#0031 The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart

No matter what age I am, I will always enjoy children books.

Reynie is a very bright child that is living in an orphanage. One day during this study time with a special tutor he finds an ad in the paper saying "ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING FOR SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES?" He ends up seeking the ad out and children from all over are asked to take ridiculous exams. Only four make it through. The four children are asked by Mr. Benedict to go on a wild adventure and stop Mr. Curtain, who is ahead of a extremely unusual school, before he destroys the world. You can follow the children through all the obstacles they go through and even help them out solving all the different mysteries!

Mr. Benedict's Society is hilarious and it's packed with so much adventure. This series is flying off the shelves at work. All kinds of kids are eating the books up. Amazing start for new author Trenton Lee Stewart! I can't wait until I read the 2nd book of the series! 5 stars

#0030A Push - Sapphire

Precious is an illiterate, 16 year old girl who is trying to gain more of herself and her life. Her mother beats her, her father rapes her and she is pregnant with his 2nd child. The principal calls her out and expels her from school because she is pregnant. That was the best thing that could have happened to her. She signs herself up to take classes so she can finish her GED. Her teacher, Blue, has them write about anything they want in a notebook everyday so they can get better at reading and writing. Precious has so much drive and she really inspired me. Even though all the crap that was going on in her life she kept pushing on to one day make it better for herself and her son.

I loved the writing style. The book starts out where you know that Precious is thinking. Later on in the book when she is learning to write you get broken words and sentences and you can see how she progresses in school by the further you read. It was a great book, horrible circumstances, but well written. 4 stars

#0029A New Moon - Stephenie Meyer

I know, I know. I'm embarrassed to say I like them.

All Stephenie Meyer's books are easy to read and easy to fall into. This is the second time I've read this book, only because the movie comes out and blah. I am; however, glad that I reread this book. The first time I felt like I skimmed it more than read it just because I knew what happened and I was just waiting for Edward to come back into the story. That's like half the book being skimmed. I told myself this time to slow down and read everything and not to get ahead of myself. I got every detail in this time. And I didn't really see that much of a relationship between Bella and Jacob. I mean, yeah he's a good friend or whatever, but their connection is really not as strong as the movie looks like it will be.

I only plan to reread those books when the movies are about to come out. So, beware.

#0028A Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney

Oh me. I just had to read this book. Every kid that walked into the store that I work at goes straight over to Diary of a Wimpy Kid display. They are reading all these books up like candy. I just read this while I was on my break at work.

Greg is in middle school and is definitely not in the "popular crowd" At least he has his best pal Rowley, even though he thinks Rowley is quite dumb. This book is just like a diary of a young boy with pictures on every page. It grabs his thoughts about halloween, the school play, and a big stinky piece of cheese that sits outside on the basketball court that seems to never leave.

I thought this book was really cute. Whatever gets the kids to read, I'm down with. Greg sometimes has a bad attitude, but then when doesn't a middle schooler have that? This is for kids around the ages 8-12 and perfect for both boys and girls. I've always liked kid's books :) 5 stars

#0027A Waiter Rant - Steve Dublancia

I was just handed this book and told to read it. Since I used to be a waiter I was definitely interested. I have loads of stories about horrible customers and about some coworkers in the food business. I connected with Steve like I never had with an author. I felt his pain and worry throughout the whole book. It could have been me writing.

Steve became a waiter just as a temporary job while he was trying to get back on his feet. It turned out to be a long six year, tormented career. He explains through all of the different sides of a restaurant business and adding the customers into the mix. He does explain a few stories: dealing with drunken slobs who bring in a different stripper a week to meeting the famous. He talks about how to leave a correct tip, and how not to act in a restaurant. I wish that I had not waited tables so I could get the whole feel for the book. It would have definitely opened my eyes to see what exactly goes on in a restaurant business.

By the end of the book, I got quite annoyed at him. Taking the last rush of people and sitting them in his section because the other servers are a little more busy than him. He thought he was helping them out, but really he was stealing money from the other servers. That is like rule #1 in waiting tables. There is a rotation for a reason. I also hoped that there would be more stories about the difficult/happy times while serving. But I guess I just have to go to his blog for that. 4 stars

#0026A Double Take - Kevin Michael Connolly

One of the forums that I read had a thread about how Kevin took at trip around the world, to different countries to photograph people's reactions (or stares) to him riding on a skateboard. The thing is, Kevin has no legs. He wrote a book and got it published so I decided to check it out.

It is like a life's story, but Kevin is still young. He's just 23, but there were a lot of hardships for a boy to go through with no legs. The book goes into everything about how many pants he went through just scooting around to when he won 2nd place in the Winter X games for skiing. It's a very uplifting book. For as much as Kevin is doing with his life, makes me want to go out and reach more goals. I highly recommend this book to anyone. It's a quick read. Short and sweet. 5 stars

#0025A Level 26: Dark Origins - Anthony E. Zuiker

This is my first horror book of the year. Well, this is the first horror book that I actually got through the whole way. Right away you can tell that it wasn't scary. It's hard for me to start about this book because I am really torn.

This is the first "digi-novel" Every couple of chapters there is a 3 minute film that is suppose to enhance the novel more. I really like the idea of the films. The only downside is you cannot read this book anywhere. You have to have a computer and internet connection ready.

There are 25 levels of serial killers; meet level 26. This criminal has been killing for over 20 years and has killed over 50 people. The perfect person to help solve this case is Steve Dark. He is the only person who has come close to catching "Sqweegle", what the police call him. But after Sqweegel sees how close Dark gets he kills his entire foster family.

