Stephmo's 75 Book Challenge - Conventional Reads

This is the main thread -good intentions and all that - pats on the back, chin up, head held high and a whole lot of other things I can't think of while I stare at the coffee maker and realize it won't make coffee until I put things like water and coffee in it...

Anywho - the idea is to have a book-book challenge that's my main challenge this year. I'll have a secondary one which will be graphic novels, but that's not this one.

This one will pick up where my 999 Challenge left off, as my rather bad "bonus tracks" habit derailed that one in a very bad way. (blackdogbooks tried to convert me over to the 75 book challenge in 2009 because I think he saw that issue early on - well, and he said there were a ton of cool people here!)

I'm looking forward to stalking threads and getting all sorts of good read ideas - and not calling them "bonus tracks" this year. :)

Ticker:



Alternatively, you can search my catalog for my special 75 Challenge tag.

January Summary Post
February Summary Post
March Summary Post
April Summary Post
May Summary Post
June Summary Post
July Summary Post
August Summary Post
September Summary Post
October Summary Post

I'll check the remainder of my old 999 challenge list at the very end of the year, but checking the library demands, I have 3 books due on 1/4/2010:

I am legend by Richard Matheson - short story was made into a few movies, figure the other short stories might be good too!
The color of magic by Terry Pratchett because I loved Good Omens and am finally getting around to Disc World instead of just Neil's stuff. Although I did see the BBC movie version!
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem - which is on 1001 books list that I've not officially adopted. However, I've seen both the Russian & American versions of the film adaptation - the Russian version really making me want to read the book.

So, how do I avoid the fines since I'm in denial right now? Yeah. Well, I know I can read at least one, if not 2 in those 4 days (probably Pratchett & Matheson). I can get a good jump on Lem - and maybe only owe the library 40 cents or so in fines.

And this is how you lose at library roulette. :)

Welcome back!

Welcome to the group!

I am an expert at library roulette, lol.

Glad you made it over. i loved I Am Legend. though i liked the movie, the story was so much richer.

I finished The Color of Magic last night and enjoyed it immensely. I've definitely found another nice popcorn read for the year - not that I'm going to attempt all 30 by a long shot, but I do have The Light Fantastic for sometime later.

I very much enjoyed Ricewind's ability to survive coupled with Twoflower's unflappable optimism. Tourist may mean "idiot" in Ricewind's mind, but it's the kind of idiot he needs.

I'll be starting I Am Legend today with any luck, but we have a bit of a road trip today - where I should finish the audio book of Blink and may start Paris 1919 on the way back. Hopefully, there will be at least some time to sneak in a short story...

I did finish Blink today - and I really did enjoy it. I was a bit nervous at first as I'm an analyst by trade, but this book is all about one of the things you try to preach but have a hard time articulating - why too much information on an issue will make for a far worse decision in the long run. Blink does talk about individuals that can "thin slice" information - assess massive things in a matter of seconds - but this is generally because they're experts in a given field that have broken apart every aspect (knowingly or not) of an item and either consciously or subconsciously (usually the latter) can focus in on only the most important facets of a thing.

I listened to the audiobook, which Gladwell reads. He's a fantastic reader.

Looking forward to your thoughts on I am LEgend.

I finished I am Legend yesterday - and I loved the novella itself. The rest of the short stories...well, I did write a review.

Basically, no one has ever really committed this story to film. EVER. And it's a shame, because it's really, really good. The story is much better than the good fortune of being a doctor that survives it all and having magic blood (as the movies go). And having Ben and Robert with a shared past is fantastic. (My husband and I were trying to remember if they'd known each other that well in Omega Man or not...but we knew it wasn't as well as they had in the story.)

The rest of the short stories...I kind of wish I hadn't read them...although I do have the graphic novel version of I am Legend on hold at the library - so I have that to look forward to (done by the same guys that did 30 Days of Night).

I am going to start Anonymous Rex - it's a leftover from my 999 Challenge...although I need to start making a dent in all the graphic novels soon!

Completely agree with you about I Am Legend...I had read the novella (and ignored the rest of the collection) a few weeks before I went to see the blockbuster when it came out. I was so disappointed at the ending of the movie--in my mind, the novella's best feature was the finality of the ending of 'humanity', that sense of complete loss and rebirth. And not an entirely positive rebirth, either! It left me thinking...whereas the end of the movie just had a rainbows and unicorns band aid stuck on it :(.

Yes - the rebirth - that's the other thing the movies did! In both Omega Man and the Will Smith Version (I haven't seen Last Man on Earth or the Direct-to-DVD version), everything ends with man. But in the story, the vampires (which they never explicitly are in the movies!) are smart and fully capable.

Sure, in Omega Man, they were articulate and all, but they were absolute luddites and determined to destroy all of civilization. That killed me with the story - when you see Robert learning, it should spring to mind that this could also be going on at night, but Ben represents a single side of things - the unfortunate side we only got to see in the movies. Showing that knowledge would live on is even more chilling...it shows how humanity isn't the driving force.

I am with you on the story never being committed to film, though I liked the Will Smith version on its own merits. The Matheson story has sooo much more to say and think about.

On the short stories, they are a little scattered and not all of the same strenght. But I liked severl of them anyway. I especially liked the one where the guy keeps hearing a voice and you can't tell where his maddness begins and ends.

Person to Person? That was my favorite of the short stories...although it was the last one...so I may have been happy about that!

Oh, I liked the Will Smith version well enough...it just had nothing to do with the story. :)

I finished Charlaine Harris's Dead as a Doornail - the Sookie Stackhouse books have become my favorite popcorn read. I still have Anonymous Rex going, but the library due date snuck up on me with Dead as a Doornail.

Enjoyed the book, lots of action and lots of lose ends from prior books got drawn in and knit into a huge blanket that's just being fluffed up into a whole new universe of trouble. I've been reading the short story collections along the way as well and I'm glad I did - I at least understood who the faries were! Did a review and everything.

I finished Anonymous Rex by Eric Garcia and really enjoyed his cleverness. He spent the majority of the book setting up how dinosaurs could have spent so much time undetected and it was pretty thorough. I have the next book (which I think is more of a prequel?) in my tbr pile for later.

Wrote a review and updated CK for the book as well (I love filling in the blanks!).

#15: Anonymous Rex looks fun! I will have to see if I can find a copy. Thanks for the recommendation.

I finished Peter Straub's Sides yesterday. Definitely geared for the fan - this is a collection of nonfiction work he's done over the years. Introductions mostly. The highlight of the book was his alter-ego's work which consisted of critiques of Straub's novels. Remember the saying "you're your own worst critic?" You don't want Straub's alter-ego!

(Actually, it seems like a good idea for anyone in a creative field - shred your stuff and then let the world see it...they're bound to be nicer!)

Updated CK and wrote a review.

I enjoyed Anonymous Rex - I need to find #4 of the Sookie books among my huge collection of mysteries and read it - I have the first 8 novels bought at different times, and know where 7 are but have of course misplaced the next in the series.

>18 elkiedee: Glad you enjoyed Anonymous Rex - I do need to find the other one around here somewhere! I'm not entirely clear on how the suits work, but the whole idea of dinosaurs amongst us made me laugh through the whole thing...and made me look at my basil patch differently!

:)

#17-- I'm confused by the whole author's alter-ego thing. I guess it's not so much the alter-ego aspect so much as the published alter-ego part; I know Stephen King does the same thing, and although I enjoy reading Richard Bachman too, it's still a bizarre idea to me. I mean, when an author writes as his alter-ego, how does that work? I envision time sharing.

Butting in a bit; Bachman stories were published in different places originally because they had a bit of a harder edge to them. For the King fan, you can often tell a bit of a difference in style between King and Bachman stories. Though, the last Bachman book to be published, Blaze, is a lot like the early King that everyone fell in love with. I am constantly recommending that one.

King actually writes a bit about the alter ego writing thing in a novel The Dark Half and therre is quite a bit of explanation about the phenomenon before the book takes off.

Stephmo, On Straub, I've had a hard time getting into any Straub except for Ghost Story. I always feel like he fails to live up to the potential of the stories. There is always a sense of, I dont' know, selling out to the thrill. ??

>20 willowsmom:, I don't think Peter's was really publish-published. I think it was just a different voice for him...although in the book, Peter made it clear that his wife hated the alter ego.

I know for King, he's also mentioned that Bachman was a way to publish not only the non-King-sounding material, but the additional material that the market might not want to absorb. There are only so many books one might want to take from an author. And then there's the Anne Rice thing - sometimes, you really just have some soft-core-porn in you that you've gotta get out...and that sounded really bad. :)

Shoot! I passed on Blaze when I saw it on the Border's clearance shelf. Now I wish I hadn't. Shame on me!!

I finished How to Be Good by Nick Hornby. It wasn't my favorite of his - and that's a shame. I really love his stuff normally. It wasn't a terrible book per se, it was just a few rather good ideas that maybe couldn't be mined for as much humor as he originally thought. It's a shame...after all, this was a guy that found humor in suicide.

I did update the CK and added a review. I'm either going to start Pat Barker's Regeneration or The Lightening Thief next...

I enjoyed Anonymous Rex. I never could quite figure out how the big dinosaurs got into a human suit, though....

>25 TadAD: There's a throwaway line buried towards the back 2/3rds - they evolved and got smaller over the millenia. I wondered too! But the brontosaurs are still bigger...that's why they're mostly in the NFL or working as bodyguards. :)

Although I think the thing by the clinic that attacked him was a little too big...

