Theresa's Book List

So my challenge is to read 50 books while working full time and going to grad school. Umm...don't know if it will happen but failing is a humbling experience so here we go.
Here's what I've read since the beginning of the year.

1) Tolstoy Lied by Racehl Kadish - cool book that manages to combine traditional romanticism with modern skepticism.
2) The Thought Gang by Tibor Fischer - this one bogged me down for a while. Witty story but sometimes it got lost in its own cleverness.
3) The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards - read for my book group. It wasn't great but inspired lots of discussion in the group.
4) Twins by Marcy Dermansky - saw it tossed around the internet so thought I'd pick it up. A solid book.
5) The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - another book club selection. I really enjoyed it. Great memoir. Makes you appreciated the simple things in life.

6) The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig - very cool modern adaptaton of Hamlet. The lead character is an 11 year English boy whose dead father convinces him to seek revenge against his uncle. It is written in a youthful voice with improper punctuation helping to set the "tone". If you are familar with Hamlet, you'll enjoy picking out all of the characters throughout the novel.

7) The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - I've had this on my shelf for the longest time and finally picked it up to force my way through it. It's a very sweet, simple mythology that speaks about our own personal roads in life. It may seem corny but it really did make me think about the goals I was trying to achieve and made me even more determined to continue going forward. It's nice when a story can inspire you on a personal level.

8) The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell - Collection of witty essays by NPRite Sarah Vowell. It's good to know there are cool history geeks out there wandering the world.

OK, I really must get my hands on a copy of The Partly Cloudy Patriot. A non-LT-participating friend recommended it some time ago, and I put it on my list. But I take this second appearance of the title as a direct order from the book gods. (I say this as I sit surounded by the piles of acquisitions from two consecutive Friends of the Library book sales, which I have yet to read or assign to permanent shelf-space.)

9) The Orpheus Obsession by Dakota Lane - teen read about a girl who becomes obsessed with a musician. Use of song lyrics and photos throughout the book. Pretty mature for a teen read. Far cry from Judy Bloom! It was good but I was hoping for something a bit stronger.

10) The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe - hilarious spoof on the pirate epic. Our pirate clan gets tricked into plundering Darwin's "The Beagle". From there, they wind up in London impersonating scientists (and women) in an attempt to save Darwin's brother from the hands of an evil bishop...all with the help of a half man/half monkey Man-panzee named Mr. Bobo. Great quirky English humor. Oh..and they really like ham.

11) The Cannibals by Iain Lawrence - Read this for a teen advisory board. A follow up to the The Convicts. Sort of a mix between Harry Potter and Pirates of the Carribbean. It's quick moving and entertaining in a very fluffy light way.

12) Pirates! In An Adventure with Ahab by Gideon Defoe - follow up to first Pirate book. Equally funny and quick read. If you have any favorite pirate themed books pass them my way as it is the subject of the summer reading program at the library where I intern. I had no idea pirates were so plentiful in the literary world!

13) The Photograph by Penelope Lively - I have to say I was a bit disappointed in this one. The premise is that a man finds a picture of his now dead wife with another man. This is a catalyst for he and those who know her to question who she really was in life and how she affected them individually. After a while this became repetetive. The story is very subtle with most of the text revolving around speaking about how beautiful and special the dead woman was and how memories of her at various ages pop up in everyday life. The characters are all rather self obsessed and unemotional. At the end you just feel sorry for all of them...and not in a good way. I think this would have made an effective short story but loses its appeal as a 230 page book.

14) The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeir - Really enjoyed this one. It is very clever "science fiction/apocalyptic fiction". The premise is that after death people go to a limbo like world where they continue to carry on their lives until all of those on Earth who remember them are also dead. Once they are no longer remebered on earth, they disappear from limbo...but all of a sudden there is a mass exodus and those that remain wonder what is happening on earth. They trace their connections back to one woman who has managed to avoid the epidemic that has killed off the rest of the world. The book is seen through the eyes of numerous characters. It's very different and interesting. Makes you stop and think about how many people you carry with you in your own memory. This book has many philisophical overtones but doesn't hit you over the head. You are left to draw your own conclusions. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks for the review--I had not heard of this before, and it sounds great.

