Whew... This is taking more posts than I anticipated, but I love books, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
51. Elyon by Ted Dekker (Another title in his YA series. Pretty good)
52. Raven Rise by D.J. MacHale
53. Soldiers of Halla by D.J. MacHale (The final book in the series. It was satisfying. There was a whole lot of exposition, but there really wasn't any other way to explain all the mythology so that the ending worked. All in all a nice end to a series I thoroughly enjoyed.)
54. Thirteenth Child by Particia Wrede (Loved it. Historical fantasy? How do you make THAT work? She does. I want to read the next one.)
55. Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Another book our store focused on. Very dense prose. I really liked it, but it took me a while to get through it.)
56. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (Absolutely heartbreaking and beautifully written. This is one of those books that will stay with you.)
57. The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf (Fascinating book with a great twist.)
58. Wild At Heart by John Eldredge (The counterpart to Captivating, this book explores God's design for and of men. Very enlightening.)
59. Sold by Patricia McCormick (A heartrending fictional account of a real atrocity - the sale of young girls and women into prostitution.)
60. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (A very good book. I read this one on the recommendation of Blam and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson you should enjoy this one, too.)
61. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (I had never read this before and now I want to know why! It was amazing and I loved all the play on words. Fun, fun, fun.)
62. Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain (I picked up an ARC of her second book, Sweetheart, quickly saw it was a sequel, so I read her first one, Heartsick first. Not my usual fare at all, but it totally sucked me in. Liked the first one a lot. Second one was okay. Third one was necessary to wrap things up, but started to feel like a repeat of the first two. I hope she moves to new characters for her next book.)
63. Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink (Not only is this book fantastic, but Michelle is one of the nicest authors you will ever meet. I am lucky enough that she is a local author and came to do a signing at our store. She is a fantastic lady and her book is wonderful. I am dying for the sequel to come out.)
64. The End by Lemony Snicket (Listened to this on audio. I've read the entire Series of Unfortunate Events multiple times. I love it so much.)
65. The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket (Another audio.)
66. A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh (I really like the way Mary draws her characters. They are great.)
67. The Guinea Pig Diaries by A.J. Jacobs (A friend of mine recommended The Know-It-All to me a few years ago and I've been following Jacobs' books ever since. This one was fun, but I preferred his first two books over it.)
68. The Earl Claims His Wife by Cathy Maxwell (I feel really bad because I can't remember anything about this book or why I picked it up.)
69. Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson (I got this book on audio and fell in love with the author. I like a good mystery and she delivers with character, plot, humor and heart.)
70. Suspicion by Kate Brian (Another book in the Private series. I'm pretty sure Kate is a Lost fan after reading this book. Deserted islands, a character named Sawyer that always has his nose in a book... I recognize the signs :)
Well, one more post ought to finish this up. Maybe I'll get to that tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
What I Read This Year - Post 2
Now that I've actually gotten a comment by one of the authors of one of the books I mentioned/read/reviewed I'm a little scared. But I'm not gonna lie about the ones I didn't like and I want to rave about the ones I did, so if you liked a book I didn't, that's fine - after all, that's why there are so many books out there for all of us different people :)
Onward and Upward...
21. Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon (I did not like this book. I felt like the end was a major copout. The premise sounded interesting, but I was deeply dissatisfied when I finished it.)
22. Pendragon Before the War: Book One of the Travelers by D.J. MacHale & Carolyn Jablonski (I love the Pendragon series, but it had been a while since I had read the series. These prequels were interesting, but sometimes it felt like there were continuity errors from the regular stories. Maybe it was my faulty memory or maybe it was the fact that they were written by other people. I enjoyed them, but they aren't necessary at all for enjoying the series.)
23. Malice by Lisa Jackson (This came in as an ARC [Advanced Reader's Copy] and looked interesting. I really liked it. I would definitely read more by this author, I just haven't yet.)
