bookaholicgirl's 2011 attempt

Even though I have never gotten to 75, I love this group so much that I can't leave. Maybe I will make it this year!

Maybe this is your year, Denise. Here's hoping!

Brava for trying again! The point is the fun, anyway, Denise, so we're all happy to see you back...you add to the fun.

Merry Christmas, Denise! Have fun reading in 2011 and no worries about quantity, right? I mainly use my thread as a reminder of what I've read and what I thought about it (as a memory aid for my senior brain) rather than trying to reach the magic number. And I come to these groups to keep up with the great people who post great ideas for books on their own threads. :)

Welcome back!

Thanks everyone for the welcome! Can't wait to read your threads for this year!

1. Material World by Peter Menzel - Pictorial look at possessions owned by various families in several countries around the world with commentary about both the families and the countries. Very enjoyable and interesting.

2. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields - this was the selection for my book club. Some parts were enjoyable and others were just meh. I can't say that I regret reading it but it also isn't one of my favorites either.

Hi, Denise! Thanks for stopping by to say hello. Material World looks interesting. I'll have to take a look at it, being in the position of *trying* to give up a lot of my material possessions in order to reduce clutter and simplify. Oh, yes, and to move. Strange the things a person thinks of as important.

*waving* as I pass through the threads

#8 and #9 - Thanks for stopping by! Sorry I missed your posts but that happens when you forget to star your own thread! Duh!

3. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel - pictorial look at a week's worth of food from average families in various countries around the world with commentary. Very informative and interesting.

#10: LOL, Denise. You can always use the Threadbook on the wiki to find yourself too :)

4. What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets by Peter Menzel - another installment in my Menzel obsession. This one is a pictorial account of a day's worth of food for 80 people from around the world. Very interesting to see the different calorie amounts and the variety of foods eaten.

Material World sounds like a great book!

#14 - It was really interesting and I highly recommend it.

I wish my local library had Menzel's books. They sound very interesting.

Stasia - They really are fascinating. Maybe if you asked they would get them?

#17: I doubt it. The local library's budget is pretty strapped here. They cut both hours and personnel last year.

Those Peter Menzel books look really neat - I'll have to check them out of the library.

Hi Denise! Happy to have your visit today! I have never heard of Peter Menzel, but he sounds like a really interesting person.

I've looked at some of Menzel's books before, but I've never read one... thanks for reminding me :)

#12 I had to do that once... oy.

Hi, Denise! Just stopped by to see what you've been up to. I think I'm going to have to check and see if my library has any of Menzel's books.

5. The Death Instinct by Jed Rubenfeld - This book starts with an explosion in the middle of Wall Street that is the deadliest terrorist attack in American history. This attack occurred on September 16, 1920 and the mystery was never solved. The book intertwines the investigation of this attack with the story of Dr. Statham Younger, Captain James Littlemore, Colette Rousseau and her brother Luc who has become mute after WWI. Historical figures such as Dr. Sigmund Freud and Madame Curie are also featured in the story.

While the story is interesting, I really never felt compelled to pick up the book and almost had to force myself to finish it. I received the book through Early Reviewers. So, while I can't say that I hated it, I can't say that I loved it either. It was a good blend of historical fiction and mystery and suspense.

Hi There

I'm compiling a list of birthdays of our group members. If you haven't done so already, would you mind stopping by this thread and posting yours.

Thanks.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/105833

Whisper1 - done!

6. Broke, USA by Gary Rivlin - study of the povery industry in America - rent-to-own, payday loans, income tax advances etc. - interesting but not outstanding

Your recent read does sound interesting. Have you read the book Nickled and Dimed?

#26: Thanks for the mention of that one. I will see if I can locate a copy.

Whisper1 - Yes, I read Nickled and Dimed a few years ago. Broke, USA has some anecdotes about people who were taken by the industry but it is more about the people in the industry itself - not very likable people I might add.

Stasia - Hi! Thanks for stopping by.

7. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer - interesting non-fiction selection of the research the author did to help him decide to become a vegetarian. The book shows how far away from farming our country has actually come. Very interesting reading for anyone interested in where our food comes from and how money seems to make all of the decisions in this area. (Note: I am mostly vegetarian so my reaction may be different than yours.)

#30: I have had that one in the BlackHole for a while now. One of these days I will get around to it.

Stasia - It is very eye-opening and I would be interested in hearing what you think of it once you read it.

I will let you know once I get to it, Denise!

Wow! It has been a very long time since I have posted here. I was swamped with family obligations, went away and have been sick for over two weeks now. So sick I couldn't even read for most of the time. I did finally manage to finish a book, though.

8. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson - the second in the series - I enjoyed this book but perhaps not as much as I did the first one. I found there was much more gratuitous sex in this one that took away some of my enjoyment of the book. I also found some of the sentences to be a bit on the awkward side but I believe that is a translation issue more than anything. I felt this book could have used a bit better editing but overall enjoyed it and will read the next one soon.

edited because it has been so long since I have posted here that I forgot to touchstone the book and author

That's quite a book to tackle when not feeling well! Glad you are better now.

#35 - It took me over 3 weeks to read it but I really went through it much more quickly this week. Unfortunately, I am still really sick but am better enough to read now and then. I think it is off to the doctor for me on Monday since I am entering my 4th week of this mess and the antibiotic obviously did not help at all.

9. Life in Miniature by Linda Schlossberg - an ER selection - just ok - touchstones completely wrong

I have been gone for a while now too, Denise, but am glad to be back. Hopefully I can stick with everyone for the rest of the year.

Sorry your latest book was not a good one. I hope your next read is better for you.