15) Anthem by Ayn Rand - Rand's ode to Ego. It has some good points but this was a bit simplistic and preachy. Has a very mythological feel to it. A future world where men live as a collective WE. But one man defies authority and breaks out to worship the Ego. It would have been better if at the end the Ego didn't want to conquer the world. Why does EGO have to be so...well...egotistical.

16) The Monkey Grammarian by Octavio Paz - Beautiful and lyrical. Soemtimes the language/poetry swept me to a distant shore where I had no idea what was going on but it was so pretty I didn't care.

17) Red Lily by Nora Roberts - (audiobook) - I decided to start listening to audiobooks of some bestselling books that I may not ordinarily read. Just to cover all the bases. Red Lily was not my favorite. I enjoyed the paranormal aspect of the book and the glimpses back to the past but I didn't really enjoy the lead character. It seemed like the present day story repeated itself a bit too much.

18) One for the Money by Janet Evanovich - (audiobook) - I've been hearing people rave about Evanovich for a long time now and thought I'd finally give her a shot. The story was rich on character. Stephanie Plum is a likable average Jane who stumbles upon a new career as a bounty hunter. Evanovich is clever by ending the story rather abruptly leaving you wanting more. Now I'll be sucked in like everyone else!

19) The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov - What an interesting book. This book was written in 1930 and was surpressed under the Russian government. Consequently it came to light and has been one of the best received Russian novels of the 20th century. It's a very fantastical story of the devil wreaking some havoc on Russian citizens under the guise of a magician. There are lots of political undertones to the book. Makes me want to brush up on Russian history to understand the story better.

20) Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - (audiobook) - #1 bestseller. Interesting story though the plot chugged along slowly during some of the early descriptions of the circus.

21) 1st to Die by James Patterson - Very enjoyable suspense book introducing the Ladies Murder Club. Interesting story and characters made for a great read.

22) The Husband by Dean Koontz - (audiobook) - Very enjoyable and suspenseful new novel from Koontz. A few twists and turns I didn't expect.

23) The Island of Lost Maps by Miles Harvey - A really intriguing non-fiction book describing the crimes of Gilbert Bland, a man who stole hundreds of maps from libraries & archives throughout North America. The book is not only a story of the crimes but of man's obsession with maps throughout the years. You would be surprised how many famous maps were themselves stolen, plagarized, and pillaged. Throughout Harvey uses the explorer charting a map as a metaphor for the journalist discovering the truth. While this is a compelling metaphor there are times when you want to scream "Alright, I get it!". All in all, a very interesting read.

24) The Resurrectionists by Michael Collins - Psychological/suspense story about Frank Cassidy, a young man who witnessed his parents death in a fire when he was five. Having blocked the memory from his head, he begins to pick up the pieces of his life marrying a woman with an ex-boyfriend on death row and raising two children. But his past comes back to haunt him when he hears that his uncle who raised him has been murdered. Now he must retrace the past in order to find out who is the killer. I liked the idea of this book. Intersting twists on how we perceive the past. The characters were intriguing though a bit stereotypical. But for some reason the book left me feeling a bit flat. It seemed to me like this was a really good book that just hadn't reached it's final draft form.

25) Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn - Very clever book that word lovers will enjoy. The story, told through a series of letters passed between several main characters, is set on the fictional island of Nollop - named after the man who came up with the shortest sentence using all letters of the alphabet. One day letters from the island's monument begin falling down. Council members see this as a sign that almighty Nollop wants them to eradicate letters from the language. As more and more letters from the monument fall down, Nollopians are forced to discover a new sentence using all of the alphabet in order to restore their beloved language. Needless to say, the writing gets more creative the futher into the story you get.

26) The Assault on Reason by Al Gore - (audiobook) - Gore's bash at the current regime through a look at society's declining interest in "reason". It gets a bit bogged down in details we've already heard a million times before on news programs but overall it is an intelligent look on how the lack of reason affects our lives. Gore calls on americans to get involved and participate in their community and politics.