24. Pendragon Before the War: Book Two of the Travelers by D.J. MacHale and Walter Sorrells (See 22)
25. City of Thieves by David Benioff (Our store chose various books throughout the year to focus on. This was one of them. I discovered a lot of great books and authors through that program. I liked this book overall. It was funny and heart-breaking and somehow not depressing, though the subject matter should have made it so. Too crass for my personal taste and I struggled with finishing it because of that.)
26. Pendragon Before the War: Book Three of the Travelers by D.J. MacHale and Walter Sorrells (see 22)
27. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (This was a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I absolutely adored it. Such a fantastic retelling. I would definitely recommend it.)
28. Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn (I picked this series of graphic novels up because of Lost and because one of the regular posters over at Nikki Stafford's site recommends them regularly. I enjoyed the plot line and the characters. Intriguing premise and man did I cry at the end. However, I am fairly conservative and there were too many "adult" scenes and too much profanity. It made me personally uncomfortable. Brilliant author, fantastic premise, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know because of some of the other stuff.)
29. Fables Volumes 1-11 by Bill Willingham (When a friend of mine saw me reading Y, she told me I should try reading these. They were fun.)
30. Bone Man's Daughters by Ted Dekker (He has become one of my favorite authors and this book was well done. Not one of my favorites of his, but a great thriller and I have recommended it to a number of people.)
31. Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr (Oh Melissa. I had a chance to meet her at BEA and she was so nice. She's an amazing author, too. If you haven't read any of her books go pick up Wicked Lovely right now. I recommend them to people all the time.)
32. The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale (The last book in the series was about to come out, so I decided to reread the entire series. I'm glad I did, because I had forgotten a lot of the details and I enjoyed the last book even more. Great series, a fun premise. Overall a very enjoyable read.)
33. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (This book was probably my all time favorite one for the year. If you have not read it yet, drop everything and read it right now. It is such a shame that the author passed away in February, because that means she won't be writing any more books. This was another book my store focused on and I loved it so much. It has everything. You will laugh, you will cry and your life will be richer because you read it.)
34. The Lost City of Faar by D.J. MacHale (probably my favorite book in the Pendragon series.)
35. The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson (I read A Countess Below Stairs and loved it. This one was good, but not as good as that one, in my opinion. But I love her books and plan on reading more.)
36. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (Loved it. A great end to a fantastic series. Can't wait for his next series to start coming out.)
37. Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge (I did this as a girl's Bible study at my church. It's an amazing book and you will not look at men and women the same after reading this. [in a good way] I highly recommend it. I found it has helped me to better understand people around me, both girls and guys.)
38. The Never War by D.J. MacHale
39. The Reality Bug by D.J. MacHale (Scary, because I could totally see our society heading toward this if we had the technology.)
40. Black Water by D.J. MacHale
41. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Usually when there is a trilogy, the second book is a bit of a let down. It usually feels like you're treading water, just waiting for the third and end to come. Not so with this one. I was expecting to be let down, but it was just as good, if not better than The Hunger Games. Absolutely brilliant. Please, do yourself a favor and read these books. The third one is due out later this year and I CANNOT wait for it.)
42. The Rivers of Zadaa by D.J. MacHale
43. Beautiful Disaster by Kate Brian (This is part of the Privilege series that was a spin off of the Private series. In my opinion they are ten time better. The main character and her nemesis are tautly written sociopaths and are just as good as any characterization in a regular mystery/thriller.)
44. First Comes Marriage by Mary Balogh (I never used to read anything that could be considered a romance novel. But the characters in this series intrigued me. I just skip over the, what seems to be mandatory two page bedroom scene, and thoroughly enjoy the writing and characterization. I fell in love with this family. If you should happen to see this, Mary, please, please, please, please, please write a book about their cousin! I can't stand not knowing what made him the way he is and I want to see him have a happy ever after, too.)
45. Then Comes Seduction by Mary Balogh
46. Lunatic by Ted Dekker (This is part of his YA series, which is a spin off of his Circle trilogy and Paradise novels. I enjoy them, but they definitely aren't his best.)