January Summary

7 books read, 3 in progress:

1. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett - 4/5 stars
2. I am Legend by Richard Matheson - 3.5/5 stars (main story awesome, other stories not so much)
3. Blink by Malcom Gladwell - 4/5 stars
4. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris - 4/5 stars
5. Anonymous Rex by Eric Garcia - 4/5 stars
6. Sides by Peter Straub - 3.5/5 stars
7. How to be Good by Nick Hornby - 3/5 stars

In progress:

1. Paris, 1919 by Margaret MacMillan
2. Regeneration by Pat Barker
3. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

If I had to pick a favorite this month, you'd have to take the Charlaine Harris away, because this has become some sort of Cheez-It sort of snack for me. I know it's not great literature, but I just want to gobble it up big time...

So, taking that away, I really enjoyed Blink mostly because it just shows how amazing the brain is and isn't all at once. I love that it is basically impossible to know anything instantly if you don't already know something really well. That the underlying lesson of it all was, "there are people that can tell things in the blink of an eye, but the reason is because they know their stuff over years and years of study" was great. If it had been some "know things instantly without knowing anything!" book, that would have been disappointing.

Nice reading month. I've really got to read Blink one of these days.

you'd have to take the Charlaine Harris away, because this has become some sort of Cheez-It sort of snack for me. I know it's not great literature, but I just want to gobble it up big time...

Hee. I totally agree! Except for me, Sookie's stories are cupcakes. Big, frosted, heavily chocolate-ed cupcakes. Mmmmm...

>29 willowsmom: I actually had to take Sookie away briefly over the summer while I was job hunting because I spent two days on the couch reading books 3 & 4...I knew if I didn't, I'd spend the week just reading the rest. That's how much I enjoy them. (Book #6 is at the library now!)



I have finished Regeneration by Pat Barker - beautiful and brutal all at once. I wrote a review and tried to do it some justice, but I really couldn't come close to how I felt.

I'm moving onto lighter fare for a bit - The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. I think some YA will do the trick. :)

I finished The Lightning Thief which was a bit of fun - the movie is coming out on President's Day, but from the trailer, I'm already thinking that they're changing a ton from the book. I feel like I shouldn't be surprised, but at the same time, this came from the director of Harry Potter and I always felt like those books were fairly faithful save having a ton of stuff cut out & compressed (until this last one, really). I'll still probably check it out.

Fun adventure series and something I'll want to continue. I like the idea of the Olympic gods still being around and heroic quests still being an option. There are already 250 reviews on the site, so I'm skipping doing one for this volume.

I'm going to try to catch up on some of the old 999 stuff from last year and start The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx today...

I'm not a big Proulx fan, but that one was a good read.

I did finish The Shipping News after taking a weekend to read a few Graphic Novels and genuinely feeling really tired with all of this Ohio Valley snow! Quoyle's story probably read a lot slower than it should with the gray weather, but I did enjoy it - I was really worried that we were going to head into some TV-movie-of-the week territory where epiphanies were going to be had right and left in the magical town of Killick-Claw where lives would simply be set right in no time flat, but I was glad Proulx avoided this. I liked that there was an ebb and flow to change and that it didn't come all at once - or that it wasn't neat and clear-cut.

I'll be moving onto something with a bit more levity - well, I'm reading Anna Karenina at lunch when I have time again, but my evening read is going to be American Gods for a bit - I read a bit of it a million years ago, but only the first few chapters (enough for his wife to come back from the dead, but that's about it). I've had it in my TBR pile forever!

I'm about halfway through American Gods, but something has reared its head - the Library Renewal Wheel of Death. Just a bunch of things that I have to get through soon.



One of the first was a book I never managed to read back in the day, but is on Jennifer Hubert's Reading Rant's list - one of two lists I adopted to get some YA books in. Believe it or not, I never read Forever... by Judy Blume. I think my friends and I were more into Anonymous's Diary at the time and Judy's version may have not been shocking enough. Of course, it's shocking enough to be regularly banned, which is a shame. I know it seems tame today, but the feelings are still there. I updated the CK since it was a bit incomplete and inaccurate and wrote a review.

Coming up on the Renewal Wheel of Death? Well, I do have choices...

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Cerebus by Dave Sim
Off the Road by Carolyn Cassady
The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell

Not too bad, but some others sneak in and out...so fingers crossed that no one else sneaks in...

The Hunger Games for sure!

I am very familiar with the Library Renewal Wheel of Death. I have a Word document that keeps track of all library books. Otherwise, I would be caught in the Death Wheel all the time.

On the way to work today, I finished Paris 1919. Incredibly interesting book. I've learned a lot about what went into the treaty and how much of it has impacted even recent history. Some of it dragged a bit (she was clearly a fan of the colorful character in history), but it was well worth getting through for the narrative.

I wrote a review and was able to move it out of my CR Collection.

I was even able to start my new audio-to-work book this morning. Oryx and Crake. I figured I'd go fiction this time around. :)

I finished The Hunger Games today and it was a really fun read - I've already put in my hold for the next volume at the library (I'm 155th on the list!). Dystopia meets reality television meets teen romance meets rebellion could have been a disaster. But it wasn't!

Looks like the Library Renewal Wheel of Death will be bringing me Cerebus tomorrow!

#37: Just be forewarned that Catching Fire ends with a cliffhanger. I am positively not reading it until Mockingjay comes out in August.

Well, I'm 155th on the list for the book - so I probably won't see it for a while anyway! :)

You have a point - but August is still almost 6 months away. That is an awfully long time - I think you will get the book way before then.

I've wondered about Paris 1919 for years, but simply haven't got around to picking it up and actually trying it out. Good to hear it's as interesting as the back cover copy! Maybe I should track it down purposefully after all...

#41: I will second Steph's recommendation, Faith (not that she needs it!). I thought the book was very good.

Library Renewal Wheel of Death...hey, I have one of those too! Sometimes when I go to renew things, I feel like I should be going to Gambler's Anonymous.

Loving this thread! I have just (like, three days ago) started the Sookie Stackhouse series. I read book #1 over my regular two days off on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a little pizza here, a little chocolate there - and I totally get the 'popcorn reading' thing! In fact, popcorn sounds like a great accompaniment to book #2 - which I ordered immediately so it was ready for Tuesday THIS week to start all over again...

Oh, there probably should be meetings. I have certain routines I pull as well. Since my library doesn't keep records of what you've checked out, I can do the whole innocent, "uh, I was trying to renew a book online, but it won't let me and no one's waiting for it..." knowing full-well that it's because I've renewed it the maximum number of times. I know that a well-meaning librarian over the phone or via chat will do the, "well, no one's waiting for the book, so just this once, I'll renew the book for you, but you know you really need to turn it back into the system and re-reserve it after renewing it the maximum number of times, right?" Do I feel guilt? Uh, No - I just got it renewed!

It's a problem, I know. =P

Honestly, if I applied the same manipulation that I do to re-renewing books to scamming pain pills from ER doctors, I imagine the Intervention people would probably have me on an episode...

>42 alcottacre:: LOL thanks Stasia! I'll put it on my library list for the next time I'm in.

February Summary

1. Regeneration by Pat Barker 4/5 Stars
2. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan 4/5 Stars
3. The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx 4/5 Stars
4. Paris, 1919 by Margaret MacMillan 4/5 Stars
5. Forever... by Judy Blume 3/5 Stars
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 4/5 Stars

In Progress:

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

My favorite for February - with all the generous ratings I seem to be doing of late? I'm going to go with The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins story was really well done in the YA arena and not just in that "hey, it's popcorn!" kind of way. I really do want to find out what happens next!

#47: Are you going to read Catching Fire? I am holding off until Mockinjay is out in August, since I have heard the CF ends on a cliffhanger (hate those!)

> #48 I have it on reserve at the library - I'm now #96 in line. That will get me the book sometime late this month/early April. Which means if I stalk the library for when the reserves start, I could be in for getting the book by October - which is nothing!

I'm not a huge fan of the cliffhangers either (heck, the season finale of Burn Notice - boo!), but my desire to know what happens next is greater than not wanting to be left in the dark. I like to call this my "complex" side. Hah!

You can call it whatever you want to, Steph!

I've actually been reading Carolyn Cassady's memoir Off the Road - and working like crazy. I updated the CK and wrote a review. Realizing that she probably held back a bit on what she told of her marriage to Neal and her affair with Kerouac for the sake of his adult children, I can't imagine how rough life really was for her and the kids. It's one thing to know that he's a legend now in the cannon of literature though literati mythology - it's an entirely different thing to have to actually live with the guy!

I'm going to find myself some easier reads. I do owe a book on ER, but I should be able to get through it pretty fast. I'll either start that tomorrow - or, I'm toying with blasting through one or two YA novels really fast just to feel better about reading. Her memoir was good, but I really could only take so much on top of a long day, you know? And now I just need easy.

In addition to reading the ER book (I started it at lunch), I've decided to pick up 2 Roald Dahl books this evening for a quick read. I'd read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Great Glass Elevator when I was little, but then never got back to the rest of his books. I don't know why. I've decided to remedy this as a grown-up. Last year, I caught up with Matilda. Tonight? The BFG and James and the Giant Peach (awesome movie, by the by)!

Oh, yay! The BFG is my all-time fave Dahl. Loved the James and the Giant Peach movie, as well--the Matilda version with Danny DeVito is a favorite as well.

I liked The BFG too.

I actually read James and the Giant Peach first - BFG will be today - I promise!

I was a little slap happy this morning and wrote a review. It's a million-dollar idea if anyone can get permission from the Dahl estate!

#55: I like your review (and your idea), Steph.

I finished The BFG last night - and loved it. Snozz really makes the best prefix, doesn't it? I updated the CK to include the rest of the characters and where it takes place and wrote a review.

I think I'm actually going to work on a few of my graphic novels tonight. :)

#57: Nice review, Steph. Thumbs up from me!

What graphic novels are you reading? I got a copy of 500 Essential Graphic Novels in the other day so that I can wade through what is out there to see what appeals.

#57 I think it's a tie between The BFG and Matilda as my favourite Dahl books. Snozzcumber has to be the best word.

