browsing her website
This one still wasn't great, but it was better than the previous one. Most of the tips were fairly basic, but I could see them being useful for someone who had never kept a journal before.
#92: One to One by Christina Baldwin
Why I chose it: Looking for books on my bookshelf about journal writing
I first read this years ago; it had been long enough that I had forgotten a lot of it and decided to reread it, since I felt like reading books on journal writing. For the most part, it was good, talking about ways to use journaling to get to know yourself better and come to terms with your past. I did think the author put a bit too much of her own past traumas into it, but on the other hand, her experiences did serve as a good example.
29Enraptured
#93: Leaving a Trace by Alexandra Johnson
Why I chose it: Looking for books on journal writing; it had been in my TBR pile for years
This book said a lot of familiar things about journal writing, but it didn't really seem like it was rehashing old material. And it used a lot of examples from other people's journals, which I enjoyed. There was also a section on rereading old journals to see patterns, which I found particularly interesting since I'm in the process of typing up some of my old journals. I wasn't particularly interested in the third section, which talked about using your journal to help you write a memoir, since I'm not interested in doing that. But I enjoyed the rest of the book.
#94: Journalution by Sandy Grason
Why I chose it: Looking for books on journal writing
I liked the friendly tone of this book. But it didn't really have much new to say. I did like the way she divided up different uses of journaling, to be able to give sufficient explanation to each one, rather than dividing it up by different techniques the way some books do. It was also interesting to see how she combined journaling with the idea of manifestation. However, I'm fairly familiar with both ideas; the book probably would have been more useful to someone who didn't know much about either of them.
#95: Moose by Stephanie Klein
Why I chose it: Early Reviewers book
I liked this book a lot; it was both funny and poignant, and gave a good picture of the author's experiences at fat camp. I especially liked how she highlighted some of the ironies she experienced, such as how fat camp was where she learned the concept of eating out of boredom. I'll be posting a more detailed review on the book page when I have a chance, probably in the next few days.
#96: Time to Write to Yourself by Dianne Sandland (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Looking for books on journal writing
This book was just as awkward as its title. A lot of things seemed to be repeated, the journaling exercises were simplistic, and it often veered off into strangely specific topics. That last problem was the strangest; I'm not sure how she picked the topics to focus on (a lot of them seemed to be chosen because they were things she'd had personal experience with), but it seemed like the author didn't have enough to say about them to justify an entire chapter, and a broader focus would probably have been more useful. Examples: There was a chapter on losing a child through divorce (when the child goes to live with the other parent) and autoimmune disease, to name two. The author also seemed to have an oddly fatalistic view - if your childhood is traumatic, she seems to think that there's nothing you can do to keep it from making you dysfunctional.
#97: Floor Sample by Julia Cameron
Why I chose it: Got a craving to reread it
I'm not sure why, but I got a craving to reread this memoir. As before, I found it engaging but kind of depressing; the story seems to peter out into "more of the same," with no sign of the conflicts and patterns being resolved. I suppose that's because the author's life is still going on, and she hasn't had a chance to work through everything yet; still, it doesn't make for an uplifting story.
#98: Overheard in the Office, edited by S. Morgan Friedman
Why I chose it: I enjoyed the previous book in the series
This book wasn't quite as amusing as Overheard in New York, but it was still pretty funny. And a lot of the quotes in here were ones I didn't see on the website. I'm looking forward to a third book, but I'm not sure when (or if) one is going to come out.
Why I chose it: Looking for books on journal writing; it had been in my TBR pile for years
This book said a lot of familiar things about journal writing, but it didn't really seem like it was rehashing old material. And it used a lot of examples from other people's journals, which I enjoyed. There was also a section on rereading old journals to see patterns, which I found particularly interesting since I'm in the process of typing up some of my old journals. I wasn't particularly interested in the third section, which talked about using your journal to help you write a memoir, since I'm not interested in doing that. But I enjoyed the rest of the book.
#94: Journalution by Sandy Grason
Why I chose it: Looking for books on journal writing
I liked the friendly tone of this book. But it didn't really have much new to say. I did like the way she divided up different uses of journaling, to be able to give sufficient explanation to each one, rather than dividing it up by different techniques the way some books do. It was also interesting to see how she combined journaling with the idea of manifestation. However, I'm fairly familiar with both ideas; the book probably would have been more useful to someone who didn't know much about either of them.
#95: Moose by Stephanie Klein
Why I chose it: Early Reviewers book
I liked this book a lot; it was both funny and poignant, and gave a good picture of the author's experiences at fat camp. I especially liked how she highlighted some of the ironies she experienced, such as how fat camp was where she learned the concept of eating out of boredom. I'll be posting a more detailed review on the book page when I have a chance, probably in the next few days.
#96: Time to Write to Yourself by Dianne Sandland (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Looking for books on journal writing
This book was just as awkward as its title. A lot of things seemed to be repeated, the journaling exercises were simplistic, and it often veered off into strangely specific topics. That last problem was the strangest; I'm not sure how she picked the topics to focus on (a lot of them seemed to be chosen because they were things she'd had personal experience with), but it seemed like the author didn't have enough to say about them to justify an entire chapter, and a broader focus would probably have been more useful. Examples: There was a chapter on losing a child through divorce (when the child goes to live with the other parent) and autoimmune disease, to name two. The author also seemed to have an oddly fatalistic view - if your childhood is traumatic, she seems to think that there's nothing you can do to keep it from making you dysfunctional.
#97: Floor Sample by Julia Cameron
Why I chose it: Got a craving to reread it
I'm not sure why, but I got a craving to reread this memoir. As before, I found it engaging but kind of depressing; the story seems to peter out into "more of the same," with no sign of the conflicts and patterns being resolved. I suppose that's because the author's life is still going on, and she hasn't had a chance to work through everything yet; still, it doesn't make for an uplifting story.
#98: Overheard in the Office, edited by S. Morgan Friedman
Why I chose it: I enjoyed the previous book in the series
This book wasn't quite as amusing as Overheard in New York, but it was still pretty funny. And a lot of the quotes in here were ones I didn't see on the website. I'm looking forward to a third book, but I'm not sure when (or if) one is going to come out.
30Enraptured
#99: Writing the Other by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward
Why I chose it: I think an author recommended it on her blog once; I've had it in my TBR pile for years
This book wasn't as helpful as I would have liked. It did have a few useful suggestions, but not as many as I had hoped; mainly it just talked about teh importance of writing characters who are different from you, and of making sure you get it right (without giving much advice on how to get it right).
#100: Mortified by David Nadelberg
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation; I'm interested in journals of teenagers
This book, where different people shrae and comment on fragments of their teenage journals, sounded interesting both because I'm in the process of typing up my own and because journals interest me in general. Plus, it sounded funny. I enjoyed it a lot; there were a lot of funny parts, such as excerpts from an explicit story that the author wrote when she had very little idea of how sex actually worked. I noticed, though, that by the end, I had gotten so used to the teenage perspective presented in the entries that they didn't seem as funny to me.
Why I chose it: I think an author recommended it on her blog once; I've had it in my TBR pile for years
This book wasn't as helpful as I would have liked. It did have a few useful suggestions, but not as many as I had hoped; mainly it just talked about teh importance of writing characters who are different from you, and of making sure you get it right (without giving much advice on how to get it right).
#100: Mortified by David Nadelberg
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation; I'm interested in journals of teenagers
This book, where different people shrae and comment on fragments of their teenage journals, sounded interesting both because I'm in the process of typing up my own and because journals interest me in general. Plus, it sounded funny. I enjoyed it a lot; there were a lot of funny parts, such as excerpts from an explicit story that the author wrote when she had very little idea of how sex actually worked. I noticed, though, that by the end, I had gotten so used to the teenage perspective presented in the entries that they didn't seem as funny to me.
31Enraptured
#101: Reasonable People by Ralph James Savarese
Why I chose it: Looking for autism memoirs
This book would have been better if the author hadn't hijacked his own book to use for his political rants. It was kind of jarring to see the memoir repeatedly used as a soapbox. I agreed with a lot of his views, so I can only imagine how annoying it would have been if I hadn't. And also, enough with the guilt for being white and having money. There's nothing you can do about your race, and as for the money, either come to terms with it or give it away.
#102: I Speak for This Child by Gay Courter
Why I chose it: Looking for foster care memoirs
This book was kind of dense, so it was hard to read a lot of it at once. But although it took me awhile to read, I enjoyed it. The first story wasn't very interesting, but the others - especially the story of the Stevenson family - were. The end was kind of depressing though, showing how at least some of these children still don't have lives that are going in good directions.
#103: A different Kind of Boy by Daniel Mont
Why I chose it: Looking for autism memoirs
A memoir about raising a child with high-functioning autism.I enjoyed seeing the author's perspective on his son, and watching how Alex grew up. I especially liked the author's acceptance of his son's autism - how he liked his son the way he was, rather than searching for a cure.
#104: It's a Wonderful Lie: 20 Truths About Life in Your Twenties, edited by Emily Franklin
Why I chose it: Browsing Amazon
This book made me feel like I was from another planet. I'm in my twenties just like the authors, but I couldn't relate to any of these essays. Their lives seemed more similar to chick-lit books than to my life.
#105: Spiritual Journaling by Julie Tallard Johnson
Why I chose it: Looking for journaling books
This would be a good book for teenagers, but since I'm no longer a teenager and have already read a lot of books about journaling, there wasn't much new in here for me. It was a fun book to read, but in the end I didn't get that much out of it.
#106: Madhouse by Rob Thurman (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Enjoyed the other two books in the series
The first two books in this series were excellent. This book was good too, but less so. It seemed like the author might be kind of stretching for ideas. I'm still looking forward to the next book though, especially since this one ended on a cliffhanger.
#107: Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic
Why I chose it: Looking for journals
This book has been in my TBR pile for... many years. I started reading it a few years ago, but didn't get more than halfway. This time, though, I didn't feel like putting it down. It was interesting - and sad - to see the author's life go from a typical 11-year-old's life to a life torn apart by war.
Why I chose it: Looking for autism memoirs
This book would have been better if the author hadn't hijacked his own book to use for his political rants. It was kind of jarring to see the memoir repeatedly used as a soapbox. I agreed with a lot of his views, so I can only imagine how annoying it would have been if I hadn't. And also, enough with the guilt for being white and having money. There's nothing you can do about your race, and as for the money, either come to terms with it or give it away.
#102: I Speak for This Child by Gay Courter
Why I chose it: Looking for foster care memoirs
This book was kind of dense, so it was hard to read a lot of it at once. But although it took me awhile to read, I enjoyed it. The first story wasn't very interesting, but the others - especially the story of the Stevenson family - were. The end was kind of depressing though, showing how at least some of these children still don't have lives that are going in good directions.
#103: A different Kind of Boy by Daniel Mont
Why I chose it: Looking for autism memoirs
A memoir about raising a child with high-functioning autism.I enjoyed seeing the author's perspective on his son, and watching how Alex grew up. I especially liked the author's acceptance of his son's autism - how he liked his son the way he was, rather than searching for a cure.
#104: It's a Wonderful Lie: 20 Truths About Life in Your Twenties, edited by Emily Franklin
Why I chose it: Browsing Amazon
This book made me feel like I was from another planet. I'm in my twenties just like the authors, but I couldn't relate to any of these essays. Their lives seemed more similar to chick-lit books than to my life.
#105: Spiritual Journaling by Julie Tallard Johnson
Why I chose it: Looking for journaling books
This would be a good book for teenagers, but since I'm no longer a teenager and have already read a lot of books about journaling, there wasn't much new in here for me. It was a fun book to read, but in the end I didn't get that much out of it.