Zuiker is the writer of the television show CSI so I was expecting something well written and I was expecting the films to be good as well. I was wrong. It felt like the novel was going for the shock factor. The films maybe added some disturbing images, but then you could have read the entire book and not even looked at the films. Some of the films had nothing to do with the book. On the upside, it did keep my attention and it kept me trying to figure out all of the questions I had. Then, the ending just made the book rotten. It was a huge set up for the second book. It should have ended. If you do read it and want an ending, don't read the epilogue. The Epilogue felt dumb. It was out of no where and I don't really see how it could even happen. Bah! 2.5 stars

#0024A Coraline - Neil Gaiman

I saw the movie about a month ago and decided to read it. I'm all for reading books before the movie, but I didn't know about the book until afterwords, sadly. I absolutely loved the illustrations so big props to Dave McKean.

Coraline is a quick read about a little girl who is not happy with how her life is. Her parents always seem to be busy and there is nothing to do around the house. One day she comes across a small door in one room of the house. She opens it and behind the door is just a brick wall. Later, she decides to open the door again when her family isn't around. The door leads to another house which is the same as her house, with an other mother and an other father who says they have been waiting for her for a long time and wants her to live with them forever. Everything seems almost completely the same except that her other parents have shiny, black buttons for eyes. Of course you can see where this is going. Her other mother is evil and won't let Coraline go back home, but she has a few ideas that might help her.

I hate to compare things with the movie. Usually if I see the movie first I like the movie better and vice versa. The movie shows more color than my imagination could have taken me, plus there is another character that the movie had which the book didn't. I really liked both sides of the story and I completely recommend it. Very cute. 4 stars

#0023A The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

Before reading this book, I got a lot of mixed reviews. The movie I heard was horrible. Several people told me that they got really confused, or they drug through the whole book slowly. Well it did take me a while to read, but I haven't been making myself read lately.

I can see when people said that they got really confused. The book is written by which the particular event happen on different dates. If you look at the book as a whole, it is mostly going through Clare's (The main character's main squeeze) life chronologically. Henry might go back and forth through time, but everything is playing out correctly as Clare grows up. If you do end up reading this book, don't think about the dates too much. I really did not have trouble with this book at all.

It was a cute love story. Niffenegger does a good job describing every little detail that a character is doing/experiencing. Sometimes almost too detailed. For example, you would usually read "Clare goes into the kitchen and comes back with a glass of milk" Niffenegger would write "Clare walks slowly into the kitchen by pushing the door open. She walks over to the counter and grabs a glass from the right cabinet beside the sink. She then opens the refrigerator, takes out the milk carton and opens the carton. She pours the milk carefully into the glass. Clare walks back out of the kitchen into the living room" No wonder this book is over 500 pages long.

I knew for a fact that this would be a sad story, but it didn't turn out how I thought it was, and it was only bittersweet, in my opinion. Some things in the book weren't real even for this particular story (and she did put in a small part of 9/11/01) , but over all I enjoyed myself. 3.5 stars

#0022A The Magicians - Lev Grossman

I was quite disappointed with this book. I was told that this book was an older version of Harry Potter. Boy doesn't know he's a magician, boy gets accepted into a magic school, blah blah blah. He was in school for about one third of the book. (Not to mention this particular book was split up into 4 parts within the book)

The Magicians did have a few good fighting scenes, but the story jumped around a lot and the transitions were not smooth. A lot of things didn't really need to be in the story. The only way I could see this getting better is if the 4 parts of the book were split up into 4 different books and the 2-4 were expanded more, but adding more excitement instead of people just sitting around talking and drinking. Eh, the book just wasn't for me. 2 stars

#0021A Weight of Silence - Heather Gudenkauf

Bravo to Heather Gudenkauf for a great first novel! I absolutely loved this book. It had me hooked at the beginning and would not let go. I first thought that this book would be a mystery. Just by reading the back, you would think so, but this book is shelved in the fiction section. It really feels like a dark better Jodi Picoult book.

Every chapter in this book tells the story through the eyes of a different character. (Just like As I Lay Dying -Faulkner) Although it does not reenacted what has happened several times. You only get the story once. In reading the book this way make some things unknown and particular things know to the reader that other characters don't know about. So, either way it's a surprise. I feel like now, I'm not making sense.

The main character is a little girl who turns mute after a horrible accident. She doesn't grow up in the best of homes, considering her father is a total drunk, and her mom decides to stay in that unhealthy relationship. She befriends a girl that stands up for her one day at school and they become best friends ever since. Her friend turns into her voice. One morning, both mothers wake up to both of little girls missing and there are footprints outside one of the houses. An investigations goes on that brings out awkward embarrassing family secrets when all they want to do is to go out and look for the girls in the woods. 5 stars

#0035: Minor Characters, A Beat Memoir, by Joyce Johnson

Hooray for free books! This one was found at the recycling center in town.
Personal stories are always interesting to read. Personal stories within a generation that produced so much are even better. This is one such memoir. Joyce Johnson talks about life from pre-adolescence through her mid twenties and a cast of characters known to us today as the "beats". Jack Kerouac coined this phrase, claiming that the term came from the word "beatific".
Johnson dated Kerouac for a year and a half, and much of this book revolves around their relationship. It seemed to me that Johnson, nee Glassman, tried very much to fit in with this group and be independent, but so much depended on Jack. It was hard for me to pick out the things she did for herself, and the things she did for or because of him. Perhaps there was an even mix of the two, but I read it as very dependent.
That would be my one qualm with this memoir, but who am I to judge someone else's life? Times for women have changed drastically since then, and I was reading with eyes that could never comprehend how her life felt. I'm glad she shared it with me and fellow readers. I would recommend it for a quick read, but don't expect any amount of "beat-style" language.
3.5 stars
* A note on the cover used here: this is not the same edition I read. I try to be consistant in that. Online, I could not find any pictures of the editon I have. Everything I saw had Kerouac plastered all over it, which I feel is purely a marketing device. It's a little bit telling to me that the title is Minor Characters and the cover I'm posting makes it seem like Jack is a main character, pushing Joyce Johnson to the side. Do not be fooled. This is by Joyce, about Joyce.