On the commute today, I finished Oryx and Crake on audio. It's been interesting to listen to, but I really wanted it to be better. I know Ms. Atwood is very much a fan of the environment and man making things right with the earth, but this passion of hers clouded much of the story with a heavy cleverness. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine enough story, but it could have been much better without all the silliness that became all too clever about things at times.

I wrote a review. For now, I'm going to finish up The Sea of Monsters and see how we end up on the demigod side of things. :)

Nice review!

See - and they said labradoodle couldn't be worked into an Atwood review. ;) Thanks for the compliment - from you, I take that as high praise!

March Summary:

4 Books read, 3 in progress.

1. Off the Road by Carolyn Cassady 4/5 Stars
2. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl 4/5 Stars
3. The BFG by Roald Dahl 4/5 Stars
4. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood 3 1/2/5 Stars

4 Books read and

Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordian in progress, along with American Gods by Neil Gaiman which got pushed aside for things due at the library and a lot of other things and Liver by Will Self. Yes, I need to organize the reading pile really fast!

I still have Anna Karenina, but I'll be catching up on that next month - with everything I owe either to ER or the library, I need to be more realistic.

My favorite this month? To be honest, Roald Dahl all the way. Carolyn Cassady's book was good, it just took a long time to get through. April has been a slow start too, but I think it'll pick up soon.

#63: I need to organize the reading pile really fast!

If my reading pile ever get unorganized, I am in deep trouble!

Step #1 in organizing the reading pile - I finished Sea of Monsters. It wasn't nearly as enjoyable as the first, but it was still a fun ride. I think he got a little wrapped up in trying to explain relationships, nothing too terrible. I wrote a review.

Now for step 2 - getting that ER book done!

I finally finished Will Self's Liver: A Functional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes. This was one of those books that seemed like it could have been a really great idea if it had been executed properly. Four stories - two novellas and two short stories, all thematically linked through the liver with a few characters and places that pop up between all 4 stories.

For as creative as the theme is, he really didn't seem to go for it when it came to the stories. Honestly, I can take unlikeable characters (I've enjoyed Disgrace - and I even laughed through Choke) and I can also handle plots where a lot of nothing seems to happen for the sake of nothing. But when you get lazy and rip off stories like Stigmata - I mean...was that really even worth ripping off? Or when you update the Greek Gods to their own advertising agency...and it just becomes these individuals with the Greek God names that have the Greek God stuff happen to them, but it might as well be some random 80s power suit advertising show with a touch of Bewitched on paper? Meh. I wrote a review.

On the upside - know what's due at the library? Catching Fire - I'm dying to find out what happens!

#66: OK, I am skipping that one.

I am still not reading Catching Fire until Mockinjay comes out!

Alright - I'm now on the Mockinjay lookout with alottacre!

I finished Catching Fire and couldn't wait to get through it. I wrote a review and that's all I'll say. :) I do need to finish another ER book I owe a review for - although I've had some notes for a bit on the recipe portion (some ingredients are no longer made!) already. I suppose I can say that the cover art is nice if I'm really pressed...but I'll read through The Healing Powers of Chocolate today...

Oh, I already have Mockinjay on pre-order from Amazon. I am not taking any chances that my local library will not get it!

Ugh - the Healing Powers of Chocolate - well, it was an ER book and I wrote a review. That's the deal. I did it.

I'm actually going to get back to American Gods for a bit!

#70: I do not like chocolate and am allergic to it as well, so I am definitely not going to be looking for that book even if I did like chocolate. The book sounds just terrible.

>71 alcottacre: Clearly you don't care about your health! "Allergies-smallergeis!" says Ms. Orey - or, to be more accurate, "you're probably not really allergic to chocolate." No! According to her, you and your doctors are wrong! (This is the quality of the science.) She says only 2% of the population is really allergic to chocolate, it's the ingredients in chocolate that they're really allergic to - so it's either a gluten allergy, a nut allergy, diabetes or being lactose intolerant that's your real problem.

That's right - she thinks you may have mistaken your chocolate allergy for something as serious as diabetes. I kid you not. But don't worry - then you can eat sugar-free chocolate! (Or vegan if you are lactose-intolerant or chocolate without nuts since you apparently missed your severe nut allergy or gluten-free chocolate for the gluten problems you somehow managed to miss.) She does bury a "while chocolate allergies are real" phrase in there, but she's clearly willing to soldier on anyway.

I am lactose intolerant. I am also allergic to sugar. I also still do not like chocolate :)

Well, then, it's vegan, sugar-free chocolate for you - which sounds terrible, if you ask me. =P

But don't you want to be cured of spring fever? It's a real ailment! She put it on the list. There's nothing else that could be done for you, alas...unless, of course, her olive oil or vinegar cures mysteriously work for the disease as well.

I crack me up. Seriously, I shudder to think that one gets money to churn this stuff out. And free chocolate/olive oils/vinegars and whatever else you're touting at the moment. Perhaps I need to start a healing power of cheese book and see how much spendy cheese I can get sent for free...

#74: I will gladly help you out with the cheese book! Don't you need a co-author? lol

#74: Eeew. Vegan? Sure. Sugar-free? Um, okay. Chocolate? Yes please! But all three together? Oh no, that's just wrong. My step mother switched to carob a few years back and I almost cried. And I'm a lactose intolerant vegetarian :P.

(That being said, I think cheese must have magical powers. I'm still waiting for the radio spam to start talking about acai flavored cheese...)

I did finish off American Gods - it's already got over 300 reviews, so I doubt I'll be adding my own. I liked it, but I feel like one of those people who has been told for so long that I'll love something for so long that I kind of came away a bit disappointed for not completely loving the thing. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I hated it or anything, but there were times I wondered why this epic battle appeared to be taking place without certain Roman, Greek, or the appearance of the mentioned "lucky son of a virgin" (I realize there are some inferences that can be extrapolated, but they clearly mention Jesus by name in the book). So it's not so much epic as it is a skirmish...at which point - why? Isn't this just a minor turf war? I realize fitting everyone in would get nutty, but I guess when you find the time for minor gods worshiped in the Baltics, I kind of wonder where Mars and Ares are hanging out when there's an epic battle to fight.

Again, 4/5 stars - just dinging the one because it wasn't as life-altering as promised. :) After all, anything that hinges on the hidden indians picture when I was just talking to some co-workers about reading Highlights for Children as a kid the other day...well, that's some sort of strange goings-on, now isn't it?

I did update the professional reviews and I'm going to finish up the epigraphs later today.

What's next? Oh - yeah, to beat library roulette, I need to read Howl's Moving Castle.

I hope you enjoy Howl and all his antics!

Hi Steph - realised I haven't posted anything on your thread for a while so thought I would delurk. I have American Gods somewhere in my TBR pile and read Howl's Moving Castle recently - it was good fun, hope you enjoy it!

>78 alcottacre:, 79 - So far, so good. Anything that goes out of it's way to point out that the older sister's aren't ugly and equally loved when a step-mother is involved is a sign that things will be different. ;)

Hah. The bit that always reminds me early on why I love that book so much is where the middle sister whines that she's going to defy destiny and marry a prince and the youngest sister "always retorted that she would end up disgustingly rich without having to marry anybody."

I finished Howl's Moving Castle - and it was fantastic. I'd read somewhere that bits of it inspired Neil Gaiman when he wrote Stardust and I love that it did. (Or I made that part up, but I don't think that I did.) I did love the line where the sisters were arguing about how they'd make their money as well - fantastic! I also liked that Wales snuck into this world. It was a bit jarring at first, but very cool. I wrote a review.

Now to go through my TBR pile, the balance of library will-be-dues and figure out what I'm reading next!

#82: I really enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle. Glad you did too, Steph.

I really did - and I fixed my post there (I hate it when I forget my closing quote!). I did see the 2nd book in the series doesn't seem to deal with Sophie so much, so I'll probably put it off for a bit... :)

Unfortunately for me, I have now gone through all of the DWJ books my local library has. I have no idea when I will get to any more.

You've done some great reading this year. I am currently reading Howl's Moving Castle and liked your review. Can't wait to finish it up!

Glad you're enjoying Howl! I think this really was my pleasant surprise read of the year so far. It really was a cute story...and if the note at the beginning is to be believed about a boy asking her to write a story about a castle that could move - massive props to him for planting the seed!

And all the way back to the beginning of the year...I finished The Light Fantastic today (long car ride). I was glad to get back to Rincewind and Twoflower - I already knew how it ended from the BBC movie, but there was a lot to fill in from the books...and a lot of humor. Although I'm rather saddened to see the plight that befalls trolls that develop to much of an obsession with philosophy. Who knew?

I wrote a review.

It looks like it's nonfiction time according to the library - I'm going to read The Checklist Manifesto. I saw the author on the Daily Show and I really liked his demeanor and what he had to say.

I finished The Checklist Manifesto and I have to admit that he made a compelling narrative out of using checklists. Really! I swear. I wrote a review.

Going to check the library renewal list and see what I need to read next...I'm sure that it's something!

April Summary

8 read, 2 in progress...

1. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan 3.5/5 Stars
2. Liver: A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes by Will Self 2.5/5 Stars
3. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 4/5 Stars
4. The Healing Powers of Chocolate by Cal Orey 1/5 Stars
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman 4/5 Stars
6. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 4/5 Stars
7. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett 4/5 Stars
8. The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande 4/5 Stars

In Progress:

Anna Karenina
Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

I cleared out a long-time TBR and got 2 old ER books reviewed (although neither turned out to be as interesting as the initial descriptions). I also got through next books in 3 different series and technically have 2 others since there's more to the Howl and American God universes.

Catching Fire was the favorite of the month - if nothing else, I'm on the wait with a bajillion others for Mockingjay to come out and let me know how this story continues.

Nice summary, Steph!