47. At Last Comes Love by Mary Balogh
48. The Quillan Games by D.J. MacHale
49. The Pilgrims of Rayne by D.J. MacHale (Major plot twist in this one makes it one of my favorites in the Pendragon series.)
50. Seducing an Angel by Mary Balogh
Onward and Upward...
21. Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon (I did not like this book. I felt like the end was a major copout. The premise sounded interesting, but I was deeply dissatisfied when I finished it.)
22. Pendragon Before the War: Book One of the Travelers by D.J. MacHale & Carolyn Jablonski (I love the Pendragon series, but it had been a while since I had read the series. These prequels were interesting, but sometimes it felt like there were continuity errors from the regular stories. Maybe it was my faulty memory or maybe it was the fact that they were written by other people. I enjoyed them, but they aren't necessary at all for enjoying the series.)
23. Malice by Lisa Jackson (This came in as an ARC [Advanced Reader's Copy] and looked interesting. I really liked it. I would definitely read more by this author, I just haven't yet.)
24. Pendragon Before the War: Book Two of the Travelers by D.J. MacHale and Walter Sorrells (See 22)
25. City of Thieves by David Benioff (Our store chose various books throughout the year to focus on. This was one of them. I discovered a lot of great books and authors through that program. I liked this book overall. It was funny and heart-breaking and somehow not depressing, though the subject matter should have made it so. Too crass for my personal taste and I struggled with finishing it because of that.)
26. Pendragon Before the War: Book Three of the Travelers by D.J. MacHale and Walter Sorrells (see 22)
27. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (This was a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I absolutely adored it. Such a fantastic retelling. I would definitely recommend it.)
28. Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn (I picked this series of graphic novels up because of Lost and because one of the regular posters over at Nikki Stafford's site recommends them regularly. I enjoyed the plot line and the characters. Intriguing premise and man did I cry at the end. However, I am fairly conservative and there were too many "adult" scenes and too much profanity. It made me personally uncomfortable. Brilliant author, fantastic premise, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know because of some of the other stuff.)
29. Fables Volumes 1-11 by Bill Willingham (When a friend of mine saw me reading Y, she told me I should try reading these. They were fun.)
30. Bone Man's Daughters by Ted Dekker (He has become one of my favorite authors and this book was well done. Not one of my favorites of his, but a great thriller and I have recommended it to a number of people.)
31. Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr (Oh Melissa. I had a chance to meet her at BEA and she was so nice. She's an amazing author, too. If you haven't read any of her books go pick up Wicked Lovely right now. I recommend them to people all the time.)
32. The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale (The last book in the series was about to come out, so I decided to reread the entire series. I'm glad I did, because I had forgotten a lot of the details and I enjoyed the last book even more. Great series, a fun premise. Overall a very enjoyable read.)
33. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (This book was probably my all time favorite one for the year. If you have not read it yet, drop everything and read it right now. It is such a shame that the author passed away in February, because that means she won't be writing any more books. This was another book my store focused on and I loved it so much. It has everything. You will laugh, you will cry and your life will be richer because you read it.)
34. The Lost City of Faar by D.J. MacHale (probably my favorite book in the Pendragon series.)
35. The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson (I read A Countess Below Stairs and loved it. This one was good, but not as good as that one, in my opinion. But I love her books and plan on reading more.)
36. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (Loved it. A great end to a fantastic series. Can't wait for his next series to start coming out.)
37. Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge (I did this as a girl's Bible study at my church. It's an amazing book and you will not look at men and women the same after reading this. [in a good way] I highly recommend it. I found it has helped me to better understand people around me, both girls and guys.)
38. The Never War by D.J. MacHale
39. The Reality Bug by D.J. MacHale (Scary, because I could totally see our society heading toward this if we had the technology.)
40. Black Water by D.J. MacHale
41. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Usually when there is a trilogy, the second book is a bit of a let down. It usually feels like you're treading water, just waiting for the third and end to come. Not so with this one. I was expecting to be let down, but it was just as good, if not better than The Hunger Games. Absolutely brilliant. Please, do yourself a favor and read these books. The third one is due out later this year and I CANNOT wait for it.)