#0034K: The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan

I'm taking more and more of a liking to science reads these days. I found The Demon Haunted World in Goodwill, and planned on getting to it "eventually". Then, a friend of a friend began talking about it, and I decided to dive in. He had said that it was a good "bathroom book" as each chapter can stand on it's own. Indeed, they can, but reading it all together did no harm. I feel like the underlying subject was the importance of skepticism. Sagan repeated this time and time again. I don't suppose that skepticism is something many of us think about as integral, but after reading this, I concur. Skeptics are needed to challenge our ideas and beliefs so that something can be proven. In the end, someone will be right and someone will be wrong-- but even the person on the winning end will need to be challenged in the future, and that's okay.
I was impressed with Sagan's writing style. It was a bit intimidating to open a book from a man with such an intellect, but he was able to speak clearly about science to a non-science audience, which is much appreciated. A lot can get lost or misunderstood when things are placed in purely technical terms. I will be reading Sagan again.
4.333 stars

#0033K: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

I'm all about some Russian literature. I had read some short stories by Solzhenitsyn last school year, and found this book at the paperback exchange in Connecticut. He is well-known for this novel, as well as his other writings about gulags/work camps in the Soviet Union. The title gives a pretty good idea what the book is about. Ivan Denisovich is a prisoner in one such camp, and has been there for years. When we meet him, he is feeling ill, and tries desperately to get a doctor's order to keep him in bed all day. Unfortunately, he gets to the clinic too late and has to report to his unit for work detail anyway. Throughout the day, we see that men were made into work-horses and learn about the danger present in other prisoners. We learn a few facts about Ivan's personal life-- he has a wife and daughter, and some of his inner feelings about his personal positon.
In general, the book feels very grey, but I think it's also uplifting.
4.75 stars.

#0020 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - J K Rowling

Do I really have to review this book? This is the second time I've read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I just read it so I could remember what happened before watching the movie. I really have more to say about the movie, but since this is not a movie blog I won't bother. I just have to say that I really like Harry Potter and this book, like the rest, was amazing. Even reading it for the second time was just as good as the first. Actually, come to think of it, it was better because I understood more and got a grasp on things that I missed while reading it for the first time. I really like how they really dabble into Tom Riddle's life as a child and even his parents. It really explains how he came to be. 5 stars

#0032K: Flowers of Evil, a selection by Charles Baudelaire

This is another bi-lingual poetry book.
Baudelaire is considered to be the greatest French poet of the 19th century and the first truly modern poet. Flowers of Evil had a hard time being published when it was first written as it was considered highly obscene. In August of 1857 he was put on trial for the obscenity present in Flowers of Evil, with the end result being the banishment of six poems.
You might be wondering what was so obscene. In general, this is a dark collection. It is also very sensual. Some of his poetry about women is just so quietly beautiful. Then, there are a few poems that speak of Satan and evil in general that feel a bit uncomfortable. In reading, I can understand the unrest in 1857 and very clearly understand why he is called the first truly modern poet.
This edition is fascinating to me in that the translations are not all done by the same person. Matter of fact, Aldous Huxley shows up in here, with the translation for "Lesbians".
I will be reading this again. I know that this copy will be well worn and well loved by the time I am done with it. 5 stars, yet again.

#0031K: Late and Posthumous Poems by Pablo Neruda

Ah, Neruda. We've been acquainted for years, but this is the first collection of his poetry I've read through. This was the bi-lingual edition, so I was able to marvel at the original as well as the translated work.
As anyone on the east coast of the United States knows this summer, rain has not been in short supply. This turned Late and Posthumous Poems into my rainy day book. In times that the world was pouring all over, I'd grab this book, light some candles, open my windows and snuggle into a chair and read. I highly recommend this tactic, by the way. I feel like it was a natural venue to explore Neruda in.
Another treat in this book is that it was borrowed. Early on, I noticed a few dog-eared pages and marks, so I asked if I could make some, too. I think it's always interesting to look at other people's notes or favorite passages and contemplate what they felt. As such, I took my time reading the poetry, digesting it, and letting it fill my insides. (& if the person I borrowed it from ever reads this, look on page 193)
There are selections in here from a few books Neruda had published, and a few books that I need to get. Neruda was gifted in his passion, and he understood. He understood his place, though lamenting it at times; understood his world, understood people, nature... it's all in his poetry.
He is easy to read and easy to connect with. No matter what your experience or relationship is with poetry as a whole, you should read Neruda anyway. 5 stars.

