Reading Update

I don't have much time to write long reviews on these so I'll keep most of them very short. Actually since this list goes back about 8 months, I don't even remember some of these very well. I put an asterisk in front of the ones I particularly liked.

Rose Under Fire (Code Name Verity, #2) by Elizabeth Wein

* The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Dangerous by Shannon Hale

* Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2) by Brandon Sanderson

* David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell

* The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns, #1) by Rae Carson

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns, #2) by Rae Carson

The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns, #3) by Rae Carson

* The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All For the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War II by Gregory A. Freeman

The Selection (The Selection, #1) by Kiera Cass

The Elite (The Selection, #2) by Kiera Cass

The One (The Selection, #3) by Kiera Cass

The Guard (The Selection, #2.5) by Kiera Cass

The Prince (The Selection, #0.5) by Kiera Cass

Life As We Knew It (Last Survivors, #1) by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Testing (The Testing, #1) by Joelle Charbonneau

Independent Study (The Testing, #2) by Joelle Charbonneau

Graduation Day  (The Testing, #3) by Joelle Charbonneau

The Goose Girl (The Books of Bayern, #1) by Shannon Hale

The Islands at the End of the World (Islands at the End of the World, #1) by Austin Aslan

* Terrier (Beka Cooper, #1) by Tamora Pierce

Bloodhound (Beka Cooper, #2) by Tamora Pierce

Mastiff (Beka Cooper, #3) by Tamora PierceMajor Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

Lucky Dog: How Being a Veterinarian Saved My Life by Sarah Boston

* Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande

The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal

The House of the Scorpion (Matteo Alacran, #1) by Farmer, Nancy

* Unearthly (Unearthly, #1) by Cynthia Hand

Hallowed (Unearthly, #2) by Cynthia Hand

Boundless (Unearthly, #3) by Cynthia Hand

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

My Recent Reads (May - September 2014)

Sighhhhhhh. I need to do this more frequently, or start writing these right as I finish each book. I do enjoy posting these, partly to just reflect on what I have read and whether it has stuck with me or not, and partly because I just like talking about and sharing books.

The Golem's Eye (Bartimaeus, #2) by Jonathan Stroud
This is the sequel to the Amulet of Samarkand, featuring the lovable djinni Bartimaeus and the boy magician Nathaniel again. Faced with increased responsibility, Nathaniel tries to track down the members of the Resistance and stop their disruptive attacks on London. He has to enlist Bartimaeus's help again, much to each of their dismay. Not as good as the first one, but still entertaining. 3 stars.

Ptolemy's Gate (Bartimaeus, #3) by Jonathan Stroud
The next and final Bartimaeus book brings all the loose ends together and Nathaniel must again face the mysterious Resistance girl that he has encountered in each book. Bartimaeus is suffering from being enslaved in this world for too long without rest, but they need him to get through the crazy going-ons around them and stop the bad magicians. 4 stars.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
The concept of golems and jinn was brought up in the previous two books in an intriguing manner. They are middle eastern mythological or theological beings, so I looked to see if there were any books with good reviews on the topic and found this one. I prefer to pick books based on recommendations, but I was glad I found this one. It was interesting and informative, while still being a novel. A golem and a jinni separately end up in old New York City and are striving to fit in and go unnoticed when they chance across each other.  4 stars.

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
I did pick this book on a recommendation, but those don't always work out. Terry Pratchett books are often just too ridiculous for me to get through, let alone enjoy. I didn't make it all the way through this one, although I might try again some day because the premise is interesting. Basically, this man dies and he can choose to either die or become the post-master at this crazy dysfunctional post office that is full to the ceilings with undelivered mail.

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson
A period romance, this was a nice fluffy book that was good for a quick read. Here's what I said on Goodreads: "This book made me happy, although there were several sections that made me roll my eyes from the cheesiness or poor writing. Still, it's the type of book that you like because it is so cheesily romantic that it makes you smile and sigh and then you laugh at yourself." That pretty much sums it up. So if you like a good, clean romantic drama I would recommend this. 4 stars.

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Weird. This book was a bit confusing because of the creative way it flows, and probably also because I was listening to the audio book and I'm betting the real book has some indication that you're jumping around while the audio book does not. This book explores the many divergent paths that our lives may take by following Ursula Todd from the time she is born to when she dies. It starts with one story with one outcome, then bounces back to a different turn of events at a certain point and does this repeatedly throughout the book until you've heard several variations on the life Ursula could have lived. It gets awfully repetitive because it has to repeat parts to remind you where you're jumping back to, but the concept was interesting. 3 stars.

Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson
Similar in style but not plot to Edenbrooke, this is another happy romantic book. 4 stars.

Austenland by Shannon Hale
So silly. Both me and the book. I got to the last 3-4 pages and finally realized I had already read this book before. I don't know why I didn't realize it until then, but I don't take that as a good sign. It's about a young woman who is obsessed with Mr. Darcy and Pride and Prejudice and it has ruled her life. Her aunt gifts her a trip to Austenland, this immersive Jane Austen-style experience, to try to work it out of her system. 3 stars.

Parkland by Vincent Bugliosi
This was a non-fiction book about the JFK assassination and investigation. It was super interesting, and occasionally very saddening and pretty gross. Poor Jackie. The author has done extensive research and gives very detailed information about the events before, during, and especially after this tragic moment. I also watched the movie, and it wasn't half as good as the book, but it was okay.

On a related note, I remember for a while as I child almost every time we went to the library, I wanted to check out this certain blue, hard-cover children's book about the JFK assassination. I'm not sure why or if it had my parents concerned, but I really liked that book and checked it out frequently.

Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen
Julie Klassen writes books quite similar to Julianne Donaldson (see above). This one is about a young woman who becomes pregnant and must go to a house for unwed mothers and the people and circumstances she finds there. 2 stars

The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen
A young woman works efficiently in her father's apothecary but is not allowed to own or run it because she is a woman. She goes to London for a time, but while she's away, her father's business falls apart. When she returns a rival apothecary opens shop, and makes the choice between returning to London and staying even harder. 4 stars.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley
This is a book about a girl who meets and befriends(?) an unusual vampire. It was actually pretty interesting and well-done, but so not like anything I expected from Robin McKinley who wrote things like The Hero and the Crown, Blue Sword, and The Outlaws of Sherwood. Despite this and the fact it's about vampires, which seem so cliche today (10 years after this was published), I did enjoy this book. 4 stars.

Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
This book brought me to the realization that when we hear about tragic happenings, like the tsunami in southeast Asia in 2004, and hear numbers of dead or missing, we often don't personalize the people involved. They are just numbers until you read a book like this. But this made me realize that likely all of those 230,000+ people had stories and people who loved them and grieved for them. And also that as much as an untimely death is unfortunate, being injured and surviving afterwards, often desperate to know what happened to your loved ones is really just as tragic, and we don't usually even hear numbers of how many people are affected this way.

Anyways, this book is about a Sri-Lankan lady who lived happily with her husband and two children in London and went to Sri Lanka to visit her family. She, her husband, two children, and both parents were happily vacationing in a hotel they regularly stayed at on the coast when the tsunami struck. So much of this book is about her life weeks, months, and years afterwards and is very sad and depressing, but that was her life. We never know what we would do in those situations until we're there ourselves. So, this was pretty interesting and thought-provoking, but if you want something about the tsunami that ends up slightly happier, try the movie The Impossible, based on the true story of another family vacationing during the tsunami. Fair warning though: I found this movie emotionally jarring and pretty frightening because they do an incredibly realistic job of the terror of being caught in the tsunami. 3 stars.

The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson
A pretty good fantasy book, but not as good as some of Sanderson's other works. Every time, he creates a world of magic that works in a different, creative way. Besides just being a deft storyteller, I think that is what primarily draws me back to his books. 4 stars.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
This is a young adult fiction book about two girls set during WWII. Verity is a secret agent and her friend is a pilot. When they are shot down over Germany and Verity is captured by the Gestapo, she writes and writes "secrets" for the Germans in order to stay alive. The point of view in this book is interesting and unique. 4.5 stars.