42. The Rivers of Zadaa by D.J. MacHale
43. Beautiful Disaster by Kate Brian (This is part of the Privilege series that was a spin off of the Private series. In my opinion they are ten time better. The main character and her nemesis are tautly written sociopaths and are just as good as any characterization in a regular mystery/thriller.)
44. First Comes Marriage by Mary Balogh (I never used to read anything that could be considered a romance novel. But the characters in this series intrigued me. I just skip over the, what seems to be mandatory two page bedroom scene, and thoroughly enjoy the writing and characterization. I fell in love with this family. If you should happen to see this, Mary, please, please, please, please, please write a book about their cousin! I can't stand not knowing what made him the way he is and I want to see him have a happy ever after, too.)
45. Then Comes Seduction by Mary Balogh
46. Lunatic by Ted Dekker (This is part of his YA series, which is a spin off of his Circle trilogy and Paradise novels. I enjoy them, but they definitely aren't his best.)
47. At Last Comes Love by Mary Balogh
48. The Quillan Games by D.J. MacHale
49. The Pilgrims of Rayne by D.J. MacHale (Major plot twist in this one makes it one of my favorites in the Pendragon series.)
50. Seducing an Angel by Mary Balogh
Sunday, January 3, 2010
What I Read This Year - Post 1
Last year a friend of mine from another blogosphere posted her list of books she had read over the past year. I loved the idea of actually keeping track, so I started. It was the beginning of February before I began, so I'm sure I missed a few from January or listed some that I actually read in December, but other then that I was actually very faithful at writing down each book as I read it.
The list looks really long, but I realized when looking over it that a LOT of it was what my boss calls "Brain Candy". It has no real substance, but it's still enjoyable to read. I was kind of disappointed with myself, but then I realized that I will be going to grad school and have no time for "Brain Candy" books, so this was like my year off.
Since the list is so long I'm going to break it up into a couple of posts so people don't get bored and I don't get bored. So here goes....
1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (One of the best books I have read in a long time. Her characters are so vivid. It's written in first person, so you become emotional attached very quickly. The premise is interesting and it is the first book that I can ever remember wanting to read again the moment I finished it. Excellent, excellent book. I cannot recommend it strongly enough. Every person who has read it, that I've talked to, has loved it.)
2. Paradise Lost by Kate Brian (One of my coworkers hooked me on this series. Not at all my usual book fare, but once you read the first one, each book ends with a cliffhanger and you feel oddly compelled to keep reading, even when you are getting annoyed with the ridiculousness of the main character.)
3. Tru Confessions by Janet Tashjian (I read this because I loved the movie that was made by Disney. One of the few cases where I actually liked the movie better. The book was all right, but the movie is amazing. If you can get your hands on the movie please watch it. It's about a girl struggling with the impact of having a twin that is developmentally disabled. Shia Labeouf plays her twin brother and is absolutely brilliant. Some of his best acting ever.)
4. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (My sister hooked me on these books and they are amazing and fun and you need to go read them all now. The movie is coming out based on the first one. I want to see it, but do yourself a favor and read it first. Riordan has already said they've made some significant changes so I'm a bit worried, but the books are just great.)
5. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (ditto)
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (We could not keep these in stock, so I decided to read it for "research" to answer parent's questions about them. Pretty funny, but I don't know if I'd let my eight year old read it. The main character's not exactly a role model.)
7. Cinderella (As if You Don't Already Know the Story) by Barbara Ensor (I was really disappointed with this book. I love retellings of fairy tales and the back was pretty funny, but the story was drab and didn't vary much at all from the standard Cinderella story.)
8. The Little Prince by Antoine de saint Exupery (I read this because Lost 5.04 was titled "The Little Prince" and we had a copy in the house. It blew my mind with Lost parallels and started me on a little bit of a personal project to uncover and read books that are referenced by the show. Besides, it was a really fun book.)
