New Challenge

I found this challenge while EC dropping. See. Good things can come from this. Anyway, it sounded interesting and fun and I like the badge, lol, so I’m gonna do it. The list of books is from Entertainment Weekly’s list “The New Classics”. Here’s the deets from the host Lost in a Good Story:

1) Copy the list (which I have pasted here, just in case that link ever disappears) and bold the titles that you have already read.
2) Choose at least 6 other books from the list , read and review them between 1 August 2008 and 31 January 2009.
2) Come back here and post links to your reviews.
3) In January 2009, cast your vote for which one of the 100 books on the list is your favorite (and write a post on why). The winning book will be sent to a lucky winner chosen by the scientific method favored here in the blogosphere, i.e. names in a hat. Other contests are very probable too, I have some ideas, but they need planning.
4) Have fun! :-)

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

Turns out that I haven’t read any more books from this list than I have from a “traditional” list of classics, lol. Oh well.

My picks for this challenge are as follows:

Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)

Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)

Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)

Naked, David Sedaris (1997)

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)

My alternates:

Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)

Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)

Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)

If you aren’t already involved in more than enough reading challenges, you should join me. I like company. :)

Cover to Cover

This post sort of goes along with Booking Through Thursday’s weekly question of “what are you reading” but I’m expanding on it to include what I have recently read and what I plan to read in the near future.

First off, I’m in the middle of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Honestly, I’ve been reading it for about a  month now, embarrassingly enough, which is why I haven’t really been talking about it. It’s my second Jane Austen book and WHEW! I wish I could get it finished. Seriously. It’s been getting rave reviews for decades and I find myself thinking that the characters are tedious and the plot thin. That’s not my final opinion though because for me, the ending is everything.

I’m still plodding through War and Peace, The Reagan Diaries, and the first Spiderwick book. In my defense, War and Peace is…Okay. I have no defense. I put it down in favor of more interesting (to me) books. Will I ever finish it? Your guess is as good as mine. The Reagan Diaries is the type of book where you can put it down and pick it back up whenever you’d like. And Spiderwick was meant to be read with my oldest child and she stopped reading it weeks ago and is now in Ohio. We’ll finish it when she gets home.

Despite actively reading Sense and Sensibility, I’ve managed to finish reading several other books recently. I’ll start at the end and work my way back.

1. Yesterday, I finished reading Odd Hours by Dean Koontz. It was a fantastic installment in the Odd Thomas series. Action, suspense, a mysterious girl, a ghost dog, and the ghost of Frank Sinatra. I loved every page of the book. Before that I read In Odd We Trust, the first graphic novel for the Odd Thomas series, which I already talked about in a previous post. However, in the back, Dean Koontz said that he sees the series being finished with six books. That means TWO more. Yay! I can’t wait to see what happens with Odd and Stormy.

2. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory. Wonderful. Truly. Until this book, I had only read about the Tudors from the main point of things; Henry VIII or the Boleyns. Katherine of Aragon was a fascinating woman and I learned a great deal about her. Turns out that she wasn’t just the queen that was pushed aside which is usually all you see in the movies and that was all you saw of her on The Tudors. I really could go on and on. I plan on reading more about her and about her parents as well. I’d rate it4 out of 5 if I had a rating system. ;)

3. Life’s a Beach by Claire Cook. This was the June read for Readers Anonymous. Wasn’t a favorite of mine. It was a light and easy read but I think it was too light. There wasn't enough conflict and what conflict there was, was annoying. Other works of Clair Cook include Must Love Dogs. I've only seen the movie, but I didn't like that either for many of the same reasons. I just don't think Clair Cook is an author for me.

4. Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron. You can read what I wrote about it on a previous post. Click me.

5. Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir. This novel is the first fiction novel Weir has written. She's better known for her nonfiction works on the Tudors and other royal historical figures. You can definitely see evidence of her extensive historical knowledge in Innocent Traitor. I could actually pick out passages that she had referenced in some of her other books specifically, The Princes in the Tower. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you haven't realized it yet, I'm a fan of historical fiction, lol. I love learning as I'm reading for enjoyment. Lady Jane Grey was an interesting character. In the beginning, I felt sorry for her and her horrible childhood. Then as she becomes older and a little fanatical about religion, my sympathy for her edged back. She was so intelligent yet she wouldn't allow herself to see the other side of the argument. In the end though, you'd have to be pretty coldhearted not to feel for her and the way she was used by her own father in his plots for power. She was England's queen for 9 days, the shortest reign in its history. Yet one more historical figure that I'd like to learn more about.