The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen
This is a unique period romance in that it's told mostly from the man's point of view. The main dude is a dancing master like his famous father was, and when he and his mother and sister move to this small town where dancing is mysteriously but unofficially banned, he decides to go against that sanction and teach dancing anyways. 3 stars

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
As a girl, Bethia encountered a Native American boy and they secretly romped the woods together. Her father is attempting to convert the various tribes and teach them English. The boy later goes on to attend college and Bethia has a change in circumstances that gives her a front-row seat to observe his accomplishments and challenges. Not intensely interesting, but okay. 3 stars.

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
I had a hard time getting into this book because it seemed so comic bookish, but I took it on vacation with us and it ended up being pretty good. There are some people who have superpowers but most of those are evil and rule their various domains. There is a group of rebels who want to overthrow the current evil leader of Chicago, Steelheart, who rules with an iron fist and has turned the whole city to steel, killing whomever he wishes. David saw Steelheart kill his father and now believes he knows Steelheart's secret weakness, so he sets out to try to join the rebels in their quest. 4 stars.

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen
The plot in this book is a bit comical because this young lady runs away from home and secretly and in disguise becomes a maid at the manor of two brothers who both were at one time potential love interests. Neither recognize her and she lives secretly as a maid there until circumstances force her to come back to society. 3 stars.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The story of the woman whose mysteriously immortal cervical cancer cells were taken and distributed, later being used in many important discoveries. So much of it is about her poor family, and how they dealt with the aftermath of learning about Henrietta's life and death and what has happened with her cells since then. 4 stars.

Reading List

Here are the books I've read since the last book post in September. Sorry to those of you who don't like these reading updates. They aren't meant to be braggy or anything, I just enjoy talking about books and I mainly decide what to read based on book recommendations from others, so I feel I ought to offer my own in return.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
This was a very interesting book about introverts: what is an introvert, how are introverts discriminated against, why is being an introvert awesome, difficult, etc. It takes a good look at human interaction and expectations, and as an introvert I often found myself feeling that finally I had an explanation for why some things are the way they are for me. And why that isn't necessarily bad. I could probably talk about this for a long time but I won't here. This is a good book to make you think about people and personalities. 4 stars.

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
Another great Sanderson book. This is in the mistborn series, well after the first three books. I didn't like it quite as well as the other mistborn books, but it was still interesting and entertaining. 4 stars.

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
This is a juvenile fiction book, which I have found essentially means that it is going to be clean, not super intensive, and usually pretty funny in a giggly, witty way. This book is about a magical alternate world in London where the magicians are the upper class and the political leadership. Their magic lies in the knowledge and training in how to summon magical creatures to do their bidding. Nathaniel is a newly apprenticed magician-in-training who summons the demon Bartemaeous. Their adventure to solve a mystery of political intrigue dominates the plot, while their interaction and Bartemaeous's witty commentary bring it to life. 4.5 stars.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Maybe I'm not much of one for great American novels, but I thoughts this was mediocre. Much of the writing was really lovely, but I didn't like the characters or plot. 3 stars.

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

It took me a long time to finish this book. I didn't allow myself to start many other actual books while I was reading this, except for a few audiobooks that I listened to while working out, so this book makes this list much shorter than it normally would be. I really liked the book, but I doubt we'd be missing much to read the abridged version. One thing I didn't like so much about the book is that my opinion of Javert dropped. I really like Javert's songs and melancholy character in the musical, both in melody and content, but I think the songs paint a much rosier picture of Javert's character than the book does. 4.5 stars.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

The magic of Warbreaker affects colors and it allows the magician to imbue an inanimate object with life. Two princesses fall into the last places they expected, and surprise themselves as they discover what they are really made of. An interesting premise, a bit more adult than Sanderson's other books. 4 stars.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

This is the remarkable and amazing true story of Olympian Louie Zamperini and his time in WWII. He is a bombardier whose plane gets shot down over the Pacific. Sharks, ocean, Japanese POW camps, disease, and the psychology of war all work together to shape his destiny. 5 stars.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Another juvenile fiction book, this one seems quite popular right now. Four orphans are plucked up for their talent and goodness by a mysterious Mr. Benedict, who enlists them to go undercover at a secretive academy run by a genius madman. Their specific skills: logic, memory, resourcefulness, and attitude/independence are showcased throughout their adventures, illustrating that we all have different talents, and that if we aren't that good at something, there will be other tasks at which we can excel. 4.5 stars.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
One more juvenile fiction that is again a bit different. Percy Jackson is a normal kid, to whom un-normal things happen, leading to a quest to retrieve his mother from the underworld and stop World War III. The plot and tone of this book is understandably dealt with in quite a casual light, way. It's for juveniles, after all. I'm not sure how I feel about all the references to how his ADHD and dyslexia were actually symptoms of something totally unexpected, and that before he was just having to apply himself to the wrong type of activities that triggered them. It was an interesting way to discuss something that a lot of kids and parents deal with. I'll probably read at least the next one or two of this series and see if I'm still engaged in it. 3.5 stars.

Book Reviews

My new book reviews for the end of May through end of August. I've been trying to whittle down my Goodreads to-read list, but it just keeps growing! (Also, the spell checker here suggests that maybe instead of Goodreads, I meant goo-dreads. Goo-dreads? Really?)

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
The worlds rotation starts slowing and this brings interesting consequences. An 11-year-old girl whose life is changing and falling apart tries to decide whether these changes would have happened even if the world wasn't slowing down. I did not love the plot or characters and for me she's way too young to have a crush/love interest. The most interesting part was to think about the day-to-day effects of the slowing rotation of the earth, like when the day gets longer do you stick to the time on the clock even though it becomes out of sync with the day/night cycle? Would plants survive? Would we get fried? That scientific aspect is interesting and thought-provoking, but overall, meh. 3 stars.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Definitely a step down from The Doomsday Book, Blackout, and All Clear, which all come from the same time-traveling world created by Connie Willis. A cat (now extinct) gets brought forward into the present and must be returned so as to not mess up history. The travels and exploits of the time-traveler who returns it, though he has no idea that is what he is doing. 3 stars.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This was a fanciful book of mystery, romance and magic. Celia learns real magic from her father and is the one of the competitors in a magic competition between her father and his nemesis, who has a talented boy he has trained in magic. Celia and the now young man compete in the venue of a fantastical circus, but each additional piece of magic saps their strength and their growing relationship saps their desire to beat the other. Pretty good and very light and fantastical. 4 stars.

All about Emily by Connie Willis
This is kind of an old book, and I don't feel like it has aged well. An insecure actress meets a sweet, young robot, Emily, whom she feels threatens her career. Emily sees the Radio City Rockettes perform and decides she wants to become a Rockette, which is a desire the robot should not be able to have. I guess the book explores humans relationships with machines that can do their job better and what makes a person a person. Two stars.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
I liked this book a lot and lucky for me it is the first in a series. The world is in trouble. Ash falls constantly from the sky, a dark Lord rules the land, and the people are oppressed by the aristocracy. A young girl, Vin, is unaware of her magical potential, when she is recruited by a mysterious stranger who wants to overthrow the apparently immortal god ruler. I really liked what one random Goodreads reviewer, Chris, wrote: "It reminds me of Ocean's Eleven meets The Italian Job, but set in Mordor after Sauron has ruled for 1000 years or so." The environment and the magic is really well developed and explained and altogether it is just an awesome book. 5 stars.

Evidence Not Seen: A Woman's Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II by Darlene Deibler Rose
This non-fiction autobiographical book is about Darlene and her husband, who go as missionaries to New Guinea right before the outbreak of WWII in the Pacific. They are taken prisoner and she lives for four years as a prisoner in a Japanese prison camp. Her strength and faith are amazing and inspirational. I have always heard it can be helpful, even saving, to memorize many scriptures and good music, but Darlene's reliance on these is perhaps the biggest motivator I've come across for doing so. Really, really good. 5 stars.