Okay, I've been away from this thread for way too long... the chocolate/cheese conversation just made my day!!! LOL

You've been reading some great books too! I'm trying to hold off on Catching Fire until Mockingjay comes out, but it's getting harder and harder to resist the temptation!

What did you think of Howl's Moving Castle? I sware I am going to finish that today so we can trade comments! I am also looking forward to Mockingjay. I think I'll be one of those people that gets it the day it comes out just to see how the damn thing wraps up. :)

>92 dk_phoenix: (&93 too!) Well, when I read Catching Fire, it was because I felt like I was left with too much of a cliffhanger on the first book not to go ahead and find out what was going to happen next...let's just say that cliffhanger was child's play compared to this one. So, if you're still holding out, tuck that away - because I may not be able to wait on the library. :)

And feel free to come up with your own Healing Powers of _____________ book - heck, we could probably just design a generator, get a decent stock photographer and start churning them out based on whatever we're craving that week. ^^

>93 RosyLibrarian: I really enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle. If I had one complaint, everything just wrapped up super-fast and super-neat. I guess with as far out of the way she went to make sisters that were independent and friends, had a main character not looking to be rescued (and not even being able to be rescued by external forces) and even having the real world poke into the story...well, I guess I just didn't expect the standard easy ending. But the rest of it more than made up for that minor quibble.

I'm all for the 'Healing Powers of Cake'... heck, I always feel GREAT when I'm eating a giant slice of cake! Er... until afterward when my body says "you realize you've just eaten half a cake, right?"... but we can just leave that part out... :D

>95 dk_phoenix: When you do the obligatory visit to Charm City Cakes to do your chapter on how unusual shapes can enhance healing properties, I call dibs on being your research assistant. :)

#95/96: And I get to be Steph's assistant!

94: I finally finished up Howl's Moving Castle yesterday and I agree with your assessment. I don't know that I'll be reading more from Diana Wynne Jones any time soon, but it was a great read and kind of reminded me of Patricia Wrede's books. Have you ever read her Dealing with Dragons series?

>95 dk_phoenix: - Haha, I get that feeling when I eat Cadbury's Chocolate Buttons. Or popcorn. I'll suddenly look up from my book, peer into the (large) bag and realise they're all gone - and a few minutes later the sicky feeling starts to blossom outwards from my poor abused belly...

Wonderful conversation going on over here - I'm only sorry I was away from it so long! Now I'm off to read your review of the icky chocolate book and see if it's as bad as my current Member Giveaway one... :-S

ETA: Yikes, ALL the reviews for that book are as bad! One and a half stars, one star, one star... I don't think I've ever seen a book with such consistently scathing reviews! Blimey.

>99 elliepotten: If you check out Amazon's version of the book, all of the publisher/author's friends showed up for the 5 star reviews! :)

********



I nearly forgot - I did finish the audiobook version of Across the Nightingale Floor, the first book in the Tales of the Otori series. Nothing like listening to samurai beheadings on your way to work! I wrote a review.

I did start a new audio book - The Tipping Point - I think the beheading quotient will be significantly lower...

Thumb for the review on Across the Nightingale Floor. Sounds really interesting!

>101 blackdogbooks: I was surprised at how much of a "character" the societal structure played in the book. It wasn't just fastened on, so it really did help the story.

Of course, none of it beats my favorite feudal story of all time - and if you ever get the chance to visit Kokura Castle in Japan, I highly recommend viewing the cartoon on the building of the castle during the reign of Hosokawa Tadaoki. Sure it's a cartoon, but if I recall it all properly...fishermen who hated fishing because it was smelly are turned into raccoons as they prowl around the walls of the grounds, but they were given the opportunity to magically possess magical raccoon opposable thumbs and work all day building a castle for their super-awesome feudal lord where they learned the pride and glory for their village. Or something. It was fantastic. Unlike Soy Coke. Which was awful.

And that was today's random Japan feudal memory...

Soy... Coke?!? *urp* ... :S

Well, in defense of Soy Coke, the vending machine was alluring and the can looked inviting. It was white and pretty. It did not properly explain the ick that that was hidden inside. But I had such good luck with Citrus Coke at another vending machine and I figured it was worth a try. But it's basically Coke and soy milk. Not as refreshing as one might think...

My experiment is my loss, but your cautionary tale.

Vanilla Coke, that was the way to go... what happened to that? It was better than the Coke with Lemon. I don't even LIKE fizzy drinks but I got hooked on vanilla coke!

Soy Coke? Eewww.

No, no, Ellie: vanilla coke was horrible. Citrus and Lemon coke were quite nice, though. (But I'm plainly a boring traditionalist: cherry was better than any of them.)

I have to admit a fondness for the Vanilla Diet - the citrus here...not so much. I was actually drinking non-diet in Japan, but it didn't have the super-sweet taste and whatever their citrus flavoring was, we should have had it over here! (Now the Diet Coke formula in Japan? That was an abomination - I couldn't even finish it!)

Of course, this sounds like I drink a lot of pop - and I really don't. My big drinks when I drink them here? Diet Root Beer (Barqs!) and Diet Vernor's Ginger Ale! ;)

Although, if you really want a treat, if your store sells pomegranate syrup, put some of that in your pop (or in seltzer). That's good stuff!

Speaking of weird drinks in Japan (how did we get on this?) - there's always Calpiss and Pocari Sweat---my kids made us bring cans of the stuff home because they swore that kids here would never believe them if they said they drank CALPISS!! I still have a can I use as a bookend on my shelves....

#100 I really enjoyed The Tales of the Otori series. I hope you do get around to reading the rest of the series.
#107 Have you tried the pomegranate soda from Trader Joe's? It's not bad.
My niece collects weird drinks bottles from around the world. I'll have to mention Soy Coke to her. Sounds disgusting.

>108 tututhefirst: I never saw Calpiss - but plenty of Pocari Sweat and it never looked appetizing enough to drink (the cloudy white was a bit off-putting). We have a Japanese grocery store that sells it all the time here in town, so one day, maybe...

>109 VioletBramble: - I have the rest of the Otari on audio, so I'll listen to them for sure. :) And thanks for the heads up on the pomegranate soda - I'll have to check that out. ^^

********



I finished Magic Lessons (only a day late for the library!), the second in the Magic or Madness trilogy. I wrote a review and will get the 3rd book on reserve, but it'll sit for a bit. I do promise I care how it ends, it's just not that I'm dying to get to it, you know?

I was good and finally finished my ER book, Mixed Blood - and wrote my obligatory review.

It was pretty much the action flick of books, but that's okay. You need that kind of thing every once in a while. The author lists himself as a screenwriter/producer/director in his bio and the film influence definitely shows in the writing.

Looking at the library renewal wheel o' death, it looks like The Great Gatsby is next - I couldn't figure out why I never read this in school, but I think my school had us reading The Ugly American instead...either way, I'm reading it now!

#111: I hope you like The Great Gatsby better than I did!

I received a Roger Smith, Wake Up Dead for the ER program. Awful. Though, reading it gives me hope for my own writing.

>112 alcottacre: Don't say that - I have a beautiful copy of The Great Gatsby waiting for me! Definitely one of those classics people love or hate, I think...

#114: Well you could be on the 'love it' side, Ellie. I know Richard is.

>111 stephmo:: I've never read The Great Gatsby either... I know other English classes in high school did, so I have no idea how my class got out of it! We did read a *lot* of Shakespeare, though... one of these days I'll read it, but I don't feel any rush. I'll come back and hear your thoughts on it though!

I LOVED the novel. It was like reading a lyrical painting - the prose was unbelievably layered and gorgeous.

Now, that being said, I can totally understand how my younger self in high school would have hated this book. I wouldn't have gotten why half these characters even hung out together or why Gatsby put up with the people he put up with or why Daisy was such a big deal. Of course, this would have been my you're-so-smart-you're-a-moron self in high school that thought being an adult was measured by how much you knew about the world. Now that I know so much less about the world, I seem to have much better ability to understand that I don't have to understand how things happen. Which means I understand more. If that makes sense...

Not to mention, the more things change, the more they stay the same, eh? There's so much in this that is exactly the same from then to now - which just goes to show that if one can really latch onto the essence of the human experience in a story, one has a classic on their hands. It's just a shame that Fitzgerald never lived long enough to know the influence this novel would have...

#117: I am glad you loved that one, Steph!

>113 blackdogbooks: Oh my - I just read the reviews for that one. It sounds like he did a rough sequel-ish to the first one after discovering none of his principles would show back up for another movie and decided that he could basically write the same book again.

Yeah, that's not so good in the action genre. That's basically every Stephen Segal film ever.

Since you liked Gatspy, try Tender is the Night.

I read Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak. Really well done - although I was reading a 10th anniversary edition and I felt like some things were sort of snuck in to make it more "updated" (a line about conjugating surfing as in surfing the net...which wouldn't have been as huge for these kids in 1999 when it was published...let alone when the first drafts were written...nevermind the complete lack of e-mail or computer mentions and her report on the suffragette movement that is done with a bibliography and proudly done without copying from an encyclopedia - I'm just saying sometimes throwing in little updates aren't needed).

But onto the positive. Anderson's story is painful with just enough dark humor to keep you going long enough to see if Melinda will ever find a way to speak for herself and what's really happened instead of simply being depressed and dumped on by seemingly everyone she comes into contact with. This isn't an after-school special with either a super-supportive and always positive best friend, the greatest parents in the entire world or the one teacher who will be perfect and positive and supportive above all else. It's a character that has to find her own way and that's a story worth telling.

Now, the library has spoken on the renewal wheel o' death and it says I need to read Definitely Dead - so, yeah, twist my arm into reading a Sookie Stackhouse book! ;) Sometimes, the renewal wheel o' death is totally on your side.

I enjoyed Speak as well, when I read it earlier this year. I think it's something that most teen girls should read... there's a good message there.

