Milda-TX Tries Again in 2010

Hi everybody,

Surpassed 59 in 2009
Ready to try again in 2010!

Happy New Year!
Milda

Happy new year to you!

Welcome back!

Yea! I've got ya starred.

Starred!

Good luck this time around! :)

Glad to see you back with us for 2010, Milda!

Yay Happy 2010! What a happy day: managed to not go in to work plus I exercised AND picked up the house just a little bit AND finished a book! Yay!

Best book I've read this whole year (ha, get it?): The Wednesday Wars. I'm sure I owe an LTer for recommending this adorable story.

#8: Well, now that you have picked up the house, you do not have to do it again this year, right?

You owe Linda (Whisper) for The Wednesday Wars.

Oh yeah! No more cleaning this year, good deal!!!

Book #2 was Rebecca. I had absolutely no idea what to expect - just saw lots of recommendations here on LT. Wasn't too into the 'romance' or the smarmy narrator for quite a long time, but just loved the writing, and the suspense of the last half of the book was definitely worth the wait.

Saw the Sherlock Holmes movie today with my hunny, so now I'm in the mood for a detective story! I'm sure I'll find one of those somewhere in this still-picked-up house...

>11 Milda-TX:: Rebecca is such a good book. No wonder it is a classic! And how about that Robert Downey, Jr.? I loved the movie and now want to read the stories. Life is good!

I just saw the Sherlock Holmes movie last night, too! I've never wanted to read the stories, but with Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law to picture in my head (instead of Basil Rathborne and that other guy), well.....I might just give it a go this year. ;-)

#10: Thought you might like that idea.

#11: Glad you enjoyed Rebecca.

>11 Milda-TX: & 13: I haven't seen the movie yet, but I read the first 2 Holmes novels this week simply because I wanted to be able to contrast the two once I saw the film... the books are quite different, from what I understand, but they're really quite fantastic! There's a reason they've stood the test of time! Definitely worth reading.

Starred. I'm planning on reading Rebecca this year too. Glad to see you enjoyed it.

OK you guys, my friend Melissa is the best librarian ever. The library just received Wolf Hall and put a pretty cover and spine sticker on it, and she reserved it for me so I get to go pick it up today. Isn't she the sweetest? It will probably take me forEVer to read it though. I'd better quit typing and go get it huh?!

Wow! Melissa is a good friend! My kindergarten son has a librarian friend like that. She emailed me to say that the books that Matt (my son) reserved were in. Matt's pretty sharp, but I don't think he has the reserve system figured out yet. Come to find out, they were books that she had overheard him looking for a couple of weeks earlier, so she ordered them and held them for him!

Enjoy Wolf Hall!

awww, that's sooo sweet! I hope Matt gave her a great big smile!

Ahhhhh, so that's the secret, cozy up to a librarian. You never know when you want to bypass the wait list. ; )

It worked recently for me as well: the librarian knew I was anxiously awaiting the newest installment in John Flanagan's The Ranger's Apprentice series, so she set is aside for me. Gotta love librarians!

My husband and I are thinking about the not-too-distant future, when our youngest is out of high school, and we can move away from this place that has wayyyy tooooo mannnyyyyy months where the temp is above 90 degrees, and way too few chances for snow. Last year I read Here If You Need Me and thought life in Maine might be really cozy. Big difference, isn't it, between the climate in San Antonio and Maine? Anyway, while browsing in the library at Christmastime (in t-shirt and jeans, of course no sweater or coat required...) I couldn't resist the snow-white-and-polar-bear cover of Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places. Just finished reading the book, and I'm thinking I will definitely revise our home hunt to something a little less ...ummmm..... north. *sigh*

As for the Cold book itself, I did find it fascinating. It's full of accessible science and interesting history, to be read in small pieces. The author reminds me of a favorite elementary science teacher, because the best teachers help you make connections between lessons, and they throw in some good stories throughout the year, don't they?

So that's #3 for 2010, and the January TIOLI challenge is done! Woo hoo!

I added it, Milda! Love the idea of history and science presented in easy bites.