A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
A quick hilarious read. This is an autobiography of a girl growing up in a small Midwest town and remembering her family and adventures. My favorite is the part where her neighbor complains about their dog barking in the night. I won't spoil it. Anyways, it's pretty funny. 4 stars.

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
The sequel to Mistborn, this picks up again with the continuing story of Vin. More good magic, answers to more questions and more of a troubled world to try to save. Still a great book, but not quite as great as Mistborn. 4 stars.

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
The third Mistborn book, this one is a bit darker. See my description for Well of Ascension. A nice conclusion to the series. 4 stars.

Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors by James D. Hornfischer
Innnnnnnteresting. I know much more now about the WWII war in the Pacific. The USS Houston was a favorite ship of FDR and it went into an early battle in WWII where the Japanese navy easily outmatched the allies while the allies were busy fighting their top priority front in Europe. The Houston and its fleet of allied ships disappear and neither the Navy nor the families back home know what has happened to it or its crew. The Houston was sunk and many of its crew were captured by the Japanese to be imprisoned in POW camps and forced to endure unbelievable trials, trauma, illness, and labor. There is some gross content, death, injury, illness, and brutality, but that is war so not too surprising. 4.5 stars. Maybe 5 stars.

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Another good Sanderson book, not quite as good as Mistborn, but still interesting and engaging. I found the beginning a bit confusing and hard to follow, but if you stick with it, it's worth it. Kind of zombie-esque, but with magic and mystery, intrigue and a dash of romance. I liked it. 4 stars.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
A teen cancer support group brings Hazel and Gus together. Hazel is struggling to live and cope with terminal cancer when she meets Gus, who lost his leg to cancer. The fact that someone like Gus would want to spend time with her turns Hazels world upside down. This book was really powerful and well-done, worth the read. And it's worth being reminded that caring about others can take our minds off our own problems. 4 stars.

The Darcys Give a Ball: A Gentle Joke, Jane Austen Style by Elizabeth Newark
This wasn't totally awful, but I think the "Gentle Joke" was that there is no plot. I think the author had had fun imagining how the future children of many of Jane Austens beloved and be-loathed characters (not just from Pride and Prejudice) might be brought together. Jane and Lizzie throw a ball, inviting all their friends and some interesting new acquaintances, with a chance for some match-making. Spoiler: That is the entire plot. But if you are curious about what their families might be like, it is somewhat entertaining. 2.5 stars.

Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat by David Dosa
This non-fiction book is about dementia, mostly Alzheimer's. And cats, specifically Oscar, who seems to sense when the residents of the full-time care dementia home where he lives are about to pass away. Dr. Dosa investigates Oscars activities, but mostly we see the transformation of Alzheimer's and the effect on their loved ones. Oscar's presence comforts the families and indicates that the time is short. This is a sad but sweet book. 4 stars.

The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton
This is a classic heist story. When I started reading it I told Jeran it was pretty good and he might like it and he said, "Yeah, I think I read it in 8th grade." WELL! This is the true story of a robbery that shocked a nation (Britain), mostly because of the novelty of the railroad setting. With actual information from court documents and the like, we follow the robbers throughout the planning, the actual heist, their capture and trial. It's fun to hear the old-timey criminal slang, and even funner to hear the frustrated judge get a translation from the bailiff after a witness makes a undecipherable statement. 4 stars.

Since October Book List

I didn't think I had read this many books since I last posted, but apparently I have, so here goes a long list, starting in October 2012 and ending in May 2013. (By the way, probably my favorite feature of Goodreads is that you can mark what date you finished reading a book. There is something I love about that.)

The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2) by Patrick Rothfuss
I thought this was pretty good, but not great. It definitely held my attention but wasn't any great work of art. I will undoubtedly read the next book when it comes out. 3.5 stars.

The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1) by James Dashner
Unlike almost every other popular YAF dystopian book, this one seemed targeted at boys more, which seemed a nice change. Thomas wakes up with no memory of his life and is put into a world surrounded by walls. He and many other boys are essentially in a mouse maze and they must figure out how to survive and how to escape. 4 stars.

Delirium (Delirium, #1) by Lauren Oliver
This YAF dystopian novel is about a society where love is labeled a dangerous disease and young adults are given a cure that essentially removes their emotions or feelings. Lena is all for following the rules and being cured until she meets a boy and then everything she thought she knew goes out the window. This is kind of a weird, sappy book but it is still entertaining and interesting. 3 stars.

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
I honestly don't remember much - if anything - about this book, but I apparently liked it well enough just after finishing it to give it 4 stars on Goodreads. It is set in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice world and is a mystery about who murdered Wickham. Honestly, it may have been too soon after Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to read this, because I remember thinking, "Wait a minute: incongruity! Didn't this happen in P&P?" and then realizing that that was only in the zombified version. 3 or 4 stars. I apparently liked it but it was not very memorable. I really should write each of these just after finishing reading instead of months later all at once.

The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, #2) by James Dashner
Picking up where The Maze Runner left off, this book covered such a small amount of terrain and territory that I wasn't too impressed. It was not as exciting or engaging as The Maze Runner, but still not bad. Pretty much any info about the plot here would be a bit of a spoiler for The Maze Runner so I won't say anything. 3 stars.

Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich
Although this book centers on a wayward Mormon teen and some issues I prefer not to dwell on, if you ignore that, this was a good book. I think the main title is misleading and stupid and was designed just to grab a wider audience's attention. It actually is just a true heist story about a young guy who aspires to be an astronaut, and while working in relatively close proximity to valuable moon rocks, decides to steal them. Especially for being a true story, it was a really good read. Jeran even read and liked it. 4 stars.

Divergent (Divergent, #1) by Veronica Roth
Divergent is about a dystopian or futuristic world where people are separated into one of five defining characteristic groups: essentially bravery/courage, intelligence, peacefulness, honesty, and selflessness. Beatrice doesn't know where she will be sorted (haha) and then faces some hard decisions about family and about herself. I liked this better than Delirium. 4 stars.

Pandemonium (Delirium, #2) by Lauren Oliver
I thought this was about as good as Delirium, maybe slightly less. Some of these really fall into the "Meh" category, meaning they were entertaining enough to read but I don't have any lingering feelings of either "I liked that book" or "I didn't like that book". Lena is back, but this time with a mission to undermine or ruin the society that calls love a disease. 3 stars.

Insurgent (Divergent, #2) by Veronica Roth
A decent follow-up to Divergent, war between the factions seems imminent and there is more going on below society's surface than meets the eye. There is also a mystery about who/what Tris is and what that means. Good, but not great. 3 stars.

Spark (Sky Chasers, #2) by Amy Kathleen Ryan

After reading Spark, I'm more interested to read the next book than I was after reading Glow. For these books, I alternate between thinking they are more realistic than many and that they are full of chaotic randomness throughout the book. When I'm leaning towards realistic, I like it because life really is unpredictable and other people mess up your plans or do things that don't make sense and weird things just happen sometimes. When I'm more inclined to think of these books as filled with randomness, I get a little frustrated that the plot is not more linear and the characters and situations more understandable and engaging. 3.5 stars


Birthmarked (Birthmarked, #1) by Caragh M. O'Brien
In a society where the elite can't have healthy children, they turn to "advancing" babies from the lower class and raising them as their own. Gaia is a girl whose mother is a respected midwife in the lower class, and Gaia is learning the skills to follow in her footsteps. They advance babies as they are required, but Gaia's mother has a secret that gets her into trouble and Gaia must take over her duties and figure out what is going on. 4 stars.

The Death Cure (Maze Runner, #3) by James Dashner
I was about ready to be done with this series but I decided to finish it out. Again, really a "Meh" book, but there are elements about learning to trust and learning who to trust that make it better. It also had elements of "If the characters would just talk to each other or make decisions that will gain them more knowledge, they wouldn't be in this mess", which is one of the things that really frustrates me in movies and books. 3 stars.