Stasia - I was wondering where you were - I hope everything is ok with you and your family. I still haven't gotten caught up on the site and don't know if I will be able to - we have been so busy and have so many things going on that computer time is just one of those things that had to be cut. Maybe someday I will contribute regularly again. But, if the choice is between reading a book and reading on the computer, I will pick the book everytime! Take care.

Choosing between a book and the computer is no contest for me either :)

10. Wrecker by Summer Wood - this is the story of a young boy whose mother is sent to prison and the family that adopts him - meh - that, unfortunately, sums it up.

11. Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King - 4 short stories - I find Stephen King's work since his accident extremely dark and disturbing and this was no exception. Out of the four stories, I found "A Good Marriage" to be the best and I also enjoyed "1922". "Fair Extension" was just ok and "Big Driver" was too much for me.

12. Made for You and Me by Caitlin Shetterly - memoir of a woman who moved across country with her husband right before the economic collapse - very good

13. The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital by Darby Penney and Peter Stostny - portrait of 20th century psychiatric care - heartbreaking but excellent

I keep editing this to fix the touchstones but they do not care to be fixed apparently.

I missed a book somewhere along the way. I actually read this in February:

14. Once a Runner by John L. Parker, Jr. - a cult following surrounded this novel about a college runner who dreams of running a 4 minute mile - very good

I received Made For You And Me as well - I thought she gave a great "voice" to our economic woes.

DFED: I agree with you. I really enjoyed this book and liked her writing style and how open and honest she was about herself and even her flaws.

15. The Twisted Thread: A Novel by Charlotte Bacon - story about a murder at a prestigious boarding school - an ER book - enjoyable but a bit predictable

And, really, what the heck is up with the touchstones? How in the world is Elric: The Stealer of Souls remotely the same as The Twisted Thread?

16. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell - story of the residents (mostly women) of an English country town in the mid 19th century - this started off slowly which worried me but I wound up liking it very much.

17. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield - ER book - Set in the late 1950s, this is the story of a family in Arkansas who suffers a tragedy during their annual family reunion and how they change and grow during that summer. I loved this book which is clearly evident by the fact that I started it yesterday afternoon and finished it today!

18. Perfection by Julie Metz - After her husband dies, the author realizes that her life was not at all what she thought it was in this memoir - good not great.

19. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker - Truly Plaice is the biggest person in her town and an extreme contrast to her perfectly feminine sister but their lives become intermingled in ways Truly never imagined - good not great

#48: I loved Cranford. Glad to see you enjoyed it, Denise.

Thanks for stopping by, Stasia! Hope all is well with you.

20. In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd - memoir of the author's childhood during the Depression. The movie A Christmas Story is based on this book. Very good.

21. The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley by Martine Murray - story of a 12 year old girl whose father has died and whose brother has run away. Okay not great.

#52: I have not read a single book by Jean Shepherd yet. I must remedy that!

Stasia - You really should read this book if you enjoyed the movie. The movie is actually based on mostly one chapter of this book with a few other chapters included as well. As I read the book, I could hear the narrator of the movie in my head reading the book to me - it was kind of weird!

I have never watched the movie either. *hangs head in shame*

Stasia - OMG!!! Only kidding! It is on TBS for 24 hours every Christmas. You should try to catch some of it.

Yeah, I know it is on every Christmas. For some reason we just have never watched it. Maybe this is the year. . .

22. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks - very good

23. The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead - I HATED THIS BOOK.

24. Dirty Secret by Jessie Shell - memoir about the author's mother and her hoarding and psychological issues - very good

25. Little Blog on the Prairie by Cathleen Davitt Bell - YA book about a girl whose family goes to a Little House on the Prairie type camp for the summer - good

26. What the Dog Saw and other adventures by Malcolm Gladwell - collection of essays written by the author for The New Yorker - very good

27. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure - very good non-fiction selection where the author explores what is truth and what is fiction in the Little House books.

28. When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman - story of Elly and her brother Joe told from her early childhood in the late 60s through to just after 9/11 - very good

#60: Must get to that one soon! It is sitting right next to me :)

Stasia - Yes you definitely must! It really is quite good.

#63: Yeah, I keep hearing how good it is. I just need to be triplets or something to get all the books read I want to read.

I think it would be closer to octuplets for me!

#65: I am thinking that cloning really needs to be made widely available, Lori :)

29. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - I really found this book fascinating and was particularly interested to read that Holmes is buried in a cemetary about 15 minutes from where I live.

#67: I enjoy Erik Larson's books a lot. I am glad to see you liked The Devil in the White City, Denise.

30. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe - I enjoyed this book very much and found the characters extremely interesting and enjoyable!

I need to get to that book one of these days!

Stasia - I highly recommend it!

I have been reading a lot but not posting. Here is what I have read in the past couple of months:

31. A Secret Gift by Ted Gup

32. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

33. A Home on the Field by Paul Cuadros

34. Home from the Vinyl Cafe: A Year of Stories by Stuart McLean

35. There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz

36. Little Bee by Chris Cleeve

37. Going Bovine by Libba Brey

38. The Worst Thing by Aaron Elkins

39. The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok

40. House of Prayer No. 2 by Mark Richard

41. A Single Shot by Matthew F. Jones

42. Julia & Julie by Julie Powell - I am sure you all know this one. Eh, not great but ok.

43. The Feast Nearby by Robin Mather - very enjoyable and informative. This was a library book but I plan on buying a copy to keep on hand.

44. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead - a great little book

45. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - LOVED IT!

46. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - FABULOUS!

What did you think of Little Bee? That's one of those books I keep seeing & hearing about, but the reviews seem to be quite mixed.

dk_phoenix - I really enjoyed Little Bee as did everyone in my RL book club. None of us were happy with the ending though.

47. Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell - an excellent book!

48. The Brontes by Juliet Barker - an EXTREMELY in-depth look at the Bronte family. Interesting but a little too much detail for me.