#0030K: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe

This book had been sitting on my shelf for over 5 years, unread. I had borrowed it from a teacher's collection, and borrow turned into "inherit".
Tom Wolfe is a powerful linguist, I feel. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test explores the world of Ken Kesey (author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) and the Merry Pranksters in a time before LSD was illegal in the United States. I say that Wolfe's grasp on language is so great because he was able to write objectively in the style of the Pranksters. This narrative is broken up by short bursts of pseudo-beat poetry as well as flow-of-conscious writings. It's really quite impressive.
I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the acid scene of the 1960s. It's an important work chronicaling the rise of acid and the king-like state Kesey held over everything. This review is horribly short, which I apologize for, but the book really just needs to be read. 5 stars.

#0029K: Like Shaking Hands With God by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and Lee Stringer

Again I mention that Vonnegut has been a favorite author of mine for quite some time. Naturally, when I saw this title in the book store, I grabbed it immediately.
Like Shaking Hands With God is a transcript of some discussions Vonnegut and Stringer had- one in a more public forum and one at a lunch together. It was interesting to see their views and their speaking patterns. I had never heard of Lee Stringer before this, and now I'd like to read one of his books. He apparently had been homeless before his first novel, which was about his experiences. Vonnegut said that Stringer is proof that writers are born, not made. He also felt like Stringer was a much better writer than himself. Still, that did not stop Vonnegut from interrupting Stringer constantly. It seemed a little overbearing and intimidating to me, but perhaps much is lost in the lack of intonation of written language.
Before I began reading, I expected something along the lines of A Man Without a Country by Vonnegut. I thought that the world's deepest darkest mysteries would be solved by these two men in their discussions. In all honestly, there didn't seem to be much. Both men sounded rather put on the spot, which I'm sure they were, but I personally found fewer gems than I had hoped.
It all goes to prove, I think, that these men are indeed human. 3 stars.

#0019A The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery

It really took me forever to read this book. Another NYTimes best seller and yet I wonder why I was on there. Although I can see why people would like it, I just did not. The synopsis sounded great.

A fifty-something year old concierge is one protagonist. She dumbs herself down because someone with her status should not be intelligent. The second protagonist is a twelve year old genius who has figured out how life truly is for most adults and has decided to commit suicide on her 13th birthday.

So, basically the book has the two characters bloom in personality and show how they are on the inside, outside. It really sounded like a good book to me. One thing that really bothered me was the two characters did not meet until like the last 100 pages. The fifty year old's chapters I could easily understand and follow, while the 12 year old's chapters were more difficult for me to get. I figured out how the book would end after a couple of chapters in. So, it was no surprise and it made me more depressed. Life should not have turned out that way for them. But all books cannot be cheerful. 3 stars.

#0028K: Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Vonnegut is a favorite author of mine. Out of the books I own of his, Mother Night is the only one that I'd only read once. This would be the second time- 2009's first re-read, too!
This second time through was probably much like the first. I didn't remember terribly much of it. I've not seen the movie yet, either.
Mother Night is about an American in Germany during WWII. He was a writer and ended up being recruited as an American spy. He was to write and relay Nazi propaganda through coded radio broadcasts. The code was a series of stutters and coughs that was presented to him by persons unknown. As such, he had no idea the kind of information he was giving to the Americans.
After the war ended, he lived a quiet life, for the most part. Those who knew his name either loved or hated him. During the course of this story, Jerusalem begins looking for him to put him to trial. This sparks a series of meetings with new folks and a continuance of the lie he was living while he was a Nazi.
The style of this novel is somewhat unlike other Vonnegut novels, but still retains his charm. It's more serious and less bumbling, but still heart-wrenching. Vonnegut himself was a survivor of the attacks on Dresden, so much of his own experience is felt through his texts. I'd like to think that writing was a sort of catharsis for him, but one can never be sure. All I know is, "he's in Heaven now." 4.5 stars

#0027K: How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers

Alyse and I both read and reviewed another title by Eggers, You Shall Know Our Velocity! and had both enjoyed it greatly. The same friend who lent me that book to read dropped off How We Are Hungry a few nights ago. It is a collection of short stories, ranging from about a page long to twenty pages in length.
The subject matter varies greatly, as does the writing style. First person, second person, and third person narratives are all employed. One first "person" is actually told by a dog in "After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned".
Eggers is addicting. I've only read two book-style works of his, but I was unable to put either one down until the end. His words really shine. In How We Are Hungry, one short story brings back Hand and Pilar, two characters from YSKOV! and briefly mentions the main character as well. I appreciate the continuation. 4 stars

#0026K: The Opoponax by Monique Wittig

This novel is a French translation. I came across it at a free market, and it seemed promising. One of the quotes on the back of the book reads "It is a remarkable and very important book because it is governed by a single iron rule: that is, to use nothing but pure description conveyed by purely objective language. A masterpiece."- Marguerite Duras
And indeed, that's precisely how the book is written. I feel that it enables the reader to have a very intimate relationship with the story. There is a main character, but the prose switches easily between third-person and second-person narrative. Second-person narrative is extremely rare, unless you're reading a choose-your-own sort of story.
There are no paragraphs in the novel, and only 4 different sections continuing the same story. It rapidly takes you through life as a toddler up through high school (would be my guess, anyway...). I suggest it mainly for the experience of reading such a unique book. 3.5 stars