Maine is cold...bitter cold. It is a lovely state though and we vacation in Princeton Maine in the summer. Princeton is in Northern Maine, near Canada.

I had just come across in Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places in a magazine, and was considering adding it to my TBR pile. Now I definitely will! Although I think I only love cold place when I'm guaranteed a warm house to go inside!

#22: I am going to try and locate a copy of Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places too. Thanks for the recommendation, Milda!

Cold: Adventures... sounds like it could be a good read but since I live the adventure for about 8 months out of the year, I think I'll pass on that one.

-27- know what you mean - doubt I would read any books about the science of "Heat" after sweating through it most of the year! :)

Finished listening to #4, The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted. I liked it, not bad for a middle-aged stressed-out chick to listen to on the way home from work each day. It's a book of short stories, each a woman's story, and every one of them is likable and relatable. Well, except I skipped over the chapter that was an adolescent girl talking. Anyway, it was okay, but I am glad to move on to a Sedaris next, because he makes me laff, and I think that's better for the stressed-out part of me.

Talk about stressed out, Wolf Hall's due date is looming and I'm not even halfway through... it's soooo hard to make progress when you have to back up and figure out who "he" is all the time.

Finished Wolf Hall a couple of nights ago. Wow, what a book! It was difficult to read - of course, it's lonnngggg - and confusing because the main character Thomas Cromwell is always referred to as "he" - and there are lots of characters (but it's nice that a family tree and reference list of people is provided). I had never read anything about the Tudors, so I'm afraid I probably missed lots of interesting details. But this book was fun for me. Now I'll have to netflix the Tudors series, and maybe read The Other Boleyn Girl next, huh. That's #5.

I tried In the Kitchen: A Novel, I really did, but I was just not that into it. So, after 155 pages I returned it to the library today. Now I have the fun job of choosing what's next. Just got a Barnes & Noble order in... hmmm, delicious!... or should I read something from the stack... or another library book.... decisions, decisions!

Milda I enjoyed Wolf Hall too with little or no knowledge of the Tudors. I received In the Kitchen as an ER book and had to force myself to finish it so I could write a review. Terrible.

oh thank goodness I'm not the only one who felt that way - I thought maybe I was suffering a bout of ADD or something... just could not seem to keep my mind on that story.

Book #7 for 2010 was Eats, Shoots and Leaves. Pulled this red-spined beauty from my tbr pile for the Feb TIOLI challenge. It was fun to share a few lines with my 17-yr-old daughter; lately, she is very annoyed with her fellow students who cannot distinguish between "your" and "you're". I think I might've learned a little something about colons, too. Keeping this one in case I need a little continuing ed refresher course someday.

Just started Peace Like A River and ooohhh, it's soo goood, I need to get off the computer and back to the book!

Hi Milda
My favourite Tudor reference is any book by historian David Starkey. He wrote one on the six wives of Henry VIII and a few on Elizabeth. After I finish any historical fiction book on the Tudor era, I always read a section of Starkey's work to check out the details.

cool, thanks for the tip! my friend recommended fiction by Jean Plaidy, too.

>33 Milda-TX: - Oh, I love Peace Like a River! I'll be interested to read your thoughts. I also really liked So Brave, Young and Handsome.

Book #8 was Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim in audio version. What a hoot. What a goofy guy, and what vivid pictures he paints. How terribly sweet it is, the way he writes about his family! Adorable. Highly recommend this audio book. (Short stories have been especially good on CD for me, since my attention span isn't the greatest when listening to books.)

I love David Sedaris although I've never listened to him. All of his books are excellent and hysterical, his latest When You Are Engulfed in Flames not being up to the level of the earlier ones IMO. I'm glad you enjoyed listening:)

Oh, Bonnie, you've got to hear him speak. His writing is so much better when you're hearing his voice in your head. Go google him. Naked is my all-time favorite. Even though it has some raunchy parts, no book has made me laugh more--especially the stories about his family.