There are more books that I've finished recently but I think that's more than enough for now. I'll save the rest for another day.

As for my future reads, I just got a box of books delivered from B&N yesterday. FUN!! This box included the following:

• The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir. Weir's second fiction novel. Very excited about this one.
• A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith.
• The True Life of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots by John Guy. It's a nonfiction biography.
• Marie Antoinette:  The Journey by Antonia Fraser. This is a nonfiction biography as well.
• Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund. This is a historical fiction novel about Marie Antoinette.

I also ordered seven more books from B&N yesterday. I couldn't resist. They're having a sale, lol. This next shipment will have the following:

• The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell.
• Anne of Green Gables #1 by L.M. Montgomery. This is for the 1st in a Series reading challenge.
• Haunted Ground by Erin Hart.
• Angels Fall by Nora Roberts
• The Myth of You and Me:  A Novel of Friendship by Leah Stewart.
• The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall
• Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc by Loraine Despres

Other books that aren't coming from B&N that I have waiting for me are:

• Hornet's Nest by Patricia Cornwell. This is another for the 1st in a Series Challenge.
• The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. This is Readers Anonymous' pick for July.

If you want to know what any of them are about, look it up at B&N. I'm not your personal shopper, heheh. ;)

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Copyright 2001
312 pages
Reason for reading: I read this book for the 1st in a Series Challenge.
Days to finish: 1

I had low expectations going into this book. I had heard people say that they liked it, it was funny, etc., but that they didn't love it. I also figured it would make for nice, light, undemanding reading. I was correct on all accounts.

It was an extremely easy read to get through. Becky, our shopaholic, was funny and likeable although I didn't really feel all that sorry for her situation. If Kinsela said how old she was in the book, I must've skimmed over that part but I'm assuming that Becky is in her early twenties and very much in debt. Why? Because she can't control her shopping habits. Not only does she shop like there's no tomorrow, but she can't resist designer labels either. Her shopping, which increases her debts, which increases the amounts of letters she receives from her creditors only serves to increase her guilt which she assuages by buying herself a "little" something. Can you see the pattern? I honestly hope that it wasn't the author's intention to make the reader feel sorry for Becky because I didn't have an ounce of pity for her. She made her bed with her 2000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, now she has to lie in it.

Hmm. I don't really sound like I liked the book at all at this point, do I? Well, I will be honest and say that it could be tedious at times to read. Becky's problems seem so shallow and the way she handled them, extremely childish. But the holes she dug herself into and the way she contrived to get out of them were funny to read about and I laughed out loud several times. The ending, I wish I could give it away and say why, was...disappointing but not enough to kill my interest. I'm intrigued enough by the series' start that I plan on reading the rest. I love British literature, comedies, television, music, etc. and this book certainly fit that bill. I don't plan on reading the rest of the series to find existential meanings in life by any means. They would make excellent beach reads and the beach season, at least in my part of the world, isn't that far away.

Water For Elephants

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Copyright 2006

331 pages

Reason for reading: This is one of my TBR Challenge books.

Days to finish: 1

I adored this book. I absolutely loved it. A lot of people said that I would but I was a little skeptical going into it. The premise seemed weird. It was about a guy that joined a circus as the veterinarian. Sounded cheesy to me. Boy! Was I ever wrong. The book was so much more. It was about love, the circus, animals, betrayal, loss, aging, and excitement.

Jacob, the main character, deals with the loss of his parents and, thus, the world as he knew it or thought it was going to be, by running. Not knowing where to go or what to do next, he jumped a train that happened to belong to a circus. Set in the 1930's this book takes place when circuses still travelled town to town by train. Despite the dirt, the smells, and the hardships, the circus was glamorous and the reader is taken along on a very bumpy ride.

The story goes back and forth between Jacob at 23, full of life, and a circus vet to Jacob at 90 or 93 (he isn't sure of the year) and in an assisted living facility. It's a very sharp contrast between seeing him as someone in control and someone at the mercy of others. The things that happen to him at the home and his trials that come from being old make you wonder if that's how we really treat our elderly. Is that what we have to look forward to in our golden years? One passage in the book describes how he gets upset at having to eat mushy food every day. He becomes vocal in his protestations. As a result, and against his wishes, he's given antidepressants. The staff and his doctor didn't listen to him; they just saw a crotchety, old, depressed shadow of a man.