#0025K: Flow my Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick

Jason Taverner does not exist. Not in any legal files, anyway.
We are introduced to Taverner as a television celebrity with over thirty million viewers. That is, until he wakes up in a parallel universe where nobody knows who he is. He is suddenly an unperson. The rest of the story follows him as he tries to figure out where his identity went. None of his old friends or coworkers recognize him or his name. He has no ID cards, there is no record he was even born.
Philip K. Dick explores the metaphysical in this futuristic novel. Futuristic is an interesting term to use, as the year we start in is 1988 and the society we are introduced to is very, very "advanced". I put that in quotes since there is little mention of technology, but the world is a very different place (named Terra, in fact) and we have contact with Mars. Neat!
Before April, I hadn't explored the realm of science fiction, and I'm finding a slight interest in novels that lean that way. I suppose I'm just a sucker for good writing and Dick makes excellent use of the English language. No wonder it won a Hugo award! I was able to devour all 233 pages of this book within a day, with slight regret that I didn't take longer to let it all soak in. I feel like it was a good chaser to the Tom Robbins book I just finished off, though. Heck, I'd even say that their writing styles are more closely linked than Robbins' and Vonnegut's!
Enough babbling. I will surely be reading more Philip K. Dick, and I hope you pick up some of his works as well. 5 stars

#0018A Twilight - Stephanie Meyers

Yikes. I know that I'm going to get a lot of crap from this, but whatever. It helps with my goal of 1000 books.

A lot of people are embarrassed to say that they read this book, and don't even think about liking this teenie bop novel, but yes most do. Basically I was in the mood for a love story, that was clean, and it was the only one lying around in my place.

The writing however is quite easy to read. I believe the reason why girls like it so much is because Edward treats Bella the way every girl wants to be treated. Plus, there is so much tension in the book you don't want to put it down. I have not read Stephanie Meyer's The Host, but from what I've heard, her writing is the exact same as the Twilight Saga. But she is a first time author by accident.
Even though I know people will make fun of me, this is a good book. Mentally, no, it's not, but for a quick mindless read, it's quite good. 4.5 stars

#0024K: The Poetics of Music by Igor Stravinsky

I am a big fan of Stravinsky. I nerd out over his music all the time (with the scores, when I have access), and I've even made a stencil of the man's portrait. Imagine my elation when I found The Poetics of Music at a book store in Texas for $4. Beautiful.
Back in March I learned that Stravinsky was friends with Dylan Thomas (a favorite poet of mine) and they were set on creating an opera together. Thomas' untimely death prevented that, however. Stravinsky enjoyed the company of Picasso as a contemporary, and as such Picasso was considered for set design for an opera by Stravinsky. The man had connections. His friends were vast and wonderful, and my heart flutters a bit to think of such minds coming together.
The Poetics of Music is a transcript of a series of lectures Stravinsky did. There are 6 lessons, each focusing on a different faculty of music. By the end of the lessons, one comes to realize the unifying features inherent in all humans, in all music, and perhaps with the Superior Being.
5 stars.

#0023K: Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins

This book arrived at my door with my friend in it's hand. Or something to that effect. Still Life was my first venture into the world of Tom Robbins, and I have to say I enjoyed it. His writing style reminded me of a slightly more polished, slightly vulgar Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. That is to say, certain things were uncomfortable, but fluent enough to be amusing rather than offensive... though I feel he lacks the sort of bumbling charm that Vonnegut seems to keep in his pockets.
Still Life was nearly a fractured fairytale. Our main character happens to be a princess with a pet frog. She falls in love with a self-proclaimed outlaw who's got a passion for making things go "boom boom". And on and on, in that fashion for approximately 277 pages.
The description on the book cover calls it "sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes." That sentence is likely the first thing you'll read from the tangible object of the book (aside from the title, of course), the first thing you'll forget about it, and the first thing to make sense once you've finished.
I find little use in trying to describe the narrative, as I think it should just be read, but let me give another thumbs up to the word play employed by Robbins. His wit is rather charming. At the moment, I feel like I'm making this novel out to be something less-than-desirable. Disregard any such notion. 4.5 stars

#0022K: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

Driving from Connecticut down to North Carolina in the beginning of may, I heard an interview with Michael Pollan on the radio, which I found erudite and most engaging. Then, when I was in line to purchase books for the first session of summer school, I saw that it was 15% off and decided to purchase.
This book opens up a whole world of things we as comsumers hardly think about. The three main lessons are Eat food. Mostly plants. Not a lot. Seems like common sense, yeah? But then, before reading this, I felt like I was a healthy eater. While reading this, I was condemning myself for things that I had bought. The whole food industry is messed up and needs a resurfacing. I highly recommend this book to those who are health conscious and/or curious about the evolutionary history of food as a culture. We have things all wrong, and it is just a matter of time before we start moving in the right direction (which may be back in time!). 5 stars.

#0021K: The Meaning of Everything by Simon Winchester

I got this book waaaay back in September and just got around to reading it in the past month or so. It's about a subject I'm very interested in0 lexicography. More specifically, it was on the process of the conception, creation, and eventual publication of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Winchester writes in a most befitting style, making excellent use of his evident intellect and wide vocabulary, which I greatly appreciated. There's a certain charm to reading about a dictionary and needing a dictionary to further clarify some of the words used. I've got a list next to me as I write of words I learned thanks to The Meaning of Everything.
Winchester is also the author of another book on the OED titled The Professor and The Madman, which is not currently in my possession. I'd given it to my dad for Christmas a few years ago, and I hope to get my hands on it when he's done. The two men referenced by the title were discussed briefly in The Meaning of Everything.
Being a word nerd and hopeful future lexicographer, I give this 5 stars.

#0017A Firefly Lane - Kristen Hannah

Another book from the NYTimes Best Seller List. I try to go between that and by books that someone suggests. This is because I want to get to read things that I would not normally read. I think I should stick to things that I like.