I take that back. I hear Santaland Diaries every Christmas on PBS and yes Bonnie his voice is unmistakable and unique:)

Finished Peace Like a River last night. I truly enjoyed the story, the snow, the family relationships, the adventure, the romance... and the 'miracle' part was okay too. I regret that I finished it late at night while I was sleepy. Maybe I would've liked the ending better if I hadn't been fighting against my heavy eyelids.
What is it with these books with dads and kids that keep reminding me of To Kill a Mockingbird? I think I loved that book way too much.
Today I started both Catching Fire and Amy and Isabelle. What fun to have a little extra reading time on this 3-day weekend!

Happy reading, Milda!

Yay, great weekend - cleaned out the linen closet, got some exercise, spent some time with my girls and my Valentine, AND read two books, woo hoo! Amy and Isabelle was good - cringe-inducing, but good. I didn't connect with the characters nearly as much as I did with Olive, but I did feel for them. Catching Fire was un-put-downable! That's 11 for 2010, yay.

I was hangin' with my girlies, staring at the book stack, wondering what to read next, and my baby Em insisted on Frankenstein, which she read in high school last semester. Can't say no to my baby Emily, so Frank it is.

Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend, Milda!

Book 3 in the Hunger Games trilogy is now available for pre-order on Amazon if you are interested. The third book is entitled Mockingjay.

oh dear, can I wait til the library gets it? hmmmm.... ;)

I couldn't - so I preordered it despite the fact that I am not supposed to be buying books this year!

Frankenstein had print too small for a recent car ride, plus, it was a ride in Texas... so I picked up All The Pretty Horses and finished it for #12 for 2010. Only had to text my daughter for espanol translations about 4 times.

This time a car ride to Houston and breaks between volleyball games allowed me the pleasure of reading The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian. Thanks to Madeline for recommending this book - it was lovely, and sweet, and silly, and sad - a pleasure to read.
I've also started The Mammoth Cheese and Brooklyn: A Novel... sure is good I'm on spring break this week so I'll have a chance to finish both...

Have a great (reading) spring break, Milda!

#14 for the year was The Mammoth Cheese. Enjoyed the love stories, the descriptions of the small town and its people, and the various subplots and conflicts. Must admit to getting a little impatient for the last quarter of the book, but that's okay, mammoth books need mammoth endings don't they.

>50 Milda-TX:: mammoth books need mammoth endings...

Looks like I need to move this one to the top of the pile. It seems like I've read and enjoyed something else by Sherri Holman. Nope, still in a Disney daze I guess. No books by Holman listed on LT, and the book I own is The Dress Lodger.

Enjoy the rest of your Spring Break. I'm glad you're getting some good reading time in.

Donna, I haven't been lurking on anybody's threads lately - spending spring break cleaning and painting and getting the house ready for graduation parties (okay, and reading a lot too!) - but I hope you had a grand time at Disney! I'm sure a trip there would leave one in a daze for quite a few days!

#15 was This Book Will Save Your Life, which I found in the tbr stacks for the leftover-from-Feb TIOLI challenge to read a book with a full sentence as the title. If this is in your tbr, I'd recommend that you don't read the book flaps or the reviews. Just dive in. This book reminded me of Vernon God Little without the horrible slang... plus this guy is at way the opposite end of the financial spectrum from poor Vernon G Little... and TBWSYL's LA setting is more fantastic than small-town Texas... but anyway, stuff just keeps happening, and this is a fun book to read.

Now, I have got to find my lost library book, Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. Halfway through and I buried it somewhere in this disorganized house...

>53 Milda-TX:: "Disorganized house..."

Ha! That's what happens when you do spring cleaning. That's my excuse for leaving sleeping books (and other clutter) lie.

no kidding, Donna! especially when we had to move everything out of a couple of rooms in order to paint... and moved a bunch of the office furniture and emptied the entertainment center to get digital cable/internet installed... and, my daughter's got a business clothing collection going on for Girl Scouts, so tons of extra boxes in the way... ugh, where IS that BOOK?! :P

#16 was my 3rd March TIOLI challenge book (you go, Madeline!), Buck Fever by Ben Rehder. I originally bought these books for my dad, for when he came to visit and I needed something to help him pass the days while we were at work.... had already exhausted the Barry and Dorsey and Hiassen libraries. My goodness, how Dad chuckled for weeks about these Blanco County stories! Now I see why. What a silly Texas mystery/crime novel this was, and what fun for those who have lived in or visited or imagined life in Texas.