9. Running From the Law by Lisa Scottoline (Listened to this one on CD during my commute. Back before my car got robbed and I actually had a CD player :( Ah well. A good mystery. Enjoyed it.)
10. Yes Man by Danny Wallace (I picked up this because the Jim Carrey movie looked funny with an interesting premise. The introduction was hysterical, but it went down hill fast. I wouldn't recommend it. I found it boring and really wish I had not forced my way through the end of it. The book could have been 1/3 as long and made the same point.)
11. Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz (With the Twilight craze, lots of people are looking for books to turn to once they've finished the Saga. I started reading through some of the various vampire series because I liked Twilight and I wanted to be able to give people knowledgeable recommendations. All my coworkers know I am the one to come to for recommendations for anyone from 8-18. This series was one of the better vampire ones. I found the first book a little hard to get into, but once she really started revealing the mythology I was fascinated. She ties in biblical, historical and mythical references to create something completely different than any other vampire story I've read.)
12. Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz
13. Revelation by Melissa De La Cruz
14. Hood by Stephen Lawhead (I had been eyeing this book for a long time and finally picked it up. It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I've never read the original Robin Hood stories, so maybe it's closer to that than to the Disney version [haha]. It was weightier than I was expecting, but enjoyable. I've been wanting to read the second one, Scarlet, but haven't had a chance yet.
15. Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta (Picked this out of the bargain bin. Fun vampire romp. More adult than the YA books, but without getting into "adult" heavy scenes. I liked it and was excited to see there are a couple sequels. Got my hands on the third, but don't want to read it until I find the second.)
16. Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast (Another YA vampire series. It's pretty good, but a few things about it bother me. One is the goddess worship that is a major part of the mythos and the other was the "adult" content [though that was mainly in the first book, if I remember correctly]. I've kept up with it because I'm interested to see how the authors play everything out, but if I had to do it over I probably wouldn't read them.)
17. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (So many people were coming in for this book, from teenagers to book clubbers, that I decided to read it. Fascinating, gripping, wonderfully painful book. If you like WWII books or historical fiction you should read it. It's from the common people's perspective on the other side. Not Jewish, as has been done so many times, but the German people as they struggled to survive the war just like everyone else. The narrator is "death" literally, which is fascinating and bizarre. Good book. I cried a lot.)
18. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan (Tie in stories that go along with the Percy Jackson series. A lot of fun.)
19. Carrie by Stephen King (Another book I read because of Lost. My first ever Stephen King. I didn't find it scary, but extremely sad.)
20. Finding Lost: Season 3 by Nikki Stafford (It seems fitting to end this first post of books I've read with one of Nikki's. She is the reason I started blogging in the first place. I picked up this book at work since I was beginning to really get into the show. It had her blog address on the back and the rest, as they say, is history. If you like Lost you HAVE to read her books. They are insightful and witty and amazingly perceptive. I cannot recommend them, or her, highly enough. She's literally changed my life over the past year in a lot of crazy, but good ways.)
There. Now you see why I'm breaking this into multiple entries. I haven't even hit the half way mark yet. Wasn't planning on writing mini reviews for each one, but there you go. More to come hopefully in the next couple of days.
Have you read any good books this past year? I'd love to hear some of your favorites!
The list looks really long, but I realized when looking over it that a LOT of it was what my boss calls "Brain Candy". It has no real substance, but it's still enjoyable to read. I was kind of disappointed with myself, but then I realized that I will be going to grad school and have no time for "Brain Candy" books, so this was like my year off.
Since the list is so long I'm going to break it up into a couple of posts so people don't get bored and I don't get bored. So here goes....
1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (One of the best books I have read in a long time. Her characters are so vivid. It's written in first person, so you become emotional attached very quickly. The premise is interesting and it is the first book that I can ever remember wanting to read again the moment I finished it. Excellent, excellent book. I cannot recommend it strongly enough. Every person who has read it, that I've talked to, has loved it.)