#106: Madhouse by Rob Thurman (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Enjoyed the other two books in the series
The first two books in this series were excellent. This book was good too, but less so. It seemed like the author might be kind of stretching for ideas. I'm still looking forward to the next book though, especially since this one ended on a cliffhanger.
#107: Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic
Why I chose it: Looking for journals
This book has been in my TBR pile for... many years. I started reading it a few years ago, but didn't get more than halfway. This time, though, I didn't feel like putting it down. It was interesting - and sad - to see the author's life go from a typical 11-year-old's life to a life torn apart by war.
32Enraptured
#108: A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City by Anonymous
Why I chose it: Looking for journals
I read this one both because I wanted books in journal form, and because I was interested to learn something about a part of history I don't know much about. It was quite grim - for one thing, it spend a lot of time discussing how the women of Berlin were raped by the invading soldiers. I would have liked it to go on a bit longer - it ended just as things in the city were starting to improve, and I wanted to see what would happen with their efforts to rebuild - but I suppose that wasn't possible, since it was written as it was happening; there probably wasn't any more written after where the book ended.
#109: Stolen Voices, edited by Zlata Filipovic
Why I chose it: Looking for journals
This book is a collection of children's diaries kept during wars, ranging from World War I to the war in Iraq. All the children had different reactions to what was going on around them, but what I found most striking (though, I suppose, not surprising) was how even in the midst of war, everyday life went on just as it always had. Living with the threat of death didn't stop teenage girls from getting crushes, for instance.
#110: The Execution Channel by Ken MacLeod
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
No matter how far into this book I got, I couldn't make any sense out of it. The plot just kept getting more and more convoluted, and maybe it was just me, but I never got an adequate sense of what was going on. Also, it wasn't interesting enough for me to care what was happening.
#111: Stick Figure by Lori Gottlieb
Why I chose it: Got a craving to reread it
I'm not sure why I started craving this book; probably partly because I was still looking for books in journal format. I love the voice of eleven-year-old Lori; it's no surprise she grew up to be a writer. I wonder how heavily it was edited; if most of the writing really is the way it was when the author was eleven, I'm quite impressed. It was also interesting - and sad - to see how she could be sucked into anorexia even with all the contempt she had for the dieting culture.
#112: Un-Jobbing: The Adult Liberation Handbook by Michael Fogler (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Saw it in my TBR pile; wanted to read something short
This book has been sitting in my TBR pile for years, ever since my mom finished it and passed it along to me. She wasn't too impressed with it; after finishing, I can see why. This book could be useful to some people, but the idea of working a job you love instead of doing something you don't care about just to pay the bills isn't a new idea to me; it's an important part of my life philosophy. And midway through the book he goes off on what seems to me to be a tangent about the evils of taxes. Also, the author advocates a vegan diet, and while I know there are a lot of happy healthy vegans out there, my own experience with veganism was... less than stellar, to say the least. The book turned out to be about voluntary simplicity, which is a philosophy I tend to be leery of, because of its tendency to go towards extremes (at least from what I've seen), urging people to live off the land and never watch TV again. (A life spent farming and making my own clothes sounds about as appealing to me as a life spent slaving away in an office.) This book didn't go that far, which I was glad to see; still, I didn't really find anything useful in it.
Why I chose it: Looking for journals
I read this one both because I wanted books in journal form, and because I was interested to learn something about a part of history I don't know much about. It was quite grim - for one thing, it spend a lot of time discussing how the women of Berlin were raped by the invading soldiers. I would have liked it to go on a bit longer - it ended just as things in the city were starting to improve, and I wanted to see what would happen with their efforts to rebuild - but I suppose that wasn't possible, since it was written as it was happening; there probably wasn't any more written after where the book ended.
#109: Stolen Voices, edited by Zlata Filipovic
Why I chose it: Looking for journals
This book is a collection of children's diaries kept during wars, ranging from World War I to the war in Iraq. All the children had different reactions to what was going on around them, but what I found most striking (though, I suppose, not surprising) was how even in the midst of war, everyday life went on just as it always had. Living with the threat of death didn't stop teenage girls from getting crushes, for instance.
#110: The Execution Channel by Ken MacLeod
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
No matter how far into this book I got, I couldn't make any sense out of it. The plot just kept getting more and more convoluted, and maybe it was just me, but I never got an adequate sense of what was going on. Also, it wasn't interesting enough for me to care what was happening.
#111: Stick Figure by Lori Gottlieb
Why I chose it: Got a craving to reread it
I'm not sure why I started craving this book; probably partly because I was still looking for books in journal format. I love the voice of eleven-year-old Lori; it's no surprise she grew up to be a writer. I wonder how heavily it was edited; if most of the writing really is the way it was when the author was eleven, I'm quite impressed. It was also interesting - and sad - to see how she could be sucked into anorexia even with all the contempt she had for the dieting culture.
#112: Un-Jobbing: The Adult Liberation Handbook by Michael Fogler (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Saw it in my TBR pile; wanted to read something short
This book has been sitting in my TBR pile for years, ever since my mom finished it and passed it along to me. She wasn't too impressed with it; after finishing, I can see why. This book could be useful to some people, but the idea of working a job you love instead of doing something you don't care about just to pay the bills isn't a new idea to me; it's an important part of my life philosophy. And midway through the book he goes off on what seems to me to be a tangent about the evils of taxes. Also, the author advocates a vegan diet, and while I know there are a lot of happy healthy vegans out there, my own experience with veganism was... less than stellar, to say the least. The book turned out to be about voluntary simplicity, which is a philosophy I tend to be leery of, because of its tendency to go towards extremes (at least from what I've seen), urging people to live off the land and never watch TV again. (A life spent farming and making my own clothes sounds about as appealing to me as a life spent slaving away in an office.) This book didn't go that far, which I was glad to see; still, I didn't really find anything useful in it.
33Enraptured
#113: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Why I chose it: Saw it recommended on literary agent Kristin Nelson's blog (see #68)
A YA near-future science fiction book where America is headed towards dystopia, with Homeland Security doing sinister Homeland Security things... how could I not love this book? I loved the style it was written in - simple and immediate, and kept the story moving. What I liked most, though, was the main character. In most books with teenage rebels trying to change the world, the book is written from the perspective of teenage arrogance; the teenagers are the only sane voices in a world screwed up by adults, and everything they do is right, and they charge ahead like... well, like Mary Sues. Not so with this character. He was a teenage rebel trying to change the world, but he was realistic. He was insecure and vulnerable and real, and he didn't always get it right. Sometimes he gave in when he didn't want to, and sometimes he pushed forward when it wasn't the right thing to do. The way he was portrayed was what really made me love this book.
#114: Nothing Sacred by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
This was a book I should have loved. A woman in a POW camp having strange mystical visions... and a nuclear war... I thought I was bound to love it. But alas, I did not. It was okay, but it never really moved beyond that for me. Not enough happened in the story, and I found the story hard to connect to for some reason. A clearer plot arc probably would have helped.
#115: Housebroken by David Eddie
Why I chose it: Saw it recommended somewhere (don't remember where)
Another mediocre book. It was a series of essays describing the author's life as a stay-at-home dad. It was supposed to be funny, but there were maybe one or two parts that made me laugh. One of the problems, I think, was that the more I read, the more I realized that if we met in real life, the author and I probably wouldn't get along. Or maybe something about the tone bothered me. Whatever it was, this book wasn't anything more than adequate for me.
#116: When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
A memoir about the author's experiences growing up in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. I liked learning more about Cambodia's history, but the writing style wasn't very compelling, and sometimes I had a hard time figuring out what was happening.
#117: The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America by David Hadju (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Someone recommended it in a discussion on censorship
Before reading this, I didn't know anything about the origins of comic books or the fight to censor them, so it was interesting to learn about this aspect of history. At times I thought the book might have been more interesting if I already knew more about the subject, or if I read comic books, but it was interesting enough even without those things.
#118: Belladonna by Anne Bishop
Why I chose it: Read the previous book in the series
This book was just as good as the first book in the series. Possibly better, in fact, because it focused on Belladonna, who I find more intriguing than Sebastian. I hope there's going to be a third book, but I suspect there might not be; the ending didn't seem to require a third book.
Why I chose it: Saw it recommended on literary agent Kristin Nelson's blog (see #68)
A YA near-future science fiction book where America is headed towards dystopia, with Homeland Security doing sinister Homeland Security things... how could I not love this book? I loved the style it was written in - simple and immediate, and kept the story moving. What I liked most, though, was the main character. In most books with teenage rebels trying to change the world, the book is written from the perspective of teenage arrogance; the teenagers are the only sane voices in a world screwed up by adults, and everything they do is right, and they charge ahead like... well, like Mary Sues. Not so with this character. He was a teenage rebel trying to change the world, but he was realistic. He was insecure and vulnerable and real, and he didn't always get it right. Sometimes he gave in when he didn't want to, and sometimes he pushed forward when it wasn't the right thing to do. The way he was portrayed was what really made me love this book.
#114: Nothing Sacred by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
This was a book I should have loved. A woman in a POW camp having strange mystical visions... and a nuclear war... I thought I was bound to love it. But alas, I did not. It was okay, but it never really moved beyond that for me. Not enough happened in the story, and I found the story hard to connect to for some reason. A clearer plot arc probably would have helped.
#115: Housebroken by David Eddie
Why I chose it: Saw it recommended somewhere (don't remember where)
Another mediocre book. It was a series of essays describing the author's life as a stay-at-home dad. It was supposed to be funny, but there were maybe one or two parts that made me laugh. One of the problems, I think, was that the more I read, the more I realized that if we met in real life, the author and I probably wouldn't get along. Or maybe something about the tone bothered me. Whatever it was, this book wasn't anything more than adequate for me.
#116: When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
A memoir about the author's experiences growing up in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. I liked learning more about Cambodia's history, but the writing style wasn't very compelling, and sometimes I had a hard time figuring out what was happening.
#117: The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America by David Hadju (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Someone recommended it in a discussion on censorship
Before reading this, I didn't know anything about the origins of comic books or the fight to censor them, so it was interesting to learn about this aspect of history. At times I thought the book might have been more interesting if I already knew more about the subject, or if I read comic books, but it was interesting enough even without those things.
#118: Belladonna by Anne Bishop
Why I chose it: Read the previous book in the series
This book was just as good as the first book in the series. Possibly better, in fact, because it focused on Belladonna, who I find more intriguing than Sebastian. I hope there's going to be a third book, but I suspect there might not be; the ending didn't seem to require a third book.
34Enraptured
#119: Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz
Why I chose it: Felt like reading Dean Koontz books
I tried to read this one last year, but got bored with it halfway through. This time I tried to pick up where I had left off, but quickly realized that would be impossible, so I started over. I'm not sure what made me get bored last time, but this time I didn't; the story, and the likeable main character, kept me interested all the way through. I love books that involve fate, and I liked the theme of family (biological and otherwise) that was woven through this one. And Dean Koontz books (at least the few I've read) tend to have wonderful endings; this one was no exception.
#120: Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz
Why I chose it: Felt like reading Dean Koontz books
This is another one that I started reading and got bored with halfway through. Since that happened at least a year and a half ago, I decided it would be best to start over. Just like the previous book, it kept me interested this time. It's an intriguing update to the Frankenstein story. The one part I didn't like was the serial killer who took his victims' body parts; I know he was there to distract the other characters from Frankenstein, but still, he didn't seem to belong - unless he was in there because, from the glimpses we got of his thoughts, he seemed to have some similarities to Frankenstein.
