tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48395424744378741062024-02-19T23:10:48.746-08:00A Year of BooksDedication to 50 books in the next year.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-16611898813120984122011-08-05T08:49:00.000-07:002011-08-05T08:50:19.658-07:00Did I give up?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0_8c9rudqxc/TjwQBvWnkRI/AAAAAAAAAOc/iqJOQmcfMgA/s1600/OOPS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0_8c9rudqxc/TjwQBvWnkRI/AAAAAAAAAOc/iqJOQmcfMgA/s320/OOPS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>MAYBE.<br />
<br />
Kind of.<br />
<br />
YES.<br />
<br />
The truth is that I decided I felt like having a social life this year. It GREATLY decreased my chances of completing this task. <br />
<br />
Task in question? 50 books in one year. July 1, 2010 - July 1, 2011. Books read: 19. I suck. I didn't even make the halfway point. R.I.P. goals... R. I. P.<br />
<br />
I have decided to keep this old bloggy up and running for your viewing pleasure. Maybe I set a <strong>new goal and I lower the bar this year... August 1st, 2011 - August 1st, 2012: 25 books</strong>? HA! I'm such a slacker. Hey... it will still be more than I read last year, right?<br />
<br />
I promise I'll be back soon. And for all of you following <a href="http://aberrantlogic.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: magenta;">my other blog,</span></a> I promise a post very soon. My life's been crazy lately so it will most likely be airing all of my dirty laundry. Enjoy.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-90178058330917248272011-04-06T13:27:00.000-07:002011-04-06T13:27:37.255-07:00#19 "Night" by Elie Wiesel<span style="color: purple;">I finished <u>Night </u>by Elie Wiesel. It's only 109 pages long and it's a quick read so I can't tell you why it took me so long to finish it. I've been really bad about reading lately. REALLY bad. This book was good. It was a rather short account of a man's time going through concentration camps as a Jewish teen. It's always depressing, yet fascinating to read these accounts from the view of someone who was actually there and went through it. This is obviously a fictionalized account based on true events, but it is still a rather brutal story.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;"> The most interesting thing to me about Wiesel's account of what happened at Auschwitz (and other camps) is reading about how desensitized the prisoners became, no longer caring who died, whether a family member or not. That is very real to me and, maybe it's the psychologist in my coming out, but how could you not become that way after years of living in a concentration camp?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eXONlreL5Vw/TZzKdeBTLQI/AAAAAAAAAM4/-JWMqUqXcw4/s1600/Night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: purple;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eXONlreL5Vw/TZzKdeBTLQI/AAAAAAAAAM4/-JWMqUqXcw4/s400/Night.jpg" width="243" /></span></a></div><br />
<em><span style="color: purple;">*Spoiler Alert*</span></em><br />
<span style="color: purple;">One thing that annoyed me about the book was that there is absoutely no account of Wiesel's time after his father passed away. He claims in the book that this is because he no longer cared about anything that was happening, but to me that is exactly why I would want to read about it. A completely indifferent account of the story.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;">I know this is short today, but the book was short. Deal.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;">This book is <span style="color: red;">RECOMMENDED</span>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;">First line teaser: "They called him Moshe the Beadle, as though he had never had a surname in his life."</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;">Up Next: The next book club selection which will be announced at our meeting tonight!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-64796830655726560562011-03-23T18:34:00.000-07:002011-03-23T18:34:51.786-07:00#18 Lorna Landvik's "Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons"<em><span style="color: blue;">*Disclaimer: Spoiler Alert*</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Meh. That's all. Book #18 and it's almost April. I think I'll be lucky to make half of my goal by July 1st. In fact, I think that just became my NEW goal. 25 books because I'm such a slacker that I will never get 50 done in time. Boo me. It's been a busy year for me, okay?</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xxWDtxHgPQo/TYqchOygzeI/AAAAAAAAAM0/hbWo3UGTwhU/s1600/Angry+Housewives+Eating+Bon+Bons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xxWDtxHgPQo/TYqchOygzeI/AAAAAAAAAM0/hbWo3UGTwhU/s1600/Angry+Housewives+Eating+Bon+Bons.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: blue;">Anyway, double meh (meh) for this book. I could take it or leave it. It wasn't so boring that I couldn't handle it, but it <em>was</em> so cliché that I got <em>super</em> annoyed at it. Landvik pretty much covers it all with this book. First of all the idea of "angry housewives eating bon bons" is cliché in and of itself, but that <em>is</em> the whole point for why they called themselves and their book club this. But looky here at your line-up of book club members in the book: woman hiding horrible childhood, woman beaten by husband leaves husband and finds "perfect" man, bra burner, older woman who can't have child adopts a child of another race, oversexified woman turned pastor, the gay neighbors and let's also bring in a gay son for the woman who hides everything, best friends' kids getting married to one another, etc., etc., etc.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Seriously, this book WAY overdoes it with the cliché's. Of course this book is also broken up by decades and of course every distinguishing characteristic of each book club member has <em>something</em> to do with something pivotal happening during the given decade. Oh wait, let's not forget about the brother who has PTSD from Vietnam and the open-ended cancer bout... does she die? We'll never know... or at least I won't because I would NOT read a sequel to this book. 400 pages of NO THANKS.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Anyway, I feel as though I'm being harsh. I will not say that I loved this book, but I really didn't hate it and it really didn't bore the crap out of me. I won't even be so harsh as to 2 star it on </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/jennischwartz"><span style="color: blue;">Goodreads</span></a><span style="color: blue;">. 3 stars it is.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">This book is <span style="color: red;">NOT RECOMMENDED</span> (but if you're bored, give it a shot).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Oh, and did I mention that this is a book club selection? It is. I don't think I would ever pick up this title on my own. In fact I guffawed at my buddies for suggesting it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">First line teaser: "I knew all about having my life saved."</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Next Up: Who knows? Probably whatever the next book club selection is. That <em>is</em> two weeks away so maybe you'll get another one before then. (But probably not.) ;)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-82331000134501116032011-02-11T11:22:00.000-08:002011-02-11T11:23:08.386-08:00#17 "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UBnUrFjAuLo/TVWGfBZQvGI/AAAAAAAAAMw/wmiavazbVpE/s1600/sarahs+key.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UBnUrFjAuLo/TVWGfBZQvGI/AAAAAAAAAMw/wmiavazbVpE/s320/sarahs+key.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><span style="color: blue;">The next installment of this wonderful blog belongs to Tatiana de Rosnay's novel, <u>Sarah's Key</u>. This story is set in both current day France, as well as France during the Holocaust. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Sarah's a 10 year-old girl who locks her 4 year-old brother in a hidden cupboard in their apartment when the French (yes, French) police come to round up the Jewish families in the apartment building. She leaves him with his water and a book and promises to come back for him, not realizing there may be a chance that she might not be back. She and her parents are then taken with other Jewish families in France for the Vel' d'Hiv roundup. Her part of the journey then encompasses trying to find a way to get back to her brother.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">This book also flips back-and-forth, every other chapter with the present time, Julia Jarmond, an American who has lived in France for over a decade. She, of course, is researching the Vel' d'Hiv for an article. As you can imagine, the two stories mesh together quite well by the end of the novel. As I'm not one for ruining books, I shall say no more regarding the content of the novel!