2. Paradise Lost by Kate Brian (One of my coworkers hooked me on this series. Not at all my usual book fare, but once you read the first one, each book ends with a cliffhanger and you feel oddly compelled to keep reading, even when you are getting annoyed with the ridiculousness of the main character.)
3. Tru Confessions by Janet Tashjian (I read this because I loved the movie that was made by Disney. One of the few cases where I actually liked the movie better. The book was all right, but the movie is amazing. If you can get your hands on the movie please watch it. It's about a girl struggling with the impact of having a twin that is developmentally disabled. Shia Labeouf plays her twin brother and is absolutely brilliant. Some of his best acting ever.)
4. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (My sister hooked me on these books and they are amazing and fun and you need to go read them all now. The movie is coming out based on the first one. I want to see it, but do yourself a favor and read it first. Riordan has already said they've made some significant changes so I'm a bit worried, but the books are just great.)
5. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (ditto)
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (We could not keep these in stock, so I decided to read it for "research" to answer parent's questions about them. Pretty funny, but I don't know if I'd let my eight year old read it. The main character's not exactly a role model.)
7. Cinderella (As if You Don't Already Know the Story) by Barbara Ensor (I was really disappointed with this book. I love retellings of fairy tales and the back was pretty funny, but the story was drab and didn't vary much at all from the standard Cinderella story.)
8. The Little Prince by Antoine de saint Exupery (I read this because Lost 5.04 was titled "The Little Prince" and we had a copy in the house. It blew my mind with Lost parallels and started me on a little bit of a personal project to uncover and read books that are referenced by the show. Besides, it was a really fun book.)
9. Running From the Law by Lisa Scottoline (Listened to this one on CD during my commute. Back before my car got robbed and I actually had a CD player :( Ah well. A good mystery. Enjoyed it.)
10. Yes Man by Danny Wallace (I picked up this because the Jim Carrey movie looked funny with an interesting premise. The introduction was hysterical, but it went down hill fast. I wouldn't recommend it. I found it boring and really wish I had not forced my way through the end of it. The book could have been 1/3 as long and made the same point.)
11. Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz (With the Twilight craze, lots of people are looking for books to turn to once they've finished the Saga. I started reading through some of the various vampire series because I liked Twilight and I wanted to be able to give people knowledgeable recommendations. All my coworkers know I am the one to come to for recommendations for anyone from 8-18. This series was one of the better vampire ones. I found the first book a little hard to get into, but once she really started revealing the mythology I was fascinated. She ties in biblical, historical and mythical references to create something completely different than any other vampire story I've read.)
12. Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz
13. Revelation by Melissa De La Cruz
14. Hood by Stephen Lawhead (I had been eyeing this book for a long time and finally picked it up. It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I've never read the original Robin Hood stories, so maybe it's closer to that than to the Disney version [haha]. It was weightier than I was expecting, but enjoyable. I've been wanting to read the second one, Scarlet, but haven't had a chance yet.
15. Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta (Picked this out of the bargain bin. Fun vampire romp. More adult than the YA books, but without getting into "adult" heavy scenes. I liked it and was excited to see there are a couple sequels. Got my hands on the third, but don't want to read it until I find the second.)
16. Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast (Another YA vampire series. It's pretty good, but a few things about it bother me. One is the goddess worship that is a major part of the mythos and the other was the "adult" content [though that was mainly in the first book, if I remember correctly]. I've kept up with it because I'm interested to see how the authors play everything out, but if I had to do it over I probably wouldn't read them.)
17. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (So many people were coming in for this book, from teenagers to book clubbers, that I decided to read it. Fascinating, gripping, wonderfully painful book. If you like WWII books or historical fiction you should read it. It's from the common people's perspective on the other side. Not Jewish, as has been done so many times, but the German people as they struggled to survive the war just like everyone else. The narrator is "death" literally, which is fascinating and bizarre. Good book. I cried a lot.)
18. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan (Tie in stories that go along with the Percy Jackson series. A lot of fun.)