#121: Scratch Beginnings by Adam Shepard
Why I chose it: It was written to refute the book Nickel and Dimed, which I read earlier this year
This book's author set out to refute Barbara Ehrenreich's conclusion, in her book Nickel and Dimed (which apparently I misspelled when I wrote about it earlier; no wonder I couldn't find a touchstone), that people working low-paying jobs can't break out of their poverty. He left his former life behind for a year, and with nothing but $25, moved into a homeless shelter. By the end of the year, he had gotten a job as a mover, and had moved out of the homeless shelter and into an apartment with a fellow mover. He seems to think he proved Ehrenreich wrong, but it doesn't look to me like he did. He got himself to where she had been in her book; he assumes that if he kept at his experiment for longer than a year, he'd naturally just keep moving up, but I don't think that's necessarily a valid assumption. Also, the book rubbed me the wrong way because the author's philosophy of life is so different from mine. He seems to think that the way to succeed in life is to find a job, any job, and move up the career ladder as far as you can - and it doesn't matter whether it's something you like to do or not, you shouldn't even think about that, because what matters is having a chance to make money and moving up in the world. It's a perfecly valid philosophy, but for me, doing what you love - no matter how little it pays - is much more important than moving up in the world.
#122: Haze by Katy Hoopmann
Why I chose it: Its protagonist has Asperger's Syndrome
The descriptions of Asperger's Syndrome in this novel were very well done. The plot was interesting enough, but not as compelling as I would have hoped. There also seemed to be too many characters - either that or the book wasn't long enough.
#123: Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
Why I chose it: Kept seeing the series recommended
This series is a fairly interesting blend - a mystery series with romance elements, set in a futuristic world. Unfortunately, neither mystery nor romance are genres I love to read. I liked the book, but probably not well enough to read the others in the series. I find that mildly disappointing - there are a ton of books in this series, and I was hoping for a nice long series to read.
#124: Plague Year by Stephanie S. Tolan
Why I chose it: Read other books by the author
I read a couple of other early books by Stephanie S. Tolan last year, and this one was similar to those, in that it was good but seemed a little rough. (I could be judging them too harshly, though, by comparing to them to the wonderful Welcome to the Ark.) I definitely didn't expect it to end the way it did. Not exactly uplifting, but certainly interesting.
Why I chose it: Felt like reading Dean Koontz books
I tried to read this one last year, but got bored with it halfway through. This time I tried to pick up where I had left off, but quickly realized that would be impossible, so I started over. I'm not sure what made me get bored last time, but this time I didn't; the story, and the likeable main character, kept me interested all the way through. I love books that involve fate, and I liked the theme of family (biological and otherwise) that was woven through this one. And Dean Koontz books (at least the few I've read) tend to have wonderful endings; this one was no exception.
#120: Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz
Why I chose it: Felt like reading Dean Koontz books
This is another one that I started reading and got bored with halfway through. Since that happened at least a year and a half ago, I decided it would be best to start over. Just like the previous book, it kept me interested this time. It's an intriguing update to the Frankenstein story. The one part I didn't like was the serial killer who took his victims' body parts; I know he was there to distract the other characters from Frankenstein, but still, he didn't seem to belong - unless he was in there because, from the glimpses we got of his thoughts, he seemed to have some similarities to Frankenstein.
#121: Scratch Beginnings by Adam Shepard
Why I chose it: It was written to refute the book Nickel and Dimed, which I read earlier this year
This book's author set out to refute Barbara Ehrenreich's conclusion, in her book Nickel and Dimed (which apparently I misspelled when I wrote about it earlier; no wonder I couldn't find a touchstone), that people working low-paying jobs can't break out of their poverty. He left his former life behind for a year, and with nothing but $25, moved into a homeless shelter. By the end of the year, he had gotten a job as a mover, and had moved out of the homeless shelter and into an apartment with a fellow mover. He seems to think he proved Ehrenreich wrong, but it doesn't look to me like he did. He got himself to where she had been in her book; he assumes that if he kept at his experiment for longer than a year, he'd naturally just keep moving up, but I don't think that's necessarily a valid assumption. Also, the book rubbed me the wrong way because the author's philosophy of life is so different from mine. He seems to think that the way to succeed in life is to find a job, any job, and move up the career ladder as far as you can - and it doesn't matter whether it's something you like to do or not, you shouldn't even think about that, because what matters is having a chance to make money and moving up in the world. It's a perfecly valid philosophy, but for me, doing what you love - no matter how little it pays - is much more important than moving up in the world.
#122: Haze by Katy Hoopmann
Why I chose it: Its protagonist has Asperger's Syndrome
The descriptions of Asperger's Syndrome in this novel were very well done. The plot was interesting enough, but not as compelling as I would have hoped. There also seemed to be too many characters - either that or the book wasn't long enough.
#123: Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
Why I chose it: Kept seeing the series recommended
This series is a fairly interesting blend - a mystery series with romance elements, set in a futuristic world. Unfortunately, neither mystery nor romance are genres I love to read. I liked the book, but probably not well enough to read the others in the series. I find that mildly disappointing - there are a ton of books in this series, and I was hoping for a nice long series to read.
#124: Plague Year by Stephanie S. Tolan
Why I chose it: Read other books by the author
I read a couple of other early books by Stephanie S. Tolan last year, and this one was similar to those, in that it was good but seemed a little rough. (I could be judging them too harshly, though, by comparing to them to the wonderful Welcome to the Ark.) I definitely didn't expect it to end the way it did. Not exactly uplifting, but certainly interesting.
35Enraptured
#125: The Book of Words by Jenny Erpenbeck
Why I chose it: It involves oppression and is told from the perspective of a child, a combination that intrigues me
I really liked seeing the oppressove country (unnamed, but probably Argentina) through the point of view of the child narrator. But the style was too literary and experimental for me. Also, the narrator grew up but her voice never matured. I'd like to see something with a similar idea, but told in a more mainstream style.
#126: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Why I chose it: Kept hearing it recommended
The first couple of pages of this book didn't look promising; it looked like it was going to be written in a chick-lit tone that I wouldn't be able to relate to. But it quickly drew me in. Even though the author is nothing like me, I didn't have any problems relating to her. I especially loved the author's philosophy of mixing spirituality with the more ordinary pleasures of living in the world, rather than seeing them in opposition, because that's an important part of how I see the world. I didn't find the third section of the book quite as compelling as the first two sections, but I still liked it a lot.
#127: The First Stone by Judith Kelman
Why I chose it: I think I saw it recommended somewhere, but I can't remember now
This was a strange book. It seemed to be marketed as a thriller, but wasn't suspenseful enough for that, and the plot seemed more suited to women's fiction - but the writing style was all wrong for women's fiction. The plot didn't go in the direction I thought it would, either, although that's probably a good thing - predictable books aren't as fun. (spoilers) ................... .............................. It seemed pretty obvious to me that the main character's husband was abusing their child, but it turned out not to be the case - not even close. Everyone's kid was fine.
#128: Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
I picked up this book because I'm always on the lookout for oppression memoirs. Before I started reading, it occurred to me that this might be the book I read in a book discussion group years ago, about a girl in China under Mao. As it turned out, I was right, which was an added bonus, because I had wanted to find that book again. I enjoyed the book, and also enjoyed revisiting a book I had read a long time ago but had mostly forgotten. Every so often I would hit a part I remembered, and yet most of the story was new to me, because I didn't remember it very well.
#129: City of Night by Dean Koontz
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
The second book in the Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series. This one was as good as the first one - maybe better, because it didn't have that serial killer in it. Frankenstein's creations sometimes seem a bit cartoony to me, but that could just be because I would have written it a different way - I would have written them as fundamentally good people trying to escape Frankenstein's programming. (spoilers) ................ .................. I was sad to see Randal die; I was really rooting for him. Yes, he was one of Frankenstein's creations, but his intentions were good. He didn't have a moral problem with killing, but that's because he was created that way, and raised in Frankenstein's labs.
Why I chose it: It involves oppression and is told from the perspective of a child, a combination that intrigues me
I really liked seeing the oppressove country (unnamed, but probably Argentina) through the point of view of the child narrator. But the style was too literary and experimental for me. Also, the narrator grew up but her voice never matured. I'd like to see something with a similar idea, but told in a more mainstream style.
#126: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Why I chose it: Kept hearing it recommended
The first couple of pages of this book didn't look promising; it looked like it was going to be written in a chick-lit tone that I wouldn't be able to relate to. But it quickly drew me in. Even though the author is nothing like me, I didn't have any problems relating to her. I especially loved the author's philosophy of mixing spirituality with the more ordinary pleasures of living in the world, rather than seeing them in opposition, because that's an important part of how I see the world. I didn't find the third section of the book quite as compelling as the first two sections, but I still liked it a lot.
#127: The First Stone by Judith Kelman
Why I chose it: I think I saw it recommended somewhere, but I can't remember now
This was a strange book. It seemed to be marketed as a thriller, but wasn't suspenseful enough for that, and the plot seemed more suited to women's fiction - but the writing style was all wrong for women's fiction. The plot didn't go in the direction I thought it would, either, although that's probably a good thing - predictable books aren't as fun. (spoilers) ................... .............................. It seemed pretty obvious to me that the main character's husband was abusing their child, but it turned out not to be the case - not even close. Everyone's kid was fine.
#128: Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation
I picked up this book because I'm always on the lookout for oppression memoirs. Before I started reading, it occurred to me that this might be the book I read in a book discussion group years ago, about a girl in China under Mao. As it turned out, I was right, which was an added bonus, because I had wanted to find that book again. I enjoyed the book, and also enjoyed revisiting a book I had read a long time ago but had mostly forgotten. Every so often I would hit a part I remembered, and yet most of the story was new to me, because I didn't remember it very well.
#129: City of Night by Dean Koontz
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
The second book in the Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series. This one was as good as the first one - maybe better, because it didn't have that serial killer in it. Frankenstein's creations sometimes seem a bit cartoony to me, but that could just be because I would have written it a different way - I would have written them as fundamentally good people trying to escape Frankenstein's programming. (spoilers) ................ .................. I was sad to see Randal die; I was really rooting for him. Yes, he was one of Frankenstein's creations, but his intentions were good. He didn't have a moral problem with killing, but that's because he was created that way, and raised in Frankenstein's labs.
36nancyewhite
I just wanted to leave you a quick note that I am really enjoying your thread. Great work on the little synopses/reviews.
37Enraptured
#130: Good Grief by Lolly Winston
Why I chose it: Saw it at the library's book sale
This book was a lot better than I thought it would be. I honestly wasn't sure I'd even be interested, but it grabbed my attention from the start, with the main character's distinct personality. I thought it gave a good look inside her head and a good sense of what she was going through after the death of her husband.
#131: Hush by Jacqueline Woodson
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation; forgot about it, then saw it mentioned elsewhere months later
This book was unusual in that it was a middle-grade novel written in a somewhat literary style. The style didn't get in the way of the story, though. And people in hiding is one of my favorite plots, so that definitely helped it catch my interest. I enjoyed seeing how the main character tried to get used to becoming a new person after the Witness Protection Program moved her and her family.
#132: How to Escape Lifetime Security and Pursue Your Impossible Dream by Kenneth Atchity
Why I chose it: Don't remember; it's been on my bookshelf, half-read, for months
I strated reading this one last year, but only got halfway through. When I picked it back up again, I remembered why I had put it down in the first place. I was attracted to it because it was described as talking about living a creative life; the problem is, the type of creative person the author talks about isn't the type of person I am. The type of person he talks about is gregarious and success-driven, interested in high-risk and high-reward endeavors. I'm not that type of person. I just want a quiet life where I can write my novels.