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">This is a book club choice and our meeting isn't until Wednesday, so forgive me for what little of a review I'm about to do for it. Don't want to give too much away!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">For the most part, I enjoyed this book. I always enjoy historical fiction for some reason (does that make me a nerd?) and this book definitely has that element. I think that the author did a great job at bringing the two settings together and melding the parts in to one solid story. I feel as though de Rosnay did a great job at making me empathize with Sarah and the different characters from her part of the story. Obviously, I was not around at this time in history, but I<em> feel</em> that the way she told the story seemed to be a somewhat accurate portrayal of what I've learned about this and similar events taking place at the time.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">And now for a few things I <strike>disliked</strike> hated about this book. The most annoying part for me was the fact that de Rosnay felt the need to name EVERY SINGLE STREET in France throughout the novel. Don't get me wrong; I loved France when I was there. I love reminiscing when I hear names/places that I recognize or have been to. I do NOT, however, need to read EVERY street name that Julia/Sarah encounter throughout the novel. Seriously... I bet 10% of this book was JUST street names.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Anyway, enough ranting about that. The other thing that annoyed me and landed this book with a lower <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/jennischwartz"><span style="color: #a64d79;">Goodreads</span></a> star-rating than it would have had from me otherwise, happened in the last 50 pages of the book. (This might not make sense if you haven't read it, but again, I don't want to give anything way either.) There was a point at or around 50 pages 'til the end, in which it either need to be more elaborate in bringing the story to a close, or it just needed to end there. There was a chance for a perfect stopping spot that I would have been more than happy with, but when she drones on and lengthens the story, she doesn't do enough. Does that make sense? Either she needed to quit earlier or elaborate further. That may be confusing, but if you read the book and want to know what I'm referencing, I'll be more than happy to share.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Needless to say, that is all I'm going to say at this time. I know I always say I'll write more after my book club meetings and I never do, so I'm just not going to promise it this time. :)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">This book is <span style="color: red;">RECOMMENDED</span>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">First Line Teaser: "The girl was the first to hear the loud pounding on the door."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Up Next: Who knows? Seriously... I feel like I always lie to you. I currently have 15, yes 15, books going. (If your curious, you can friend me on </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/jennischwartz"><span style="color: #a64d79;">Goodreads</span></a><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"> </span>to find out what I'm reading/have read.) The next one that lands a blog will probably be the next book club book when we pick it on Wednesday. I'll keep you posted.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-55660033179146038402011-01-23T20:02:00.000-08:002011-01-23T20:02:30.893-08:00#16 "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins<span style="color: #7f6000;">Two in one week?! I must be on a roll! The truth is, I literally had 17 different books going at the beginning of this week and my goal is now to start finishing them before I start any new ones (with the exception of my book club selections, because I HAVE to read those, obv). Anyhow, I am officially down to 15 now; yay me!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TTz4egg1F4I/AAAAAAAAAMo/u_ZQB60uZ1k/s1600/the-hunger-games.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #7f6000;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TTz4egg1F4I/AAAAAAAAAMo/u_ZQB60uZ1k/s320/the-hunger-games.jpg" width="210" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #7f6000;"><u>The Hunger Games</u> was a fantastic book! I'm very eager to read the rest of the series, but alas, unless they are book club selections, I shall not allow myself to do so until those other 15 books are done! For those of you who know nothing of the series, it is basically about a post-apocalyptic North America in which the nation has been divided into 12 districts. Each year, from each district, a female and a male teenager are chosen and are placed in an "arena" to fight to the death in front of the entire nation via video, called none other than the "Hunger Games". It's very reminiscent of Stephen King's <u>Running Man</u>, or that movie "The Condemned" with Steve Austin.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;">The author does a very good job of drawing you in and making you care about the characters in the novel. I literally read all but maybe 50 pages of this book today. Even at 374 pages, it's a very quick and easy read.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;">I really enjoyed imagining the characters development throughout the story, as pretty much everyone in the arena has not been forced to kill in the past. Everyone is out of their element and have to develop in to a new sense of self.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;">For those of you unaware of the series, I realize that the concept seems sick and sad and just... wrong. But the truth is, that's what makes for an intriguing read, right? I won't lie though; I'm a wee bit fascinated with death.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;">This book is definitely <strong><span style="color: red;">RECOMMENDED</span></strong>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;">First line teaser: "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;">Next Up: Not continuing something I've already started, I will probably read the new book club book next. It is called <u>Sarah's Key</u> and it is by Tatiana de Rosnay.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-32430404467126987672011-01-21T20:27:00.000-08:002011-01-23T19:48:14.219-08:00#15 David Sedaris's "Holidays On Ice"<span style="color: #cc0000;">First off, I'd like to start by saying that I am fully aware of the complete slacking I've been doing with this whole "50 books in a year" goal. I've read a few that I haven't posted about, but I will. All in due time... I've been busy, I swear!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TTpclB8jYGI/AAAAAAAAAMk/pcRjx3VLI5c/s1600/holidays_on_ice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TTpclB8jYGI/AAAAAAAAAMk/pcRjx3VLI5c/s320/holidays_on_ice.jpg" width="226" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cc0000;">Anyway, the 15th book of my challenge was <u>Holidays on Ice</u> by David Sedaris. I believe I also read his <u>Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim</u> as part of my challenge. This book was very similar. It was a collection of short stories and essays, in fact, several of the stories were repeats from what I'd already read in <u>Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim</u>. (The stories all just happened to have some sort of holiday theme.) I'm not going to lie, I won't say I loved it and I won't say I hated it. I will say that I read it and my opinion of it is just that... it's a book. Some parts made me laugh, but for the most part I kind of just felt unmoved by the whole thing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">I did enjoy reading about Sedaris's stint as a "Christmas elf", where he worked in a Santa village at Christmas time. I also did enjoy reading "Christmas Means Giving", which was about a family that bought themselves any lavish gift they might desire. When a family moved in next door who wanted to compete with the original family, it all took a turn for the worst. It was really just amusing because I think everyone knows someone that is like that.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Anyway, over all, I would <strong><span style="color: #660000;">NOT recommend</span></strong> this book. I'm not a huge fan of short stories, so maybe, if you are, you might like this book more than I did. I don't think that it helped that I'd already read several of the stories either.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">First Line Teaser: "I was in a coffee shop looking through the want ads when I read, "Macy's Herald Square, the largest store in the world, has big opportunities for outgoing, fun-loving people of all shapes and sizes who want more than just a holiday job!" (Taken from the beginning of "SantaLand Diaries", which is the story in which Sedaris is a Christmas elf.)