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1OliveHoover
Well, I'm getting a little ahead of myself, starting now, but I wanted to get going on this so I don't fall behind like last year. I only finished 38 books in 2008, which isn't bad, but it's not what I wanted to accomplish. So, I'm giving myself the extra couple days to try to get ahead and finish more than five books during the rest of my Christmas break. So, here's hoping I finish 50 in 2009!
2robbieg_422
I got a little ahead of myself, too:)
3OliveHoover
I was trying to wait until I had read ten books to make the posting easier, but I'm not really sure when I'm going to get to that, so here goes.
1. Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler - I watch Chelsea Lately pretty much every night, and I kept hearing her talk about her book, so I figured I would give it a shot. It was hilarious. She is a good writer and her stories about her life and her family are really entertaining. I loved her stories about her father, particularly when they went to Costa Rica and he got them upgraded to first class by saying that Chelsea was his wife and they were on their honeymoon. It was a good, quick read.
2. On Writing by Stephen King - I am so glad I finally read this book. Prior to this, I had never read anything by Stephen King; I just have never thought that I would be into his stories. However, I loved reading this book. It was surprisingly inspirational and encouraging. And, I do agree with him - there's no point in writing if you aren't also reading. That actually gave me yet another reason why I love doing the 50 book challenge.
3. Forever Princess by Meg Cabot - This was the last of the Princess Diaries books that I have been reading since I was in junior high, and I was sad to see them go. Naturally, the ending was exactly what I had wanted, but I wish Meg Cabot would change her mind and come back for more. I absolutely love these books.
4. Best Music Writing 2008 by Nelson George & Daphne Carr (Editors) - My mom got this book for me for Christmas. It turns out when they said 2008 they meant articles written in 2007, but it really didn't matter. There were some really interesting pieces in this book. There was one about Abba, which just gave me more nightmares after spending my Christmas break listening to my sister sing along to Mamma Mia. There was one about someone going through the audition process for American Idol. I would say, for the most part, all the articles were well-written and really interesting. One in particular that stands out was about music in Africa and how artists get paid by the government or certain companies to put messages in their songs. They aren't exactly subliminal, though, because they have to directly mention these things. Like, you have to incorporate Pepsi into your song, almost like a jingle. I would recommend this to anyone looking into writing about music.
5. John Lennon: The Life by Philip Norman - This book took me a while to finish because I started it before I went back to school, and then I got caught up in moving back in and classes starting, but I finally finished it last week. It was a wonderful book. Admittedly, I did not ever really research John Lennon's life before I read the book. I knew what I consider to be the basics - he had two sons, he was married twice, his mother died when he was young, he was in the Beatles, had a solo career, it took a while for him to get a green card, and he was killed on December 8, 1980 outside the Dakota in Central Park West where he was living. So... maybe not just the basics. I knew enough. But this book had a lot more about stuff I had no idea about. I didn't know that he essentially grew up with his aunt, for instance. The ending of the book really reminds you of the abruptness of his death and how unexpected it was. I also enjoyed the epilogue, which was an interview with Sean Lennon. He said he doesn't really go to anything for his dad because that's not how he remembers him as a father. It was well worth the read if you are even remotely into the Beatles or John Lennon.
By the way, sorry if the tags don't work. This was my first attempt at trying them out.
Currently Reading (For This): The Rice Room by Ben Fong-Torres
Currently Reading (For School): A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man by James Joyce
1. Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler - I watch Chelsea Lately pretty much every night, and I kept hearing her talk about her book, so I figured I would give it a shot. It was hilarious. She is a good writer and her stories about her life and her family are really entertaining. I loved her stories about her father, particularly when they went to Costa Rica and he got them upgraded to first class by saying that Chelsea was his wife and they were on their honeymoon. It was a good, quick read.
2. On Writing by Stephen King - I am so glad I finally read this book. Prior to this, I had never read anything by Stephen King; I just have never thought that I would be into his stories. However, I loved reading this book. It was surprisingly inspirational and encouraging. And, I do agree with him - there's no point in writing if you aren't also reading. That actually gave me yet another reason why I love doing the 50 book challenge.