I really think on so many levels teens should read it - young boys to see the emotional damage that radiates from these actions, girls not only to get the warning, but also to see how easy it is to turn into a terrible friend and everyone to see the importance of really having some sort of support system. Any parents that see themselves in the book should just turn in their parenting licenses and ask responsible individuals to raise their children for them...

I finished Definitely Dead. This was the "catch up" book in the series, so while stuff happened, it was mostly catch-up stuff with some minor "this will be important in another book" stuff thrown in. Meh. Most series have the risk of having at least one of these books...and I wish they didn't, but I get it. I know it's harder to keep the momentum going always, but these are my popcorn reads - I accept the loose ends!

I wrote a review and I've already reserved the next one at the library - although I have a few short story collections I need to get through as well...if I'm going to be an insane completionist.

I think I'm going to knock out The Vanishing by Tim Krabbe next...it's short and I could be ahead of the library wheel o' death...which would leave all weekend for graphics!

I finished The Vanishing (it's 108 pages) - and it was fantastic. I've actually seen both versions of the movie - the Dutch Version (Spoorloos) being way better than the Keifer Sutherland version.

That being said, for as short as this is, it's gripping and scary. There's no wasted bloat. Take an hour or two and read it - I updated the CK and wrote a review.

#125: My local library has that one. I will pick it up some time. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Steph!

The Vanishing sounds fascinating. That's one I'll definitely keep an eye out for.

Well, another ER book down the drain. I finished Corked and Kathryn Borel's two-week trip with her father through France wasn't all that fun. I wrote a review and updated the CK.

Just a hint on the travel memoir: Unrealistic expectations from the onset (this will fix mine and my father's relationship!) kill a ton of trips - writing about it afterwords just makes it worse.

#128: Nice review, Steph. I am sticking Corked firmly on the 'Do Not Read' list!

Thanks for the warning about Corked! I started it, it was dragging and then had to return it to the library. Now, I won't bother getting it back out!

>129 alcottacre:, 130, Yeah, had I not had the obligation, I wouldn't have finished it. There's a point where she starts to whine about how the mutual friends she shared with the boyfriend took his side after being neutral for so long - I honestly wanted to find her and go, "honey, trust me, they were never neutral - they just never wanted to alienate your boyfriend and somehow get stuck with you by default."

I wish she had been about 10 years older. This might have been a halfway decent book. For now, she's just that special immature where you think that some bad experiences automatically make you wise and worth listening to. I'm hoping she'll grow out of it.

I finished Equal Rites - very fun! I'm really enjoying the Disc World universe so far and it was fascinating to see a wholly developed story without characters from the first two books (save the librarian). I wrote a quick review and I understand that I'll get to see more of Granny Weatherwax, so yay!

The library would like to have me return Dexter in the Dark tomorrow...so guess what I'm starting! ;) Yeah, I don't play it close or anything (and if you return it before they open, like on the way to work, Wednesday, it totally counts as being returned on time!).

Really, they just get better from here on. You should really like Mort, which is next if you are reading them chronologically.

Ok....true confessions time y'all....I have never read anything by Terri Pratchett, and since grandbaby now 9 1/2, reading HP and stephanie myers is arriving in mid August, I feel like I need to investigate this author so I can guide her to some of the good YA stuff available (and away from TWILIGHT --YUCK). When I looked at the Pratchett list on LT there are 92 titles!!!!

Where should I start? Is there one series more suitable to younger YAs? I'm not a big fantasy reader, but want to fill in the gap in my reading too. HELP HELP HELP

ETA
PS....my reading pile of ARCs is already tipping over, so if you could recommend one in the 300 or less page range I'd be greatful.

The only other Pratchett I'd read before these was Good Omens which was co-written with Neil Gaiman - which is still one of my favorite books in terms of the funny. It's a good stand-alone book and it does make the impending Apocalypse a hoot and a half - so I'd personally start with that one. And it read super-fast!

As far as Twilight to Pratchett goes, I wouldn't do Good Omens. In fact, I think a, "here, read this instead of Twilight" using any Pratchett probably has a low success rate. Twilight has its place in that everyone her age is probably reading the book and the shared social experience is fun at that age. She'll also learn to make fun of it when the hive turns on it as well. ;)

The ALA did do a whole "Flights of Fantasy: Beyond Harry and Frodo" section for their Popular Paperbacks - in there, for younger readers, there's:

Artemis Fowl - seems to be aged at the 9-12 year olds
Howl's Moving Castle - which was quite fun

heh - they do recommend Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett in that same group! But there are a ton of other themed recommendations you could scan through depending on what your grandbaby is into at the moment (or what you want to avoid!).

('Scuse me butting in here...)

Tina, Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series are YA. The first three come in at roughly 300, 350 and 400 pages in the editions that I have, but they're fast-going and I think the first two are excellent. (I haven't read the third yet, and the fourth won't be out for a few months yet.)

The Bromeliad Trilogy is also YA, but I haven't read that one yet. It's not part of the big Discworld, series, which the Tiffany Aching books are. I haven't read any of the Bromeliad books, but I *think* they're shorter than the Tiffany Aching books - though they don't rate as highly, either.

Yes, definitely the Tiffiny Aching series, perfect for a nine-year-old! That would be The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, and Wintersmith. The other Pratchett she would enjoy right now is The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. I'll find your thread, Tina, and try to post some more quality fantasy if you are interested. the Charlie Bone series and the Keys to the Kingdom series are both good, but both run to 7 books in the series.

Just the info I was looking for = thanks for the input. I'll check these out so I can be 'up' on the current stuff.

Now I'll return the thread to Stephanie (thanks for letting us hijack!)

Meant to post this a few days ago...



I finished my latest audiobook - The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. I've been enjoying this a great deal on my way to work - Malcolm is a really great reader. I did write a review and updated a few professional reviews. I managed to sneak this one in at the end of May!

So woop!

May Summary



10 books read - 2 in progress!

1. Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn - 3 1/2 stars
2. Magic Lessons by Justine Larbalestier - 3 1/2 stars
3. Mixed Blood by Roger Smith - 3 1/2 stars
4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - 5 stars
5. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - 4 stars
6. The Vanishing by Tim Krabbe - 4 stars
7. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris - 3 stars
8. Corked by Kathryn Borel - 2 1/2 stars
9. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell - 4 stars
10. Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett - 4 stars

In Progress:

Anna Karenina
Dexter in the Dark

That's right, double digits. Wow. I didn't even realize. The Great Gatsby was this amazing, breathtaking read for me, but I will say that The Vanishing was a close second. If I had to pick the "me" favorite, it's Gatsby all the way - if I'm picking the "you gotta read this" favorite, it's The Vanishing. See, I can totally have it both ways. So there.

=P

The Vanishing sounds great! Onto the wish list it goes.

I may have had the wrong touchstone in my post - it's the one by Tim Krabbe, not Beverly Little. I hate how editing switches them. ;)

At least one of them was right - I was looking at the Krabbe book when I decided it was interesting! I then managed to get the wrong one in my post.

Nice summary, Steph. Looks like May was a very good reading month for you. Congratulations!

I finally finished Dexter in the Dark and I'm probably finished with the books. The TV show is phenomenal - I mean, I'm still all jaw-dropping OMG over last season's ending. Husband, to be honest, is holding on to some hope that it may have all been a dream, but he hasn't floated that theory lately so he may be coming to the whole acceptance phase.

This book was just so...

Well, I should say the first two books were barely recognizable as far as the series was concerned. Vince and Deb were somewhat close to their TV counterparts, but everyone else was all mixed up. Some characters that are dead are still alive and others that were dead long ago in the books still live. And Dexter just has a different swagger. But I promise I wrote this because the third volume was just bad. I wrote a review.

I owe the library The Titan's Curse, so let's hope this series treats me better with installment 3!

I finished The Titan's Curse (yeah, turning it in late to the library!), but it was a fun installment. Of course there was another quest, but this time it included new characters and Percy was almost cast aside. It also expanded on Grover's need to find Pan - which was a nice add to the story as it made him seem a lot less dorky-side-kick-ish. I wrote a quick review and I really am looking forward to book #4...

But before that nuttiness starts, I need to get through the backlog of books I have checked out from the library. Seriously - I have 36 checked out right now! Theoretically, 6 of them due on the 14th! (Some of them should be renewable as books are marked for the reserves that are pending - don't think I don't know how the system works.) This is my way of saying, "I know I need to hold off on the renewals for a bit."

I just needed to get that out. :)

I am going to try to read through 42 Up: "Give Me the Child Until He Is Seven and I Will Show You the Man" by Bennett Singer tonight. It's a short companion piece to the documentaries which are unbelievable if you haven't had a chance to see them. In brief, Michael Apted started filming a group of children - well two groups broken down by those of privileged and those of not-so-privileged backgrounds - when they were 7 years old and returned every 7 years to see how their lives changed and progressed. The series actually was last done at 49 Up, so you've now seen some of them become grandparents. Anyway, this is just a behind-the-scenes guide, so it should be a pretty fast read.

You've read some amazing books since I last checked in with you back in April. Now I'll go back up the thread and add them to my wishlist. Dangerous thread, you have..

Thirty-six! Dang girl! I couldn't trust myself with that many books checked out as I am super bad at returning them on time. My bill would be huge... And I really need to step it up with the Percy Jackson series. I got about two chapters into the second book of the series and lost my focus.

I am congratulating myself on getting down to 75 library books, lol. Library roulette is a game I am very familiar with, needless to say!

>147 Carmenere: Muahahahaahah!

>148 RosyLibrarian: Would it make you feel any better if I went full disclosure and admitted my current bill was $2.10? :/ Oh, and the 2nd book did drag for me a bit with Percy - I really felt like he was spending too much time on the whole, "woe is my life for having a God for a parent, let me explain why while I cease all other action for a while" in the story. Which I'm probably exaggerating because Titan's Curse really managed to explain more about hierarchies (did you know that there have been God layoffs?) while keeping the action going in a much better way.