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Next Up: Finishing <u>The Hunger Games</u> by Suzanne Collins</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-67397550082952821672010-12-07T14:26:00.000-08:002010-12-07T14:26:30.991-08:00#14 Portia de Rossi's "Unbearable Lightness"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TP6ypRuT3bI/AAAAAAAAAMc/tpWa5XogkRk/s1600/unbearable-lightness_211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TP6ypRuT3bI/AAAAAAAAAMc/tpWa5XogkRk/s1600/unbearable-lightness_211.jpg" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c;">Another one today! Lucky you!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c;">Then next book in my lineup was <u>Unbearable Lightness</u> by Portia de Rossi. This book was very good. Unlike the last book where I complained about the title character's insecurity, I felt much different about the EXTREME insecurity of Portia de Rossi throughout this book.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c;">For those of you who don't know, Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development, Ally McBeal, Better Off Ted) suffered severe anorexia. The book chronicles her history with bulimia and anorexia throughout her life, beginning with her adolescent years. I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this book before starting it, given the topic and the fact that I am not big into learning about the lives of celebrities, but I really enjoyed this book. Well, as much as you can enjoy a book where a person starves themselves to the point of practically dying. Let me say, it was not a GOOD book... it was very interesting.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c;">Portia de Rossi does a great job at showing what it feels like to have the insecurities that come with bulimia and anorexia. The book is almost written as a novel at times because she does an amazing job at bringing you in to the lives of the "characters" throughout her life. I am willing to say that if de Rossi wrote a fictional novel, I might just pick it up and read it. She is surprisingly a fantastic writer.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c;">I can't delve too much in to this book as it is our latest book club book and I don't want to make all of my great points before our meeting, but I will say that I really do have a lot of thoughts and feelings on the book. Get in touch with me if you want to know more about my thoughts (and you aren't a member of the NIBC). Definitely get in touch with me if you've read it, because I'd like to know your thoughts as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c;">This book is <span style="color: red;"><strong>definitely RECOMMENDED</strong>!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c;">First line teaser: "He doesn't wait until I'm awake."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c;">Next Up: <u>The Hunger Games</u> by Suzanne Collins</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-50131912154129041492010-12-07T14:16:00.000-08:002010-12-07T14:27:02.596-08:00#13 Cathy Lamb's "Such a Pretty Face"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TP6v24gxT9I/AAAAAAAAAMY/ZaV7jpFDFsA/s1600/SuchaPrettyFace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TP6v24gxT9I/AAAAAAAAAMY/ZaV7jpFDFsA/s1600/SuchaPrettyFace.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: #741b47;">I know... it's been a while, but I'll be writing two reviews today! I just haven't gotten around to blogging!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47;">This is a review of Cathy Lamb's <u>Such a Pretty Face</u>. It was a book club selection, but alas the meeting has come and gone already in my non-blogginess. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">The book is about a woman who is trying to come in to her own after getting gastric bypass surgery. She has to deal with weighing 325 lbs. and then dropping about 165 lbs. of it. It basically describes her battle with insecurity and overcoming that insecurity. Oh yeah, did I mention that when she was a child her mother was schizophrenic and threw her, her little sister & herself over a bridge, leaving Stevie (our main character) as the only survivor? That's just a little added bonus for you.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">I liked this book. At times I became very annoyed with Stevie's insecurities, which may sound somewhat ignorant or bitchy, but I was. As she got more confident I found that I liked her much better than in the earlier parts of the book. This book is very good for character development. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">There are a lot of strange characters throughout it and Lamb does a fine job at giving you a good picture of who each of the characters really are. Stevie is really the most normal of all of the characters. Between the seriousness of some characters (a verbally abusive demeaning adoptive uncle, an equally abusive ex-husband, a bitchy lawyer/co-worker, an anorexic cousin) and the absolute comedy of some of the others [the hyper-sensitive super athlete cousin who sells blow-up dolls, Stevie's mother - the schizophrenic (also very sad, but rather humorous throughout the story), the co-worker who was a roller derby queen], this book had a nice even tone for what was really happening in the story. In all seriousness, the book was really tragedy, but the comedic efforts made for it to give you the lightness you needed so that you didn't need to put the book down and take a break every 5 seconds in order to protect yourself from slitting your wrists out of grief. (Maybe that was a bit of an extreme example...)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">Anyway, this book is <strong><span style="color: #cc0000;">RECOMMENDED</span></strong>. You just need to get past some of Stevie's whiny insecurities. :)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">First line teaser: "I know when it started."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">Next Up: Portia de Rossi's <u>Unbearable Lightness</u> (Book club selection)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-63950614831546645562010-10-27T12:45:00.000-07:002010-10-27T12:48:51.473-07:00#12 Francisco Jiménez's "The Circuit"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TMh5m-j5c_I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/2DxiLBJhl8U/s1600/thecircuit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TMh5m-j5c_I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/2DxiLBJhl8U/s320/thecircuit.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><em><span style="color: blue;">*Disclaimer: spoiler alert. Trust me, you won't care that I spoiled it.*</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">For my twelfth book, I chose <u>The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child</u> by Francisco Jiménez. This book was, well, it was a book. It was okay. I chose it based on the fact that it was short and I need to make up for some serious time in this challenge. (Even though it still took me over a week to read because I've been in such a lull with reading lately! Hopefully that will improve this winter.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Anyway, this is a semi-autobiographical story about a family of illegal Mexican immigrants who come in to the States, written from the perspective of a child.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">First complaint: The family is living in poverty in shacks/tents/whatever on the farms that they are working for. The dad smokes like 6 packs a day. This pisses me off. This is one of my biggest pet peeves that I have for families that I work with. Do not sit there and complain about money issues while you chain smoke right in front of me. 3 packs a day? That's $20 people. You could FEED your entire family on that for a day, easily. Grrrrr....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">On a similar note, when the family moved to the States there were 2 children with a 3rd born shortly after. In the span of the time that they were in the US during the book (estimating a span of maybe 7 years tops), they increased this amount to 7... SEVEN KIDS. If you are this poor and are working for a total of $15 a day and spending $20 of that on cigarettes, HOW CAN YOU AFFORD TO FEED YOUR KIDS?!?! GRRRRRRRR (again)! (OH and might I add that at one point, when there were 5 kids, all 7 of the family members were sleeping on one mattress... how is that even possible?)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Another big complaint I had for this book were the random Spanish words throughout it. I know very little Spanish and there were several words per page that were written in Spanish without explanation of what they meant. I was able to figure some of them out (without translating) due to context, but it was a major annoyance for me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Now, I don't condone illegal immigration. I understand that people feel that life is better in America and that there is more opportunity for them here, but it doesn't mean it's okay. I don't feel that it is the fault of these children that they were brought to America, and I don't necessarily feel that they should have to leave, but I do feel like the parents should know that, while they think they are making a better life for their children, they are greatly jeopardizing the childrens' success. These kids are bounced from town to town, school to school, and sometimes are not in school at all due to work. Every time they make a friend, they have to leave. Every time they build a rapport with a teacher, they have to leave. They are living in complete poverty and receive no health care. The parents would rather let the child get as close to death as possible before getting them health care.