3. Forever Princess by Meg Cabot - This was the last of the Princess Diaries books that I have been reading since I was in junior high, and I was sad to see them go. Naturally, the ending was exactly what I had wanted, but I wish Meg Cabot would change her mind and come back for more. I absolutely love these books.
4. Best Music Writing 2008 by Nelson George & Daphne Carr (Editors) - My mom got this book for me for Christmas. It turns out when they said 2008 they meant articles written in 2007, but it really didn't matter. There were some really interesting pieces in this book. There was one about Abba, which just gave me more nightmares after spending my Christmas break listening to my sister sing along to Mamma Mia. There was one about someone going through the audition process for American Idol. I would say, for the most part, all the articles were well-written and really interesting. One in particular that stands out was about music in Africa and how artists get paid by the government or certain companies to put messages in their songs. They aren't exactly subliminal, though, because they have to directly mention these things. Like, you have to incorporate Pepsi into your song, almost like a jingle. I would recommend this to anyone looking into writing about music.
5. John Lennon: The Life by Philip Norman - This book took me a while to finish because I started it before I went back to school, and then I got caught up in moving back in and classes starting, but I finally finished it last week. It was a wonderful book. Admittedly, I did not ever really research John Lennon's life before I read the book. I knew what I consider to be the basics - he had two sons, he was married twice, his mother died when he was young, he was in the Beatles, had a solo career, it took a while for him to get a green card, and he was killed on December 8, 1980 outside the Dakota in Central Park West where he was living. So... maybe not just the basics. I knew enough. But this book had a lot more about stuff I had no idea about. I didn't know that he essentially grew up with his aunt, for instance. The ending of the book really reminds you of the abruptness of his death and how unexpected it was. I also enjoyed the epilogue, which was an interview with Sean Lennon. He said he doesn't really go to anything for his dad because that's not how he remembers him as a father. It was well worth the read if you are even remotely into the Beatles or John Lennon.
By the way, sorry if the tags don't work. This was my first attempt at trying them out.
Currently Reading (For This): The Rice Room by Ben Fong-Torres
Currently Reading (For School): A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man by James Joyce
4girlunderglass
good job so far! I think maybe you should try posting a little bit after every book you read, it keeps the conversation going :)
Good luck with making it to 50!
Good luck with making it to 50!
5OliveHoover
6. The Rice Room by Ben Fong-Torres - I read this because it was yet another one that was recommended if you want to write about music. It was a well-written account of Ben Fong-Torres's life growing up in the San Francisco area and being Chinese. However, I was slightly disappointed. It wasn't that his history isn't interesting or that the book was poorly written, it's just that, for what I was reading it for, it didn't really serve its purpose. I wish there had been a little more about his time at Rolling Stone and getting into music writing, since that's what I was hoping to read. However, if you want a good book about language barriers in a family or what it's like growing up Chinese-American, definitely check it out.
7. The Shining by Stephen King - After reading On Writing earlier in the year, I figured I would give an actual novel by Stephen King a shot. I learned that Stephen King is not really my thing. I'm happy I read it, and I don't think it can be argued that Stephen King is a great writer. I just am not into these kinds of stories. Also, I was a little disappointed that the ending had some closure. I was kind of hoping that it would be more open-ended with the possibility of something else happening.
Currently Reading (For This): A Whore Like The Rest by Richard Meltzer
Currently Reading (For School): Still A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man... two weeks until Ulysses!
7. The Shining by Stephen King - After reading On Writing earlier in the year, I figured I would give an actual novel by Stephen King a shot. I learned that Stephen King is not really my thing. I'm happy I read it, and I don't think it can be argued that Stephen King is a great writer. I just am not into these kinds of stories. Also, I was a little disappointed that the ending had some closure. I was kind of hoping that it would be more open-ended with the possibility of something else happening.
Currently Reading (For This): A Whore Like The Rest by Richard Meltzer
Currently Reading (For School): Still A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man... two weeks until Ulysses!