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
This was a really good book about a courageous Dutch woman helped many Jews find a hiding place and escape to safety. She was eventually caught and put in a camp, but makes it out alive and with an amazing story to share. 4 stars

The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2) by J.R.R. Tolkien
I was impressed while reading this and the other LOTR books how closely the movies stuck to the books (with a few exceptions, which I can forgive because they are irrelevant to the overall story or make the movie more compelling or explainable). I like the ents and the detail you get about them and the forests that aren't in the movie. My only complaint is that the book is split into two very separate parts, one with Frodo/Sam/Gollum and one with everyone else, and the Frodo/Sam/Gollum part comes second. I don't like those parts of the movies nearly as much as the rest so I was dreading a whole half a book just on that, but it really wasn't that bad and was just as interesting. Excellent story, excellent writing. 4.5 stars.

One Second After by William R. Forstchen
This is more of a cautionary/informative novel than a just-for-fun story. It isn't particularly well-written, but based on the subject and the realism, it is a thought provoking and perhaps action-provoking book. It is focused on a small town, and particularly one man and his family in a small North Carolina mountain town. EMPs are detonated above many sections of the USA, essentially knocking out everything that uses electronics, from cars to gas pumps to phones, etc. It is a sobering catalogue of the issues that could arise if this threat were actually realized. From drug addicts stealing medicine from retirement homes and pharmacies, or foreign disease and infections coming in with no way to treat, to quickly running out of food and depleting the surrounding wilderness, and people dependent on regular medication, this book examines many hard topics like who are the least valuable members of society when it comes to overall survival and what would each person be willing to do for their own or other's survival. 3 or 4 stars. I think the story is a 3 star story, but I like books that make me think, especially if I can still think about it months afterwards, so for that I would give it 4.5 stars.

Listening Is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project by Dave Isay
This is a collection of short stories from regular people, recording incidents in their lives as they tell it to a friend or loved one. It is quite a bit more interesting than I anticipated and it reiterates that everyone has a story to share and has knowledge and experiences of worth. 4 stars.

The Eden Hunter: A Novel by Skip Horack
I didn't finish this book, mostly because it fell right at the end of a reading spree when I was ready to take a break from reading. This is one that I randomly pulled off the shelf at the library, and I think the part I read was pretty good for being a totally random pick. It is about an African tribesman that is sold into slavery and escapes into the Florida wilderness. I might pick it up again someday so I'll reserve judgment until then. (Actually, I was browsing randomly around the library again last week and my eyes were drawn to a book on the shelf. Maybe that one, I thought. Looking closer, I saw it was that Eden Hunter book again! I guess they did a good job on the cover design.)

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
I loved this book. Granted, I listened to it as an audiobook and sometimes slow sections are easier to get through this way, but I thought it was excellent. There were several places near the beginning when I just really loved something in the book and wished it wasn't an audiobook so I could highlight those lines. It is a sad book, full of sad circumstances and people, but it was beautifully written and made me think and reflect on the topics of the duties and responsibilities of parents friends in providing a person a support network, avoiding bad situations, turning away from repeated temptation or bad situations, making the most of hard circumstances, etc. 4.5 stars.

The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3) by J.R.R. Tolkien
Just like in the movies, my biggest complaint is that there are about a million loose ends to tie up so it goes on and on through so many potential endings. The actual story ends about halfway through the book, with the wrap-up taking the remainder. Still, it is an excellent read. This one has a few more discrepancies to the movies, like the Path of the Dead and subsequent result, but that's okay. 4.5 stars.

Prized (Birthmarked, #2) by Caragh M. O'Brien
This was a sold follow-up to Birthmarked. I enjoyed it and thought the story was pretty good. My only complaint is that, perhaps in trying to be unique from comparable books, the author avoids a love triangle by making... a love square! or a love trident or something with three potential love interests for Gaia instead of the normal one or two. Seriously? Is that any better? Oh well, it's still pretty well done. 4 stars.

Promised (Birthmarked, #3) by Caragh M. O'Brien
Following up Prized, this book takes Gaia back to her roots to try to change things for everyone living outside the wall. It is a pretty good tale with some ups and downs. I have really liked this series and would recommend it, as each novel is fairly consistently strong. 4 stars.

Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden
This is the true story of a young man who was born in a North Korean camp housing political undesirables or troublemakers. He tells of his experiences and his escape, and between that and the author's explanations of the past and current situation in North Korea, I learned a lot about the country and it's political climate (it was published March 2012 so it is fairly current). As with most labor or concentration camp stories, it is a bit gritty and definitely saddening. 3.5 stars.

Passage by Connie Willis
Weird. But in a good way. Connie Willis' books always make me think and they present interesting concepts and topics in unique ways that make me think about them and decide what I believe. She is, perhaps, one of my more favorite authors now. Passages is about a psychologist studying near-death experiences in a hospital by interviewing people who have essentially died and come back to life or been revived and comparing/analyzing what they say. A new doctor comes to do research on a related topic, but he wants to find out if there is a physiological or chemical effect in the brain that could account for the similarities between  the near death experiences people recount. They team up and conduct experiments trying to figure out what is going on. Very interesting. Also talks a lot about the Titanic so if you like that, this might appeal to you also. 4 stars

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
This was also a somewhat weird and interesting book. The main character gets a job in an eccentric book store, but there is something weird going on in one section of the book store. Only odd characters come in and they check out archaic books in weird patterns, which require careful notation as to which book they check out, how they look and seem, etc. This book talks a lot about supposed Google research and advances and partly because of that I feel like it could seem quite dated in several years. 3.5 stars.

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell
I started this book a long time ago and just finished listening to it. It is a compilation of articles the author wrote for the New Yorker about topics ranging from Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer, to ketchup, to advertising and everything in between. Gladwell always has so many interesting stories and research to present that it is always entertaining and educational to read or listen to his books. 4 stars.

Requiem (Delirium, #3) by Lauren Oliver
Finishing up the Delirium series, Lena tries to survive in the increasingly dangerous wilds. When there is nowhere else to run, they decide to return to Lena's hometown where the rebellion has planned an attack. This was an okay finish to the series, but I didn't love it. 3 stars.

Bellwether by Connie Willis
Another thinker. Sandra, a sociologist (I think) is studying fads and how they get started and spread (too bad she couldn't read Gladwell's The Tipping Point) at a big company that is trying hard to be innovative and win a secretive prestigious grant. She becomes intrigued by another researcher studying chaos theory and information dissemination because unlike seemingly everyone else, he doesn't follow or is oblivious to apparently all fads and trends. They team up to try to combine their fads and information dissemination projects and get some unlikely results. My main two complaints about this book are that it is dated, which is important because it uses a lot of attitude fads that make you either roll your eyes or gag; and that it gets super, super repetitive with the talk about fads and Sandra's CONSTANT thinking about fads. Fads fads fads fads fads. You start to hate fads. (And now that sounds like a weird word to me.) Anyways, despite these, it still has some very interesting points and brings everything back together in a creative way that made me think about the concepts presented. 3.5 stars.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
This saddening, and yet happy book is about a girl who grew up as a ward of the state and was in and out of foster homes and group homes her entire childhood and adolescence. Despite being extremely difficult and distant, she did have one person and home that she loved, and there she learned about the language of flowers. When she turns 18, she uses this one skill that she has to get a job, and it simultaneously returns her to her troubled past and heals her future. 4.5 stars.

Well that's all (finally)! Enjoy.