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">While reading this book, I faced a lot of the same issues I deal with every day in my job. I get so angry. I loved the main character, Panchito. He seemed to be a great kid in spite of every thing he was going through. I don't get angry at these poor kids that are going through this trauma, showing poor behaviors due to it. I get angry at the parents. Take care of your children. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Anyway, I'm ranting. I'll make sure to post a blog on <a href="http://aberrantlogic.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #351c75;">my other blog</span></a>, ranting more about this some time.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Oh yeah, one last thing. This book ends with the kids being collected by immigration from their various work sites. Like... it just ends. In the middle of the story. It's like he was in mid-sentence and just decided that he was done with the book.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">This book is <strong><span style="color: red;">NOT RECOMMENDED</span></strong>. It was interesting to read from the viewpoint of a migrant child, but at the same time it was very stereotypical and didn't hold much content for the things that most people don't already know about migrant workers. (Or maybe I just think that since I'm in the social work field.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">First Line Teaser: '"La Frontera" is a word I often heard when I was a child living in <em>El Rancho Blanco</em>, a small village nestled on barren, dry hills several miles north of Guadalajara, Mexico.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Next Up: Elie Wiesel's <u>Night</u></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-90959694140238912692010-10-17T17:40:00.000-07:002010-10-17T17:40:27.934-07:00#11 Stieg Larsson's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TLuTQJfpAGI/AAAAAAAAAL8/Xtj7944HxrU/s1600/the_girl_with_the_dragon_tattoo-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TLuTQJfpAGI/AAAAAAAAAL8/Xtj7944HxrU/s320/the_girl_with_the_dragon_tattoo-large.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><span style="color: #274e13;">Okay, so I know I am now notorious for not reading what I say I am going to read but I can't help myself. This was a book club selection, so again, I may not post much about it here, but I will say a bit! :) <u>The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo</u> was not conducive to my challenge. At nearly 600 pages, I could have read 3-4 books in that amount of time! However, it was a VERY good book.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">This book has an interesting setting. It has the elements of being an investigative journalism novel, a suspenseful "find the murderer" novel, as well as a psychological thriller, all tied up into one neatly well-written book!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">I rather enjoyed this book. It starts out very slowly but after the first 2-3 chapters, it picks up pretty quickly and sucks you in. It is by no means a "fast" read, but I got through it pretty quickly because I didn't really want to put it down. I will say also, this book is not for the faint of heart. There are a few rather graphic sexual scenes in the book, that you really can't "unread", if you know what I mean. That aside, it brings in an extra element of suspense and while the perversion is real and intense, it also makes you want to know more about the characters involved as well as their backgrounds.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">My only real complaint with this book is that there are parts of it that seemed to drag on. While one of the main goals of the characters is to uncover the dirty deeds of a local businessman; I feel that the real story was found within the personal relationships of the characters in the novel. This being said, I feel that there was a lot of unnecessary information surrounding the "Wennerstrom Affair", as it is referred to in the novel, and other information regarding unveiling all of Wennerstrom's negative deeds, as opposed to what I really wanted to read about: The Love Triangle... (or maybe I should say Quadrangle, or Quint...angle? What am I even saying anymore?) This is not a love story in any way, shape, or form... but that element is there. I guess I'm just saying that I was more interested in that (as well as everything within the Vanger family).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">I apologize, I know this is vague and if you haven't read it, you have no idea what I'm talking about. Like I said though, it's a book club selection! Perhaps I will write more thoughts later, but let's face it... probably not. :-(</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">This book is </span><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">RECOMMENDED!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">First line teaser: "It happened every year, was almost a ritual."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">Next up: <u>The Circuit</u> by Francisco Jimenez</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-16006045160877469052010-09-19T20:12:00.000-07:002010-09-19T20:12:25.153-07:00#10 Laura Weiss's "Such a Pretty Girl"<span style="color: #a64d79;">That's right; I skipped <u>The Catcher in the Rye</u> again. Give me some credit though, I read this entire book today! That should help me catch up with where I should be in this challenge a bit! :)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TJbN8mvvEhI/AAAAAAAAALA/2fgM5XZjKb8/s1600/Such+a+Pretty+Girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TJbN8mvvEhI/AAAAAAAAALA/2fgM5XZjKb8/s320/Such+a+Pretty+Girl.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #a64d79;">The tenth book for my challenge is called <u>Such a Pretty Girl</u> and it was written by Laura Weiss. I picked it up based on the cover at the Planned Parenthood book sale on Friday. There is something sort of haunting about the picture (which fits well with the book topic).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;">This story is about a girl whose father is sent to jail for sexually abusing her (as well as neighborhood boys and girls). He is supposed to be there until she is eighteen but is let out after 3 years for good behavior. While her father is in jail, Meredith begins a relationship with a boy who is a bit older than she is but was also abused by her father. This story tells the struggle of both of the teenagers dealing with Meredith's father's return to the neighborhood.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;">My honest thoughts on the story? I'm not sure. It was definitely a fast read and I found myself connecting with it on a professional level. (I'm sure most of you know that I am in the social work field, so this type of situation holds a special place in my heart.) However, I also felt dirty at times, as though I was actually reading a book that would excite a pedophile. More often than not, this was not the case, but it was more graphic than it needed to be at times, all the while needing that information to really drive home what was going on for Meredith.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;">One recurrence that really annoyed me was the mother's ignorance. I can not handle mother's who are so obsessed with being loved by their husbands that they completely ignore what might be happening to their kids, whether it is physical, emotional, mental or sexual abuse. The mother in this story remains completely ignorant throughout. Sadly, when it comes to these types of situations, I know that this happens more often than not.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;">Would I recommend this book? Well, this book is definitely not for the faint of heart. I know I would <strong><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">not recommend</span></strong> this book to most people, but at the same time, I know several of my blog readers work in the same field as I do and for such people <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I <em>would</em></span> <span style="color: red;"><strong>recommend</strong></span></span> it. So, I guess it depends on who you are.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;">First line teaser: "They promised me nine years of safety, but only gave me three."