>149 alcottacre: Thank god I'm limited to 50! I don't know if I could join the pro circuit with you!

I finished 42 Up: "Give Me the Child Until He Is Seven and I Will Show You the Man" - I picked it up because I really love the documentary series and I was hoping that this would be a more behind-the-scenes companion book of things I haven't seen or known. It wasn't. But it was a nice walk down memory lane. I wrote a review and updated the CK.

For library roulette - it's now The Mothman Prophecies - I don't know why, but I'm sure it was important that I check it out that day I reserved it... =P

I finished The Mothman Prophecies which really wasn't about the Mothman, but about John Keel's adventures in UFO conspiracy and why he's right when everyone else is wrong. But is he really right? It just reminds me of all the conspiracy stuff on TV now where it's so much, "if I just sound confident enough, no one will fact-check me, right?" kind of stuff. I updated some CK and wrote a review. If you want to remember conspiracy pre-caller-ID and a ton of technology, this is entertaining in that regard.

Still getting through my backlog! Got a graphic novel to crank out - so that will be in that thread, but then it'll probably be The Princess Diaries. That's right - girly-girl time. ;) (It's a BBC Big Read book!)

#152: I think I am safe in skipping that one. Nice review, Steph.

I remember really liking the movie of that one.

Oh, the movie and the book have very little to do with one another. It's sort of a few paragraphs at the begining and a few pages at the end with a whole lot of filler on intra-demesional aliens with promises that we're totally going to get back to that bridge disaster and mothman guy anytime now...

The quest to beat the library renewal wheel continues! I finished The Princess Diaries and it was a fun popcorn read. I'd seen the movie on an HBO view a few years ago and they really did change a lot of the book - I don't think one would have liked Mia or her family much if they hadn't. I wrote a quick review. I don't know if I'll read the others or not...it's not pressing, but I probably wouldn't turn them down if they were offered to me.

And now, the final push - The Invention of Hugo Cabret - I haven't decided if I'm calling it conventional or graphic, but let's see what I can do to beat the renewal wheel! (It'd have to be in before opening tomorrow AM!)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret was absolute magic - and thanks to reading and trying to watch 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I was actually very familiar with the movies in the book. There are already over 200 reviews for the book, so I won't be adding my "no, really you should read this!" review to the ruckus. (Burt, seriously, you should read this - it's got words and pictures and movie stills!)

And, at this magical moment, I have some breathing room...I can actually pick a book NOT based on the library renewal wheel 'o death. How crazy is that?

#157: I loved The Invention of Hugo Cabret too. I am glad to see it has another fan!

Congratulations on having breathing room. I wish I did!

Hugo Cabret is one I read from the library as well and immediately decided I should own -- haven't managed that yet, but I think there's a lot of re-read potential there! Glad you liked it too!

Hugo Cabret sounds like a delightful book, I've just now added it to my wishlist though I should have put it there quite some time ago.

I've seen Hugo Cabret on a few threads now and everyone has given it raving reviews so onto the wishlist it goes!

I promise everyone that you won't be disappointed by Hugo Cabret!



In the meantime, I've finished book 7 in the Sookie Stackhouse series - All Together Dead. Vampire summits, weather conspiracies, intra-dimensional bodyguards and anti-vampire-terrorists, oh my! I really do adore this series and this more than made up for the slight dip of book 6's "clean up" motif. I've already reserved the next book. I wrote a gushing review like a good fangirl.

I am reading Another Day in the Frontal Lobe now. :)

I finished Another Day in the Frontal Lobe yesterday and really enjoyed the memoir. I picked this up from a look at the ALA's Outstanding Reading for the College Bound lists. I've long-since graduated, but these lists always fascinate me. I don't think I would have been inspired to become a neurosurgeon (the organic chemistry would have killed me!), but I definitely enjoyed Katrina Firlik's account of becoming one. She really glosses over the fact that she was the first female candidate in her program as less than 5% of neurosurgeons in the US are even women (she was asked how she'd be able to handle the big drills in her interview), but she does do a good job of taking jabs at the insistence that female doctors somehow be subjugated to the image of some harried, over-worked individual barely hanging on while everyone pulls at her (an illustration a patient gave the family pediatrician, a woman, that confused her for many years - as she wondered if a male physician would ever display something similar).

I updated the CK, added professional reviews and wrote a review.

Next up, Feed by M.T. Anderson - the library wants this one back soon. You haven't heard that one before! ;)

June Summary

The month that started out strong as a result of a vicious round of library roulette gone very wrong that ended a bit on the slow side thanks to a heavy work load that left me a bit worn out and with very little time to read during lunch. (I am one of those people that really thrives on a ton of work, so don't feel too bad for me - I totally loved it and even managed to incorporate arts & crafts into one project because I can take on ridiculous things like that.) Anyway:

1. Dexter in the Dark - which officially killed the series (books, not the Showtime series!) for me. 2.5 Stars
2. The Titan's Curse - funny story, there's a guy with the last name Riordan at work...I usually end up accidentally calling him "Rick" at least once a month now (I'm not sure he gets it). 4 Stars
3. 42 Up Give Me the Child Until He Is Seven and I Will Show You the Man - great if you've seen the documentary, but if you have, you've read the book - conundrum!
4. The Mothman Prophecies - my alien theory is nothing like yours, but it's totally right. Whatever. 2.5 stars
5. The Princess Diaries - very readable and fun. 3.5 stars
6. The Invention of Hugo Cabret - you've read this by now, right? 5 stars
7. All Together Dead - I think we all know how I feel about Sookie Stackhouse. 4 stars
8. Another Day in the Frontal Lobe - great stories of becoming a neurosurgeon 4 stars

In progress Feed and the audiobook of I Am Charlotte Simmons

Wow - all my touchstones actually loaded on the 1st try.

I think it goes without saying that the Invention of Hugo Cabret was my favorite this month - seriously, do yourself a favor and read this one!

I finished Feed this morning. I wrote a review and I feel like it comes off a bit harsher than my read felt, but I don't really know how else to put it. I know that a lot of this can be tossed off as, "oh, but that's what the feed does - see how clever?" but I think it's more like, "uh, see how easy to take the cop out?" I'm not adverse to wholly unlikeable characters, but I don't think that was Anderson's intent. I really do mean it when I say I'd like to see more of the rebellion. There are hints of it all over the book, but we're sort of stuck with the reason people want to rebel instead - and a reason you might want to chuck it all and forget the rebellion all together once you realize what you're fighting for...but now I'm sounding harsher than I really feel.

Let's just say I liked it just fine, but I'm frustrated with it being just {} this far away from being way better.

#165: I was extremely disappointed in Feed after hearing so many good things about it.

I was let down by Feed as well, after it was recommended in a YA Lit course I took.

>166 alcottacre:, 167 - so it's not just me! I really just felt "...and?" at the end of it. This is going to sound horribly sexist of me, but I almost feel like it has gotten the praise it has gotten because they feel like boys will like it and they want to say, "see, we like books you dudes like!" In a way, it's sort of rebellious and guy-like by committee in that same way Avril Levigne is all punk and rebellious in the corporate by-committee way that she is. It's all safe and fun in that way that ensures parents that no one will actually harm themselves by hearing anything really shocking or feel the need to do anything really permanent. (This makes sense in my head.)

Anyway - I did finish another book:



This was a short story collection with wedding/paranormal themes. That's right, I picked it up because of a Charlaine Harris short story that is in it. Not about Sookie, but one that briefly mentions Cedric. I liked hers and one other really well, there were a few that were decent and a few stinkers as it seems to go with these things. I wrote a review.

It appears I have another anthology with a Charlaine Harris short story to read - Bite per the library renewal wheel o' death. What a shame. ;)

I finished Bite yesterday, and enjoyed my Sookie Stackhouse story - although I should have read it two books back! Sookie's story was the tamest of the 5, as the other 4 were definitely more of the hot & heavy paranormal romance, but that's not always a bad thing.

Of course, is it bad that I found myself a bit jealous of Caroline's ability to conjure up calorie-free Ben & Jerry's ice cream in the story Galahad? I'm just saying that you do need a snack every so often... ;)

I

I finished The Help today - and just in time for Book Club! (Hey, a day early, even!) I did have a few moments of panic as one of my early memories was of Mercedes, our live-in maid/nanny in Bogota when I was little. I'd love to say it was all warm and cuddly, but the truth is that it's partly fuzzy because it's of me yelling at her in Spanish (I no longer speak it) because she was putting two pairs of socks on my brother (those 55 degree winters!). Yeah, I was a feisty toddler. So after a long call to my father to ask all about the general mores of having a live-in maid in Columbia and getting some assurances that they knew as parents to take Mercedes side over mine, I felt much better.

I really enjoyed the use of the multiple narrator and the deft hand used to describe historical events. No one is hyper-aware of history as it's happening or of pop-culture before it officially becomes pop culture. Best of all, everyone is given the ability to be a human being within their archetypes. They play roles, but in a book about change, their roles are infinitely flexible. This isn't a book about evil white employers and dutiful black maids who are infinitely kind and patient. This is a book about individuals that are human living in circumstances that create inhumane conditions and how they impact everyone differently.

#170: I am going to get to that one eventually!

Hi Steph, The Help looks very interesting. I'll have to see if my library has it. Funny discussion on your library renewal wheel of death!! I am spared that on account of the library not allowing renewals at all! It's 3 weeks or back it goes (or- although I HATE to do this, pay a daily fee to keep it!).

>171 alcottacre: Well worth pulling out of the Black Hole! :)

>172 LovingLit: Wow. I wouldn't know what to do with myself on a 3 weeks and back kind of thing...I have books that are like that because they're popular, but those are just the additional fun in the chaos. Your library would likely defeat me. :)

I certainly need help finding the time to read The Help. I've heard so many good things, problem is there are so many good books I've got to read first.