*chuckles (isn't that what they do in Texas?) and waves to Milda*

I liked Buck Fever but I really couldn't into his next book. I guess one was my dosage, though I may try one again someday.

ETA: I did some combining and the author touchstone should now take you to all his books in >56 Milda-TX:. Couldn't fix the book touchstone above but the one here should be OK if you want.

Ms. SqueakyChu - my dad is a goof, he laughed for weeks about some passage where the guy was bragging about his new tv that had a "sh**load of pixels". sooo funny...*sigh*... but I suppose I should be proud that my 87-yr-old dad even knows what a pixel is, huh.

Thanks Tadadadadad! I agree w u about this 1 book being enough 4 now...

I should be proud that my 87-yr-old dad even knows what a pixel is, huh.

Indeed! That reminds me of a funny story about my own dad (when he was alive back in 1973). I was in my twenties at the time and left for a year in Israel. I left him my component stereo system, explaining it all to him before I left. When I got home (a year later), he told me he only used the on-off button to turn the radio on and off because the rest of it was too complicated. This is the same man who refused to learn how to drive a car with an automatic transmission because it was "too difficult" to learn after having always used a manual transmission. :)

Fathers. They're priceless!!

awwww, that's sooo cute! (I'm glad you left the radio on a station he enjoyed!)

#17 was Brooklyn by Colm Toibin... I don't know how to make these links work... The book was okay. Ready to go find Unaccustomed Earth now, for the April TIOLI. So nice to have Madeline help me pick something from the tbr pile each month. :)

When you're looking at the Touchstone you've created to the right, you can click on "(other)" and scroll down the list provided to find the right title/author, but I think this is one of the Touchstones that keeps converting back anyway, so I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

The TIOLI's are proving to be quite popular, aren't they? I'm still trying to figure out the whole Wiki thing, but am enjoying looking at peoples' choices.

--> 62

Glad to oblige, Milda. LOL!

Bonnie! Go directly to the April wiki. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. The way you learn to use it is by using it! If I could talk Stasia into trying it, surely I can convince you as well. :)

What you need to know is that you CANNOT mess it up. The wiki page itself can always be reverted to a previous incarnation. I periodically check it for mistakes and correct them. You can access the April wiki from the link at the top of April's TIOLI thread. At that time, you can bookmark it to make it easily accessible.

Bonnie! What Madeline said. If I can do it, anyone can. I have not broken mine yet or made LT explode or anything.

LOL! I knew you'd be here with a comment, Stasia. :)

*waves to Stasia*

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By the way, one of the reasons I opted to use the wiki for the TIOLI was precisely to teach other LT-ers how to use it.

*waves back to Madeline*

OK so I kinda didn't feel like Unaccustomed Earth so I switched to finishing a book of essays instead. #18 for this year was Grace (Eventually), Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott. I love Ms. Lamott's writing. I can't really empathize with her younger days - but her thoughts about nature, and her kid, and her community - all that really resonates with me.

Off to fix my April TIOLI entry!

uh oh... why did I get the idea that essays counted for April TIOLI? Oops! I guess I'm off to fix that wiki once again! Well, after I decide what to read next, that is...

You're getting lots of wiki practice, Milda! I loved Unaccustomed Earth and highly recommend it. Maybe you weren't just in the right mood when you started it. Happens all the time to me.

I have Unaccustomed Earth here at home and, although, I loved interpreter of Maladies, I wasn't in the mood for Unaccustomed Earth either.

I like Anne Lamott's writing. I always avoided her books, thinking they were about religion. I started with Bird by Bird which was essays about writing. It was a delightful book! Ron Charles of The Washington Post just reviewed her newest book, Imperfect Birds.