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;">Next up: <u>The Catcher in the Rye</u> by J.D. Salinger (I think...) :)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-5024251903269474782010-09-19T00:18:00.000-07:002010-09-19T00:18:38.235-07:00#9 Jeff Lindsay's "Dearly Devoted Dexter"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TJW5GZoYDZI/AAAAAAAAAK4/CfRvqAIzgdo/s1600/Dearly+Devoted+Dexter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TJW5GZoYDZI/AAAAAAAAAK4/CfRvqAIzgdo/s320/Dearly+Devoted+Dexter.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: blue;">Yes, I surpassed <u>The Catcher in the Rye</u> to read a Dexter book in lieu of Dexter starting next Sunday. So what? As you can see, I don't stick to my "next up: books" very well; I'm okay with that. Deal.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Anyway, Dexter Dexter Dexter. This book is the second in the Dexter series. I read the first a couple of years ago and have owned the second and third for the same length of time and just haven't gotten around to reading them. The fifth book was just released (or is soon to be released... I don't remember which for sure.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">After reading the first book I was discouraged. The story went about the same as the first season of the show, yet the show was much better than the book. (How often can you say that? Maybe it's different with TV shows than movies...) Anyway, I assumed the latter books would follow suit. (A book seems to come out each season. It only makes sense, right?) Wrong. The second book has a few similarities to the second season of the show, but really is nothing like it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">I liked this book for the most part. It was hard for me to get into in the beginning, but once I got a bit further, it turned out to not be so bad. I still like the show better. I mean, come on... it's Michael C. Hall. Love! (Although it weirds me out that his wife plays his sister in the show. I guess it would be stranger if his sister played his wife though...)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">This book is twisted and a bit gruesome, yet oddly humorous in parts. You'll still fall in love with Dexter, even though he <em>is</em> a murderer.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">My biggest complaint with this book (other than it not being as good as the show) is that the climax of the book happened in the last 5 pages or so and was resolved and the book was ended all within those 5 pages. That's a bit quick. It was almost as if Lindsay decided he just wanted to be done writing it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">I plan to read the third book, since I own it and will judge at that point whether I will read #4 or #5.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><em>This book is:</em> Recommended</span></span> on the basis of it being a quick read and if you don't like it, you will decide so in the first couple of chapters and can quit reading it. (Does that make it a true recommendation? Probably not, but meh... what can you do?)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><em>First line teaser:</em> "It's that moon again, slung so fat and low in the tropical night, calling out across a curdled sky and into the quivering ears of that dear old voice in the shadows, the Dark Passenger, nestled snug in the backseat of the Dodge K-car of Dexter's hypothetical soul." (Yes, first sentence AND first paragraph!)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Next Up: Finishing <u>The Catcher in the Rye</u> by J.D. Salinger (but probably also starting something else.) :)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-78482210052567038142010-09-08T20:03:00.000-07:002010-09-08T20:03:09.991-07:00#8 David Sedaris's "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TIhMKDQM01I/AAAAAAAAAKY/whyI28YXD40/s1600/dressyourfamily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TIhMKDQM01I/AAAAAAAAAKY/whyI28YXD40/s320/dressyourfamily.jpg" /></a></div>The eighth book of my challenge is one that I've wanted to read for a while and have owned for probably close to a couple of years and just hadn't gotten around to yet. That would be David Sedaris's <u>Dress Your Family in Corduroy in Denim</u>.<br />
<br />
I liked this book. It's witty and clever and made me laugh out loud several times. Sedaris has no problem making himself look... bad. It's one thing to degrade yourself, but Sedaris takes it to a whole new level. It's brilliant really.<br />
<br />
This book is actually a collection of essays that Sedaris wrote about his life. They range from stories about his early childhood well in to his adult life. Some stories are touching, some are morbid and most are hilarious or at least bordering on so pathetic that they are funny.<br />
<br />
I enjoyed this book a lot. I wouldn't say I struggled with it in the beginning; it was just sort of a slow start for me. Once I got in to it though I got through it pretty quickly.<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: red;">This book is: Recommended</span></strong><br />
<br />
First line teaser: "When my family first moved to North Carolina, we lived in a rented house three blocks from the school where I would begin the third grade."<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;">NEXT UP: <u>The Catcher in the Rye</u> by J.D. Salinger (Yes, I've never read this book. I know...)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-61428856048785449092010-08-29T19:33:00.000-07:002010-08-29T19:33:02.795-07:00#7 Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/THsSENGtIpI/AAAAAAAAAKI/bM_vcZl2yH8/s1600/eat_pray__love__-book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/THsSENGtIpI/AAAAAAAAAKI/bM_vcZl2yH8/s320/eat_pray__love__-book.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: purple;">I've finally done it. I finished <u>Eat, Pray, Love</u>. I don't know what my problem with this book was! I actually did enjoy it (for the most part), but I <em>really</em> struggled to get through a lot of it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;">That being said, let me tell you my thoughts. Like I said, I enjoyed this book, for the most part. I love the idea of this book, but I am still very skeptical of a lot of it. I understand that Gilbert went through a huge "bad" spell in her life before the content of the book, but the story (where the novel picks up) just works out to perfectly for me. Yes, there are still struggles for her throughout the book, but... I don't know. I'm not at a loss for words as that last sentence makes me out to be, but I am at a loss for thoughts. Mixed feelings.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;">Let's break this book up in to three parts. We'll call them, fittingly, "eat", "pray", & "love". These sections will be from her time spent in Italy, India & Indonesia, respectively.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: purple;">Eat</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="color: purple;"> I liked this portion of the book. I love Europe. I love food (especially pasta). I love the romance languages. I'm sure all of these things helped in my liking this portion of the book. I don't have a lot to say about this section though other than that I just <em>liked</em> it. </span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"> *I will add, however, that I got really annoyed by her sob story leading in to Italy. Not that I don't like a good tale of sadness and despair; she just bordered on pathetic a lot of the time. I also recognize that she was most likely looking for the reader to see that side of her life though.*</span><br />
<br />
<u><strong><span style="color: purple;">Pray</span></strong></u><br />
<span style="color: purple;"> This part is where I struggled the most. I am not an overly religious person, but I am not an atheist either. I have always been very interested in learning about different religions, but consider myself to be agnostic, because honestly, I don't <em>know</em>. (And, as I've mentioned, I'm a huge skeptic.)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"> I don't know if my reason for having difficulty getting through this book had anything to do with this being the more "religious" section of it, but I REALLY struggled through this portion. When I read stories like this and I hear stories similar from people, or I meet someone with a really strong faith, it always makes me feel the same way. I wouldn't say that I am jealous of these people, but I definitely am in awe of them. Don't get me wrong, I have faith. I have faith in my friends and family and I <em>usually</em> have faith in humanity, in general. I am talking about religious faith. There are some things in this world that I can never be sure of and religion is one of them. I've tried. I really have. I've learned a lot of my values and morals growing up in a Christian based family and growing up with the church and I am proud of that fact. I would change nothing about that fact. It's made me who I am. I also want to raise my children in a similar manner, giving them the option of having religion be a part of their lives. </span><br />