I've got The Help in the TBR pile: I must get to it soon.

Your review of Help is spot on. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and found it especially compelling in the audio edition. For all of you still waffling, just go get it. It's one of 2010's best books.

That said, I did have a patron tell me yesterday that The Kitchen House was even more powerful than The Help so I'm on a mission to find that one. We only have it in Large Print in our library, and I can't hold a book that big --arthritic hands don't like it.

One last read in for July - The Siege of Krishnapur. One of the Booker of the Booker semi-finalists of which I've now read 4/6. I'll admit it was slow-going at times, but it was also brilliant in the way it got to where it was going. I updated LT with a link to Time Magazine's original review (if only those dates would stick!) and my own review.

August is going to be a graphic novel extravaganza (it'll be in my other thread), but not entirely. I have 3 quickies to read - and I mean QUICKIES - because the library wanted them, oh, yesterday. But 1 YA zombie tale, a Charlaine Harris and a small short story collection (yes, with more Charlaine). After that, the plan is to read Anna Karenina at work while I read my graphics at night. Well, until book club - for which I shall need to read a certain popular Swedish mystery that everyone else in the world has read but me. ;)

#177: I started that one but put it down and have not gotten back to it yet. Not sure when I will, but thanks for the reminder, Steph.

>178 alcottacre: Oh, did I leave the part out where I finally read it only because the library was all, "uh, you've renewed this 5 times already and you either need to read this or return it!" I probably started it half a dozen times. :)

July Summary

A light reading month, but a lot of visits to the Farmer's Market! That's all I've got. 5 books read, but only 2 books away from completing the Booker of the Bookers short list!

1. Feed by M.T. Anderson 3.5 Stars
2. My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding - an anthology - 3 stars
3. Bite - another anthology - 3.5 Stars
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - 4 Stars
5. The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell - 4 stars

My favorite this month? Hands down, The Help. To everyone in this thread that's said, "I really should read this soon" - do yourself a favor. READ IT! This isn't just "c'mon, everyone's doing it!" peer pressure. This is, "no, seriously, genuine Prada at 80% off!" peer pressure. It doesn't get any better than that. :)

So I started this zombie series last year and the 3rd book is out already. Passing Strange really follows another character around while pushing the main storyline from the first 2 books to the background. I almost think Waters is writing these too fast - because it's going all over the place. I updated the CK and wrote a review.

#181: I think I will pass on that one.

I hope you like your next read more, Steph.

Another Sookie Stackhouse - From Dead to Worse. It's an in-between book that's setting up a lot more, but instead of just setting up, the characters all get a chance to change the way they behave in small ways, so here is a small bonus. I am, of course, waiting to get answers to my unanswered questions. That's my peeve with in-between books. I wrote a review and am going to start on my time o' graphics. (Well, some regulars during the day at work, but much slower reading.)

Catching up - my laptop had to go in for repairs, so I'm way behind on all sorts of postings on the internetz.



Book club in August ended up reading the sequel to this book, but I hadn't read the first book, so read the first book I did. This one is the one I liked. A time-flipper as we bounce back and forth between present day where Father Emilio Sandoz is the lone survivor of an expedition to the first planet known to have alien life - a planet light years away that has resulted in nearly a 40 year absence from earth. Things have gone wrong, but we flip back and forth to find out what these things that went wrong were.

In this book, the Jesuits are actually the first ones to get their acts together and get a spaceship to another planet. So no worries about the life on other planets and the validity of Christianity from the Jesuits as a whole - but a spiritual crisis from other areas. It read slow, but I was also still going through graphic novels and working a lot of projects.

There are over 150 reviews, so I didn't bother adding my own.

Children of God - the sequel and the book for Book Club. While I wasn't a 5 star fan (not even a 4) of the first, I didn't expect to not really like the 2nd book. But I really didn't. I know I'm sort of a lone cheese in the reviews, but it was really too much melodrama. I really felt like we were packing on the DRAMA to distract from the fact that the only major thing we had to really resolve was whether or not Sandoz was going to leave the priesthood.

But, hey, I did get to Book Club in time to take advantage of $4 martini happy hour. So woo!

August Summary

Only a few novels, but I was reading graphic novels this month. But I still crossed over to the 50 book mark with plenty of the year left.

1. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris - 3.5 Stars
2. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell - 3.5 Stars
3. Children of God by Mary Doria Russell - 2.5 Stars

In progress:

Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files by Jon Wiener

My favorite? I'm going to go with From Dead to Worse because that's Sookie Stackhouse and she never pretends to be more than she is supposed to be.

Sorry to hear about your computer issues, but welcome back!

I think I will skip the two books above me. When someone says that the series only gets worse, I have a hard time even wasting time on the first one.

Hope the next one is better!

My computer is good as new - well, better now - and I must give a shout-out to HP's warranty service. They made it super-simple to deal with and everyone was really nice. :)

I will say that I was in the minority on the books at book club - and even in the reviews. I just wasn't feeling it. I wasn't the lone hold out at book club, but I was really going through a few moments in my brain where I was wondering if everyone else got to read an awesome book and I somehow got stuck with the wrong pages between the right cover...but nope, we were all talking about the same plot!

I finally finished the I Am Charlotte Simmons audiobook. I finished this out of spite - which I started hating about a month ago. Great if you want to believe this is the college experience just like CSI is a totally accurate depiction of life crime scene investigator. Only pretend that Charlotte Simmons is an episode of CSI where not only are the unbelievable shoeprint, rope fiber database, and FBI side-thumb-print databases in play - but that the victim of the crime is so dreadfully unlikeable that you could care less that anyone bothered to even kill them in the first place.

I wrote a review and now I'm moving on. :)

#189: Read my lips: I am Stasia Doster and Not Touching that Book with a 10-foot Pole :)

The Halloween thread is up....http://www.librarything.com/topic/98082&newpost=1#lastmsg

>191 blackdogbooks: I've been checking it out. I don't know if I can devote to all the books, but I have The Collector!



I finished Gimme Some Truth which followed the court case to release the John Lennon FBI files under the Freedom of Information Act. True Story: One of the claims behind not releasing them originally was that the contents could lead to war with England! True Story #2: Looking at the released documents one must wonder if the FBI really thinks England is that sensitive or if there are a lot of other things England is mad at us for and that whole "last straw" thing has been really precarious for a long time...

I updated the CK and was the first to write a review.

#192: I do not think I will be reading that one, but nice review, Steph!

I feel like I'm in the middle of some super-slow-mo read fest. I have no idea what's up, but I've hit some wall with my reading of late and even changing up genres/types isn't jump-starting things. Stuff just feels like it's taking a lot longer to read than it normally does. Well, I'm easily distracted nowadays too...maybe I need to find books with sparkly covers? =P

Mostly, I'm just putting this out there to let the universe know that I'm acknowledging the thing. I don't know what to do about it, but I acknowledge it. So there.

I read a birthday vampire anthology for a *shocker* Charlaine Harris short story - Many Bloody Returns. It was cute, but didn't do much for the Sookie Stackhouse universe (Eric was funny, Sookie not really herself). The rest of the anthology was fair-to-middling with a few bright spots. I wrote a review and updated the CK.

I even have Mockingjay on deck right now, but I've been all leisurely about reading it as well...it's not a terrible thing, but I do have goals and all. And those library fines are starting to stack up. :)

#185 But, hey, I did get to Book Club in time to take advantage of $4 martini happy hour. So woo!

Woo Hoo, I want to join your bookclub! It's probably only about 2 hours from Cleveland, on second thought not good to drive back after a couple of those 4 buckers.

I go through phases of not picking up books either. It's best not to force reading as you'll probably not enjoy the book as much as you might otherwise. That is especially true of Mockingjay which I thought was a great read and I look forward to your thoughts! :)

I'm having the same feeling about slow-motion. Maybe end of the summer blues?

Well, I think I have an official reason "why" - see, I've been cranky and tired on top of things. For the last few weeks especially. So Thursday AM, I'm at work and I get coffee & a bagel and I get this pain in my lower abdomen and a bit in my back - but I think maybe the half & half was off in the coffee. I don't feel like I need to throw-up, but things are "off." I go home - long story short and a trip to Urgent Care and the Emergency Room that ended at 5 AM Friday...I have a massive kidney stone. My first one ever. Which won't be out until Monday AM via outpatient surgery.

I left Mockingjay at the office too boot, but they have me on heavy-duty painkillers (hint: the kind featured often on Intervention), so it's not like I'd be able to really do a ton of reading anyway.

Oh dear! Well, your reading funk is excused! I'm glad you are "okay" (all things are relative--you are under care and it's not life-threatening) but imagine you are still pretty uncomfortable. Best wishes for Monday!

Good luck on Monday, Steph! Hopefully getting rid of the stone will get you back to feeling better in more ways than one.

Wow that's one reason all right I hope it all goes smoothly for you and you can get heaps of reading done post-op- you might even be able to milk it a little bit and get a free day on the couch after you're all better!!??

Ouch! Hope the surgery goes okay.

thanks so much for all the great well-wishes. I will say the painkillers are doing the job. I mostly feel fuzzy and want to be off them now. I've gotten out a new book to read, but that's about it - the pills mean lots and lots of naps. I'm actually looking forward to going back to work. :)

Oh no! That's terrible. My boyfriend gets kidney stones and it's hard to watch him be in so much pain so I can imagine what you're going through. Hope the surgery goes off without a hitch!

I'm getting back to normal. Woo! Yay to good pharmacology and speedy out-patient surgery.