Overdue Book Report

Wow. So apparently I haven't posted about the books I've read since the end of April! I would have guessed July or so, but apparently it's just been so long I couldn't remember at all - hopefully I remember how I liked the books! So here we go:

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
This YAF or juvenile fiction book was okay. I was a little confused by the monster, but I think you are supposed to be (is it real or isn't it?). The underlying issues and message were important and good. It's about a boy who meets a monster that is the yew tree from the church graveyard across the street from his house. It helps him deal with the difficult challenges in his life and accepting reality. 3.5 stars

Blackout by Connie Willis
I loved this book! It is based partly in the not too distant future at Oxford University and also in WWII London. In the future, there is a time-traveling history department at Oxford where professors and more experienced students can travel back to certain times and places to experience and witness them for themselves. Three young historians travel to London during WWII to observe some supposedly safe historical events and encounter trouble and mysteries as they strive to return home. 5 stars (maybe 4.8 stars)

All Clear by Connie Willis
In the sequel to Blackout, things are happening that throw what the historians know about how time travel works into question. More historians attempt to rescue trapped historians from WWII-era London, but have they done the supposedly impossible and changed history? Have they lost the war for the allies? 5 stars, even better than Blackout.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
I had not read any of the Lord of the Rings books before, just The Hobbit, which I didn't really care for.  I really enjoyed The Fellowship of the Ring and I can see why most people thought the movie was very well done. 5 stars

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
I liked the other books I read by Connie Willis so much that I sought out another and I was not disappointed by this one. Similar premise, but this time a historian travels to medieval Oxford. Mysterious illness threatens the whole operation. Did the Black Death somehow get transmitted to the future? Connie Willis researches her history very carefully and I learn so much about the different time periods from these books. 5 stars

How I Killed Pluto and Why it Had It Coming by Mike Brown
I really got on a lucky streak because here is book #5 in a row that I just loved! This book is awesome and I really enjoyed it. It is non-fiction page-turner written by the astronomer whose discoveries led to the demise of Pluto as the ninth planet. I learned a lot about astronomy, the life of an astronomer, and what happened to Pluto and why, the scientific publication environment, and on and on. We are reading this for book club this month and I'm excited to discuss it next week. 5 stars.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M. Pirsig
Yawn. Okay, not really. It was usually interesting but it was: a) not at all what I thought it was going to be, and b) very philosophical and loquacious. The main thing that kept me reading it was the mystery about Phaedrus and the fact that I was listening to it while cooking and the like, and not actually reading it which I find takes more effort to stick with a book you don't love. 3.5 stars

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Due to no fault of this book, I could not finish this book, even though it would have been a pretty quick read. I went though a reading drought here where I just didn't feel like reading for a month or two and this happened to be a book I had intended to read when the drought started. I might try it again some day. No rating yet.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez
The tail end of this book also fell in the reading drought so while it was not a bad book, I didn't finish it but I did get 3/4 of the way through. It was also not a bad book, just one of those kind of slow, multi-generational cultural experiences that I feel you have to be dedicated to finish or enjoy. Or maybe it was simply the drought. Either no rating or 3 stars.

Famous Men of Modern Time by John H. Haaren
And by "modern times" he means modern enough that people have kept written records of the people. Kidding (somewhat), but it is not what I expected when I saw "modern" but apparently it is a quite old book. This is a collection of information about various historical figures that the author deems important in some way. Probably my favorite was about Lorenzo de Medici, who was a Renaissance Italian ruler who did great things for literacy and books. 2.5 stars

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
This is an excellent fantasy story that is mostly a mysterious hero telling his life story to Chronicler. Kvothe tells the beginning of the story of how he became mythically notorious. 4 stars

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
The second book in the Kingkiller Chronicles following The Name of the Wind, this continues the story of Kvothe's adventures and magical training. There was a little material in this book that would hesitate me to recommend it to everyone, but not too bad or detailed. It was just disappointing after such a clean first book. Unfortunately the next book is not out yet. Boo! 4 stars.

The Elements of Small Business by John Thaler
For educational purposes, to brush up on stuff that I vaguely remember learning in my business classes at USU. This book is pretty good on the bare basics of starting a small business. 3 stars

The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch): Lessons from a Life in Feathers by Caroll Spinney
This is a series of anecdotes and stories about what it is like to be Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. It includes details about the muppets design and how they work, what Big Bird has been involved with, and the evolution of Sesame Street. I think it is written in the format of stories in each chapter intending to support an inspirational message or life lesson, but it holds to this so loosely that it is really just an autobiography of his work as Big Bird. 4 stars

Heaven Is Here: An Incredible Story of Hope, Triumph, and Everyday Joy by Stephanie Nielson
I have mixed feelings about this book. It has been years and years since I have been so emotional about a book, but I think many parts of this amazing story hit home for me. However, parts of it also had me alternately rolling my eyes and almost gagging enough to annoy me with it's sickly sweetness, probably to juxtapose the author's "before" and "after" life.  This is the story of Stephanie and her husband's tragic plane crash, from which they were left with massive burns and other injuries. It tells of the huge physical and emotional trauma that played out for months during her long recovery and rehabilitation. I would recommend reading this book, but just keep in mind that it is an emotional roller coaster. 4 stars

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen
This was a fun twist on Pride and Prejudice, but as someone pointed out in book club (yes, this was our book club book!) the best parts definitely come from Austen and not zombies. I didn't really like any of the Asian flair that was added because everyone supposedly went to get combat training in an Asian nation and bringing a bit of that back to good old England with them. There weren't as many zombies as I expected and it wasn't very gross except for one line in the whole book. 3.8 stars

The Entrepreneur Equation: Evaluating the Realities, Risks, and Rewards of Having Your Own Business by Carol Roth
Another book about small business, this time focusing not on how to make a successful small business, but on an even more important matter: should YOU start a small business? This book discusses what having your own business is like, who is most fit for that, and whether you are that person. It was quite interesting, as it explores why most small businesses fail, or at least fail to thrive and grow. 4 stars

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
As opposed to there only being one line of real gross-me-out-ness in P&P&Z, this book was chock full of yuckness and gag-worthy vicious monsters and dissection detail. It is about a boy who takes over his father's job as assistant to a Monstrumologist. They discover that these man-eating monsters, once only a foreign problem, have sprouted up much, much closer to home. They work to rid the land of these horrific monsters and discover how they came to be there in the first place. 3 stars (would have been perhaps a 4 if it weren't so gross).

March and April Books

Jeran was supposed to be doing the next blog post on an exciting topic but he's taking too long so I'm posting my reading list in the mean time. This covers March and April.


The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Interesting, but not for everyone. This book is told through the dog's point of view, which is undoubtedly why I read it. His owner is a race car driver. 3 stars.

Meowmorphosis by Franz Kafka and Cook Coleridge
Ha. Not sure what to say on this one. It is published by the same people as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies so it is a spoof on Metamorphosis. In Meowmorphosis, the narrator wakes up one day to find he is an adorable, fluffy kitten. I tired of the nonsense of this book and didn't finish it. 2.5 stars.

The Amish Midwife by Mindy Starns Clark
This book falls right in line with all her other books. Think Deseret Book fiction, but with non-specific Christianity. This one is about a woman who is a midwife and goes to find out about her family's mysterious past among the Amish in Pennsylvania. It is a little hard to like because she was adopted so much of it involves finding out what the real family relations are. 3 stars.

Invasive Procedures by Orson Scott Card
This is supposed to be a serious book but I found it to be a quite silly book. It's all about this mysterious disease that is killing people and appears to have been engineered deliberately. That premise is all right at that point, but then add in a healthy dose of The Omega Man and cloning and brainwashing via chemicals and you've got a weird book. 3 stars.

Dave Barry Talks Back by Dave Barry
A collection of funny Dave Barry essays. 4 stars.

The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston LeRoux
By the same author as Phantom of the Opera, we started listening to this while we drove to Florida. It presented a good mystery and followed through with a good investigation and conclusion. I liked it. 4.5 stars.

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan
I read this for book club. It was pretty good - definitely more elaborate than many other Young Adult dystopian novels. I won't say too much since we haven't discussed it yet, but I thought it was pretty good. 4 stars.