Firefly Lane is about a thirty year long friendship between an over protected shy girl and a beautiful, can't wait to grow up wild child. This book just goes throughout their lives from the 70s to the 2000s. It's really hard trying to explain this book. One of the girls' mom is a druggie and keeps leaving her with her grandma and she's just kind of dumb. Some of the things that she does to her best friend is just awful.

It's good book if you like those "friendship" books. I don't necessarily like them, but it was okay. 3 stars.

#0020K: High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

Let me start by saying that I started this book because I wanted something sort of mindless that could be read in a day. I've had this book for awhile, and felt like I should have read it long ago. Truth be told, I probably shouldn't have read it at all & I certainly hope the movie was better.
Hornby's writing style is... nothing special. Easy enough to read, but easy enough to skim as well. The page layout even left something to be desired. There was a lot of empty space, possibly to make the book seem longer.
The story line was also nothing too great. Typical almost-middle-aged dude in a dead end job trying to make sense of love and previous romances. The only reason I finished this novel was because I was already 200 pages in.
2 stars. And that's being generous.

#0019K: The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

This book has been on my "to read" list for about a year now. It was much funnier than I anticipated and quite a pleasure to read. This was my second novel by Bulgakov, and I must say that his writing style is very easy-going, unlike the density found in most Russian novels.
The premise of The Master and Margarita centers around the devil coming to Moscow and stirring things up with his compatriots, one of which is a black cat named Behemoth. The devil, Woland, turns out to be a world-class prankster and sends many of the characters to the mental institution thanks to his tricks. The Master is a character that is met inside of the institution & Margarita is his former and future lover.
Intertwined in the main story is a story about Pontius Pilate. I can't really say much about that other than it is quite moving and worth the read.
4.33333 stars. I'll need to read this a few times. I have a feeling it will mean more and more each time. Highly recommnded.

#0016A The Chronicles of Shyra: The Stone of Time - Joe Naff

I haven't read a really fantasy book in awhile. I had to get used to different languages and reading about dragons on a normal basis. Not that that's bad at all. You always have to get into a different frame of mind when you read any fantasy or science fiction book.

Shyra is a young princess of Sorenia who on her birthday sets out on a coming of age adventure; which is really riding in a carriage to the next town of Breman. That is not an adventure at all. Little did Shyra know that their vacation...I mean "adventure" gets inturrupted by an army of analets that take her and her best friend Gaiden to Sorenia's enemy castle of Desia. The book follows Shyra and her friends as they are off to find the Desa stone that can control time itself and hopefully bring peace to the world of Darium.

I feel like I'm not explaining this book well. So much happens on each page. The book held my attention well and there is plenty of action in each chapter, but just a little predictable. Maybe I just figure stuff out well. 3.5 stars

#0015A The Savior - Eugene Drucker

Here's another book that Krissy and I have both read. Ditto.
3.5 stars

#0018K: Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

I'm just going to put this picture up again and not say too much since Alyse just covered this novel. I thought it was interesting to read this in sequence with Ender's game. Ender is still a main character, but it takes place 3,000 later. Through the wonder of space/time travel, Ender is only 35 years old at this point. That's over 20 years worth of character development missing. I appreciate the continuity, though. Ender chaged a lot, but it wasn't outside of the realm of his personality. I was able to fill in the gaps and draw my own conclusions, which probably added to my relationship with this novel. 3.5 stars, I think, is my final verdict.

#0014A Riding Rockets - Mike Mullane

Amazing. Just amazing. This book had me literally out loud and I normally don't when I'm reading a book. I might chuckle, but never laugh out loud.

I said at in my introduction of this blog that I am not really into non-fiction. Guess what this book is? Nonfiction. One of my friends suggested this book awhile back and it seemed interesting enough just by the front cover. Did I mention is was amazing?

Mike Mullane is a retired astronaut. In this book he goes into every detail (it seems) about his twelve years working and flying for NASA. The stories are hilarious and quite shocking. He goes into waiting on his first flight into space, to watching his fellow astronauts/friends die on missions, to more outrageous stories. He talks about everything there is to becoming/being a true astronaut. Some things you really don't want to know about, but it's mostly part of his sense of humor. This book will have you laughing and in tears. I loved it, loved it, loved it.

OMG 5 stars

#0017K: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

I said that I would expand my reading and include some science fiction, and I've made good on that promise. Alyse gave me Ender's Game to read while I was in Texas. It was a much easier read than I was anticipating, and I got through most of it on the plane ride.
The main character (Ender) is met when he is only 6 years old. It's hard to keep the age in your mind while reading. The kids in this novel are all so intelligent and mature, which is why they're in the Battle School with Ender. I feel like this book is just as political as it is adventurous. Ender is a "Third", or third child of a family. The Earth has apparently been overpopulated, and Thirds are looked down upon. Ender's brother and sister are also included in the novel, and they play the political roles.
Like I mentioned, there is a lot of adventure throughout this novel. There weren't any slow parts, and I never wanted to stop reading. I probably could have gotten through it in one sitting if I didn't have to get off the airplane!
All in all, I think I give this 4 stars. It still isn't my favorite genre, and I'm not sure I would read it over and over, but I am glad I read through at least once. Give it a shot if you want a good story.