#133: Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
Why I chose it: I don't remember how I found it, but it appealed to me because it talks about oppression from a child's point of view
This book was what I had hoped The Book of Words would be. A child, seeing the world from the perspective of a child, living under an oppressive regime. At first she doesn't understand the political situation; she comes to understand more as she realizes her parents are working against the government. I really enjoyed this one.
#134: Cut by Patricia McCormick
Why I chose it: Remembered seeing it years ago
This book was popular a few years ago; the other day I remembered it and decided I wanted to read it. I found it ultimately disappointing. It was short and shallow, with nothing much really going on except for the main character's cliched realizations. It wasn't entirely bad; it was a good diversion, but nothing more than that.
#135: The Sociopathic Bible by Petronix
Why I chose it: Found it online
This was another free ebook from the internet, this one on the subject of sociopaths. It was not well-written, and most of the information in it seemed to be the author's speculations. I don't think there's much useful information, if any, in this one.
#136: Romancing the Dead by Tate Hallaway
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
This one, like the second one, wasn't as good as book 1 - although that might just be because this one didn't have Vatican witch-hunters in it. Like the others, it has more depth than you would expect from chick lit, which is why I like the series. I'll be looking forward to reading the fourth one when it comes out.
#137: Cold Fire by Dean Koontz
Why I chose it: Looking for Dean Koontz books
I read a bunch of reviews on Amazon that said this book was interesting until it got near the end. I disagree; I thought the ending was surprising and creepy and fit the book perfectly. This book creeped me out, which isn't something I generally seek out, but the excellent plot more than made up for it.
#138: An Unlit Path by Deborah L. Hannah
Why I chose it: Looking for foster care memoirs
The writing in this one was kind of rough, and the cleaning-the-porch metaphor at the beginning of each chapter got annoying early on. But the story was interesting - and horrifying - and I empathized with the author as she tried to deal with the children she had raised turning against her.
#139: Without a Map by Meredith Hall
Why I chose it: Heard about it from a few people
This one was a memoir about a woman whose family and community turned away from her after she got pregnant as a teenager in the 1950s. A lot of people loved this book; I'm not one of them, though. I do feel bad for what she went through, but I just didn't find her writing compelling.
Why I chose it: Saw it at the library's book sale
This book was a lot better than I thought it would be. I honestly wasn't sure I'd even be interested, but it grabbed my attention from the start, with the main character's distinct personality. I thought it gave a good look inside her head and a good sense of what she was going through after the death of her husband.
#131: Hush by Jacqueline Woodson
Why I chose it: Amazon recommendation; forgot about it, then saw it mentioned elsewhere months later
This book was unusual in that it was a middle-grade novel written in a somewhat literary style. The style didn't get in the way of the story, though. And people in hiding is one of my favorite plots, so that definitely helped it catch my interest. I enjoyed seeing how the main character tried to get used to becoming a new person after the Witness Protection Program moved her and her family.
#132: How to Escape Lifetime Security and Pursue Your Impossible Dream by Kenneth Atchity
Why I chose it: Don't remember; it's been on my bookshelf, half-read, for months
I strated reading this one last year, but only got halfway through. When I picked it back up again, I remembered why I had put it down in the first place. I was attracted to it because it was described as talking about living a creative life; the problem is, the type of creative person the author talks about isn't the type of person I am. The type of person he talks about is gregarious and success-driven, interested in high-risk and high-reward endeavors. I'm not that type of person. I just want a quiet life where I can write my novels.
#133: Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
Why I chose it: I don't remember how I found it, but it appealed to me because it talks about oppression from a child's point of view
This book was what I had hoped The Book of Words would be. A child, seeing the world from the perspective of a child, living under an oppressive regime. At first she doesn't understand the political situation; she comes to understand more as she realizes her parents are working against the government. I really enjoyed this one.
#134: Cut by Patricia McCormick
Why I chose it: Remembered seeing it years ago
This book was popular a few years ago; the other day I remembered it and decided I wanted to read it. I found it ultimately disappointing. It was short and shallow, with nothing much really going on except for the main character's cliched realizations. It wasn't entirely bad; it was a good diversion, but nothing more than that.
#135: The Sociopathic Bible by Petronix
Why I chose it: Found it online
This was another free ebook from the internet, this one on the subject of sociopaths. It was not well-written, and most of the information in it seemed to be the author's speculations. I don't think there's much useful information, if any, in this one.
#136: Romancing the Dead by Tate Hallaway
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
This one, like the second one, wasn't as good as book 1 - although that might just be because this one didn't have Vatican witch-hunters in it. Like the others, it has more depth than you would expect from chick lit, which is why I like the series. I'll be looking forward to reading the fourth one when it comes out.
#137: Cold Fire by Dean Koontz
Why I chose it: Looking for Dean Koontz books
I read a bunch of reviews on Amazon that said this book was interesting until it got near the end. I disagree; I thought the ending was surprising and creepy and fit the book perfectly. This book creeped me out, which isn't something I generally seek out, but the excellent plot more than made up for it.
#138: An Unlit Path by Deborah L. Hannah
Why I chose it: Looking for foster care memoirs
The writing in this one was kind of rough, and the cleaning-the-porch metaphor at the beginning of each chapter got annoying early on. But the story was interesting - and horrifying - and I empathized with the author as she tried to deal with the children she had raised turning against her.
#139: Without a Map by Meredith Hall
Why I chose it: Heard about it from a few people
This one was a memoir about a woman whose family and community turned away from her after she got pregnant as a teenager in the 1950s. A lot of people loved this book; I'm not one of them, though. I do feel bad for what she went through, but I just didn't find her writing compelling.
38Enraptured
#140: Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini
Why I chose it: Read another book by the author years ago
I read the author's memoir several years ago and loved it. The plot of this one didn't sound promising - a kid ingests a tiny computer that helps him be cool. It sounded like it was going to turn into a sermon on the evils of technology. But because I loved the author's other book, I gave it a chance. I'm glad I did. He gave a very good sense of the character and his world; I felt like I was in the middle of the story. It was light and entertaining and did not turn out to talk about the evils of technology after all.
#141: Literacy and Longing in L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman
Why I chose it: Saw it on someone's paperbackswap bookshelf
I had high hopes for this one. I saw that it was a chick-lit novel with a character obsessed with books instead of, say, shoes or shopping. One of my main problems with chick lit is that I can never relate to the characters; I figured this would be a character I could relate to. Unfortunately, she wasn't painted very well; I never got a good sense of her. Also, she was immersed in LA culture, which was probably appealing to some readers but not to me. The book also had major plotting problems. The first few chapters were mostly devoted to explaining backstory, and there was no real ending. (spoilers)...................... .................. She broke up with the awful love interest, which I was glad to see - one of the things that kept me reading the book was seeing whether the authors actually thought this love interest was a decent guy or not. But it looked like she might get back together with her shallow ex-husband, who it looked like she had good reasons for dumping in the first place. And she had a cliched realization about how she needed to spend less time hiding behind books.
#142: Quid Pro Quo by Manna Francis
Why I chose it: Had already read most of the stories in the book online
This is the sequel to Mind Fuck, and contains not only a few of the stories from the author's website, but an entirely new novella. As expected, I enjoyed it a lot. I had truoble following the new novella at times, but I think that had more to do with my tiredness when I was reading it. And one of the stories the book contained was "Family," which has one of my favorite scenes in the series, where Valeria tries to get Toreth to tell her a story and announces to her family that she's going to be a para-investigator when she grows up.
#143: More Laughing and Loving With Autism by R. Wayne Gilpin
Why I chose it: Wanted something light and funny
I reread this one sometimes in the second half of May; I think it was before Good Grief, which would make renumbering everything a huge pain, so I'm sticking it here. I was feeling tired and depleted and wanted something lighthearted to read, something that wouldn't take much mental energy. This collection of amusing anecdotes was just what I needed.
#144: The Broke Diaries by Angela Nissel
Why I chose it: Saw someone mention it on the paperbackswap forums
This book apparently started out as a blog. It chronicles the author's last year of college, as she struggles to survive as a broke college student. It was light and funny, and I enjoyed it; in the end, though, it wasn't very memorable. A couple of the stories did make me laugh out loud though, like the one where one of the author's friends makes her and another friend hunt for the letter O that fell off her Ford.
#145: How to Write Page-Turning Scenes by Holly Lisle (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Read a bunch of other how-to-write books by Holly Lisle and found them useful
This is probably going to be one of my favorites of Holly Lisle's nonfiction books, though it still doesn't replace Create a Character Clinic. She described how to create effective scenes in writing and avoid common problems. I especially liked the discussion of internal conflict, and her method for how to avoid talking heads.
#146: Thirty Writing Tips for eBook Authors by Jimmy D. Brown (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Looking for a short ebook to read while I IMed with friends
These writing tips were nothing new, but some of them were useful ideas for writing nonfiction, if I ever decide to go into that field. I doubt I'll ever be writing the kind of books he describes - short informative ebooks to sell online - but the tips could still come in handy someday.
Why I chose it: Read another book by the author years ago
I read the author's memoir several years ago and loved it. The plot of this one didn't sound promising - a kid ingests a tiny computer that helps him be cool. It sounded like it was going to turn into a sermon on the evils of technology. But because I loved the author's other book, I gave it a chance. I'm glad I did. He gave a very good sense of the character and his world; I felt like I was in the middle of the story. It was light and entertaining and did not turn out to talk about the evils of technology after all.
#141: Literacy and Longing in L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman
Why I chose it: Saw it on someone's paperbackswap bookshelf
I had high hopes for this one. I saw that it was a chick-lit novel with a character obsessed with books instead of, say, shoes or shopping. One of my main problems with chick lit is that I can never relate to the characters; I figured this would be a character I could relate to. Unfortunately, she wasn't painted very well; I never got a good sense of her. Also, she was immersed in LA culture, which was probably appealing to some readers but not to me. The book also had major plotting problems. The first few chapters were mostly devoted to explaining backstory, and there was no real ending. (spoilers)...................... .................. She broke up with the awful love interest, which I was glad to see - one of the things that kept me reading the book was seeing whether the authors actually thought this love interest was a decent guy or not. But it looked like she might get back together with her shallow ex-husband, who it looked like she had good reasons for dumping in the first place. And she had a cliched realization about how she needed to spend less time hiding behind books.
#142: Quid Pro Quo by Manna Francis
Why I chose it: Had already read most of the stories in the book online
This is the sequel to Mind Fuck, and contains not only a few of the stories from the author's website, but an entirely new novella. As expected, I enjoyed it a lot. I had truoble following the new novella at times, but I think that had more to do with my tiredness when I was reading it. And one of the stories the book contained was "Family," which has one of my favorite scenes in the series, where Valeria tries to get Toreth to tell her a story and announces to her family that she's going to be a para-investigator when she grows up.
#143: More Laughing and Loving With Autism by R. Wayne Gilpin
Why I chose it: Wanted something light and funny
I reread this one sometimes in the second half of May; I think it was before Good Grief, which would make renumbering everything a huge pain, so I'm sticking it here. I was feeling tired and depleted and wanted something lighthearted to read, something that wouldn't take much mental energy. This collection of amusing anecdotes was just what I needed.