<span style="color: purple;">Sorry, I'm getting off track. This is supposed to be a book review, but it has turned in to a religion argument. I will save that for</span> <a href="http://aberrantlogic.blogspot.com/">my other blog</a>. <span style="color: purple;">Stay tuned...</span><br />
<span style="color: purple;">Back to the book... well, I think you get a feel for my thoughts on this section. More power to Gilbert and good for her.</span><br />
<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: purple;">Love</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="color: purple;"> This is probably the section of the book that I enjoyed the most. Maybe it's because I'm a sap. Maybe it's because I love my friends and family and this is the section of the book where you see a strong sense of friendship and the beginning of a family for Gilbert. I also think some of it is because I love some of the characters you meet in this section. I love Ketut Liyer (the adorable medicine man) and his complete disregard for time. I love Wayan, and even more so love her daughter, Tutti. And let me tell you about my love for Felipe. (I don't think that it helps that I know Javier Bardem plays him in the movie version... all I have to say about that is YUM.) I know that I am a hopeless romantic and that only makes me love Felipe more... Gilbert makes him out to be that "perfect" man that only exists in the movies... and books, of course.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"> The only part of this section that I was completely liking was Yudhi. Don't get me wrong; I liked Yudhi. I did not like the way that they converse with each other... most importantly the "your mother" jokes. Come on. Everyone knows that they are "your MOM" jokes. They don't ring the right way if you say "mother". :)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Over all, I did like the book. Consider it RECOMMENDED.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;">Sorry that this review kind of turned in to a novel, in and of itself.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;">Here's your first line teaser from it: "I wish Giovanni would kiss me."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Next up: <u>Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim</u> by David Sedaris.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-90004670619413523512010-08-26T11:55:00.000-07:002010-08-26T11:55:03.221-07:00#6 Dan Wells's "I Am Not a Serial Killer"<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">First, I'd like to start by saying that blogger has added an underlining option! Yay! That makes me feel so much better about blogging about books. :)</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/THa1Jjp9KEI/AAAAAAAAAJA/AoAPaF75jVU/s1600/I+Am+Not+a+Serial+Killer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/THa1Jjp9KEI/AAAAAAAAAJA/AoAPaF75jVU/s320/I+Am+Not+a+Serial+Killer.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Moving on... number "six" (I quote because you all know I'm getting out of whack with this whole thing) is a book called <u>I Am Not a Serial Killer</u>, by Dan Wells. Again, I remind you, this is a book club selection so I won't be giving away too terribly much. Gotta save that for the meeting! I will tell you this, as I know if for a fact, some of my book club members are going to absolutely HATE this book. I think it is a bit gorier than some of them can handle, or would like to handle.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Aside from this fact, I also did not enjoy this book. Mind you, it was a very fast read and I finished it quickly, but I did not really like it. As those of you who actually know me know, I am not one to be a huge fan of things that I don't think are real or that I don't think could actually happen. Having said that, I actually was enjoying this book until around page 100 or so. Said serial killer turns very unrealistic. I won't elaborate for now. (Let's face it... I probably won't elaborate later either. Have I managed to do that for any of my other book club books?)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">I have a problem with things being too unrealistic. I mean, ghosts? They might be real... you don't always see them but you've got to wonder when you have those freaky happenings going on. Serial killers? I'm all about learning about them. Sasquatch? Yetis? Chupacabra? Probably not, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they exist. Demons? I'm over this book. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Honestly, I think I would have been okay with it had I known what I was getting in to. But with a name like "<u>I Am Not a Serial Killer</u>", you expect it to deal with just that. At least I did; don't you? I think had I known the actual topic, I might actually have enjoyed the story, because I do like a mini-man sociopath trying to take on demons. (Okay, really I just like anything dealing with psychology; sociopathic children included.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">That all being said, if you like the previous paragraph of this, then perhaps you would like this book. It's just not for me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">First line: "Mrs. Anderson was dead."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">This book is: <strong>not recommended</strong>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Next up: I am going to finish <u>Eat, Pray, Love</u>. Oh yes, I am.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-41864164303749814932010-08-18T10:59:00.000-07:002010-08-18T11:01:15.318-07:00Apologies, Apologies<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">So I just wrote an apology the other day for not blogging on </span><a href="http://aberrantlogic.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">my other blog</span></a><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">, and here is my apology for this one. I'd like to say that I haven't been posting because I've been too busy, but I'm not entirely sure that's true. Maybe, kind of.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I just wanted to update you all on my current reading situation. For some reason, even though I really like the book, I am struggling to get through <u>Eat, Pray, Love</u> at a quick enough pace for this challenge. Thus, I have added my P90X guides (I know... I will try to cancel them out further down the road). They are very informational though and this program is going to complete kick my tush since I am not in shape, whatsoever.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Bringing me to now. We had the book club meeting on Monday and chose our new book. I am taking a break from <u>Eat, Pray, Love</u> in an attempt to be more loyal to it after this book is over. Our new selection is <u>I Am Not a Serial Killer</u> by Dan Wells. I started it last night and am probably somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of the way done with it. It's a super easy and fast read so far. Does it make me a freak that I compare myself to the little sociopath in the book?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Anyway, I promise to get back on track with my booking blog.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-68470067971378584342010-08-12T19:47:00.000-07:002010-08-12T19:47:10.839-07:00#5 P90X<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TGSx3dg7wiI/AAAAAAAAAI4/-EVBTe6hmJI/s1600/p90x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TGSx3dg7wiI/AAAAAAAAAI4/-EVBTe6hmJI/s320/p90x.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: #e06666;">Okay, some of you may say this is cheating. I have skipped <u>Eat, Pray, Love</u> (which will now be my 6th book instead of 5th). I am counting my P90X guides as books for my challenge as that has been my reading material for the past few days.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #e06666;">P90X will, in and of itself, be an entirely new challenge for me. The guides are both over 100 pages long though, so I think that combining them I can count them as one book. Thoughts? Call me a cheater; call me what you will; I'm doing it. Just thinking about doing P90X allows me such convenience. If you don't know what P90X is, you better</span> <a href="http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/p90x.do?gclid=CN7Ci6K2taMCFQgQswodBmH-aw&code=GOOGLE_SEMB_P90X&ef_id=1908:3:s_5fcf425c0a975a89084713d1743c68aa_5980659973_P90X:TGSwYAqoEEMAAGyrbfcAAULZ:20100813023928">check it out.</a> <span style="color: #e06666;">It's going to be insane, yo.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #e06666;">I promise that if I have time I will add another book to my line up to make up for this one, but for some reason it has taken me almost 3 weeks to get through <u>Eat, Pray, Love</u>. I like it all right, but I can't stick to reading it for long for some reason.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #e06666;">The next book club meeting is on Monday, so we will see what my next selection will be then.