460 pages;
Chosen to Die is a continuation of the "TO DIE" Series by Lisa Jackson. Detective Pescoli is captured by the Star Crossed Killer that she has been chasing for weeks in a cold Montana winter.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
PASSING THROUGH PARADISE by Susan Wiggs
419 pages ...............................................
Passing through Paradise by Susan Wiggs was full of twists and turns and one very big surprise. Enjoyed.
Passing through Paradise by Susan Wiggs was full of twists and turns and one very big surprise. Enjoyed.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
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OMG! Couldn't stop reading it. Can't wait to get my hands on the next book -- Insurgent.
Really, really, really hope they don't make a movie of it!
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
512 pages
"Until around 11,000 BC, all peoples were still Stone Age hunter/gatherers. At that point, a great divide occurred in the rates that human societies evolved. In Eurasia, parts of the Americas, and Africa, farming became the prevailing mode of existence when indigenous wild plants and animals were domesticated by prehistoric planters and herders. As Jared Diamond vividly reveals, the very people who gained a head start in producing food would collide with preliterate cultures, shaping the modern world through conquest, displacement, and genocide.The paths that lead from scattered centers of food to broad bands of settlement had a great deal to do with climate and geography. But how did differences in societies arise?"
A really interesting book.
Three to Get Deadly, by Janet Evanovich
344 pages
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first two. I was hoping for a savvier main character, I think.
Two for the Dough, by Janet Evanovich
336 pages
Just a fun book to waste some time with.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Divergent by Veronica Roth569 pages
This is definitely maybe gonna be one of my favorite books of the year...maybe second since I hear the second, Insurgent, is even better.
In a world falling apart, the people are arguing over what is destroying the world. According to each individual's beliefs, the people join the faction of their choosing. There are factions for the selfless, the intelligent, the peaceful, the honest, and the brave. Each faction lives basically to themselves, until a child's 16th birthday, when they are tested to see which faction they are best suited for. But they may choose to go their own path. Beatrice blows away the simulation tests, showing an aptitude for three different factions, making her a Divergent, which is unheard of. And which puts her in danger, although no one will talk with her about it to tell her why. Abandoning her life among the Abnegation, Beatrice, becoming Tris, joins the brave, the Dauntless. Her life completely turns itself upside down for her to pursue the side of herself that she has kept in check for so long.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
The Girl in the Green Sweater by Krystyna Chiger
The Girl in the Green Sweater by Krystyna Chiger272 pages
I respected and admired the story of survival during the horrific time of the holocaust, but i didn't enjoy the writing. I felt that it was extremely disjointed...at times going in circles, and at others just jumping back and forth.
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale306 pages
I have been in a reading slump...where books just haven't been reaching out from the pages to grab me. This book brought me out of my slump. Based on an old Grimm's Brothers Fairy tale, this is the story of a Lady and her maid, who get locked in a tower after the lady refuses to marry the man her father told her. Confined, it seems as if the Lady is slowly losing her mind, but the maid, one who knows the healing songs, tries her best to hold things together.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
307 pages
Bounty Hunter, Stephanie Plum once again is hilarious with her former "HO" helper, crazy grandma, etc.
Bounty Hunter, Stephanie Plum once again is hilarious with her former "HO" helper, crazy grandma, etc.
BORN TO DIE by Lisa Jackson
473 pages
Jackson keeps you reading.
This is a Selena Alvarez/Regan Pescoli Novel, once again these two detectives are battling evil in Montana.
Jackson keeps you reading.
This is a Selena Alvarez/Regan Pescoli Novel, once again these two detectives are battling evil in Montana.
Monday, June 25, 2012
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Color Purple by Alice Walker251 pages
This is a truly heart wrenching book. Celie suffers so much loss, heart break, abuse that you feel utterly amazed that she survives any of it. But with a coming home twist at the end, you feel better for having read it. There are strong sexual situations right at the beginning that might turn a reader off. Better to beware.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Burn My Heart by Beverley Naidoo
Burn My Heart by Beverley Naidoo209 pages
mathew and mugo are two boys growing up in 1950's kenya. they go on great adventures, and get into a lot of mischief. the only thing different about the boys, is their skin color. mathew's family are white settlers, and mugo's family are servants to them. but as rebellion grows stronger, the boys have to face the fact they are from different worlds.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Big Post
Vacation reading is the best kind of reading. I finished:
Feel Bad Education, by Alfie Kohn (196 pages)
Wild Ride, by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (368 pages)
One For the Money, by Janet Evanovich (352 pages)
Medium Raw, by Anthony Bourdain (304 pages)
Feel Bad Education, by Alfie Kohn (196 pages)
Wild Ride, by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (368 pages)
One For the Money, by Janet Evanovich (352 pages)
Medium Raw, by Anthony Bourdain (304 pages)
They Never Came Back by Caroline B. Cooney
They Never Came Back by Caroline B. Cooney
Amazing,
as all of her book I have read have always been.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Nearing the end
We're up to 44 books so far! I know some people wait until the end of the month to do their posting. Can we post 40 more books in 10 days to break our record?
Monday, June 18, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
The Undead, by Dick Teresi
386 pages
"Important and provocative, The Undead examines why even with the tools of advanced technology, what we think of as life and death, consciousness and nonconsciousness, is not exactly clear and how this problem has been further complicated by the business of organ harvesting."
A little drier than I wanted. And actually kind of frightening to think about some of the scenarios he presents.
Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton
400 pages
I found this way better than the movie, which surprised me since it's one of my favorite movies ever. Way more detail, and a lot different.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
544 pages
I couldn't put this down. I really enjoyed The Virgin Suicides so I had high hopes for this book, and I wasn't disappointed.
