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.
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Monday, 5 January 2009
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.
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
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.
Monday, 1 December 2008
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
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
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!
Saturday, 20 September 2008
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.
Friday, 19 September 2008
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.
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.
Monday, 15 September 2008
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.
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.
Monday, 25 August 2008
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.
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!
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!
Title: Mistress of the Sun
Title: Mistress of the Sun
Author: Sandra Gulland
Thoughts: Gulland is the author of one of my very favorite series of books: The Josephine B. Trilogy, so I was terribly excited when I saw she'd written a new one. It certainly does not disappoint. She has a lovely way with words, and the way she tackles historical fiction bowls me over. She always has such perfect tone and layers everything with richness and detail, without losing the readability and just plain good storytelling so necessary in a good book. Absolutely recommended. (And if you haven't read the Josephine books, what on EARTH are you waiting for?!)
Author: Sandra Gulland
Thoughts: Gulland is the author of one of my very favorite series of books: The Josephine B. Trilogy, so I was terribly excited when I saw she'd written a new one. It certainly does not disappoint. She has a lovely way with words, and the way she tackles historical fiction bowls me over. She always has such perfect tone and layers everything with richness and detail, without losing the readability and just plain good storytelling so necessary in a good book. Absolutely recommended. (And if you haven't read the Josephine books, what on EARTH are you waiting for?!)
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Things I read/watched on my summer vacation:
Answer: not much.
Gemma Townley's new book The Importance of Being Married. Love her, usually, but this one relied too heavily on lies to further the plot. Don't like deception, much.
Tracy Chevalier's Burning Bright. Loved this one. That lady can describe, oh yes she can.
The X-Files Movie
Dark Knight
Mamma Mia!
All enjoyable for different reasons, though, as a former fan, I would have changed A LOT about the X-Files flick. Still. It was okay.
It's been a busy month and a half, where the first bit was spent planning/executing my sister's wedding, and the second half was spent in the hospital with my sister's daughter. Not exactly good times for reading/movie watching. I am back in New York now, though, and barring disaster, should be reading more.
Gemma Townley's new book The Importance of Being Married. Love her, usually, but this one relied too heavily on lies to further the plot. Don't like deception, much.
Tracy Chevalier's Burning Bright. Loved this one. That lady can describe, oh yes she can.
The X-Files Movie
Dark Knight
Mamma Mia!
All enjoyable for different reasons, though, as a former fan, I would have changed A LOT about the X-Files flick. Still. It was okay.
It's been a busy month and a half, where the first bit was spent planning/executing my sister's wedding, and the second half was spent in the hospital with my sister's daughter. Not exactly good times for reading/movie watching. I am back in New York now, though, and barring disaster, should be reading more.
Friday, 27 June 2008
Movie: Wanted
Well. James McAvoy. Angelina Jolie. There are worse ways to spend a couple hours than looking at these two. Honestly, it was so so so far out of the realm of believability (even out of suspend-my-disbelief-ability) it was just... kind of fun. Lots of bullets. And blood. And killing. And stuff. So, if you're in the mood for the aforementioned blood, killing, bullets, etc, this is probably your movie. If you're looking for anything deeper than the Deep Thoughts of the Loom of Fate (you'll get it later)... you're going to have to look elsewhere. My favourite moment was crying out in the theater, "Oh, I am tangled in the web of faaaaate!"
Because he was. Literally.
Because he was. Literally.
Title: Choke
Title: Choke
Author: Chuck Palahniuk
Thoughts: Man, Palahniuk has a great way with voice. Just loved the individuality of his main character, and the style of his writing. I've been meaning to read his books for quite a while, and this was definitely a great way to start them. In the middle I thought it was going a place I didn't want to follow, but everything turned around and worked out perfectly. Great book. Really great tone.
Author: Chuck Palahniuk
Thoughts: Man, Palahniuk has a great way with voice. Just loved the individuality of his main character, and the style of his writing. I've been meaning to read his books for quite a while, and this was definitely a great way to start them. In the middle I thought it was going a place I didn't want to follow, but everything turned around and worked out perfectly. Great book. Really great tone.