27) Behind the Veil by Debra Johanyak - The true story of an American woman living in Iran during the American Embassy takeover. Born in Akron Ohio (my hometown!) Johanyak begins a new life with her Iranian husband. Though she loves the people and the surroundings, the political problems and extremist tendencies of some citizens bring tension.

28) Atonement by Ian McEwan - I really enjoyed this book though I can't quite put my finger on why. The book is based on a single moment in 1935 when a 12 year old girl's naive fantasies push her into telling a lie that will have repercussions for years to come. The book is at once dramatic and undramatic. Set during World War II, there are many scenes describing the horrors of war both for the soldiers and those on the homefront. But the underlying storyline is very subtle and flows through the novel quietly. I found the characters very believable and was disappointed when the story came to an end and I had to leave them behind. Definitely a recommended title from me.

29) Twilight by Stephanie Meyers - (audiobook) - For the teen set. The first in a series revolving around teenager Bella who moves to a small town in Washington to be with her father. She meets a mysterious "boy" at school, Edward. Soon the two can not deny they are in love. But one problem. He is a vampire. The book is a mix of sweeping love story and eerie intrigue. Easy to see why so many teenagers love this series. Though I must say, not being a teenager anymore I found myself rolling my eyes over some of the more dramatic bits. It's a nice sophisticated book though. i'm sure there is a movie in the works as we speak.

30) The Road by Cormac McCarthy - I'm generally a fan of apocalyptic books because I find the theme interesting and usually worthy of good writing. Despite the fact that this book has received great praise, I must say I did not particularly enjoy it. I found the descriptions of the gritty dirty reality of an apocalyptic world interesting and much more detailed then some other books regarding the same theme but I never got into the rhytmn of McCarthy's writing. It's very stilted and simplistic. Though the style was chosen for a reason I found it hard to connect with the characters and their stories. I would have found it more intersting if we had received a bit more backstory and some longer passages to better understand the present.

RE# 30 Was this the first McCarthy you read? He does take some getting used to. I haven't yet read The Road, because I am not a fan of apocalyptic fiction. But some of his other work impressed me a great deal. All the Pretty Horses and The Stonemason particularly.

31) The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory - Very long book but quite enjoyable. This novel looks at the life of Anne Boleyn through the eyes of her sister, Mary - herself once a lover of Henry VIII. The story focuses much more on the family relations and romantic entanglements instead of the politics of the court. Though in the case of the Boleyn clan, family and politics were one in the same. At over 700 pages it is a weighty book but there is much fast paced dialogue that will keep you flipping through the pages.

32) The Book of Names by Jill Gregory - (audiobook) - DaVinci Code-like suspense/thriller. An ancient cult is determined to kill off the 36 people contained in the Book of Names who represent the Righteous Order. If they are destroyed, the world will end. Professor David Shepherd is on the run when the group realizes that he has the ability to uncover the names. To complicate matters, his step-daughter is on the list. The story revolves around a large cast of characters but it flows well and is easy to follow.

33) For One More Day by Mitch Albom - A quick and poignant story of a desperate man who finds himself given the opportunity to spend one more day with his mother whose death 10 years ago had left him feeling hollow. Looking back through the years he discovers new layers of his mother's life and he begins to truly appreciate the sacrifices that she made for him. This is one of those books where you see yourself in the character and you realize how often you take for granted the people who really matter in your life. This story is a nice reminder.

34) The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau - Geared for ages 9 and above, the story is centered around 12 year old Lina and Doon. For generations, the citizens of Ember have lived in a dark city lit by well placed light bulbs. They've never known anything else. But now the lights are starting to die and they are running out of supplies in the stockroom. When Lina finds a mysterious note that seems to give instructions for a way out of Ember she recruits Doon to help her discover the truth. A well written book with interesting themes that young readers and adults can enjoy.

35) The Rock Orchard by Paula Wall - (audiobook) - A southern story rich in character development. The book describes the men and women of Leaper's Fork, Tenn: Charlotte and Angela Bell - the "earthy" women who get away with anything because they have money; the new doctor from Boston with his frigid wife Lydia who becomes obsessed with the town's resident heartthrob; Reverend Thomas who loses his heart and his morals when he catches sight of Charlotte. Mostly this story is about love and how you never can plan who you'll fall in love with or where it will lead you. Charming and fun.