Jacob's time with the circus was full of drama. He sees and immediately falls for Marlena, one of the performers who also happens to be married to August, the man in charge of the menagerie. Jacob is immediately met with confrontation when forced to bunk with another performer who hated Jacob on sight. He also has to deal with August's volatile nature. Lastly, there's Rosie. Rosie is the seemingly untrainable circus elephant that is oftentimes the object of August's vileness. Jacob sees more in her than just a "dumb" elephant.

This book truly did have everything including one of the best endings I've ever read in a book. If you know me, you know how much endings are important to me. As soon as I was finished reading it, I had the urge to turn back to page one and start all over again which isn't something that happens often with a book no matter how much I like it. Sara Gruen is a magnificent author who paid much attention to detail and the history of circuses. If you haven't read this book, you're missing out on an experience.

The Color of Magic

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Copyright 1983
210 Pages
Reason for reading: I read this book for the 1st in a Series Challenge
Days to finish: 7

As mentioned above, it took me seven days to finish this book and it was only 210 pages long. That fact, in and of itself, should be an easy indicator of whether or not I enjoyed this book.
Don’t get me wrong. It was a very well written book. Pratchett invented an entire world with unique cities, landscapes, and people. He also used elements of mythology to round out his universe. My problem with the book was that I just didn’t care about the characters. Rincewind, Twoflower, Hrun, Luggage, and the others didn’t hold my interest. It was easy to put down the book and find other things to do with my time. Surprisingly enough, I plan on reading the next book or two of the series. I was recently told that the series gets better and I really wanted to like it so I’m giving it another chance.

My favorite character was the Luggage. Pratchett displays his talent by being able to give a piece of luggage personality. It was funny and the Luggage was tenacious. You had to love it.

I also found similar elements in The Color of Magic and the Harry Potter series. Whether or not Pratchett and Rowling used the same references or Rowling was a fan of the Disc World series and incorporated parts of it into her own series, I don’t know. I’d be interested to find out though and plan on doing some research to assuage my curiosity.

In conclusion, if I were to rate this book (I don’t currently have my own rating system) I’d give it 2 ½ stars out of 5. The series has potential but so far, it isn’t interesting to me.

#1 From 2008 TBR Challenge

My Reading Challenges

Day one of the challenges and I've got my first book checked off. This has served to bolster my confidence that I'll be able to successfully complete all three challenges in which I've chosen to participate.




Brother Odd by Dean Koontz
Published 2006 by Bantam Dell
430 pages
Reason for reading: 2008 TBR Challenge and because I've always planned on reading the last book.

This is the third and final book in the Odd Thomas series. Out of all the series that I've read, this would make it in my top ten. I have absolutely loved and enjoyed each book.

Odd Thomas seems to be an unlikely hero. He is constantly reminding the reader of his inadequacies and fallacies. Odd has an odd name, he's "only" a fry cook, he's "only" 21, and as Odd said himself, "I don't know anything." I think Koontz chooses to portray Odd in this manner to demonstrate a sharp contrast; to show the reader the wondrousness that is Odd Thomas. Odd clearly shows his wisdom and selflessness many times throughout all three novels but especially in Brother Odd when Odd is faced with the challenge of protecting challenged children from an unknown evil.

My favorite part about the series is the company that Odd keeps. Elvis Presley often visits him in ghostly form. While that may seem worthy of an eye roll, Koontz makes it work without it being over the top.

My favorite passages from Brother Odd are:

"Life you can evade; death you cannot."

And in referring to a disfigured child who had been made fun of by other children:

"In this world where too many are willing to see only the light that is visible,never the Light Invisible, we have a daily darkness that is night, and we
encounter another darkness from time to time that is death, the deaths of those
we love, but the third and most constant darkness that is with us every day, at
all hours of every day, is the darkness of the mind, the pettiness and meanness
and hatred, which we have invited into ourselves, and which we pay out with
generous interest."

These are not the words of someone who knows nothing.

Reading Challenges

After much deliberation, I decided to go ahead and join the aforementioned reading challenges. I figure that I can read all of them since I have the whole of 2008 to do so. I also created a website that lists the challenges and books that I've decided to read so that I have somewhere that it is all consolidated. You can find it here if you're interested: Reading Challenges
These are the things that I do when I don't have school work bogging me down, hehehe.