Pegasus by Robin McKinley
This is about a human kingdom (and the king's daughter) in a land that is shared by a pegasus kingdom. The humans can't communicate well with the pegasus but long ago worked out a treaty with them that assigns a pegasus to a human among both royal families. Then the king's daughter is born and she can talk easily to her pegasus which makes a lot of people uneasy. This is definitely not McKinley's best work. It was a little hard to get into, but then it got better and enjoyable, but then the ending was horrible. Also, she expects you to be able to interpret the significance of some complicated things without later stating it directly or elaborating, which is really annoying if you're not sure you understood. 3 stars.

Shadows of Lancaster County by Mindy Starns Clark
A young woman goes back home to Pennsylvania to try to find her missing brother. A little bit of Amish life, DNA research, and funny lines like, "Of course I'm interested in DNA, you goofball! DNA is the future." 3 stars.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (partial)
I started reading this and realized a few things. After trudging through chapters and chapters about one small event, it was getting too late for me to be easily interested in the book. After being introduced to Quasimodo, I didn't want to read more about him (I think the Disney movie necessarily did a good job in making him slightly less grotesque than Hugo describes so that people could bear to watch the movie).  So I didn't (haven't yet?) finish this book. Part of this may have been that this didn't fit my reading mood, as evidenced by the difference between this and the type of books on the rest of this list. I'm sure it's a good read at the right time. No rating (yet?).

Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card
This is the next book in his Shadow series. It is not as good as any of his other Ender's Game or Shadow books. It tells the story of Bean and his three genetically modified children as they embark into outerspace to give the humans time to discover a cure for their condition. There are four characters in the entire book and basically one setting: the spaceship. Good thing it isn't super long! 3 stars.

Crossed by Ally Condie
The sequel to Matched, another YA dystopian book. I think this one was slightly better than Matched. The main character goes in search of her boyfriend who was taken away by the government and she also searches for the secret rebellion group. 4 stars.

Secrets of Harmony Grove by Mindy Starns Clark
This is the last of her books that our library has that I hadn't read. It is about a woman who owns a B&B (formerly her grandparent's house) in Amish country. She finds out she is being investigated by the Attorney General but has no idea what it is about. Come to find out, the B&B manager may not be who he claimed to be. This book was pretty good, but I'm also getting prettttty good at predicting what turns her books will take. 3.5 stars.

More books

Here's what I've been reading (or listening to - i went on an audiobook only kick for a while). I last posted my books in mid-August 2011 so there's a good-sized list here.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
This was pretty good. I learned a lot about the Appalachian trail since I knew next to nothing about it when I started. It describes how he hiked the trail - in pieces - and the people and things he met along the way. 3.5 stars.

Statistics You Can't Trust: A Friendly Guide to Thinking About Statistics in Everyday Life by Steve Campbell
I don't really remember this book well. I think I started reading it and it was not quite what I was hoping for so I just skimmed the rest.

1984 by George Orwell
It was better this time than when I read it in high school. 4 stars.

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
Apparently some classic characters, but I wasn't crazy about it. 3 stars.

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
This book was so interesting. It is based on the real story of a maid in Toronto who was accused of murdering her employer. 4.5 stars.

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
I read this because I watched the movie and I didn't like it so I figured the book must be much better than the movie. I don't think it is. Maybe a little bit, but not really. Lame and boring. 2.5 stars.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
This was a good book. It was very sobering and sad, but that is true to war. 4 stars

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon
This is about a 14-year old boy with autism who decides to investigate a crime that happened near his home. It was okay, but a little dull. 3 stars

A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg
This is about a girl in Mississippi in the sixties. Meh. 2.5 stars

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
I hadn't read this before and didn't really know the whole story. I didn't know there were really 4 or 5 different voyages. It was decent. 3.5 stars

The Final Solution by Michael Chabon
This is a book about a super old detective and a boy with a mysterious bird. 3 stars

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Re-listened to this audiobook while exercising. 3 stars

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Re-listened to this audiobook while exercising. 3 stars

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Re-listened to this audiobook while exercising. I think this is the best one of the set. 3.5 stars

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Re-listened to this audiobook while exercising. 3 stars

Matched by Ally Condie
This dystopian book is about a society who chooses what a person does and who they marry. It's about a girl who gets matched to her best friend but then there is a mix-up that causes her to question the society. 4 stars

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
A very long chronicle of the life of David Copperfield. Very well-written with great characters. 4.5 stars

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
One of my favorite books. I've read the whole series a few times now. 5 stars


Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
4 stars


Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
4 stars

Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card
4 stars

Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
4.5 stars

Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card
4 stars

Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card
4 stars

Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card
4 stars

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

This book is about the difference between Chinese parenting and Western parenting. That doesn't sound super interesting (to me), but it is a good, easy read and I enjoyed it nonetheless. 4.5 star

July and August Books

Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind. ~James Russell Lowell

I read a lot in July, perhaps too much:

Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the first two pages so I was excited to continue reading it. Before long, though, you get to interspersed chapters that are just Mussolini or some Italian general shouting and ranting and talking tactics and bureaucracy. All in all, it got more interesting past the middle of the book and had very interesting history about the Greek island of Cephallonia during World War II. I ended up liking it quite well. 4 stars

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

This is a YA distopian book about a world were there are few people left because someone was trying to make people live forever (or something) and all they ended up doing was making people turn into zombies that just want to attack the living. There is a small population left a few generations later trying desperately to stay alive and learn if there is anyone/thing else out there. It was pretty good - good enough to read the sequel but not awesome. 3 stars

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

I had to listen to this again with the last movie coming out. I was a little foggy on the whole how and why there at the end, but this time I understood much better. It's a great book. Obviously 5 stars

Into the Forest by Jean Hegland

This book is about two sisters surviving in their home after some huge disaster and the government and everything shuts down. There is no gas, no power, etc. and they have to become self-reliant. I didn't love it, but it made me think. 3.5 stars

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

Innnteresting. A Cro-Magnon girl is raised by a Neanderthal tribe, in which she must learn to contain her differences or be outcast. 4 stars.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

The sequel/companion to The Forest of Hands and Teeth, this book just explores some different people and how they have survived, but it ties back in to the past and the other book. 3 stars

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

At last all the pieces of this zombie-pocalypse series come together. Yet another character (still related to all the others in the series) and what life is like for them. 3 stars

Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

This was an interesting book that talked about decision making and how our mind analyzes information and how unconscious thoughts are revealed. It discussed many studies that really made me think. 4 stars

The Valley of the Horses by Jean M. Auel

The girl, Ayla, is now a young woman and goes to seek out her own kind of people. If I'd know what this book was like, I wouldn't have read it. It's the sequel to The Clan of the Bear Cave, but this book made me decide not to read any more of the series. Too much sex - I think that is ultimately what this book is about. I wouldn't recommend it. 2 stars

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

This book was great. It is about an 11-year-old aspiring chemist who tries to solve a murder that her father is suspected of. It's just a fun read and I really enjoyed it. 4.5 stars

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I could not finish this book. It also had way too much graphic sex and was pretty gross. Again, I don't recommend this.