#144: The Broke Diaries by Angela Nissel
Why I chose it: Saw someone mention it on the paperbackswap forums
This book apparently started out as a blog. It chronicles the author's last year of college, as she struggles to survive as a broke college student. It was light and funny, and I enjoyed it; in the end, though, it wasn't very memorable. A couple of the stories did make me laugh out loud though, like the one where one of the author's friends makes her and another friend hunt for the letter O that fell off her Ford.
#145: How to Write Page-Turning Scenes by Holly Lisle (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Read a bunch of other how-to-write books by Holly Lisle and found them useful
This is probably going to be one of my favorites of Holly Lisle's nonfiction books, though it still doesn't replace Create a Character Clinic. She described how to create effective scenes in writing and avoid common problems. I especially liked the discussion of internal conflict, and her method for how to avoid talking heads.
#146: Thirty Writing Tips for eBook Authors by Jimmy D. Brown (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Looking for a short ebook to read while I IMed with friends
These writing tips were nothing new, but some of them were useful ideas for writing nonfiction, if I ever decide to go into that field. I doubt I'll ever be writing the kind of books he describes - short informative ebooks to sell online - but the tips could still come in handy someday.
39Enraptured
#147: In His Image by James BeauSeigneur
Why I chose it: I saw it online years ago and was intrigued by the plot; started reading it, got bored, and it's been sitting on the shelf for years
I couldn't remember why I had put this one down, and the idea of cloning Jesus still intrigued me, so I picked it up again, starting at the beginning. The writing was clumsy at first, like the author had done too much research and felt the need to cram every bit of it into the story (making sure to include footnotes), but either that got better as the story went on or I stopped noticing it. As for the plot, though, it didn't take long for me to figure out why I had put it down. I thought it would be mostly about the cloned Jesus; instead, it focused mainly on wars between various countries. The plot was also very similar to Left Behind; clearly the authors are using some of the same source material (and not just the Bible). It's the first book in a trilogy, but I don't think I'll read the others.
#148: Children With Emerald Eyes by Mira Rothenberg
Why I chose it: Found it while browsing books about autism on PaperbackSwap
I wasn't sure whether this one would be good or not, but it was a lot better than I expected it to be. It reminded me of Torey Hayden's books; both authors worked with special-needs kids, although Mira Rothenberg worked with them earlier, in the 50s. Some of the explanations for some of the kids' problems seemed kind of contrived to me, but it was written in a different time, after all.
#149: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
Why I chose it: Kept coming across references to it
This one has been in my TBR pile for awhile. The writing style kept me away from it. But I got the urge to pick it up, and once I got used to the writing style and got past the slow start, the story drew me in. I loved how melodramatic it was. A definite guilty-pleasure book - angsty and campy and compelling.
#150: This Side of Heaven by Anna Schmidt
Why I chose it: I bought a whole bunch of Harlequin Everlasting Love books awhile ago; I was browsing my TBR pile and it caught my eye
This book was pretty good, overall. The love story was believable, and I liked the characters. It wasn't a story that stuck with me, particularly, but it was a good diversion. After the way the two main characters never reconciled their opinions about Vietnam and about war in general, and after the way their family was affected by 9/11 and the Iraq war, I was surprised the Iraq war didn't create tension between the two of them, but I can understand not wanting to end up a note of tension (because I can't see these guys ever agreeing on that particular issue) and not wanting to make the story seem political.
#151: Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin
Why I chose it: Got it for Christmas last year
In this book, the author described the way animals see the world, drawing on her own experiences as an autistic person. I thought it was very interesting, especially the part about how humans and dogs evolved together. I disagreed with some of the author's generalizations about autism, because her experiences don't always match mine, but that didn't get in the way of my enjoyment of the book.
Why I chose it: I saw it online years ago and was intrigued by the plot; started reading it, got bored, and it's been sitting on the shelf for years
I couldn't remember why I had put this one down, and the idea of cloning Jesus still intrigued me, so I picked it up again, starting at the beginning. The writing was clumsy at first, like the author had done too much research and felt the need to cram every bit of it into the story (making sure to include footnotes), but either that got better as the story went on or I stopped noticing it. As for the plot, though, it didn't take long for me to figure out why I had put it down. I thought it would be mostly about the cloned Jesus; instead, it focused mainly on wars between various countries. The plot was also very similar to Left Behind; clearly the authors are using some of the same source material (and not just the Bible). It's the first book in a trilogy, but I don't think I'll read the others.
#148: Children With Emerald Eyes by Mira Rothenberg
Why I chose it: Found it while browsing books about autism on PaperbackSwap
I wasn't sure whether this one would be good or not, but it was a lot better than I expected it to be. It reminded me of Torey Hayden's books; both authors worked with special-needs kids, although Mira Rothenberg worked with them earlier, in the 50s. Some of the explanations for some of the kids' problems seemed kind of contrived to me, but it was written in a different time, after all.
#149: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
Why I chose it: Kept coming across references to it
This one has been in my TBR pile for awhile. The writing style kept me away from it. But I got the urge to pick it up, and once I got used to the writing style and got past the slow start, the story drew me in. I loved how melodramatic it was. A definite guilty-pleasure book - angsty and campy and compelling.
#150: This Side of Heaven by Anna Schmidt
Why I chose it: I bought a whole bunch of Harlequin Everlasting Love books awhile ago; I was browsing my TBR pile and it caught my eye
This book was pretty good, overall. The love story was believable, and I liked the characters. It wasn't a story that stuck with me, particularly, but it was a good diversion. After the way the two main characters never reconciled their opinions about Vietnam and about war in general, and after the way their family was affected by 9/11 and the Iraq war, I was surprised the Iraq war didn't create tension between the two of them, but I can understand not wanting to end up a note of tension (because I can't see these guys ever agreeing on that particular issue) and not wanting to make the story seem political.
#151: Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin
Why I chose it: Got it for Christmas last year
In this book, the author described the way animals see the world, drawing on her own experiences as an autistic person. I thought it was very interesting, especially the part about how humans and dogs evolved together. I disagreed with some of the author's generalizations about autism, because her experiences don't always match mine, but that didn't get in the way of my enjoyment of the book.
40Enraptured
#152: The Vow by Rebecca Winters
Why I chose it: Why I chose it: I bought a whole bunch of Harlequin Everlasting Love books awhile ago; I couldn't find anything I felt like reading, so I thought I might as well read this one
I didn't like this one quite as well as the other one. Maybe it was just that I wasn't in a great mood to begin with, and had only chosen the book because I didn't know what to read. But the characters and the story just didn't really catch my interest. I did get more interested towards the end, because I wasn't sure whether the author was going to let the hero live or not, and I wanted to find out. As a side note, this heroine confuses me; I can't imagine being married for years to a man who has never said "I love you" without once asking him why he's never said it.
#153: Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
Why I chose it: Saw it while browsing on Amazon, forgot about it, and saw it again while browsing on PaperbackSwap
I had a lot of fun reading this book. It was light enough not to require much thought, but not fluffy to the point of being obnoxious. I really cared about the main character - although I thought she seemed a few years younger than 27. And it didn't follow the usual chick-lit formula. The portrayal of Iran is, from what I've gathered, not entirely accurate, but it didn't get in the way of the story for me.
Why I chose it: Why I chose it: I bought a whole bunch of Harlequin Everlasting Love books awhile ago; I couldn't find anything I felt like reading, so I thought I might as well read this one
I didn't like this one quite as well as the other one. Maybe it was just that I wasn't in a great mood to begin with, and had only chosen the book because I didn't know what to read. But the characters and the story just didn't really catch my interest. I did get more interested towards the end, because I wasn't sure whether the author was going to let the hero live or not, and I wanted to find out. As a side note, this heroine confuses me; I can't imagine being married for years to a man who has never said "I love you" without once asking him why he's never said it.
#153: Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
Why I chose it: Saw it while browsing on Amazon, forgot about it, and saw it again while browsing on PaperbackSwap
I had a lot of fun reading this book. It was light enough not to require much thought, but not fluffy to the point of being obnoxious. I really cared about the main character - although I thought she seemed a few years younger than 27. And it didn't follow the usual chick-lit formula. The portrayal of Iran is, from what I've gathered, not entirely accurate, but it didn't get in the way of the story for me.
41Enraptured
#154: Don't Hurt Laurie by Willo Davis Roberts
Why I chose it: Saw it on someone's PaperbackSwap bookshelf and remembered it from my childhood
I enjoyed this book mainly because I remembered reading it when I was a kid. I remembered the basic plot, but had forgotten most of the specifics. Unlike some other books from my childhood that I've reread, this one was still good, which I was relieved to discover. Kind of a grim story, but it ended well - and when have I ever been bothered by grim, anyway? ;)
#155: First Person Plural: My Life as a Multiple by Cameron West
Why I chose it: Saw it mentioned on PaperbackSwap
This was an intriguing memoir about life with multiple personalities. I have a hard time imagining that kind of life - how do you deal with the everyday practicalities of having more than one person in one body? And how separate are the distinct personalities? I'm still not sure I entirely understand, but the book was definitely interesting.
#156: Meeting Lizzy by Sarahbeth Carter
Why I chose it: Early Reviewers book
I posted a review of this one on the book page. Overall, I was disappointed in it. The writing quality just wasn't very good.
#157: X-Treme Parenting by Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Have wanted it for awhile; saw it in the bookstore
I really like Baby Blues, and this book was just as good as the previous ones. It was relaxing and fun to read. I'm looking forward to seeing what Wren is going to turn out to be like as she grows up.
#158: Five Steps to a Big-Profit, S.M.A.L.L Report Business by Jimmy D. Brown (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Got it from Holly Lisle's mailing list
This was an okay book, about the same as the other ebooks I got from the same list. His idea of writing and selling short reports is probably not something I'll ever end up doing, but some of the brainstorming techniques could probably be modified to work for fiction.
#159: I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson
Why I chose it: Saw it on PaperbackSwap; have been looking for similar books for awhile
I tend to like books about motherhood, in the vein of Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner, and I haven't found many of them, so when I saw this one I thought it might be interesting. It was okay, and amusing in parts, but it was nothing special. And the end didn't really seem to fit. (spoilers)............................... ......................... After all Kate's agonizing about whether it's better to work or be a stay-at-home mom, her decision to quit her job seemed to come out of the blue; it really didn't look like she was leaning in that direction. And the way it was done, it looked like it was trying to get the point across that it's better for mothers not to work, although I don't think it was meant that way (and I think the possibility of her embarking on a business venture at the very end may have been put in partially to avoid the end making that kind of impression).
Why I chose it: Saw it on someone's PaperbackSwap bookshelf and remembered it from my childhood
I enjoyed this book mainly because I remembered reading it when I was a kid. I remembered the basic plot, but had forgotten most of the specifics. Unlike some other books from my childhood that I've reread, this one was still good, which I was relieved to discover. Kind of a grim story, but it ended well - and when have I ever been bothered by grim, anyway? ;)
#155: First Person Plural: My Life as a Multiple by Cameron West
Why I chose it: Saw it mentioned on PaperbackSwap
This was an intriguing memoir about life with multiple personalities. I have a hard time imagining that kind of life - how do you deal with the everyday practicalities of having more than one person in one body? And how separate are the distinct personalities? I'm still not sure I entirely understand, but the book was definitely interesting.
#156: Meeting Lizzy by Sarahbeth Carter
Why I chose it: Early Reviewers book
I posted a review of this one on the book page. Overall, I was disappointed in it. The writing quality just wasn't very good.