A good thing about going back to work was finally getting to bring my copy of Mockingjay back from the office. (I'd left the office the Thursday before last thinking I had some bad half and half and that I'd go home and sleep it off and come back in the next day - who knew it would turn into kidney stone drama!) I was able to finally find out what awaited Katniss, Gale and Peeta. I will say that I did enjoy the third volume, but not quite as much as the first two. I think not having either Haymitch or Peeta nearby really threw things off a bit for Katniss's character. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the new environment and the situation, it just felt different - and I really felt like Gale got kind of sidelined after having been more of a presence in the first two books. He was there, but not as I really remember him in the first two books. Still, Collins does a great job of presenting a conflicted story and doesn't give these kids minor hurdles to overcome - she made this a full-out assault where anyone was fair game.

Of course, the movies will probably make things a bit brighter... :)

Glad to know you are feeling better, Steph!

(skipping the Mockingjay review as I still have not read it, lol)

haha - what happened to "I'm reading them as soon as Mockingjay comes out!" =P

#207: I am supposed to be reading it with another member of the group and since I have not heard from her, I am still in a holding pattern with that one.

September Summary

Yeah, way late, but I'm finally getting back on track after all this crazy stuff. I'm a really horrible sick person so I tend to push not being sick which just means I'm really run down a lot faster when I get home just so I can turn around the next day and pretend to be 100% during the day. I'm totally fooling everyone - I can tell by the way they ask me if I'm tired. ;)

So, September wasn't the biggest reading month ever (shocker!).

1. I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe - 2/5 stars (and that's generous)
2. Gimme Some Truth by Jon Wiener - 3/5 stars
3. Many Bloody Returns - a short story collection - 3/5 stars
4. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - 4/5 stars

My favorite? Mockingjay. And not just by default. I really enjoyed the first two and while this one wasn't quite as good as those, that's a pretty high scale that we're on. She still ended the series in a way that was honest to everything she set up throughout her books.

This was supposed to be my book club book, but I was sick on book club night. Boo. :( The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a biography of the woman behind the HeLa cells. Not familiar with them? Maybe you've heard of the polio vaccine? Or various AIDS therapies? Or the human genome project? Or vaccines in general? Or any genetic research? Because this woman's cells have been there for all of it - and they still are. It's an interesting story. I wrote a review.

Another few days, another Sookie Stackhouse. And there's only one more after this one! In this one, Sookie actually gets a bit of a backbone and we learn a lot about her faerie bloodline. I've got to give Charlaine Harris some credit for obviously still caring about most of her characters after nine volumes. It's clear she likes the world of Bon Tempes and hasn't just decided to phone things in after collecting her HBO money. I wrote a review.

I hope you are much improved now, Steph!

Great review for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - it looks like an interesting read...I think I'll need to be in the right mood though to pick it up from the library.

Finding out that my paying attention ability is still stunted, although I'm hoping we're reaching the tale end of this thing. So, yup, it took me this long to read The World Without Us even though it was a really fascinating read. Between all of the on-earth examples and learning that I need to find a new facial cleanser, there's enough for even the knowing-est know-it-all to learn something new. I wrote a review.

I'm looking forward to my next read - I just need to decide what it is. I do have a few days off coming up - so maybe some real rest will help things out. :)

#214: I found that one an interesting read too. Thumbs up for your review, Steph.

Cats are serial killers?! Now I have to read this book to find out why! And maybe be cautious of my cat in the mean time...

October Summary

Getting caught up on a lot of housekeeping. My few days off were at a resort in Mexico and while I had my iPad, it wasn't really used a whole whole lot. I had lying around the pool and being waited on hand and foot to work really, really hard on all week. And touristy stuff. Now that I'm back to Ohio and there's no Arturo offering me a Bloody Mary at 9AM, I should get back to reality. Boo.

September had some reading, but I was still kind of "blah" about everything. But I did finish a few things!

1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebeccca Sloot - 4/5 Stars
2. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris - 4/5 Stars
3. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman - 4/5 Stars

This is probably the part where everyone expects me to name Dead and Gone as my favorite. Guess what? While I really loved it because it's my Kettle Corn of literature, I really, really loved Alan Weisman's book. I even sought out a new night cleanser because of him (this one exfoliates without plastic). I also quoted from memory from his book to my husband while on a tour of Chichen Itza because his passages were that memorable.

I finally read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carrol. I can't even remember having a little kid version of this book as a kid. I do remember seeing a ton of movie adaptations, though! And none of them ever explained that I should swim with a porpoise. Or not. Why have I never seen a version with the lobster dance?

I enjoyed this, but I know I would have loved this as a kid - having it read out loud to me. I probably would have begged to dress up as Alice for at least 4 Halloweens in a row. Or the Queen of Hearts. I was sometimes a bit of a brat like that and would have loved threatening to behead people if they dared to give me coconut-based candy...

Okay, I'm one of the last 3 people who haven't read this book yet. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is my book club's early December selection, but I decided to get it out of the way early. From what I gather, most of the rest of the club already read it was well. Want to be popular at a pool? Have this book with you - because everyone else has read it and will tell you how much you'll like it. Of course, at a place where they're bringing you drinks and it's still warm enough to swim...well, you won't read as much as you think.

Where do you read this? On planes. I must have tore through 400 pages of this on the rides back from Mexico. I could have probably done more waiting in line to clear customs, but they're all big on you paying attention and stuff. (Bonus tip - the lady with the drug-sniffing beagle really hates it when you say, "aren't you the most adorable DEA Agent, ever!" to her dog - but you won't be able to help yourself.)

I have to admit that I figured out the basic "what happened to Henrietta" question pretty fast (not all of it, ind you), but the rest of it was so compelling, I didn't care. Lisbeth was so fascinating in both what she was capable of and what she was so inexplicably incapable of wrapping her head around that I really wanted to see where she'd end up or how she would choose to deal with certain situations. The Swedish version of the film is available on my cable system now, and I have to admit, I really want to know how they did the film version.

Now that I'm rested and I have no more vacation plans to make, I'm looking forward to relaxing, normal-paced reading.

#219: Now that I'm rested and I have no more vacation plans to make, I'm looking forward to relaxing, normal-paced reading.

Is there such a thing, Steph?

Bonus tip - the lady with the drug-sniffing beagle really hates it when you say, "aren't you the most adorable DEA Agent, ever!" to her dog - but you won't be able to help yourself.

*snerk*

Glad you liked GWTDT! You should check out the Swedish films - they are awesome! The actress who plays Lisbeth was perfectly cast.

So now it's just two of us who haven't read it. though I have seen the first of the Swedish films.

>220 alcottacre: Probably not! Now I'll have the whole, "the Holidays!" thing to deal with. ;)

>221 drneutron: I should mention said beagle did get a bust in the area while we were there. Know what's more adorable than a DEA beagle? A DEA beagle escorting his "find" of baggage through the airport - proud tail wagging and all. Seriously, it'd almost make smuggling fun to know that you'd get busted by a beagle. If the whole prison thing wasn't waiting for you on the other side...

>222 RosyLibrarian: & 223 - I think I'm going to try to watch the movie tonight!

I read Strange Maine True Tales from the Pine Tree State by Michelle Souliere. It's an early reviewer book that I thought was lost to never coming, and it might have been better if it had stayed lost. I think this is really meant to be one of those tourist-impulse buys and not a read for folks that might actually judge it. I wrote my ER review and didn't want to get too into it, lest I beat the word count of the 117-page book.

But I'll digress here - I think nearly every state has something similar. There's Weird Ohio and even Forgotten Columbus for my local area, but they actually go the extra mile. Take their entry on the Cincinnati Subway for instance. Thorough, not a cut and paste from a history text or public-domain article - they actually spent significant time researching themselves and they tell folks how to get to parts of it today. Her book really has none of this - not even for readily accessible items. Even her mention of the Sacred and Profane festival is simply "every fall."

I Googled it - it's ONE DAY. How hard is it to give out something like "takes place once a year around the full harvest moon" - and to list better sources for it? It was stuff like that that made me feel like she was a tourist in her own book!

Too bad about the Maine book! I have never visited the state and know little about it, so I will not waste my time reading a book that is not more helpful than that one sounds.

Bahzah and I will have to research some moh bettah books than this.....I haven't seen anything about it on any of the library buzz, and it certainly isn't going into my library. Too bad. I hate it when people who are trying to promote something wonderful shoot themselves in the foot--particularly when it's not hunting season.

225: Ha ha, what a funny review. I laughed out loud at "and it might have been better if it had stayed lost." It's a bummer when ER books come like that.

>228 RosyLibrarian: ;)



Another ER book, but I did enjoy this one. If you wanted to give feel-good, inspirational stocking stuffer-type gifts, Giving it All Away: The Doris Buffett Story is probably a pretty good bet. It's a quick and easy read and was a book I found somewhat eye-opening. I must admit that I'm one of those that assumes anyone related to Warren Buffett has probably always had things pretty good and while I've found their philanthropy admirable, it's always been in that kind of, "it's nice that they're so generous" kind of way. What I didn't know was that that Doris has had her share of hardships and had rented out rooms in her home at one point to make ends meet.

I wrote a review and made some minor updates to CK as someone else had already done all the heavy lifting.

Popcorn read - really, are you surprised to see yet another Sookie Stackhouse pop up in this thread? This is actually the last book published so far in the series, but it was definitely not written as the last book - plenty of loose threads to tie up and all.

This wasn't one of my favorites. The last book sort of promised a bit of a showdown with the whole Eric/Bill/Sookie triangle, but that just seemed to fade away into nothing whatsoever in the opening pages. While we moved forward a bit in plot, there also seemed to be about a million other subplots circling about to make it seem as if more happened. It would have been one thing if the subplots had all wrapped up, but a lot of them popped up for a few minutes and handy moments and are just left floating out there...waiting to have something happen. I'll keep reading them, don't get me wrong, this just wasn't as good as the last one. I wrote a review.

#229: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Nice review, Steph!