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
207 pages
"In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter...."
A really interesting book. I really want to watch the movie now.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
I Suck at Girls, by Justin Halpern
192 pages
I liked this one even more than Sh*t My Dad Says.
Did I mention . . .
That only one team read more books than us in May? And they have 23 people on their team!
Marshall Public Library rocks!
Marshall Public Library rocks!
Another re-read
I don't know why I can't stop reading Tiffany Aching books over and over. I just love them!
Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett 450 pages
Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett 450 pages
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
The Oracle Betrayed by Catherine Fisher
The Oracle Betrayed by Catherine Fisher341 pages
Very good book...hard to describe without writing a book myself (or maybe I am just that tired) It was not near as fun as Incarceron, but still a worthwhile read.
The Night She Disappeared by April Henry
The Night She Disappeared by April Henry229 pages
Gabie delivers pizzas in her mini cooper. And when Drew takes the order that night, the man asks for the girl who drives the mini. But at Kayla's request, the two girls had switched shifts. So Kayla is the one making the delivery...and the one who gets kidnapped. And Gabie doesn't believe the police for a second when they tell her that she wasn't the target, and she cannot stop thinking that whoever has taken Kayla is still out there looking for her.
Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell
Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell360 pages
Vassar, named after the college, is on her way to Vassar. She has every bit of her life scheduled and planned with this goal in her mind. But will it all be for nothing? Vassar's Grandmother is blackmailing her parents with a secret so big they are allowing her to whisk her Granddaughter off to Southeast Asia instead of taking extra classes for the summer. Will this family trip ruin her schooling, and possible her life?
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel
Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel232 pages
"In this groundbreaking, bestselling graphic memoir, Alison Bechdel charts her fraught relationship with her late father. In her hands, personal history becomes a work of amazing subtlety and power, written with controlled force and enlivened with humor, rich literary allusion, and heartbreaking detail."
I loved it.
Monday, June 11, 2012
A Hunger Like No Other, by Kresley Cole
384 pages
It was definitely nice to read this after 100 Years. I'm not saying this wasn't a good book, it was entertaining, but it didn't require as much focus as the last one. Which I needed.
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
448 pages
"One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the BuendÃa family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, and alive with unforgettable men and women -- brimming with truth, compassion, and a lyrical magic that strikes the soul -- this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction."
Beautifully written, but at the same time a difficult read. Every line is so jam packed with description that it's easy to go into overload.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Scout, Atticus & Boo by Mary McDonagh Murphy
213 pagesWhat a treat this book was! It was so nice to read about how this book impacted people. Like many of them, To Kill A Mockingbird is a benchmark for me. I actually wrote to Harper Lee when I was about 13 or 14 years old. Never heard back, of course but I tried. So wonderful to know that there is an entire community who love this book. (Did you know that it's never been out of print? How amazing is that?)
Sweep series by Cate Tiernan
Dark Magic 186 pages
Spellbound 190 pages
Still working on this series.
Spellbound 190 pages
Still working on this series.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
WOW!
25 books in 9 days! You are all awesome! Let's break our own record this month and read 84 books in June!
Sweep series by Cate Tiernan
It's been years since I read these books. Kind of fun to revisit them. I think I will read the entire series. Here are the first three:
Book of Shadows, 187 pages
The Coven, 185 pages
Blood Witch, 202 pages
Book of Shadows, 187 pages
The Coven, 185 pages
Blood Witch, 202 pages
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
363 pagesBobbie posted about this book previously. I just got around to reading it and I don't believe I enjoyed it as much as Bobbie did. The storyline seemed a bit too worn. Really, has no one seen Labyrinth? It was released over ten years ago and does a better job of a plot.
Recent Re-Reads
Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett 375 pages
Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett 406 pages
Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett 406 pages
Friday, June 8, 2012
Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden
448 pages
"Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it."
Fantastic.
Where There's Smoke by Sandra Brown
484 pagesSandra Brown usually gives a good read and this one is pretty fair.
Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich
The saga of Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter extraordinaire continues.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married, by Gary Chapman
Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married, by Gary Chapman176 pages
It was pretty good! Some of the stuff was more useful than other stuff. Maybe I need a book called "Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Moved In Together"
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
343 pages
This is one of those books that everyone says you should read. But I'm not sure why. I didn't really find it all that interesting, even though it was a true story.
Superfreakonomics, by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
320 pages
I wasn't as thrilled with this one as I was with the first, unfortunately.
Freakonomics, by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
315 pages
"In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage."
A surprisingly fascinating look at a 'boring' science.
The Shining, by Stephen King
528 pages
I really really love Stanley Kubrick's film version, but I had never read the book itself. I was a little nervous because I tend to think Stephen King can be kind of long-winded and overly descriptive, but this book was excellent. It had the right amount of scary.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Narcissus in Chains, by Laurell K. Hamilton
432 pages
Anita may or may not have been infected with lycanthropy, has to deal with the side effects of controlling wereleopards, and still can't choose a boyfriend.
Obsidian Butterfly, by Laurell K. Hamilton
386 pages
Anita travels to New Mexico to face a monster that's skinning people.
May totals
Congratulations to Arline, who won the drawing this month! And the following totals were very impressive for the month of May:
Ginny was the top in books read with 19 books.
Arline was the top in pages read with 6,372 pages.
See the Team and Individual Standings for the May totals.
Ginny was the top in books read with 19 books.
Arline was the top in pages read with 6,372 pages.
See the Team and Individual Standings for the May totals.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Blue Moon, Laurell K. Hamilton
432 pages
"In her eighth adventure, Anita Blake can't turn her back on a former lover during the full moon. Especially since he's behind bars-and he's a werewolf..."
Better than the last one, but still not as good as the first few.
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