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett

From his apparently famous Discworld series. It is about a talking cat, Maurice who leads a boy and a group of talking rats to scam money from poor unsuspecting villagers. It was entertaining, but I'm not left with a big desire to go read any more of his books. 3.5 stars

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

I love the BBC movie of this and I love the musical but I had never read the book. It is a good short historical fiction piece about that most beloved of topics, the French Revolution. I liked the book, but I think I like the movie better still. 4 stars

The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster

A little short story about a futuristic world where people don't have to leave their rooms for anything. Then the main woman's son desires to get out and asks what she would do if the machine (that is running the food, entertainment, life support, etc.) stopped? There's not much to this book but it makes you think. 3.5 stars

In August:

The Stolen Child By Keith Donohue

Based on a Yeats poem, this book is about a group of fairy changeling children who steal children from their homes and substitute themselves in their place. 3 stars

The Road by Cormac McArthur

Another futuristic or distopian book about a father and son traveling through the land after some firey disaster left most dead. They must survive the weather, starvation, but mostly road bandits. The style is different but fits the story very well. 4.5 stars

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Quite a bit different from the movie, this is a silly and pointless book. I liked it anyways. 4 stars

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

"I know every book of mine by its smell, and I have but to put my nose between the pages to be reminded of all sorts of things." ~George Robert Gissing

I got this book from the library and I think someone spilled vanilla on it. It smelled awesome when you opened the book. I may do that to all my books. This is a fable, meaning it has a moral, I detected many possible morals, so you can pick whichever one you want. Jeran has always been shocked that I wasn't familiar with Jonathan Livingston Seagull, so I figured I'd better figure out what it was about. It was just okay as a book, but I suppose it is the message rather than the delivery that are important here. 4 stars

Columbine by Dave Cullen

Wow. I was 14 when this event occurred and now I don't remember the details too clearly. This book is absorbing, taking you into the lives of the killers, the victims, the parents, the investigators, and the community. While there is a fair amount of bad language (quoted from the killers journals and videos) and some pretty grim crime scene descriptions, this book really looked at all aspects of the situation in as much of an unbiased way as possible. It examines what, how, and most importantly, why. 4 stars

It feels kind of wrong to give a book like The Princess Diaries the same number of stars as a book that was really serious and contemplative, but it is what it is. You can like things that are completely different the same amount without comparing them. Also, it's not always just the book itself that influences your opinion of it - how you're feeling, time when you read it, etc. play some role too.

Book update

I figured it's time to update you on what I've been reading. I went to a book club for the first time tonight and it was wonderful. I'm full of reading enthusiasm and excitement - give me more books. Om-num-num-num-num-num-num (say it like Cookie Monster)! So here's the most recent list:

May 2011:

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

This was a weird book. I'm kind of at a loss how to describe it or my reaction to it. The main Catch 22 in the book is sanity/insanity. From the book:

"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he were sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to."

I felt like a lot of the book left you guessing as to who was sane and who was insane and after trying fruitlessly to do this, wondering what it means to be "sane". However, it was interesting and got me thinking which is generally good. 3.5 stars.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I have very mixed feelings about this book, which makes me think I need to reread it. I liked it - mostly. I was not frustrated by it - mostly. I think Jane Eyre is not frustratingly annoying - mostly. I know many people who love love this book so I will definitely give it another chance. I did like it, but I feel like I will like it more the second time so I'm not going to give it any arbitrary rating right now.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

This was a good mystery/suspense/romance novel. Based on just the front cover, which was red wavy marbling with only the title large in gold embossing, I would probably have put it right back on the shelf, but it was a fun, if not serious, read. 4 stars.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

I liked Sense and Sensibility. I loved Pride and Prejudice and I read that first so I still love that more, even though I think that perhaps these are almost the same book, disguised in different trappings. It's still a good read and I can't help myself from sighing and wishing things turn out how I hope. 4.5 stars.

June 2011:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

This book is awesome, however, I used to think the movie was really great but after reading the book, the movie is disappointing in many ways. I highly recommend this book anyways! 5 stars.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

I listened to the audio book (free download from librivox) and really liked this book. I think I listened to all 19-20 hours of it in just a few days. It kept me guessing and wondering and it is fun to read such an old book of this genre. 4.5 stars.

I'm working on Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres right now but I'm not making very fast progress on it. I'd like to continue, but the narration comes from several different perspectives, and I like one or two of them and dislike the rest. I'm going to try to make myself keep reading it, but I have just heard of so many other books that sound so interesting that I want to get to!

Anna Karenina

I recently finished reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I knew nothing about the book and read no descriptions, reviews, or opinions on it before reading it, but I knew it is considered a classic and that I would like to read it. It is quite a long book, at almost one thousand pages, but it is very well-written and interesting. I was amazed throughout the book at how well Tolstoy describes many various human emotions and so accurately describes the realistic feelings of the characters in so many varied situations.

Tolstoy puts forth many ideas on the characters relations to Russia, to agriculture, to religion, to morality, to society, to government, and to the purpose of life. There were many times when I thought I should copy down or underline this or that sentence, but I was too busy reading to stop and do that. In all, there is too much food for thought in Anna Karenina to read it only once. I think I will probably have to buy Anna Karenina for my collection so that I can reread it someday and take more notice of the eloquent truths that Tolstoy points out. I give it five stars.

Busy bookworm

I have been fortunate lately to have plenty of time to read and listen to audio books, so I've got quite a long list of books from the last three months. I'm afraid I haven't been keeping notes on what I've read and our library doesn't track what you've checked out previously, so I think I've forgotten some of the books. In no particular order:

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See - 4.5 stars

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See - 4 stars

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - 4.5 stars

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - 4 stars

Catching Fire By Suzanne Collins - 4 stars

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - 4 stars

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer - 3 stars
The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer - 3 stars
The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer - 3 stars
The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer - 3 stars
The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer - 3 stars
The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer - 3 stars
Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen - 2 stars

One Good Dog by Susan Wilson - 3 stars

A Bride Most Begrudging by DeAnne Gist - 2.5 stars

Adrift by Steven Callahan - 2.5 stars

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - 4.5 stars

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - 3.5 stars

Whispers of the Bayou by Mindy Starns Clark - 3 stars

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - 4 stars

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux - 4 stars

Animal Farm by George Orwell - 3 stars

At this rate, I'm going to smash last year's goal! I'll try to remember to write down what I've read and make some notes next time. Any recommendations are always appreciated!

Reading Update - 2010 Goal Met!!!

I made a resolution at the beginning of this year to read at least 24 books this year. I have officially met my goal, and after this post, I will have blogged about all of them.

In July:

Prophecy by Elizabeth Haydon

This is a sequel to the fantasy novel Rhapsody. It was just all right. I was on the fence about the first book so I'm not sure why I decided to read the second. Three stars.

The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax

This is a fun, easy read about a down-and-out authoress who has writer's block and possible depression. She and her friends hatch a scheme to write a book to get her publisher off her back. Kind of silly but it is interesting in that it makes you wonder how the book came about. Three and a half stars.

Cataloochee by Wayne Caldwell

I chose Cataloochee because it shows a segment of the history of the state I live in. Back in the day, before all the State and National Parks and Forests were created, there were often people living and working that land. Cataloochee is about townships and farmers living in what is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at the time before and during the creation of that park. Four and a half stars.

How to Stuff a Wild Zucchini by Heather Horrocks
This was a fun little chick book from Deseret Book. The protagonist ends up writing a gardening column for a Brigham City newspaper even though she knows nothing about gardening or plants. With the help of a persistent local fireman, she gets a good taste of Utah Mormon culture and the gospel. Three stars.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

This is the first book in an epic fantasy series that is well loved by many people. I myself thought it was entertaining and kind of interesting, but unlike others, I didn't love the characters. I suspect that perhaps if I read through the entire series and knew what becomes of each of the main characters, I would like them each more, but that is harder to do if you don't like them to start with. It was not a bad book and I would probably recommend it to readers who like long fantasy series, but for some reason I didn't connect with it. Four stars.

The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
Since the Wheel of Time series was recommended to me by many people whose reading opinions I trust, I decided to give it the old college try and read book 2 even though I didn't love book 1. It was about the same. Stuff happened, I didn't connect with the characters, and I wasn't intrigued by what was going to happen. I started reading book 3 after this and got about 50 pages in before losing steam on the series completely. Again, I suspect that it is an awesome series that I either went into with the wrong idea, or read at the wrong time to really enjoy it. Three and a half stars.

Alice in Wonderland or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll was a weird dude. Alice in Wonderland, while famous and still entertaining, is like a crazy dream in which the unpredictable, unlikely, and probably impossible just keeps happening. That said, it is interesting to actually read the book (I think this is an abridged version) after seeing the movies. Three stars.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

I love a novel that you come away from wanting to know more about history and having learned some about places, people, and events that you never knew about. Guernsey is an British island situated closer to Normandy, France than it is England and it was occupied by German troops during World War II. This book tells the story of a number of the island residents during that time. It is well written and very interesting. Five stars.