#72: A new Lamott book?! *scurrying off to see if the local library has it yet*

Imperfect Birds had been an LT Early Reviewer book recently You can read LT reviews by our own Early Reviewers on the book's work page. :)

#74: That's OK - I discovered it is one of her fiction books and the third book of a trilogy, so I am not so interested any more.

Ditto what Stasia said. I love her non-fiction writing and I've been avoiding her fiction because I've heard it's not as good. I really need to try at least one of her novels, however....

ugh i m striking out on apr tioli. Tried 100+ pages of Birds of America but ughhhh it was sooo bleah. *sigh*. will have to nuke that one off the wiki and try something else. I'm still counting it as #19.

Oh, Madeline: yeah, Lamott's got religion, but it's not off-putting to me. It's not like she's on some kind of recruiting mission or something. I wouldn't count this book as being "about religion" - more like faith and grace and thankfulness, with a little bit of dissatisfaction about world affairs thrown in there.

I've only read one story in Birds of America so far. Strange writing, isn't it? What was it exactly that made you think it was bleah? You didn't like the stories? You didn't like the writing? I haven't read enough of it to get a good feel for what the book is going to be like. My feeling about reading it is - if you don't like it, ditch it sooner rather than later!

I just finished a TIOLI I didn't like: Diet for a Hot Planet by Anna Lappe. Unfortunately, it was also an Early Reviewer so I pretty much *had* to finish it in order to tell in my review why I didn't like it. That was odd, though, because just about everyone else here at LT gave it very positive reviews.

Like you, I enjoy Lamott's religious writing. Even though I'm Jewish, I think her writing emphasizes the universal aspects of religion to which I can relate. Despite being a fervent Christian, LaMott's religion is not the be-all and end-all in her life. Her writing is funny and quite delicious to read.

hmm, how to explain 'bleah'. I didn't care at all about any of the characters or stories ... I didn't laugh or cry or get angry, or want to learn more about anybody or anywhere or anything, or want to be or meet any of them, or get curious about what would happen, or enjoy any descriptions of anything in particular. I don't remember anything about the writing that I felt was "strange", even. I didn't think the book was bad or anything. Just bleah. Not worth my time.

Sorry u had to finish a stinker. At least I was allowed to put my bleah book down.

>At least I was allowed to put my bleah book down.

:)

From the way you just described Birds of America, it sure does sound bleah! I'm curious now to see if I'm going to like it or not...

I loved Birds of America!

#20 for the year was the one I read for May's TIOLI one-word wonder challenge: Schooled. It was just a light read for a volleyball tournament and car trip. Kind of a throw-away chick-lit goof of a book that didn't make much sense, but the 'fashionista' descriptions were kinda fun.

#82: I guess if you need a light read for a car trip, Schooled is the kind of book to take!

Yeah, Stasia, 'light' as in it fit in my purse pretty easily! :)

Just finished America America. I really enjoyed it, although I can see why others considered it a little slow and long. Stories of small towns and sweet parents appeal to me, I guess.

#84: I will give America America a try. Thanks for the recommendation, Milda.

I loved America, America when I read it a few years ago but that was partly because of the setting---right here in my own backyard of Western New York. Loved seeing all the local references.

Finished The Help last night. It was good, but easy and predictable, and about 100 pages too long in the middle.... I would've liked it better if the bad guys like Hilly were a little more fleshed out within those extra pages....

#23 for the year was Then We Came To The End. I adored this book! Loved the writer's style, laughed at the goofy stories, thought the format was interesting and the situations a little heartbreaking, and overall it made me think I should complain less about my own workplace.

>88 Milda-TX: - Milda - I liked Then We Came To The End too. I was also fascinated by Ferris's The Unnamed, although it is much different than Then We Came to the End.

I just got The Unnamed from the library - looking forward to reading that one too!

Book #24 was How Doctors Think. Dr. Groopman helps us all become better advocates for our own health care by describing some case studies and what the doctors did well (or not so well) in diagnosing and treating their patients. I've been reading this book off and on over the past few months - it's easy to come back to if you've put it down for awhile. It's interesting but not overly technical; it's heartwarming at parts but scary in others. Some chapters are a little long but easily skimmable if a particular story isn't your favorite.