36) The Little Friend by Donna Tartt - I've heard this being referred to as a "Southern Gothic" novel. Tartt draws you into the life of 12 year old Harriet whose brother was murdered when she was just a baby. Harriet doesn't have much guidance in her life seeing as her mother has become reclusive since the tragic event, her father has moved to another state, and her elderly aunts have little time for her. When she stumbles upon some information that may lead to her brother's murderer, Harriet vows to take revenge. The book is a bit long and prosey but I thought the characters were very nicely drawn out and realized. Portions of the ending I thought were not in keeping with the rest of the story but all in all I enjoyed the book.

37) The Stupidest Angel: a heartwarming tale of Christmas terror by Christopher Moore - This is not your mother's Christmas novel. How to describe? Well, it has something to do with an ex-warrior woman who talks to voices in her head, a pot smoking town constable, a grumpy undead Santa Claus, a fruit bat with a Spanish accent, and zombies out to ruin the Lonesome Christmas Party. In other words, it's definitely a Christopher Moore novel. Fun, fast read.

38) The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith - (audio) - I've read other McCall Smith's books and have really enjoyed them but this left me with a somewhat bad taste in my mouth. It felt like a more pretentious Scottish version of Murder She Wrote only without much plot. There was too much emphasis on fine cheeses, good paintings, and philisophical essays and too little emphasis on actual storyline. I wanted to like it but didn't. Though I must say the audiobook reader had an amazingly catchy Scottish accent.

39) Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich - (audiobook) - Another delightful Stephanie Plum bounty hunter novel. Grandma takes center stage on this case. Fun and easy.

40) Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi - What a great memoir. I really enjoyed this. It is the story of a female Iranian literatuer professor living and teaching in Iran. It is amazing to see how political restrictions affect both the physical, intellectual, and emotional states of Iranian citizens. Through it all, Ms. Nafisi uses critiques of classic English novels to emphasize the feelings of the girls who make up her reading circle. This book stresses the importance of hope, imagination, and literature. Great read!

41) Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende - Not my favorite book of the year. I should know better whenever I pick up an Oprah Book Club choice. The story revolves around Eliza whose obsession with her first love leads her from Chile to California in the mid 1800's. The storyline is very sweeping and dramatic with Eliza meeting Chinese doctors, prostitutes, and Chilian bandits along the way. Just a bit too farfetched for my liking.

42) The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen - (audiobook) - Rather gruesome story set in the past/present. Present day Julia discovers a skeleton buried in her yard. Searching through old records she uncovers the story of Bostons West End Reaper who savaged the city in the 1800's. The story was interesting though it got a bit gory and detailed when describing autoposies and medical procedures.

43) A Fate Totally Worse Than Death by Paul Fleischman - This quick read is a spoof on teen novels & movies. Reminiscent of "Mean Girls", Cliffside High is ruled by the elite girls. When a beautiful foreign exchange student arrives at school and takes some of their attention, they scheme to get rid of her. However they soon discover they have become victims to something unnatural...something that makes them want to, like, you know, die.

44) The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster - Interesting read. David Zimmer finds himself in a downward spiral after the tragic death of his wife and two sons. He feels like his life is meaningless until he discovers the films of a little known silent movie actor, Hector Mann, who disappeared in the 1920's. After writing a book about Mann's movies, Zimmer is confronted by a woman who tells him that Mann is alive and wants to tell Zimmer the truth about his disappearance. This novel is written in layers of meanings and themes. It all seems to come back to how we sometimes have to go through tragic situations in order to fully become alive. And how the surface self is often not the same underneath. This novel almost felt like a mash up of a thriller/epic story and a philisophical treatise. Which makes it worth reading in my eyes.

Hmmm..Well, I'm not sure I'll hit 50 by the end of the year but at least I have one more to add.

45) The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde - A surprisingly complex satirical novel revolving around Detective Jack Spratt, head of the Nursery Crimes Division, and his new side kick Mary Mary. Together they must try to piece together the puzzle of who killed Humpty Dumpty. Packed with amusing nursery rhyme references and puns. But be warned, you have to pay attention to keep up with the plot.