#157: X-Treme Parenting by Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Have wanted it for awhile; saw it in the bookstore
I really like Baby Blues, and this book was just as good as the previous ones. It was relaxing and fun to read. I'm looking forward to seeing what Wren is going to turn out to be like as she grows up.
#158: Five Steps to a Big-Profit, S.M.A.L.L Report Business by Jimmy D. Brown (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Got it from Holly Lisle's mailing list
This was an okay book, about the same as the other ebooks I got from the same list. His idea of writing and selling short reports is probably not something I'll ever end up doing, but some of the brainstorming techniques could probably be modified to work for fiction.
#159: I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson
Why I chose it: Saw it on PaperbackSwap; have been looking for similar books for awhile
I tend to like books about motherhood, in the vein of Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner, and I haven't found many of them, so when I saw this one I thought it might be interesting. It was okay, and amusing in parts, but it was nothing special. And the end didn't really seem to fit. (spoilers)............................... ......................... After all Kate's agonizing about whether it's better to work or be a stay-at-home mom, her decision to quit her job seemed to come out of the blue; it really didn't look like she was leaning in that direction. And the way it was done, it looked like it was trying to get the point across that it's better for mothers not to work, although I don't think it was meant that way (and I think the possibility of her embarking on a business venture at the very end may have been put in partially to avoid the end making that kind of impression).
42flemingt
'The Elephanta Suite' by Paul Theroux. Why I chose it: I love Theroux's books, and this is about India, one of the weirdest places in the world to travel. Three novellas describe the culture and the culture shock faced by the protagonists. The 2nd story is the best, and most touching.
43Enraptured
#160: Up High in the Trees by Kiara Brinkman
Why I chose it: Saw it listed on an autism site as a novel about autism
I started reading this one last year and put it aside, but since I've been having good luck this year with reading books that I previously found boring, I thought I'd check it out again. This time I was not in luck. I got all the way through it this time, but I just didn't find it interesting, and it was too literary for me - I always had the feeling that I was missing something.
#161: Psion by Joan D. Vinge
Why I chose it: Saw it on a list of recommended science fiction; looking for more science fiction to read
I really liked this book's premise, but it didn't quite live up to it, in my opinion. It was a fun and engaging story, but it felt kind of formulaic at times. And the main character seemed a bit like a Mary Sue to me.
#162: Thirty Tips for eBook Authors by Jimmy D. Brown
Why I chose it: Got it from Holly Lisle's mailing list
Like the other one, this was an okay book, though not entirely relevant to me. I can barely separate it from the other one in my head, but I think this one, like the other one, may have had some tips that could be modified to apply to writing fiction.
#163: Who's Been Sleeping in Your Head by Brett Kahr
Why I chose it: Looking for books about psychology as it relates to sex
A lot of this book was made up of the sexual fantasies that people described to the author in internet surveys and in-person interviews. They were the most interesting part - I was surprised at the variety of them. The author's interpretations of why people have different types of fantasies were simultaneously simplistic and convoluted, mostly going back to childhood trauma. They seemed valid up to a point, but I don't think his reasons for people's fantasies are the only reasons.
Why I chose it: Saw it listed on an autism site as a novel about autism
I started reading this one last year and put it aside, but since I've been having good luck this year with reading books that I previously found boring, I thought I'd check it out again. This time I was not in luck. I got all the way through it this time, but I just didn't find it interesting, and it was too literary for me - I always had the feeling that I was missing something.
#161: Psion by Joan D. Vinge
Why I chose it: Saw it on a list of recommended science fiction; looking for more science fiction to read
I really liked this book's premise, but it didn't quite live up to it, in my opinion. It was a fun and engaging story, but it felt kind of formulaic at times. And the main character seemed a bit like a Mary Sue to me.
#162: Thirty Tips for eBook Authors by Jimmy D. Brown
Why I chose it: Got it from Holly Lisle's mailing list
Like the other one, this was an okay book, though not entirely relevant to me. I can barely separate it from the other one in my head, but I think this one, like the other one, may have had some tips that could be modified to apply to writing fiction.
#163: Who's Been Sleeping in Your Head by Brett Kahr
Why I chose it: Looking for books about psychology as it relates to sex
A lot of this book was made up of the sexual fantasies that people described to the author in internet surveys and in-person interviews. They were the most interesting part - I was surprised at the variety of them. The author's interpretations of why people have different types of fantasies were simultaneously simplistic and convoluted, mostly going back to childhood trauma. They seemed valid up to a point, but I don't think his reasons for people's fantasies are the only reasons.
44Enraptured
#164: Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as Flowers in the Attic. This one seemed very unfocused, with plot elements mostly thrown in because the author had no idea what to do. Also, huge chunks of time kept getting skipped over, which disoriented me. And the main character's endless self-sabotage really got on my nerves after awhile. It was an okay book, but I was hoping for something more like the first one.
#165: In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Got it as one of Tor.com's free ebooks
I loved this book. The best way to describe it, I think, would be La Femme Nikita as historical science fiction. The main character, Mendoza, is given two choices - she can remain in the dungeons of the Inquisition, or she can become immortal and spend eternity working for the Dr. Zeus corporation to preserve the treasures of the human race. Of course she chooses the second option - but as it turns out, she's not so much working to help humanity as she is working to make Dr. Zeus rich. And then there's a love story... I love Mendoza as a main character; she's prickly and defensive and vulnerable. She reminds me a little of Lola from Benighted.
#166: Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series years ago; found out through PaperbackSwap that there was a sequel
I loved The Bean Trees (I read it almost ten years ago), so as soon as I found out there was a sequel, I snapped it up. This one didn't grab me quite as much, but I still enjoyed it. The ending was kind of contrived, and I could see it - at least part of it - coming fairly early on, but it was still a good story, and it was nice to see the same characters back again.
#167: I Am Rosemarie by Marietta Moskin
Why I chose it: Had it in my TBR for about ten years; felt like I should finally read it
This book could very well have been the book I had in my TBR pile for the longest; it had probably been there for ten years or so. When I first got it I thought it was about Native Americans for some reason; as it turns out, it's about a teenage girl in the Holocaust. It was a good look at her life and how her experiences changed her. The main problem I had with it, though, was that the descriptions of the world she lived in, particularly of the concentration camp, didn't seem quite right; they didn't quite match the other things I've read.
#168: Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession by Erma Bombeck
Why I chose it: Got it for free with another book on PaperbackSwap
I've been meaning to read something by Erma Bombeck for awhile, to see if I like her writing. I think this book was mainly meant for mothers, which I didn't realize before I got it. I did enjoy it somewhat, though at times I felt kind of left out.
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as Flowers in the Attic. This one seemed very unfocused, with plot elements mostly thrown in because the author had no idea what to do. Also, huge chunks of time kept getting skipped over, which disoriented me. And the main character's endless self-sabotage really got on my nerves after awhile. It was an okay book, but I was hoping for something more like the first one.
#165: In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Got it as one of Tor.com's free ebooks
I loved this book. The best way to describe it, I think, would be La Femme Nikita as historical science fiction. The main character, Mendoza, is given two choices - she can remain in the dungeons of the Inquisition, or she can become immortal and spend eternity working for the Dr. Zeus corporation to preserve the treasures of the human race. Of course she chooses the second option - but as it turns out, she's not so much working to help humanity as she is working to make Dr. Zeus rich. And then there's a love story... I love Mendoza as a main character; she's prickly and defensive and vulnerable. She reminds me a little of Lola from Benighted.
#166: Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series years ago; found out through PaperbackSwap that there was a sequel
I loved The Bean Trees (I read it almost ten years ago), so as soon as I found out there was a sequel, I snapped it up. This one didn't grab me quite as much, but I still enjoyed it. The ending was kind of contrived, and I could see it - at least part of it - coming fairly early on, but it was still a good story, and it was nice to see the same characters back again.
#167: I Am Rosemarie by Marietta Moskin
Why I chose it: Had it in my TBR for about ten years; felt like I should finally read it
This book could very well have been the book I had in my TBR pile for the longest; it had probably been there for ten years or so. When I first got it I thought it was about Native Americans for some reason; as it turns out, it's about a teenage girl in the Holocaust. It was a good look at her life and how her experiences changed her. The main problem I had with it, though, was that the descriptions of the world she lived in, particularly of the concentration camp, didn't seem quite right; they didn't quite match the other things I've read.
#168: Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession by Erma Bombeck
Why I chose it: Got it for free with another book on PaperbackSwap
I've been meaning to read something by Erma Bombeck for awhile, to see if I like her writing. I think this book was mainly meant for mothers, which I didn't realize before I got it. I did enjoy it somewhat, though at times I felt kind of left out.
45Enraptured
#169: I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Why I chose it: Saw it mentioned on a thread on PaperbackSwap about dystopian novels
I really liked the premise of this book - a woman growing up in a cage with a bunch of other women, kept away from the world, not knowing why she's there or what's happening. Some people think there was some kind of apocalypse; some think they got taken to another planet. I had read that the book was very literary, so I was worried it would have that experimental-literary tone that I don't like, but I found it to be very accessible. I do wish there had been more of a resolution though; I found the ending unsatisfying.
#170: Monstering: Inside America's Policy of Secret Interrogations and Torture in the Terror War by Tara McKelvey
This book was hard to get through at times, with the grim subject matter. Some of the stuff in here I had already read, but a lot of it was new - especially the interviews and the descriptions of the culture of Abu Ghraib.
#171: The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
Why I chose it: Saw it while randomly browsing on PaperbackSwap
This book was surprisingly absorbing. I could easily get inside the main character's head to empathize with him. His grief was very well-described, and his impossible situation seemed believable - he needed to find out what had happened to Lexy, but he had no way of doing so. I also liked seeing scenes of his relationship with Lexy interspersed with his present-day quest to teach his dog to talk. I do wish he hadn't given his wife and the dog names that started with the same letter, because occasionally I got them confused.
#172: Sky Coyote by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
This book wasn't quite as good as the first one, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. This time we got to see through Joseph's eyes. I missed having Mendoza as a main character, but found that I liked seeing Joseph's perspective as well.
#173: Real Time by Pnina Moed Kass
Why I chose it: Found it while randomly browsing on PaperbackSwap; ordered it on a whim, but the person sending it never responded, so I put it on my wishlist and ordered it when it came up, even though ordinarily I probably wouldn't have put it on my wishlist in the first place
This was an okay book, but I kidn of wished it had gone into more depth on some of the characters. I would have either given it fewer characters or made the book longer. That wasn't the point though, I suppose; the point was to show what happened leading up to the bombing of a bus, and then the aftermath of that. I would have cared more if I had been able to get to know the characters better, though.
Why I chose it: Saw it mentioned on a thread on PaperbackSwap about dystopian novels
I really liked the premise of this book - a woman growing up in a cage with a bunch of other women, kept away from the world, not knowing why she's there or what's happening. Some people think there was some kind of apocalypse; some think they got taken to another planet. I had read that the book was very literary, so I was worried it would have that experimental-literary tone that I don't like, but I found it to be very accessible. I do wish there had been more of a resolution though; I found the ending unsatisfying.
#170: Monstering: Inside America's Policy of Secret Interrogations and Torture in the Terror War by Tara McKelvey
This book was hard to get through at times, with the grim subject matter. Some of the stuff in here I had already read, but a lot of it was new - especially the interviews and the descriptions of the culture of Abu Ghraib.
#171: The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
Why I chose it: Saw it while randomly browsing on PaperbackSwap
This book was surprisingly absorbing. I could easily get inside the main character's head to empathize with him. His grief was very well-described, and his impossible situation seemed believable - he needed to find out what had happened to Lexy, but he had no way of doing so. I also liked seeing scenes of his relationship with Lexy interspersed with his present-day quest to teach his dog to talk. I do wish he hadn't given his wife and the dog names that started with the same letter, because occasionally I got them confused.