#0016K: The Savior by Eugene Drucker

I found this novel on a stroll through Borders Books. After reading the preview on the back cover, I was initially intrigued because it is written by an accomplished violinist.
It was about a violinist at the start of World War II. His job was to play in the hospitals for wounded German soldiers. One day, he was whisked away to play for an experimental group of prisoners at a prison camp. There is a lot of psychological warfare within the main character's conscience. Before the war, his best friend and his girlfriend were both Jewish, a fact he now had to hide away to secure his own safety. While in the prison camp, the Kommandant messes with him even more. Let me tell you, the last 40 pages or so get crazy. I don't want to ruin it, but man. I couldn't put the book down.
I'll say this as well: I completely agree with the reviews on the back cover. They make mention of Drucker's language in relation to music. As a violinist writing about his trade, there is a lot of passion in his words about the pieces mentioned in the novel, as well as an unmatched eloquence in the descriptions. The music's place in the experiment the book is based on is also quite interesting to think about. After killing the experimental group on the inside, the Kommandant wanted to see if they could be brought back to life by music.
As a musician myself, I have felt and seen it done. There is certainly a magic to it. That being said, I would strongly recommend this to people with a musical background, but it would be a great read for anyone. 4 stars.

*another interesting note is that the main character is based on the author's father, his experiences, and some of his friends. This is a fact that isn't revealed until the very end.

#0013A The Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card

The first time I tried to read this book, I got so confused that I just stopped after the first couple chapters. My problem was that I hated reading the introductions and prologues. So, I did it right this time and read everything and boy did that help.

Andrew Wiggin is the speaker of the dead. He is asked to speak at a funeral on behalf of a girls father figure who was killed by the other alien race called the "Piggies" By the time he gets to her planet, it is 22 years later and she doesn't want him there anymore. He becomes involved with her family and trying to save the piggies.

The book is way better than how I can describe it. Not to mention, that you don't have to read Ender's Game to know what is going on in The Speaker for the Dead" It can be read as a solo book as well.

It really didn't take me 17 days to read this book. I started one book and my work had to do inventory so I had to return it before I finished it. And I was only 100 pages before the end of the 400 page book. Boo for that, yay for Ender! 4 1/2 stars

#0015K: Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

I picked up this book after reading a little bit about it. To my understanding, it was about an Iranian teacher who asked a select group of students to come to her home once a week to read banned literature and discuss it.
It goes beyond that by so much. The farther I got into the book, I realized how important it is. The subtitle is A Memoir in Books and various authors and their works are mentioned throughout to help shape Nafisi's memoir. It was a dense read, but I feel like it really spoke volumes on being a woman, literature's place in society, politics, and dreams.
Nafisi was an English teacher at the University of Tehran and the novels she chose for her class to read were quite controversial. Many students would judge a book by the character's personalities, and how well they followed along with being a good Muslim. The Great Gatsby caused a bit of a fuss, so she had her students put the book on trial.

Honestly, there is so much I want say about Reading Lolita in Tehran. I want to say much more, but I don't feel like my words would do it justice. I might come back at another time to try and do a better job for this review. This needs to be read in schools and read often. Although it wasn't what I was expecting it to be, I am quite floored by it. 5 stars.

Read it. Read it. Read it.

An Important Question

This is something that Alyse and I have yet to discuss, but I feel that it's important to our goal to define things a little more. I'm just ruminating here so I remember to ask, or for input from whoever is reading.

Should books of collected poetry count towards the 1000? I am a big poetry nerd and have plenty of poetry books that I have yet to dive into. Does our definition of "1000 books" mean "1000 works in prose" or can it be extended? Is there any reason to see poetry collections as cheating? Many of them can be read in a couple of hours, but they need to be appreciated just the same.

Do we even need a stipulation for this? Lend me your ideas, folks. Peace.

K

#0012A The Reader - Bernhard Schlink

I had no idea what this book was about. I've never seen the movie and probably will not now. I picked it up because of the NY Times Best Seller List. I mean, it cannot be bad if everyone is buying it. I really beg to differ.
*Spoilers*
One third of the book is about a FIFTEEN year old boy who because a 35 year old's lover. That's right, lover. I really could have just put it down then. I'm not one to reading about things like that, but I'm really big on finishing books I have started unless they were just awful by the middle. Thank goodness, it did not go into real detail about things. The woman has the boy read to her. And then there's a trial which I had a hard time following. The woman went to jail and when the boy grew up he realized that she was illiterate, so he sent her tapes of him reading books. She killed herself in the end, right before she got out of jail and that was the whole story.

Nothing happened in the book. It took me too long to read because I was confused through the trial and ending was abrupt and I really had mixed feelings by that time. I did not really like the book. I mean, I can see why it was made into a movie and got good reviews and what have you. It was stationed during the Nazi reign and she was a guard at a concentration camp. I don't think that should be the only reason why something is popular. Really, they did not go into much about it. The book did not go much into anything. Just my opinion. 2 stars

#0011A Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen

I was kind of hesitant to start reading this book. Usually when I hear something is amazing and it only took one day to read because they could not put it down, I sometimes find it not good at all. BUT this was the not the case for this book. Krissy was dead on and I'm really glad she recommended it.

A ninety, or wait...is it ninety-three, year old man retells the story of his life as a young college student. After his parents die he runs out during his veterinary exams and jumps on a train, only to realize this train is carrying a circus to their next stop. The book goes through his struggles of fitting in, falling in love, and teaching a "dumb" elephant tricks.

