Book: Innocence

Title: Innocence
Author: Kathleen Tessaro
Thoughts: This is a reread. This book is inspiring and upsetting in equal parts, I think, at least for me. I, too, am plagued by the feeling of being a failure because I'm no longer following the path I thought I would be following. I'd like to believe, like this story, there's hope in the end, and that even though plans may change we are always accomplishing something of worth.

It's a good book. I like all of Tessaro's work.

2009 (4 books)

Four books in four days, so far.

1. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

2. Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip

3. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

4. Specials by Scott Westerfeld

I'll get back to doing little reviews later.

Last of the 2008 books

Last of 2008's books:

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

I think that's it.  Somewhere in the vicinity of 65-70 in one year?  Not too shabby.  Next year I'll go for a clean 100.

more books

I wasn't really planning on keeping up with this, but I promised myself one year of keeping track.  I think I've probably forgotten some in the past two months.  Oh well.

1. Beauty by Robin McKinley

2. Chalice by Robin McKinley

3. The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia A. McKillip

4. Little White Lies by Gemma Townley

5. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walters

6. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

7. Twilight by Stephenie Meyers

8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyers

9. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyers

10. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyers

11. Adultery by Richard B. Wright

Book: The Secret

Title: The Secret

Author: Rhonda Byrne

Thoughts: Well, I've read this before and I will read it again.  Because even though I sometimes feel glum, it's amazing how much a little positive thinking can turn the tables.  Anything that makes me feel so good is FINE BY ME!

Book: The Bell Jar

Title: The Bell Jar

Author: Sylvia Plath

Thoughts: Of course I've read The Bell Jar before, but it was several years ago, and I had forgotten much of it.  Sometimes what strikes me most is the sheer sadness of having been deprived of such talent.  Plath died so young, it makes you wonder what she might have produced in her later years.  I guess we will always wonder what a second novel might have looked like.

Book: Garden Spells

Title: Garden Spells
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Thoughts: I loved this book! Sarah Addison Allen does in this book the same thing that makes (most of) Alice Hoffman's books work so well for me: beautifully realizes a world of magic realism. Some day I would love to write a book using magic realism really well, but for now I will just stand back and watch and admire these masters of the genre. Everything about Garden Spells is lovely. I can't wait to read her second book.

So Behind: the last 8 books I've read:

Too many books! I should be recording them as I finish, but I plead the stress of moving, etc.

That Charming Man by Marian Keyes
I always like Marian Keyes. This book took me a little getting into, but as soon as I was in it, I couldn't put it down.

Sweet Love by Sarah Strohmeyer
I loved this book!!! Really loved it. I think it's my favorite chick-lit/women's fic book in recent memory.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Oh book. I have read you before, but I adored you even more this time. Scary, creepy, all-too-plausible.

The Dog That Wouldn't Be by Farley Mowat
Night time reading, so I think I was only awake for 2/3s of it.

The Just-So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Have been read before, and are guaranteed to make me sleep, for some reason, even though I think they are great and not boring in the slightest.

Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham
I ... cautiously liked this one. I always like her better when she writes as Kinsella, and I kind of hate adultery as a plot device, so...

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
Lovely and heartbreaking and so much more careful and less "Hollywood" than the movie.

Bidding for Love by Katie Fforde
I really enjoyed this one.

Title: Going Home

Title: Going Home
Author: Harriet Evans
Thoughts: Mixed thoughts on this one. I really enjoyed the book, but I also felt it probably could have been made tighter in places. Generally speaking, if I can put a book down, that's where something could have been edited. But it's a minor quibble, because when all's said and done, this book did a lot of other things right: it was well written and engaging, and I liked it enough that I'll keep an eye out for Evans in the future.

Title: Secrets of a Shoe Addict

Title: Secrets of a Shoe Addict
Author: Beth Harbison
Thoughts: I read Harbison's first book earlier in the year and quite enjoyed it. She uses familiar characters in this one, but it's definitely a different story. Because I live in a place where it's been difficult to make friends, I have a real soft spot for lovely little stories of women building friendships. I think Harbison does a nice job of tackling a sequel without making it too much of the same. I look forward to seeing what she does next!