In August:

None (I think). Shocking, I know!

In September:

It's Good to Be Alive by Jack Rushton

This is an inspirational collection of thoughts and anecdotes from a man who became a quadriplegic after a random accident. In his book, he tells how he recovered and how he maintains his positive attitude in spite of the challenges of his new life. Some parts were so funny that I had to read them aloud to my husband. This book is inspiring, insightful and humorous. Four and a half stars.

In October:

Dewey by Vicki Myron

I have found that many books labeled heart-warming don't actually warm my heart that much, but rather make me roll my eyes or imagine myself drowning in liquid cheese. Dewey, on the other hand, is a heartwarming story that often left me sitting there reading with a huge smile on my face and wanting to hug someone (poor Toby probably got smothered while I was reading this book). Dewey is a cat who, through a minor miracle, came to live at a small-town library. His distinctive personality makes this book entertaining and nice to read, but there is enough non-cat information and story-line that even non-cat lovers will enjoy it.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

I had heard so little about this book, while seeing often it's title hanging out with some of the cliquish classic titles, so I was curious about it. I really liked this book. Adams starts in the preface by saying that while many have made it into a political allegory, it was intended to just be an entertaining story that he told to his little girls. That said, Watership Down is the story of some rabbits who leave their home in search of somewhere better to live. All the rabbits are very well developed characters and the book is very well-written and entertaining. I recommend it to anyone. Five stars.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

I recalled when I started reading this that we had seen the 1974 movie version of this book, but fortunately, I have a rather bad memory for movie plots and I didn't remember much more detail than that I had seen it. Christie creates an interesting situation as a train sleeping car full of passengers is stranded in the snow in the middle of nowhere and they discover a man has been murdered. Luckily, the famous detective Hercules Poirot is on board and he begins an investigation. This book is interesting, creative, and well done. Four and a half stars.

Well, so far that is it. I may have forgotten one because my record keeping has been lax the last few months. I think Watership Down was my favorite of my most recent reads.

Reading Update

I'm well on my way to completing my goal to read 24 books this year. Since I last updated you on my reading (mid February), I have found many new books that I love. Here's what I've read since then.

In March:

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

A quick, easy read about a step-family who is struggling to love each other, and the ghosts that haunt them. This book is aimed toward young teens but is well-written and develops the relationships well. Although I'm familiar with her name, I had only ever read Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn so I was glad to read more of her work. 3 stars.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Wow. What else can I say? This was a very good book. Although occasionally the monologues dragged on a bit excessively long, it was interesting and thought-provoking, with great characters, a great plot, and struggles and triumphs that you can really feel. Five stars.

In April:

The Lovely Bones by Alice Seebold
Fascinating. It made me think about a lot of things I don't normally think about. It was thought-provoking to see each different family member's reaction to the death. I watched the movie after reading the book and the movie was pretty well done also, and for once they left out stuff you wouldn't want to see instead of adding more! Four stars.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
Not too bad. This book has a little bit of everything in it. It has got disappearances, murder, business, police, corporate intrigue, journalism, security, family, wealth, poverty, family, love, hate, serial killers, etc. I could go on and on with that list. The book was a bit gritty and I don't think I would read it again and probably won't read the sequel. Three stars.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

& Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
These are obviously re-reads. Or technically in this case, re-listens, since I listened to the audio books. Of course they are both awesome. As an additional bonus, listening to these got Jeran really interested in finding more good audio books so if you know of any that he might like, let me know! Anyways, I love Harry Potter and these two are my favorite two books of the set. Five (hundred) stars.

In May:

I started The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood but I just couldn't get into it. I don't think it was too boring or anything, I think it was just bad timing and I might try the book again later. Sometimes I will start a book that I think I will like but it just doesn't grab me up for some reason. I don't know why that is. I often check out three or four books from the library and read all but one of them. I don't know why... I'm always interested in all the books when I check them out and I usually couldn't tell you which one won't get read. It's weird. Anyways... back to the list:

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Good good. Another very interesting book about a girl during WWII, this time a young Jewish girl in France and how her story eventually came to be known. This is a really poignant book that has really stayed with me more than a lot of other books. Four and a half stars.

Anthem by Ayn Rand
Excellent. This short novella is very interesting and has enough plot and philosophy to keep both strong and interesting. In a society where the word "I" has been completely forgotten, one person searches for a sense of identity and self. Five stars.

The Big Empty by J.B. Stephens
Mediocre. The characters were not very compelling and the relatively simple story has been intentionally dragged out over many books. In this, the first book of the series, they barely make it the first step of their adventure. Two stars.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Great. I can't say for sure yet whether I like this book or Atlas Shrugged better but once you've read one, there seems to be little need to read the other since they are so very similar in character. conflict, ideals and philosophy. There is a lot of merit and truth in Rand's objectivism philosophy, but with all three of Rand's books that I hve read this year strongly centered on the same concepts, it got a bit predictable. It is still very entertaining and interesting, probably especially if you haven't read Atlas Shrugged. Five stars.

So far this June (half-way through):

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
This was an interesting work of fiction about some important women of the Old Testament: Dinah, Rachel, Leah. I have read another novel about these women (Orson Scott Card's Rachel & Leah) and it was interesting to see the differences and similarities in the stories. Both are based on the little snippets of information that can be pulled from the Bible, and then fleshed out to make them real women. This book was pretty good. Four stars.

Day After Night by Anita Diamant

Day After Night is a historical fiction book about four Jewish women, each from different circumstances and with different backgrounds, right after WWII. They are all stuck waiting in a camp in Israel until they can get through the bureaucracy and officially immigrate to the new homeland. It was pretty interesting but not one of my favorite recent reads. The best thing about it was getting to know a little more of the history of the creation of Israel (although the actual facts are sparse throughout, but you get a feel for it). Three stars.

Well, that's it so far. If I don't count Harry Potters, that brings me to 16 books for the year but it's not really about the number. If you have any recommendations, send them my way! :)

I love reading

As one of my 2010 resolutions, I determined that this year I was going to read 24 books. I decided that they should be a great variety of lengths, genres, etc. without specifying how many of each and so far I think I am doing pretty well on both the variety and quantity.

In January, I read 4 books:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This novella was very short (50 pages) and different from the movie, which we saw a while ago. The book was interesting and was written more like "imagine this scenario" than an actual novel with a plot. Three stars.

Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card

Having read all of the other Ender series books, I decided to finish out the series (assuming he is done writing these finally!) I was familiar with the story and this complemented the rest of the books quite well. It was a good read. Four stars.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is a very interesting book revolving around a girl in Germany during WWII. The beginning is somewhat confusing but once you stick with it for a little while, you figure out who the characters are. Five Stars

A Gracious Plenty by Sheri Reynolds

This is about a woman who tends the graveyard in a small town and is shunned by many of the townspeople because her face was burned when she was young. This was a pretty good book that in some ways reminded me of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. It was entertaining and thought-provoking, although it had some bad language. Four stars.

In February so far (I know, only 1/3 of the way through it yet) I have read:

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

A well-written book about a girl in 15th century Florence whose life doesn't turn out at all like she thought it would. There is some material in this book that would make me hesitant to recommend it to others but it was still thought-provoking and interesting. Four stars.

Roots by Alex Haley

An excellent book. It has been a while since I read anything about early American history or Africa. This book is really quite amazing and has caused me to think a lot about slavery and seeing things from a new perspective. It is amazing to read how Alex Haley hunted down the facts about his genealogy and heritage. It made me want to talk to my elder relatives and find out the real details of their lives and where I came from. I highly recommend this book - don't be daunted by it's hugeness! Five stars.

I believe next on my list of things to read is Atlas Shrugged but after just finishing Roots (today) I may need a short little easy read before I jump into that. If anyone has any book recommendations for this year I would love to hear them. Thank you!