19. Carrie by Stephen King (Another book I read because of Lost. My first ever Stephen King. I didn't find it scary, but extremely sad.)
20. Finding Lost: Season 3 by Nikki Stafford (It seems fitting to end this first post of books I've read with one of Nikki's. She is the reason I started blogging in the first place. I picked up this book at work since I was beginning to really get into the show. It had her blog address on the back and the rest, as they say, is history. If you like Lost you HAVE to read her books. They are insightful and witty and amazingly perceptive. I cannot recommend them, or her, highly enough. She's literally changed my life over the past year in a lot of crazy, but good ways.)
There. Now you see why I'm breaking this into multiple entries. I haven't even hit the half way mark yet. Wasn't planning on writing mini reviews for each one, but there you go. More to come hopefully in the next couple of days.
Have you read any good books this past year? I'd love to hear some of your favorites!
Friday, January 1, 2010
New Year's Ponderings
It seems so strange to be in 2010 already.
I have a strange feeling that it will be a momentous year for me. By the fall, God-willing, I will be in grad school, taking the next steps toward my future. In August I turn 30 (a rather scary thought) and I don't know what all else will come along this year.
It's so strange to sit with an entire year waiting in front of me. Each day empty, waiting for the words I will put into them.
Some will be good, some bad, some boring, some thrilling. On some of those days I will feel joy and delight. On some I will experience sorrow. On others I will feel despondent, but those will be balanced by the hopeful.
No matter what each day brings I know it will have been given by God to live out to the best of my ability. I will succeed and I will fail miserably, but His love for me will never falter or change. that is so refreshing to know.
It is calming to my soul and peaceful for my heart.
May I embrace each day as the blessing He has meant it to be and live it for His glory.
May each one of you have a Blessed New Year and may God draw you closer to Himself with every exciting new day He provides.
God bless
I have a strange feeling that it will be a momentous year for me. By the fall, God-willing, I will be in grad school, taking the next steps toward my future. In August I turn 30 (a rather scary thought) and I don't know what all else will come along this year.
It's so strange to sit with an entire year waiting in front of me. Each day empty, waiting for the words I will put into them.
Some will be good, some bad, some boring, some thrilling. On some of those days I will feel joy and delight. On some I will experience sorrow. On others I will feel despondent, but those will be balanced by the hopeful.
No matter what each day brings I know it will have been given by God to live out to the best of my ability. I will succeed and I will fail miserably, but His love for me will never falter or change. that is so refreshing to know.
It is calming to my soul and peaceful for my heart.
May I embrace each day as the blessing He has meant it to be and live it for His glory.
May each one of you have a Blessed New Year and may God draw you closer to Himself with every exciting new day He provides.
God bless
Monday, December 28, 2009
My Adorable Nephew
We had a really nice Christmas. My sister "Rae" and her husband "Pete" came to visit bringing my adorable nephew. He's pictured here wearing his favorite Christmas sweater.
Yes, that is his actual picture and no, you don't need new glasses. Okay, so technically he's not my nephew, but he's the closest thing I have and I love him to pieces. His name is Titus and he has the sweetest temperament and the greatest personality. Smart as anything too. No I'm not biased. What are you talking about?
About a month before Christmas Rae bought him the above sweater as a Christmas present, but when she got home she tried it on him to make sure it fit. It did, so she tucked it into the bottom of the bag where she keeps his treats and travel toys, etc.
The next day when she got home Titus was waiting for her in the living room with the sweater, pleading at her with puppy dog eyes to put it on. She said no, of course. After all it was his Christmas present and went to put it back in the bag. He had ignored the toys and the treats and dug the sweater out leaving everything else intact. She tucked it back in the bottom, put everything else on top and proceeded to start dinner.
A few minutes later he padded into the kitchen bearing the sweater and dropped it at her feet. At which point she caved (I know, she's a terrible mother :P). But honestly, he just loved it so much, how could you possibly resist a face like that?