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Title: The Flirt
Title: The Flirt
Author: Kathleen Tessaro
Thoughts: This has been a magical year in books for me. Every time I think the name of an author I like, or whose books I love, I am told: "Hey, they have a new one coming out!" (There has been one disappointment, where an author I like wrote a book I couldn't stand, but...) I've loved, loved, loved Tessaro's previous books, and, thankfully I loved The Flirt, too. The only thing I didn't like was her asides where she spoke in the "I" voice as the author. Not my cup of tea. But everything else about the story--the characters, the premise--was lovely and enjoyable.
Author: Kathleen Tessaro
Thoughts: This has been a magical year in books for me. Every time I think the name of an author I like, or whose books I love, I am told: "Hey, they have a new one coming out!" (There has been one disappointment, where an author I like wrote a book I couldn't stand, but...) I've loved, loved, loved Tessaro's previous books, and, thankfully I loved The Flirt, too. The only thing I didn't like was her asides where she spoke in the "I" voice as the author. Not my cup of tea. But everything else about the story--the characters, the premise--was lovely and enjoyable.
Title: Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Title: Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Thoughts: Okay. Admission time. Embarrassing admission. I have never been able to get through a Marquez book. And I have tried. I cannot begin to tell you how long One Hundred Years of Solitude sat in my bathroom. A million years. Or at least two. I couldn't get through it! I'm sorry, because I know so many people swear by his writing. At last, with Chronicle I begin to understand why. This is a short little book, and it packs so much punch into it's 120 pages... it's hard to wrap my brain around. No word is extraneous. Every description is amazing. The hints of layers and layers and layers astound. So, perhaps... perhaps I will move Marquez back into my reading list.
Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Thoughts: Okay. Admission time. Embarrassing admission. I have never been able to get through a Marquez book. And I have tried. I cannot begin to tell you how long One Hundred Years of Solitude sat in my bathroom. A million years. Or at least two. I couldn't get through it! I'm sorry, because I know so many people swear by his writing. At last, with Chronicle I begin to understand why. This is a short little book, and it packs so much punch into it's 120 pages... it's hard to wrap my brain around. No word is extraneous. Every description is amazing. The hints of layers and layers and layers astound. So, perhaps... perhaps I will move Marquez back into my reading list.
Title: Gigi
Title: Gigi
Author: Colette
Thoughts: This was such a lovely and unexpected story. I really love the way Colette writes--her way with words, her fabulous descriptions... I love them all. I only wished it was longer, because I was enjoying the read so much and then BAM it was over!
Author: Colette
Thoughts: This was such a lovely and unexpected story. I really love the way Colette writes--her way with words, her fabulous descriptions... I love them all. I only wished it was longer, because I was enjoying the read so much and then BAM it was over!
Title: Persuasion
Title: Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen
Thoughts: I haven't read this book in years. Probably about... seven or eight. And why not? It may not be quite as lovely as my beloved Pride and Prejudice, but it is a great novel. I loved it. I got all kinds of warm fuzzies at the end. Ahh, Jane. I wish you'd written fifty books.
Author: Jane Austen
Thoughts: I haven't read this book in years. Probably about... seven or eight. And why not? It may not be quite as lovely as my beloved Pride and Prejudice, but it is a great novel. I loved it. I got all kinds of warm fuzzies at the end. Ahh, Jane. I wish you'd written fifty books.
Title: Certain Girls
Title: Certain Girls
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Thoughts: I enjoyed this one. It's been a while since I read one of her novels, and this one made it home from the library only to be returned without having been read. Then, a day or so later, I found it at the library again. I'm glad I picked it up and brought it home. At times I wanted to shake all the characters (I was fortunate to have a great mother, and my mother was fortunate because I was the easiest teenager in the world, so some of these conflicts felt very foreign to me), but the ending was genuinely beautiful and moving.
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Thoughts: I enjoyed this one. It's been a while since I read one of her novels, and this one made it home from the library only to be returned without having been read. Then, a day or so later, I found it at the library again. I'm glad I picked it up and brought it home. At times I wanted to shake all the characters (I was fortunate to have a great mother, and my mother was fortunate because I was the easiest teenager in the world, so some of these conflicts felt very foreign to me), but the ending was genuinely beautiful and moving.
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