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #e06666;">I shall NOT recommend p90x... YET. :)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-44987342777997404832010-07-29T22:31:00.000-07:002010-07-29T22:33:03.871-07:00#4 Lisa Scottoline's "Look Again"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TFJhLIm2uLI/AAAAAAAAAIw/28oXBfoRUQE/s1600/Look+Again.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TFJhLIm2uLI/AAAAAAAAAIw/28oXBfoRUQE/s320/Look+Again.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: #674ea7;">The fourth book of my challenge was a book club selection. Lisa Scottoline's "Look Again". The book was pretty good. Not excellent, but not horrible. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;">The short of it is basically, a reporter gets a "missing child" postcard in the mail and he resembles the son she had adopted a year and a half ago. She is then faced with the moral dilemma of where to go from there.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;">There were things that I liked about this book and things that I didn't. I loved that it had super short chapters. That always makes for a really fast read and it keeps me interested because I can always squeeze in that one last chapter. I also liked that it dealt with a topic that I am all too familiar with due to my line of work, adoption. (Along with the psychological mumbo-jumbo that comes along with it.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;">A few things I did not like. First off, I don't like it when an author over does it with descriptions. Yes, I like a book to be descriptive, but I don't like it to feel forced. I felt this way several times throughout the book. I don't need to have a complete description of something that matters NOT to the story, whatsoever. Granted, this wasn't through the entire book, but I definitely felt this way at different points. Also, for the most part, the book was extremely predictable. From the moment the main character started talking about the family she adopted from as well as the family of the missing child, I theorized the ending of the novel. I got it 100% correct. But I am very smart. :) It doesn't mean you shouldn't read it. You might not be as smart as I am... (I'm kidding, I promise... or AM I?)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;">Again, this is a book club selection so I am not going to talk too much about the actual content of the novel because I do not want to give anything away to my fellow NIBC'ers.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;">So, here's a first line teaser for you: Ellen Gleeson was unlocking her front door when something in the mail caught her attention.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">This book is: <strong>Recommended for some. Not for others.</strong> I will tell you to base that completely on what I've written in this little "review".</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Next up: "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-1179896808434764122010-07-25T15:58:00.000-07:002010-07-25T15:58:16.635-07:00#3 Jonathan Safran Foer's "Eating Animals"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TEe29AMWDmI/AAAAAAAAAH4/53W85nDn1UM/s1600/eatinganimals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TEe29AMWDmI/AAAAAAAAAH4/53W85nDn1UM/s320/eatinganimals.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: #38761d;">Okay. Let me just start out with saying that I am completely and utterly terrified by this book. I knew a lot of what I would be facing in reading this book and yet I am still completely horrified. I liken this book to Dave Pelzer's "A Child Called 'It'". Not because they are in any way similar to one another, but rather because I had the same feeling of disgust, yet complete fascination while reading it. They set up the perfect instance to use the phrase "horribly good" to describe a book.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">For those of you who don't know about it, "Eating Animals" is about, well exactly what the title tells you; eating animals. There is an emphasis on factory farming versus family farming (which I don't feel the need to explain to you). This book has a particularly interesting take, as it not only tells you the "bad" about factory farming but Foer also provides interviews with workers on the "inside" of these farms to show you things from their perspectives and some of them only have "good" to say.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">As I've mentioned before, Jonathan Safran Foer is a personal favorite, but his previous books were novels and completely different than "Eating Animals". On that note I have to add that I am still a huge fan.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">I can't believe the amount of actual abuse that the animals at factory farms go through. Before reading this book, I was well aware that a lot of animals are not slaughtered in the most humane ways possible, but it sickened me even more to learn about the perversion and torture that takes place at some of these factory farms. Unbelievable. My faith in humanity is depleted in some way every day the way it is and this book only made it deplete more rapidly.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">There was a point during the book when Foer was writing about the amount of pollution given off by factory hog farms. I'll just say that it made me want to plug my nose when I drive by now for many reasons more than just the smell.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Oh yeah, and I might want to add that I have a new term ingrained in my brain thanks to this book: "fecal soup". Read the book. You might not like what you learn. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">I have never felt more of a connection with a quote that wasn't my own than I did while reading this book. That quote being, "ignorance is bliss". I guess I don't know that I was really ignorant before but I definitely know a lot more now and it is definitely going to make me change some of my buying habits.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">First line teaser for y'all: "When I was young, I would often spend the weekend at my grandmother's house."</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Oh! I also must add that this book has only furthered my desire for a Whole Foods in the area. It's time Des Moines. Get a move on!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">This book is DEFINITELY: <strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">RECOMMENDED</span></strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Up next: "Look Again" by Lisa Scottoline (book club selection)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-22569629912483701352010-07-15T17:41:00.000-07:002010-07-23T18:20:48.689-07:00#2 Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TD-qb1F10UI/AAAAAAAAAHo/QFPRTjnLkok/s1600/brave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TD-qb1F10UI/AAAAAAAAAHo/QFPRTjnLkok/s320/brave.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: #351c75;">All right, so I know you all thought that I'd quit my challenge already because I hadn't blogged, but I assure you, I have not! I have finished book #2, Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World". First off, let me say, where can I get some <em>soma</em>? I assume it to be similar to ecstasy. Just a thought. Anyone else who's read it have an opinion about that? Don't get me wrong, I've <strong>not</strong> done ecstasy, but from what I've heard of it, I assume <em>soma </em>to be similar.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Anyway, moving on. I really liked this book. When I started reading the first chapter I got a little annoyed and thought I wouldn't like it based on all of the science lab-by B.S. that it had to explain. It really was necessary to set the novel up though. This is why I can never stop if I don't like the first chapter in a book. Prime example.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">For those who don't know about this book, it is basically about a post-apocalyptic society where everyone is a test-tube baby created and honed to be in a certain caste. Everyone is given this happy drug "<em>soma</em>", to make anything negative go away. There are absolutely no moral repercussions for any choice made because no one in this "civilized" society would ever do anything that they aren't conditioned to do. However, throw in a few "savage" characters from outside of the civilization and a few "civilized" characters who break the mold, and we have ourselves a story folks!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">"Brave New World" had me feeling all kinds of emotions. Like I said earlier, I really liked this book. I would recommend it to most people, but will also add that you have to stick out that first chapter or two. I found myself angry right off the bat because I can totally see our society headed in this direction. I know that may seem far-fetched to some, but at the same time everyone is already brain-washed by <em>something</em> to some extent, how long before everyone gets brain-washed by the same thing/person/group?