So he was wearing it for Christmas as we all gathered to open presents. Last year Titus was excited about everything but this year he had it all figured out. There were goodies inside those wrapped packages and you just had to get through the paper to find the treats. Which he did quite adeptly as seen in this lovely video. (the music is Can't Believe It's Christmas from A Very Veggie Christmas. [I love Veggie Tales])
He so carefully pulls out the toys and doesn't eat the paper or anything. How adorable is that? The answer is VERY :)
Once he gets a toy, Titus' first mission is to make sure it is actually dead by de-stuffing it. The green thing I got him was called an "Unstuffable" meaning it had no stuffing. At least, the body didn't. Turned out the head had quite a bit..... (the music here is Christmasville Fanfare by Manheim Steamroller [love them too])
He is just cuter than a bug's ear. What a fun addition to our Christmas celebration. Of course, I can't wait for real nieces and nephews, but I'm telling you, Titus makes a great stand in until that happens.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Year of the Curséd Turkey
We like turkey. It tastes good :) (If you are an animal rights activist or a vegan, you may not want to read any further. Of course, after that opening line, you're probably leaving of your own accord.)
Every year my Dad cooks an absolutely delectable turkey with the best stuffing you have ever tasted. Seriously.
This year the turkeys decided to indulge in a little turkey-style revenge.
(This guy looks REALLY angry. I would never eat you. Honest. I promise! Please, stop staring!!!)
We had a turkey in the freezer, so my Dad decided we didn't need to buy our usual 30 pounder, but would settle for the 22 lb one that we already had.
The turkey sat, wrapped in its celophane jacket, slowly defrosting for our consumption pleasure. We had no idea what horrors lurked underneath.
Dad snipped open the wrapper and we discovered that the plastic was the only thing holding the bird together. The one leg swung wildly down out of its socket, pulling all of the skin away from the meat. Dad tried to pick it up and found that the backbone was broken as was the breastbone.
We managed to get it into a somewhat turkey looking shape and even managed to stuff it, though it took more nails and string than normal to hold it all together. It was looking pretty good. It had us fooled.
My Dad is one of those, slow-cook-the-turkey-all-night-long kind of guys and his turkeys always come out tender and juicy. The only downside for him is that he has to get up throughout the night to baste it. That's never been a problem before.
At about 7:30 I was abruptly awakened from slumber by a loud noise and a yelp. My body was instantly awake. However, my brain took several moments to process everything. This is how it went.
What was that?
It's 7:30.
Dad's probably basting the turkey.
That was a loud noise.
He doesn't yelp like that.
HE DROPPED THE TURKEY!!!!!
I bolted out of bed and ran upstairs.
Because of the mishapen state of our turkey we had to put it into a different pan than usual. Instead of foil, it has a metal lid. Dad pulled out the turkey and basted it, but when he tried to slide it back into the oven, the lid caught and tipped everything toward him.
The lid fell off onto the floor, neatly catching some of the juices and Dad caught the turkey and flipped it back into the pan, saving it and the stuffing. However, he got splattered with the boiling grease, which wasn't very fun.
Then we had the fun of mopping stuffing and grease off of the linoleum. But wait! There's more!
As the pan tipped, it dumped a lot of the juices and grease onto the stove door where it trickled down inside the door. When we closed the oven it rained down into the drawer under the stove onto the pots and pans stored there. So after mopping the kitchen, we then got to wash every single pan we own, including those fun broiler pans with all of the ridges and holes. Then there's the enjoyment of finding somewhere to store them while we clean grease and stuffing out of the bottom of the drawer and wait for it to dry.
Of course, now the greases are in the door itself, so we have to pull the door off the oven, take it outside, disassemble it, clean it, reassemble it and put it back onto the oven so we could cook the rest of dinner. Fortunately we have a little side oven that was not affected by the turkey disaster, so we were able to get a jump start on the few things that would fit in there.
Did this deter us from enjoying our Thanksgiving repast? Not a whit!
Mmmmm. Turkey. You may fight back, but we will eat you anyway. Just don't try anything next year.
(Can I come over to your house for Thanksgiving?)
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