#91: I have that one in the BlackHole already. Thanks for the reminder that I still need to get to it, Milda.

Oh wow, #25, how wonderful you were! Let the Great World Spin didn't have the most compelling description to me... I grew up in a small town, have never been to NYC, and was still in elementary school during the book's main story.... (I know, that sounds a little odd... I wasn't alive but still read about the Tudors.... I just mean, sometimes New Yorker stories are a little off-putting and insiderish....) but I'm so glad I checked this book out of the library anyway. It's written so well; each chapter is so compassionate and interesting; every character tugged at me.

Milda - I've put off reading Let the Great World Spin because the description was very compelling to me either. But with your review plus all the other good things that I've heard about this book, I'll have to bump it up on the TBR.

Milda, I don't think I've heard of Then we came to the end nor its author. So I've wishlisted.
Everyone has been talking about Let the Great World Spin and I'll be looking for that at the next booksale I attend.

Book #26 for the year was Solar. Loved it! Painfully pathetic, totally unlikeable Nobel Prize winner's predicaments made me laugh out loud. Loved the writing! Skip over the science-y parts if you need to - the plot moves on anyway.

#96: The LT predictor thingy says I probably will not like (with a high probability) Solar, which means I will probably love it.

>97 alcottacre:: Tim needs to rename that thing to the Anti-Predictor!

#98: You got that right!

I wishlisted Then We Came to the End as a possible gift for my son (he's in advertising) and, of course, I'll read it first before sending it on to him. Tee! hee!

I've been working on Book #27 on and off for quite a few months now. It was The Big Year. It's about competitive birdwatching - who knew there was such a thing?! - it tells the stories of 3 obsessed birding champs during one Big Year of chasing birds in North America, all trying to break the record of bird species counted... What crazy crazy dudes - I can't even imagine spending so much time and money and effort on a hobby like they do. Made me very jealous, too, since I'm just not very good at figuring out how to distinguish between all those different little brown birds... The characters were amusing and the book was fun to read.

I forgot to mention a bummer - I didn't make it past maybe pg 40 of Assassination Vacation. Bored me. I did enjoy Partly Cloudy Patriot, but idk, maybe just one Sarah Vowell was enough for me for a couple of years.

I finished Assassination Vacation and wished I had stopped at page 40. The book did nothing for me.

I will have to look for The Big Year. It sounds like one I would like.

I started reading Wordy Shipmates and quickly realized that I prefer listening to Sarah Vowell, as in smaller bits on *This American Life.*

Girl who kicked hornet's nest was #28. Had to see what happened to Lisbeth, but otherwise it dragged. Have you read it yet? If so, see http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/07/05/100705sh_shouts_ephron

Cracks me up.

Finished How did you get this number by Sloane Crosley and enjoyed it almost as much as the first, I was told there'd be cake. Actually I guess I enjoyed this book of essays in a different way - not as many laugh-out-loud spots, and more grown-up thoughtfulness. Well... a little bit more. I found myself wanting to share a sentence or paragraph or page with people sitting around me in the bleachers during my daughter's vball tourney, but I guess I already embarrass her enough as it is. :)

(what the heck, touchstone's flaky today)

Touchstones are flaky most days I think, Milda!

I read A Big Year last year, and although I read it mainly for the Dewey Decimal challenge (I'm not a birdwatcher), I really enjoyed it as well. There were some real characters!

hmmm.. dewey decimal challenge? maybe i should try that sometime and expand my horizons.

I was reading two books at once over the past few weeks so I also just finished The Unnamed. Wow, I loved it. It made me think a lot about 'for better or worse, in sickness and in health...' vows. Also about self-discipline and how little of it I own.

That's only #30. Bummer, I don't know if I can make it to 75 this year. Maybe if I had the discipline to get myself away from the computer and back to the books? ha.

Oh, and talk about bummers... I finished just a couple of chapters of Same Kind of Different As Me and took it back to the library. Seemed like it was going to be a little too self-righteous for my mood at the moment. Way too much good stuff left on my tbr shelves to spend any more time on a book if I'm not feelin' it.