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Of course, I always enjoy a book with a nice dark twist, which this book definitely takes at the end. Huxley could easily have ended the book without the last chapter by just adding a few predictable paragraphs, but he doesn't! I think he did it just because he knew that I would read it and would want a darker ending from him! Okay... I know he passed away like 20 years before I was born, but still...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Your first line action: "A squat gray building of only thirty-four stories." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">(I am aware that was a sentence fragment. I did not WRITE this book; you can't blame me.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><em><span style="color: #cc0000;">This book is:</span></em> <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><strong>RECOMMENDED</strong></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Unless you can only handle a light, fictional read. Then don't read it. You won't like it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">UP NEXT: "EATING ANIMALS" by JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><em>(YAY!!!)</em></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-52550204480320302010-07-04T19:21:00.000-07:002010-07-23T18:19:18.419-07:00#1 Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TDFBW3NsX6I/AAAAAAAAAFM/FYL-TkgDElU/s1600/curious.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oyde_zGDln4/TDFBW3NsX6I/AAAAAAAAAFM/FYL-TkgDElU/s320/curious.jpg" /></a></div><strong><em>I've finished my first book of the challenge! "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon! I don't know that I'll type a whole lot about it today, only because it is also our book club book and I've got to save some of my ramblings for our meeting! (Maybe I'll share more of my thoughts after that!) I must also comment that I chose this cover for my blog image because I like it better than the actual cover of my book! : )</em></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><em>I will say that I would recommend this book to most people! There's something about reading the point-of-view of a child/teen that gets me. Maybe that makes me somewhat immature with my reading selections, but I loved it in this book, loved it in Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything is Illuminated" & loved it in Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". I think it is something about an author being able to capture the innocence of the youth that makes it so appealing for me. Not just any adult is able to really capture and relay that for me. I mean, I will admit that I've read the Twilight series and the Harry Potter series and those are child/teen P.O.V.'s, but it's in a different way. Upon typing that I think I've discovered that it's when dealing with kids with psychological issues. Given my chosen profession I suppose that makes sense.</em></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><em>Here's your first line action (a lil' taste): "It was 7 minutes after midnight."</em></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><em>Anyway, possibly more to come on this book after my book club meeting. <span style="color: #3d85c6;">As for my next book, I will be reading "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley.</span> Yes, I know that is a classic and I should have read it by now, but I haven't, so I am going to. : )</em></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><em><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">This book is: RECOMMENDED</span></em></strong>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-62852765048566261512010-07-01T11:34:00.000-07:002010-07-01T11:34:13.610-07:00And it begins...<span style="color: #7f6000;">Today's the day folks. <strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">CHALLENGE!!!</span></strong> Wish me luck.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;">Maybe I'm not giving myself enough credit; maybe it will be easy. I just know that I go through bouts where I don't read for a few weeks at a time, so I hope I can stick with it. I'm expecting all of my faithful followers to keep me pumped up about it. Keep giving me book ideas so that I can look forward to the next one and keep myself motivated!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;">As I think you all know, my first book will be Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time". I hope it's FABULOUS!</span><br />
<div><blockquote><span style="color: #7f6000;">You know what they say, "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body!" (I think I should do more of both!)</span></blockquote><span style="color: #7f6000;">Thanks for supporting me! :)</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-40613633712727028362010-06-29T12:52:00.000-07:002010-06-29T12:52:00.349-07:00The Premier Selection<em><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">So, I've made my decision. Well, technically my book club made my decision... kind of. I will be starting my first book of the challenge in two days. I've decided to read our first book club selection as my first book, mostly so that I can pass it along to someone in the NIBC (New Improved Book Club!) when I am done with it since I SHOULD have it done in a week or less, right?</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The book we/I have chosen is "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon. Not only is it our first book club selection since restarting book club, but it was also a recommendation for one of my challenge books, so why NOT start out with it, right? Plus, it looks like it will be an fast & easy read, which will only motivate me to keep on keepin' on, if you know what I mean.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">My plan with this blog is to keep you posted on what I am reading as well as any thoughts/comments/questions that I have about the book. All feedback will be welcome. I'm looking forward to the motivation & feedback from all of my faithful followers to push me along in this journey!</span></em>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-66171460490323456112010-06-22T11:15:00.000-07:002010-06-22T11:15:36.822-07:00One week 'til showtime!<span style="color: #b45f06;">It's getting closer folks. One week until I reveal which book will be my first of the challenge. I know you are all on the edge of your chairs just <em>waiting</em> to find out. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;">I've decided that my first book will be one of your fine recommendations. I plan to (hopefully) read most of your suggestions at some point during the challenge. Chances are, if we choose a book club book by the 1st, that may just be my first book I read. We'll see.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;">I will say that I broke down and bought "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer yesterday. I've been itching to read it but have been trying to convince myself that I'm too poor to buy books. I just read "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" though, so I've got to read a couple others before I read another JSF book. It will definitely probably make it in to my first couple months worth of reads. (Has anyone read it yet? Alice, I'm mostly talking to you because I think that I saw on goodreads that you did and I know that you are also a fan of JSF. Enlighten me with your thoughts.)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839542474437874106.post-30894546640300018952010-06-18T11:21:00.000-07:002010-06-18T11:21:39.440-07:00In lieu of the challenge...<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In lieu of the challenge I am going to restart book club. Formerly YESS book club, the book club is now being called "book club" as I no longer work at YESS. Deal with it people.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This being said, I will be emailing you all soon. I know I already posted this on my </span></strong><a href="http://aberrantlogic.blogspot.com/"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">other blog</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, but I felt it only made sense to post it on here as well.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">If there is anyone in the DSM area that meets the following qualifications and would like to join, please let me know!</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Qualifications:</span></strong><br />
<ul><li><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">You must be a reader.</span></strong></li>
<li><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">You must <em>not</em> be annoying.</span></strong></li>
<li><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">At least one of the former members should probably know you. (We don't need any creepsters in our lives, thanks.)</span></strong></li>
</ul><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Former members, suggestions for further qualifications are welcome at any time.</span></strong>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701803519923796257noreply@blogger.com2