#172: Sky Coyote by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
This book wasn't quite as good as the first one, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. This time we got to see through Joseph's eyes. I missed having Mendoza as a main character, but found that I liked seeing Joseph's perspective as well.
#173: Real Time by Pnina Moed Kass
Why I chose it: Found it while randomly browsing on PaperbackSwap; ordered it on a whim, but the person sending it never responded, so I put it on my wishlist and ordered it when it came up, even though ordinarily I probably wouldn't have put it on my wishlist in the first place
This was an okay book, but I kidn of wished it had gone into more depth on some of the characters. I would have either given it fewer characters or made the book longer. That wasn't the point though, I suppose; the point was to show what happened leading up to the bombing of a bus, and then the aftermath of that. I would have cared more if I had been able to get to know the characters better, though.
46Enraptured
#174: Mendoza in Hollywood by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I did the other two in the series. The plot felt a bit more unfocused, and there were some times where the book dragged - like the part where the author, for whatever reason, spent ten pages describing a movie the characters were watching. (spoilers)................. ........................ I was a little nonplussed by the return of Nicholas; I had kind of liked the futility of the love story in the first book - immortal cyborg falls in love with mortal man determined to make himself a martyr - but I'm reserving judgment until I see where this particular plot thread goes.
#175: The Graveyard Game by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I still like this series, but I have to say, Kage Baker is one of the most cynical authors I have ever encountered. It makes it hard to read too many of her books at once. Also, she seems to be allergic to happy endings - not that I mind, since I have the same problem myself. I was disappointed, though, by the fact that we didn't get to see Mendoza at all in this book. And the part about the creepy little men who weren't quite human left me cold; I know they might have a part to play in the plot later, but if they don't, I would have preferred for them to be left out - they didn't seem to serve much of a purpose except to be creepy, and to show more of the Company's sinister side, which the author had already done plenty of.
#176: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
Why I chose it: Kept hearing it recommended
I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as most of the people who I've heard talking about it did, but I did enjoy it. It was an illuminating look at the Hmong culture, which I hadn't even heard of before, and how misunderstandings between American culture and Hmong culture kept Lia, a child with epilepsy, from getting the medical treatment she needed.
#177: Hawkspar by Holly Lisle
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it was very well done, although not quite as good as Talyn. Well-written, well-plotted, a solidly good book - and without the cliches that fill so many fantasy novels. It was a little too creepy for me, though, especially with people's eyes being replaced with stones - I know it was necessary for the plot, but it was almost more than I could handle (I'm very touchy about things happening to people's eyes). And parts of the book both confused and irritated me. Holly Lisle is brilliant at worldbuilding, mostly because she's spent a lot of time studying different cultures - how they function, how they're different, how they relate to one another. And yet, with all that knowledge, after delving into the subject so deeply, she writes a book with a culture based heavily on the torture of children, a culture that is just plain evil and must be destroyed. I thought she objected to that kind of shallowness. I don't get it.
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I did the other two in the series. The plot felt a bit more unfocused, and there were some times where the book dragged - like the part where the author, for whatever reason, spent ten pages describing a movie the characters were watching. (spoilers)................. ........................ I was a little nonplussed by the return of Nicholas; I had kind of liked the futility of the love story in the first book - immortal cyborg falls in love with mortal man determined to make himself a martyr - but I'm reserving judgment until I see where this particular plot thread goes.
#175: The Graveyard Game by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I still like this series, but I have to say, Kage Baker is one of the most cynical authors I have ever encountered. It makes it hard to read too many of her books at once. Also, she seems to be allergic to happy endings - not that I mind, since I have the same problem myself. I was disappointed, though, by the fact that we didn't get to see Mendoza at all in this book. And the part about the creepy little men who weren't quite human left me cold; I know they might have a part to play in the plot later, but if they don't, I would have preferred for them to be left out - they didn't seem to serve much of a purpose except to be creepy, and to show more of the Company's sinister side, which the author had already done plenty of.
#176: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
Why I chose it: Kept hearing it recommended
I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as most of the people who I've heard talking about it did, but I did enjoy it. It was an illuminating look at the Hmong culture, which I hadn't even heard of before, and how misunderstandings between American culture and Hmong culture kept Lia, a child with epilepsy, from getting the medical treatment she needed.
#177: Hawkspar by Holly Lisle
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it was very well done, although not quite as good as Talyn. Well-written, well-plotted, a solidly good book - and without the cliches that fill so many fantasy novels. It was a little too creepy for me, though, especially with people's eyes being replaced with stones - I know it was necessary for the plot, but it was almost more than I could handle (I'm very touchy about things happening to people's eyes). And parts of the book both confused and irritated me. Holly Lisle is brilliant at worldbuilding, mostly because she's spent a lot of time studying different cultures - how they function, how they're different, how they relate to one another. And yet, with all that knowledge, after delving into the subject so deeply, she writes a book with a culture based heavily on the torture of children, a culture that is just plain evil and must be destroyed. I thought she objected to that kind of shallowness. I don't get it.
47Enraptured
#178: The Girls in the Back of the Class by Louanne Johnson
Why I chose it: Read another book by the author
This was a good book, more serious than the other book I had read by the author but in the same mold. It was a series of stories about the high-school kids she taught, who were in her program for kids on the verge of dropping out or flunking out. Reading the book, it was clear how much she cared about the kids she taught, and how much she helped them.
#179: The Taking by Dean Koontz
Why I chose it: Looking for Dean Koontz books
This book was as compelling as the other Dean Koontz books I've read, and I enjoyed it as much, although I found the evil fungi just a little too creepy. The author seemed to be using the story as a way to get across his ideas about the nature of evil, and while my philosophy is very different from the one espoused in the book, the preaching didn't get in the way of the story for me.
#180: Fullmetal Alchemist; Volume 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
Why I chose it: Saw the TV show based on it
I've heard the show diverges drastically from the show, but apparently that isn't the case in the first volume - the events in the book were very close to what happened in the show. I enjoyed the show a lot, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy the manga as much.
#181: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Economics by Tom Gorman
Why I chose it: Looking for an easy-to-read introductory book about economics
Economics kind of intrigues me, so I wanted something about it to read that would be easy to understand; I figured an Idiot's Guide book would be just the thing. Overall, I liked this one; my eyes glazed over at some parts, but most of it was fairly simple, and I had fun with it.
#182: How to Be Happy All the Time by Mark Anastasi (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Catching up on short free ebooks I downloaded
Ack! This was awful. It talked about how important it is to think positively, and that if you do that you'll never be unhappy again. There's a lot to be said for positive thinking, but it is not the only determinant of happiness. Besides, nothing in here is new; I've heard it all before, and I imagine I'm in the majority. The book seemed, in part, to be aimed at people who are depressed; I probably wouldn't have been so bothered by it if that weren't the case. Telling someone depressed that they just need to think happy thoughts, and that if they aren't happy it's their own fault, is downright cruel.
#183: As a Man Thnketh by James Allen (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Catching up on short free ebooks I downloaded
Same principle as the above book, with more focus on manifestation. This one didn't bother me like the previous one did, but it wasn't useful either. And he takes the manifestation thing a bit too far, in my opinion - not everything that happens to you is caused by your thoughts. The world does not revolve around you. As nice as it would be to be able to ensure that you never have any problems again by keeping only positive thoughts in your mind, and to be able to blame other people for their problems and thus absolve yourself of any responsibility to help them, that isn't the way things work.
#184: Eleven Steps to Solving ANY Problem by Mark Anastasi (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Catching up on short free ebooks I downloaded
This book felt kind of like a sales pitch, although I'm not sure what it was selling. The problem-solving tips were marginally useful, but again, nothing new.
#185: The Psychology of Successful Weight Loss by Mark Anastasi (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Catching up on short free ebooks I downloaded
After the last two free ebooks I found on my hard drive from this guy, I probably should have just deleted the rest, or at least decided not to read them. But morbid curiosity drove me to read this one, especially since I've been reading a lot of anti-weight-loss things online. The basic principle really rubbed me the wrong way; apparently the secret to weight loss is to think of all the ways your life is miserable because you're fat, and all the ways your life will be wonderful once you're thin. First, this is not a new strategy by any means. Second, it's not necessarily true - fat people can have wonderful (and healthy!) lives, and thin people can have miserable lives. Third, it doesn't work for long-term weight loss.
Why I chose it: Read another book by the author
This was a good book, more serious than the other book I had read by the author but in the same mold. It was a series of stories about the high-school kids she taught, who were in her program for kids on the verge of dropping out or flunking out. Reading the book, it was clear how much she cared about the kids she taught, and how much she helped them.
#179: The Taking by Dean Koontz
Why I chose it: Looking for Dean Koontz books
This book was as compelling as the other Dean Koontz books I've read, and I enjoyed it as much, although I found the evil fungi just a little too creepy. The author seemed to be using the story as a way to get across his ideas about the nature of evil, and while my philosophy is very different from the one espoused in the book, the preaching didn't get in the way of the story for me.
#180: Fullmetal Alchemist; Volume 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
Why I chose it: Saw the TV show based on it
I've heard the show diverges drastically from the show, but apparently that isn't the case in the first volume - the events in the book were very close to what happened in the show. I enjoyed the show a lot, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy the manga as much.
#181: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Economics by Tom Gorman
Why I chose it: Looking for an easy-to-read introductory book about economics
Economics kind of intrigues me, so I wanted something about it to read that would be easy to understand; I figured an Idiot's Guide book would be just the thing. Overall, I liked this one; my eyes glazed over at some parts, but most of it was fairly simple, and I had fun with it.
#182: How to Be Happy All the Time by Mark Anastasi (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Catching up on short free ebooks I downloaded
Ack! This was awful. It talked about how important it is to think positively, and that if you do that you'll never be unhappy again. There's a lot to be said for positive thinking, but it is not the only determinant of happiness. Besides, nothing in here is new; I've heard it all before, and I imagine I'm in the majority. The book seemed, in part, to be aimed at people who are depressed; I probably wouldn't have been so bothered by it if that weren't the case. Telling someone depressed that they just need to think happy thoughts, and that if they aren't happy it's their own fault, is downright cruel.
#183: As a Man Thnketh by James Allen (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Catching up on short free ebooks I downloaded
Same principle as the above book, with more focus on manifestation. This one didn't bother me like the previous one did, but it wasn't useful either. And he takes the manifestation thing a bit too far, in my opinion - not everything that happens to you is caused by your thoughts. The world does not revolve around you. As nice as it would be to be able to ensure that you never have any problems again by keeping only positive thoughts in your mind, and to be able to blame other people for their problems and thus absolve yourself of any responsibility to help them, that isn't the way things work.
#184: Eleven Steps to Solving ANY Problem by Mark Anastasi (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Catching up on short free ebooks I downloaded
This book felt kind of like a sales pitch, although I'm not sure what it was selling. The problem-solving tips were marginally useful, but again, nothing new.
#185: The Psychology of Successful Weight Loss by Mark Anastasi (no touchstone)
Why I chose it: Catching up on short free ebooks I downloaded
After the last two free ebooks I found on my hard drive from this guy, I probably should have just deleted the rest, or at least decided not to read them. But morbid curiosity drove me to read this one, especially since I've been reading a lot of anti-weight-loss things online. The basic principle really rubbed me the wrong way; apparently the secret to weight loss is to think of all the ways your life is miserable because you're fat, and all the ways your life will be wonderful once you're thin. First, this is not a new strategy by any means. Second, it's not necessarily true - fat people can have wonderful (and healthy!) lives, and thin people can have miserable lives. Third, it doesn't work for long-term weight loss.