You can check it out here: http://www.librarything.com/groups/deweydecimalchalleng#forums

It's definitely a long-term challenge!

Hi! Haven't stopped by for awhile so now I am caught up with your thread. I really want to read Solar as I like most of McEwan's work. There are exceptions of course so it will be interesting to see how this one goes.

#108 - So glad you liked The Unnamed. I read it earlier this year and was blown away by it. But I've been somewhat hesitant to recommend it. I'm not sure it would be everyone's cup of tea.

Oh oh, I'm in trouble. My group at church reads one book a year. September is our book discussion on....guess what?

I finished just a couple of chapters of Same Kind of Different As Me and took it back to the library.

Oh well, it's short and looks like easy reading. These men were in Springfield a year or two ago and that's why the book was chosen. I'll let you know how it goes, Milda. I was hoping it would be more inspiring than self-righteous.

>93 Milda-TX:: I really liked Let the Great World Spin, too.

Donna, you might really like Same Kind... maybe I will try it again someday because it's a Texas thing... but I was not in the mood. I had just read The Unnamed, which was beautifully written, so the style of Same Kind couldn't compare. I also didn't really want to read what might end up as a happy-ending book about a homeless dude so soon after being amazed by the troubles of the main character in The Unnamed. And, it probably has too much religion in it for me. But anyway: good luck with your assignment!

#31 was Zeitoun. Picked this one up because I love Eggers' writing. Starts as an interesting account of a man who rides out Hurricane Katrina and ends with a shocking story of how our government failed us. I must admit I page-skipped over some of the Zeitoun's family history only because I wanted to see what happens. Very much recommend this book.

#113: I really must get to Zeitoun soon!

You're On your Own but I'm here if you need me was #32 for the year. Dropped my daughter off at college then remembered I had this book. Oops. should've read this awhile ago. gives parents some ideas about questions to ask during college visits and at orientation, and brings to mind some topics to discuss with your child before college starts.

#115: Oh, I need to get a copy of that one! Thanks for the mention, Milda.

I've read a bunch of good books this year! Now I've finished a ''just okay one. #33 was In Big Trouble, which was part of my recent library sale bag-o-books-for-3-bucks haul. It was an okay mystery story, kinda funner because it was set in our city. And now it goes in the Operation Paperback stack. :)

Without Reservations: travels of an independent woman is a for-girls-only book by a 50ish writer who leaves her regular life behind to travel to England, France, and Italy for awhile, alone. Lovely writing. Never whiny like that horribly annoying Eat Pray Love chick.

#118: I am reading (and enjoying) Steinbach's The Miss Dennis School of Writing now. I will have to try and locate Without Reservations next. Thanks for the recommendation, Milda.

no way, what a coincidence! I'll have to check out your rec too, thanks!

#120: The Miss Dennis School of Writing is a book of essays. I am really enjoying it.

#35 for the year was excellent. I think I probably have LTers to thank for Still Alice recommendations, don't I?! Touching, scary, thought-provoking, sweet, and even funny sometimes. Really liked it.

#122: Still Alice is on my memorable reads list for the year, Milda. Glad to know you enjoyed it too.

Hi Milda, I finished and discussed Same Kind of Different As Me with my church group this week. As expected, most of them liked it more than I did. I can see why you didn't finish it. I did not like Ron Hall and his superego and some of the characters were just too godly to be real. It did deliver a good message for those able to stick with it, but I'm not recommending it. There are too many good books out there like Without Reservations.

Hey Milda! I've wishlisted You're on your own but I'm here if you need me for future reference.

I must get to Still Alice, I've heard so many good things about it.

I have Same Kind of Different As Me around here somewhere: I'll be interested to see what I make of it. (Whenever I actually get to it...)

Hey Stasia, I got Still Alice from a coworker as an Operation Paperback donation. I don't know if I'd want to read it if I were overseas, maybe already worried about my family! What do you think - leave it out of the OP boxes and donate it elsewhere?