This book really was great and it ended the way it should have. I really have a problem with most endings in books and I was just overwhelmed with how it played out, that I could have cried. 5 stars

#0010A Sundays At Tiffany's - James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

What a quick read. I read half the book in an hour and I am a slow reader. There were barely any words on a page, not to say that that makes it bad. It was a cute story of a child who had an imaginary friend named Micheal. By age nine the Micheal has to leave her. Usually the children forget the imaginary friend almost instantly, but of course there would not be a story if the main character forgot her special friend. She grew up and then met Michael and they fall in love. How can she remember Micheal and is he real?

To be honest, after I finished reading this book, I started to think about the story itself. It is really creepy that Micheal, who is 35 falls in love with his friend who is a child many years later. I don't know it's just weird to me, however, I enjoyed it very much. I'm a sucker for romance if it's not sleazy. 3.5 stars

#0009A In the Woods - Tana French

I was never a mystery fan. I just did not get into Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys at the right time. Since I am trying to be open minded about books in this 1,000 book before the end of my life, I seriously just picked up the first one that caught my eye.

Typical mystery with detectives in the book, but there were more twists and excitement than what I originally thought. The main character, when he was younger, was playing in the woods with his two best friends. He never came home for dinner so his mother sent out the police and they found him clinging on to a tree for dear life with someone else's blood in his shoes and he does not remember a thing. Jump back to present time. Another girl was found murdered in the same woods. Does this crime relate to the disappearance of his two friends from so long ago?

Mysteries really are not that bad from what I could remember. I just hope they are not all about detectives because that would get a little boring, but for me to throw a mystery into my broad range every once in awhile will not be as bad as I thought. 3.5 stars

#0008A Handle with Care - Jodi Picoult

The only reason why I picked up this book was because I had to sell them. I'm not a big fan of authors that just push out books a couple of times a year. Most of them are all the same or not very good, but this was my first Jodi Picoult book so I gave it a try.

The mother had a baby with OI (which is the brittle bone disease). They are very tight with their money, but never seem to have enough when it comes to taking care of her youngest daughter. One Disney trip, the little girl fell and broke her leg and the parents were sent to jail because they forgot the doctor's note on how the girl has OI. They go to a lawyer to sue the police, but the police were just doing their job and they had no case. The lawyer reads into the family deeper and lets them know that they technically could sue the OBGYN for "wrongful birth" because they did not find out early on that her daughter had the disease. Basically it meant that if they would have found out sooner then they would have had an abortion. Oh, not to mention that the OBGYN is the mother's best friend.

The book as an entirety was good. But as for me, the ending can really make it or break it. The ending was out of nowhere and if Jodi really wanted that to happen in the book, I think, in my opinion, that it should have happened in the middle of the book instead of letting it happen at the end and make it come out of left field. 3 stars

#0007A You Shall Know Our Velocity - David Eggers

I totally agree with Krissy on this book. Although I think it took me a little bit longer to read than she did. David's writing style is really interesting and it took me awhile to get used to reading it. Really there is not a lot to this book, but it was great.

Two boys have all this money and go around the world, in just a week and give it away. They try different ways of giving people their money. They don't necessarily want the people to know it was them, but they end up sticking it to doors in envelopes or burying it and making a treasure map for kids to find. Why do they have that amount of cash to begin with at such a young age? And why does one of them look like he's been in a horrible accident? 4 stars

#0006A The Shack - William Young

A family goes camping on vacation and their young daughter gets kidnapped and murdered in a shack. Four years later the father, whose faith is going down hill, gets a letter in the mail from God. He wants the father to meet Him at the Shack where his daughter was killed. The main character thinks it's absolutely ridiculous, but goes anyway. God turns out to be an African American woman, Jesus is there as a very ugly Jew, and the Holy Spirit is an Asian woman. During his time there they discuss different points of the father's life and helps him come to understand and accept his daughter's death.

This book took me awhile to read. Within each chapter I had to stop and think about what was going on and what these views were. The really neat part is that the author, William, wrote this book because of what happened to his friend. Even though this book is in the fiction section, his friend believes everything really happened. I loved it. 5 stars

#0005A The Seventh Son - Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors to this day. I started out reading Ender's Game and was hooked ever since. I picked up Seventh Son to try out his other book series, Alvin Maker. Alvin Miller is a special boy with a unreal power that he is not completely aware of. He lives in the time of what the American frontier would be like with a little bit of magic. This book just goes through his childhood and lets the reader know how he learned of his power and his becoming of the Maker. 4 stars

#0004A The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

My mom asked me to buy this book for her and read it before I gave it to her. Thanks, Mom. This book was so heartfelt and amazing. I absolutely loved it.

Randy Pausch was a computer science professor. He found out that he only had three months to live, so, what does a man do in his last few months of life? He gives his last lecture. I thought I would be bawling my eyes out by the end of this book, but it really is uplifting. He goes through his life as he was younger, a college student, a married man, and a father and he tells different aspiring tales of how he made his life great even though his life is short. In the end, he gave his last lecture, not for his university or students, he did it for his children. 5 stars

#0003A Dead Until Dark - Charlene Harris

I confess. I read the Twilight series and I enjoyed them. So, craving a new vampire series I checked Dead Until Dark out.

A girl, who has a lot of bad luck, meets and falls in love with a vampire. During the story a lot of people that she knows dies and of course everyone blames the vampires that are living in the town. *spoiler* Elvis was brought into the book near the end and it ruined the book for me. I mean the book, in my opinion, really does not deserve all the hype it has been getting, but that just pushed it over the edge for me. I did keep my attention, but i really would not recommend it. My friends do recommend the HBO series. But alas, 2 stars