48Enraptured
#186: Black Projects, White Knights by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I didn't like this one as well as the previous Company novels, because it's a book of short stories, and I prefer novels. Still, I did enjoy the stories.
#187: The Life of the World to Come by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I approached this one with trepidation; the quality of the books in the series seemed to be declining, and I expected this one to follow the same pattern. Instead, this one brought the series out of its slump, and the hanging plot threads really started to go somewhere (though it only added more complexity to the overall plot...).
#188: Over My Head by Claudia L. Osborn
Why I chose it: Heard about it on the radio years ago; found it again browsing Amazon
This book terrified me. I don't know how I'd be able to deal with losing mental capacity due to a brain injury the way the author did - or if I'd be able to deal with it at all. And at the end, she still isn't back to her old self, and probably never will be. But I was glad that she was at least able to come to terms with what had happened to her.
#189: Preacher Vol. 1: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis
Why I chose it: Looking for graphic novels years ago; it sat on my shelf unread for years
The premise drew me to this one, but the style completely turned me off. It was designed to include as much gratuitous violence and just plain grossness as possible. I know some people like that style, but I don't. I was kind of disappointed, since the premise was the type of thing I normally like.
#190: So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld
Why I chose it: Read other books by the author
I liked this one; it was fun and entertaining. I did have a problem with the ending, though. It seemed to trail off into nothing, instead of having a proper ending; it reads like the author couldn't quite figure out what to do.
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I didn't like this one as well as the previous Company novels, because it's a book of short stories, and I prefer novels. Still, I did enjoy the stories.
#187: The Life of the World to Come by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I approached this one with trepidation; the quality of the books in the series seemed to be declining, and I expected this one to follow the same pattern. Instead, this one brought the series out of its slump, and the hanging plot threads really started to go somewhere (though it only added more complexity to the overall plot...).
#188: Over My Head by Claudia L. Osborn
Why I chose it: Heard about it on the radio years ago; found it again browsing Amazon
This book terrified me. I don't know how I'd be able to deal with losing mental capacity due to a brain injury the way the author did - or if I'd be able to deal with it at all. And at the end, she still isn't back to her old self, and probably never will be. But I was glad that she was at least able to come to terms with what had happened to her.
#189: Preacher Vol. 1: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis
Why I chose it: Looking for graphic novels years ago; it sat on my shelf unread for years
The premise drew me to this one, but the style completely turned me off. It was designed to include as much gratuitous violence and just plain grossness as possible. I know some people like that style, but I don't. I was kind of disappointed, since the premise was the type of thing I normally like.
#190: So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld
Why I chose it: Read other books by the author
I liked this one; it was fun and entertaining. I did have a problem with the ending, though. It seemed to trail off into nothing, instead of having a proper ending; it reads like the author couldn't quite figure out what to do.
49Enraptured
#191: An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
Why I chose it: Looking for memoirs
Another scary one. But I did enjoy it. I'm not bipolar, but several people in my family are, and I appreciated being able to get an inside look at the disorder.
#192: Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Why I chose it: Read other books in the series
Another Dresden Files book; good, as usual. It was kind of frustrating to have to wait so long between the previous book and this one, though; I had forgotten a bunch of characters and details. This is why I like it when I discover a series after all the books have been written.
#193: Expecting Adam by Martha Beck
Why I chose it: It kept coming up in the "similar books" list on Amazon
I was skeptical of this one before I started it. It looked like it might be one of those books that equates disability with holiness. But as it turns out, not only does the author not do that, she explicitly states that she's not doing that. I loved hearing about the spiritual experiences she had while she was pregnant with her son, and I especially loved the friendly tone the book was written in.
#194: Confessions of a Blabbermouth by Mike Carey
Why I chose it: Looking for graphic novels
Enh. It was okay, but not much more than that. The plot and the characters were both kind of shallow.
#195: Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 2 by Hiromu Arakawa
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
So far, the manga is still sticking pretty close to the show. It's fun to revisit the early parts of the show, which I haven't seen in years.
#196: Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
Why I chose it: It kept coming up in the "similar books" list on Amazon
I enjoyed this one - it was a light and funny memoir about the author moving to America as a child after spending her early childhood in Iran, and how she and her family adjusted to American culture.
Why I chose it: Looking for memoirs
Another scary one. But I did enjoy it. I'm not bipolar, but several people in my family are, and I appreciated being able to get an inside look at the disorder.
#192: Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Why I chose it: Read other books in the series
Another Dresden Files book; good, as usual. It was kind of frustrating to have to wait so long between the previous book and this one, though; I had forgotten a bunch of characters and details. This is why I like it when I discover a series after all the books have been written.
#193: Expecting Adam by Martha Beck
Why I chose it: It kept coming up in the "similar books" list on Amazon
I was skeptical of this one before I started it. It looked like it might be one of those books that equates disability with holiness. But as it turns out, not only does the author not do that, she explicitly states that she's not doing that. I loved hearing about the spiritual experiences she had while she was pregnant with her son, and I especially loved the friendly tone the book was written in.
#194: Confessions of a Blabbermouth by Mike Carey
Why I chose it: Looking for graphic novels
Enh. It was okay, but not much more than that. The plot and the characters were both kind of shallow.
#195: Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 2 by Hiromu Arakawa
Why I chose it: Read the first book in the series
So far, the manga is still sticking pretty close to the show. It's fun to revisit the early parts of the show, which I haven't seen in years.
#196: Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
Why I chose it: It kept coming up in the "similar books" list on Amazon
I enjoyed this one - it was a light and funny memoir about the author moving to America as a child after spending her early childhood in Iran, and how she and her family adjusted to American culture.
50Enraptured
#197: Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, edited by John Joseph Adams
Why I chose it: Saw it on the 50bookchallenge livejournal community
As I've mentioned before, I'm kind of iffy on short stories, so this book was only so-so for me, despite the apocalyptic theme. I really liked some of the stories, but the majority just didn't grab me.
#198: The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Why I chose it: I kept hearing good things about it
I liked this book well enough, but not as much as I had hoped I would. It was interesting, but kind of meandered along, not leading anywhere in particular. I also didn't care about the characters as much as I wanted to.
#199: The Devil's Publishing Dictionary by S.L. Viehl
Why I chose it: Saw it on the author's blog
I'm not sure this counts as a book, but it's in PDF form, so I decided it counted. I thought it was quite an entertaining look at the publishing world.
#200: The Children of the Company by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I enjoyed this one, though not quite as much as the one before it. It veered off a little from the main plot, giving us a closer look at some side characters. It made the plot of the series even more convoluted than the last one did, too.
#201: The Machine's Child by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
Back to the main characters again. I liked this one a lot. It made me want to know where all of this is going to end.
Why I chose it: Saw it on the 50bookchallenge livejournal community
As I've mentioned before, I'm kind of iffy on short stories, so this book was only so-so for me, despite the apocalyptic theme. I really liked some of the stories, but the majority just didn't grab me.
#198: The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Why I chose it: I kept hearing good things about it
I liked this book well enough, but not as much as I had hoped I would. It was interesting, but kind of meandered along, not leading anywhere in particular. I also didn't care about the characters as much as I wanted to.
#199: The Devil's Publishing Dictionary by S.L. Viehl
Why I chose it: Saw it on the author's blog
I'm not sure this counts as a book, but it's in PDF form, so I decided it counted. I thought it was quite an entertaining look at the publishing world.
#200: The Children of the Company by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
I enjoyed this one, though not quite as much as the one before it. It veered off a little from the main plot, giving us a closer look at some side characters. It made the plot of the series even more convoluted than the last one did, too.
#201: The Machine's Child by Kage Baker
Why I chose it: Read the other books in the series
Back to the main characters again. I liked this one a lot. It made me want to know where all of this is going to end.
51Enraptured
#202: Exiting Nirvana: A Daughter's Life with Autism by Clara Claiborne Park
Why I chose it: Looking for autism memoirs
This book was a good portrait of the author's daughter, and it was interesting to see a portrayal of an autistic adult. Sometime about the author's writing style made the book kind of hard for me to read, though; it was a little dry, and there was something almost old-fashioned about parts of it.
#203: Communion: A True Story by Whitley Strieber
Why I chose it: Looking for books on alien abduction, for a novel I was going to write which later got scrapped
A supposedly true story about the author's experiences being abducted by aliens. It got very confusing around the middle, what with all the new memories appearing that completely revised his past. Also, I might have believed him more if the way his memories emerged hadn't reminded me of something I read earlier in the year about a man with false memory syndrome. I'm not sure whether I believe him or not, but I'm skeptical.
#204: With the Light... Vol. 1: Raising an Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe
Why I chose it: Found it looking for books (memoirs etc.) about autism
This one is a graphic novel about a family trying to raise their autistic son. It follows them from their son's birth through his elementary school years. None of the problems they faced were unique; I had seen them all before. But I suppose that was the point - to show the experience of raising an autistic child, not to add anything to it. I get the feeling it was meant more to be something parents could relate to.
#205: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Why I chose it: Saw it on somebody's wishlist on PaperbackSwap
An interesting YA novel that deals with identity and death - two subjects that happen to interest me a lot. The tone of the book was a little creepy, and I wasn't entirely happy with the ending, but I liked the book regardless.
#206: Asperger's From the Inside Out: A Supportive and Practical Guide for Anyone with Asperger's Syndrome by Michael John Carley
Why I chose it: Heard about it online
Most books about autism and Asperger's are written for parents; it's always good to see one written about and for affected adults. Most of the information here was stuff I had already seen before, but the tone of the book made me enjoy it despite that.
Why I chose it: Looking for autism memoirs
This book was a good portrait of the author's daughter, and it was interesting to see a portrayal of an autistic adult. Sometime about the author's writing style made the book kind of hard for me to read, though; it was a little dry, and there was something almost old-fashioned about parts of it.
#203: Communion: A True Story by Whitley Strieber
Why I chose it: Looking for books on alien abduction, for a novel I was going to write which later got scrapped
A supposedly true story about the author's experiences being abducted by aliens. It got very confusing around the middle, what with all the new memories appearing that completely revised his past. Also, I might have believed him more if the way his memories emerged hadn't reminded me of something I read earlier in the year about a man with false memory syndrome. I'm not sure whether I believe him or not, but I'm skeptical.
#204: With the Light... Vol. 1: Raising an Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe
Why I chose it: Found it looking for books (memoirs etc.) about autism
This one is a graphic novel about a family trying to raise their autistic son. It follows them from their son's birth through his elementary school years. None of the problems they faced were unique; I had seen them all before. But I suppose that was the point - to show the experience of raising an autistic child, not to add anything to it. I get the feeling it was meant more to be something parents could relate to.
#205: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Why I chose it: Saw it on somebody's wishlist on PaperbackSwap
An interesting YA novel that deals with identity and death - two subjects that happen to interest me a lot. The tone of the book was a little creepy, and I wasn't entirely happy with the ending, but I liked the book regardless.
#206: Asperger's From the Inside Out: A Supportive and Practical Guide for Anyone with Asperger's Syndrome by Michael John Carley
Why I chose it: Heard about it online
Most books about autism and Asperger's are written for parents; it's always good to see one written about and for affected adults. Most of the information here was stuff I had already seen before, but the tone of the book made me enjoy it despite that.