I finished Without Reservations in time to give it to one of my employees who just accepted a job in Italy. (So happy for her!) Maybe she'll get to visit some of the little Italian towns in the book.

Donna, thanks for confirming that I made the right decision by taking Same Kind back to the library after just a few pages... I think I'll permanently delete it off my tbr list...

#127: I think if I were stationed overseas, I would not be wanting to read Still Alice but that is just me. I think I would be wanting more escapist types of reads :)

Science fiction is not my favorite genre, but I picked up I,Robot from the library because I had seen it on a "YA books that adults might enjoy" kind of list. My daughter pre-screened it for me. I agree with her - it was a fun book. Asimov wrote the 1st of these short stories in 1940, which is sooo way cool... the stories link together as a history of robots and the people who love them, from the years 2000-2058 or so. Clever, engaging, and charming. And just soooo way cool that this book was written so long ago... I can't get over that. That's #36 for the year.
And oh yeah, where did that child hide her Mockingjay book? I need to go find that one.... :)

#129: I have not read I, Robot yet. Thanks for the suggestion, Milda!

Cutting For Stone. Excellent.

I loved Cutting for Stone too. I checked it out from the library and ended up buying a copy for my mom, who loved it too.

I was so happy to see Cutting for Stone in paperback, but still haven't read my copy yet. I read the first few chapters in the book store when it first came out and knew I was going to like it, so wanted to wait until I could have a copy for myself. By chance, I just got Tennis Partner from the library and I'm debating whether to read that first, because it's due back, or read CFS because I think I'm going to like it better.

Still Alice was one of my Top Tens last year. It's a serious subject, there's lot's to think about, and I do worry about whether I'm going to fall prey to the Big A since I already have a terrible memory, but it wasn't hard to read at all. I can see why you would worry about sending it overseas, but it was an inspiring book too, in that it makes you think about how you want to live your life.

#131: I brought that one home from the library the other day. I hope I enjoy it as much as everyone else seems to have done.

I hope so, too, Stasia!

So. I tried. Put it down and picked it up later to see if I would be more in the mood. Renewed it from the library 2 times. But officially gave up on Ghost Story last night, 200 pages in. I just don't get what the big deal is - it's not horrifying, just boring. bummer.

Well, it scared the bejeebies out of me when I first read it. Of course, I was 12... :)

Hope the next one goes better!

#135: Thanks, Milda.

Sorry Ghost Story turned out to be a bad read for you. Like Jim, I hope your next one is a better read!

#38 for the year was the excellent un-putdownable Mockingjay. Just gotta love that Hunger Games trilogy.

#138: Glad to hear you enjoyed Mockingjay. I just started my reread of The Hunger Games the other day on my way to that one.

#39 was Election. Fun like the movie. Funner than the hype of real elections, too. ha.

#140: Funner than the hype of real elections, too.

Isn't everything?

:)

yay vacation! finally had time to read some books!

#40 for the year was The Earth Hums In B Flat. It's a mystery set in Wales and narrated by a young girl. Fun read, even though some of the words/terms were foreign to me... it was dreamy to imagine Wales in the 50s. Then, just after I finished the book, we happened to watch a movie at my parents' house that was set in Wales (called "Framed", on PBS..) and those pictures were even dreamier.
(Thank you SqueakyChu for allowing me to mooch this book from you! I left the book with my sister in San Diego, but forgot to write down the BC ID, sorry about that!)
#41 was Small Island. WWII-time inter-connected stories... soooo good....

Not a bad way to end the year, even though I'm wayyyy short of 75 again. Oh well, there's always 2011!

Congratulations on reading 40 books. All good wishes for a wonderful New Year.

Woot for vacation and reading time!

I'll look for your thread in 2011!

Well, shoot. I meant to start a book today with hopes of finishing it on 1 Jan, to get a good start on the 2011 challenge.... but I started 84, Charing Cross Road last night and it was so charming (and skinny) that I finished it in 2010 by mistake. :) Yay for 42 in 2010. Happy New Year everyone!

I am glad you enjoyed 84, Charing Cross Road, Milda! It is one of my all-time favorites.

Happy New Year!