It was really great to honor Dewey with this challenge. I went with the option of reading 5 books that Dewey reviewed on her blog. As a bonus to the five, I had also planned on reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog, the book she was reading at the time of her death. I still may do that before the end of the year, but for now I consider this challenge complete. If anyone needs to see some more titles that were eligible, I have a list of some others in my original post about the challenge.
The books I read:
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing vol.1 by M.T. Anderson
I’m not going to finish this challenge, so sadly, it’s a DNF. I went with the option of 3 mega-chunksters of 750+ pages, and there is NO WAY I can do that by November 15. The ones I really wanted to read were:
Drood by Dan Simmons
Middlemarch by George Eliot
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Every year I want to read Middlemarch and War and Peace but never get to them. Maybe 2010 will be the year…
Snowflower and the Secret Fan tied (along with The Book Thief by Markus Zusak) for my top book of 2007, so I was very anxious to read the latest book by Lisa See. It did not disappoint. In fact, I am now fairly certain I will want to read most, if not all, of Lisa See’s works. Though I didn’t feel it was as good as Snowflower, I still thought it was excellent and will definitely be reading the sequel.
The novel takes place mostly in the 1940’s and 50’s, and I just love the sense of history in See’s novels. It was so fascinating to learn about the Chinese immigration process and the discrimination they endured, the dynamic of Chinatown, and the workings of the new Hollywood. Not to mention the intense relationship between Pearl and May, two sisters who are thrust into a completely new life with only each other as a reminder of the old. I also appreciate the female perspective on all their difficult situations.
Though I thought the ending of Shanghai Girls was a bit abrupt until I realized a sequel was in the works, I thoroughly enjoyed this story of sisters and the almost unbreakable bond they share. Reading a second novel by See made me even more interested in reading her non-fiction historical account, On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese American Family. I’m not a huge non-fiction fan, so that says a lot. I was surprised how much I enjoyed another Chinese family account when I read Wild Swans by Jung Chang, so I know it’s fairly certain I will like On Gold Mountain as well. Plus, it was heavily wishlisted on both PBS and Bookmooch, and that’s always a good sign.
Highly recommended.
2009, 336 pp.
[Disclosure: I received an ARC of this title from the publisher.]
I really, really was into the first half or so of Breaking Dawn, but did not like the second half at all. I read the first half or so immediately after Eclipse andabsolutely couldn’t put the book down until the end of the birth scene. I thought it was really intense and I was totally engrossed. Then, afterwards… what a let down. For starters, I actually was a little disappointed that she had to ‘cross over.’ I understand the reasons why, but it was so much more interesting to me before she did. And the way they told Charlie was totally hokey. I didn’t think that part was written well at all. Jacob’s new love interest seemed a little bizarre, but it did keep everyone in the same family so I guess I can live with it. And the vampire showdown? It went out with a whimper instead of a bang, didn’t it?
Oh, well, now it’s over, and I can feel great that once again this 40-ish woman is up on a small portion of pop culture. It’s difficult keeping up with the youngsters, but the Twilight series (at least most of it) made it a little more fun to do so. Now I’m just looking forward to the release of the movies!
2008, 754 pp
[Disclosure: This book was not received from the publisher. It's hard to admit, but I actually purchased a copy.]
I don’t know why I’m so interested in dystopian literature, but I am. Interested may be too mild a word. I am fascinated by books with dystopian themes and at least like most of the books I read in this genre.
I listened to House of the Scorpion on audio CD with my two teenage sons. Wow, what an incredible book! I didn’t love it as much as I loved The Giver by Lois Lowry, but it was still really powerful. There are so many issues to discuss in this book. My sons were anxious to talk about everything the book presented as well. Words cannot describe the satisfaction I get from listening to or reading the same books at the same time as my kids. I feel it’s even more important, not less, as they move into their middle teens. I highly recommend it.
It’s really difficult to describe the plot of this without giving too much away. I didn’t know much about the book when I picked it out for us to listen to — just that it was dystopian lit, so I’m hesitant to spill the beans on this one because I loved discovering it ‘fresh’ so to speak. Suffice it to say it’s an excellent YA dystopian book, and I will definitely be looking into more of Nancy Farmer’s work.
2002, 380 pp.
[Disclosure: I checked out this audio CD from my local library]
I read Eclipse pretty much straight through in one sitting the day after finishing New Moon. These books are addicting, if nothing else. I liked these two books the best of the four, and I couldn’t read fast enough. Since so many have already read the book, this post will contain spoilers.
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Eclipse was a fun one, what with the Edward/Jacob rivalry heating up even more. I especially enjoyed the tent scenes. Teenage love and angst at its best. I thought it was a little weird, though, that Bella wanted to be with Edward forever but resisted marrying him. What’s the difference when it comes down to it? I also really felt for Jacob in this one. I’m not really ‘Team Jacob,’ though, but in some ways I’m not ‘Team Edward,’ either. If you had to pin me down I’d have to say that I was ‘Team Bella’ in the sense that I’m rooting for her to realize and attain what she really wants for herself. Sometimes that’s the hardest thing in life to do — figuring out what one really wants.
2007, 629 pp.
[Disclosure: This book was not received from the publisher. It's hard to admit, but I actually purchased a copy.]
As usual, I’m a day late and a $1 short, but I thought I’d still post my own personal awards for BBAW. Since these were supposed to highlight blogs not on the shortlists, my awards are free of those blogs, even though some of them are my favorites as well.
(I’m tooting my own horn here, but there are some wonderful bloggers on this site who review all of the latest books. If you haven’t had a chance, check it out.)
I have now read through the entire series and will be publishing reviews for the other two books very soon.
Spoilers ahead
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I actually liked this one much better than Twilight, probably because it was better written. In fact, my favorites of the four were New Moon and Eclipse. I didn’t mind at all that Edward wasn’t in New Moon very much and was even half rooting for Jacob. It was fun to find out Jacob’s story as well. And although some readers felt that Bella’s grief was way over the top, I didn’t. Teenage love and loss– heck, adult love and loss– is very painful. Sometimes excruciatingly.
I’m excited for the movie to come out. I’ve seen some of the sneak previews from Comic Con and they look great. I’m also looking forward to seeing Dakota Fanning play Jane.
You know, I haven’t gone through chunks of books like this for a long time, and I must say I’ve missed it.
2006, 608 pp.
[Disclosure: This book was not received from the publisher. It's hard to admit, but I actually purchased a copy.]
Finally! After a month, I finally have my background back. I COULD NOT figure out why my middle section of my blog wouldn’t stay white instead of showing through to my books background. I tried everything. Finally today I just realized I was missing the ‘#’. My code read ‘background: ffffff;’ instead of ‘background: #ffffff;’
It’s usually something small like that. One time I was only missing a semicolon. Arggh. Oh, well, at least it’s back now.
I’m now winding down my time here at my ’summer home’ in Kentucky and will be heading back to Iowa soon. I’ve enjoyed it — even all the work painting and getting this house ready to sell (again), but I have missed having internet access and being able to visit blogs and comment on them. I’ve gone to the library for my own blog postings, but just haven’t had much time for other book blog community activity. I HAVE had time to listen to lots of audio CDs while working and I’ve devoured some print books as well, most notably theTwilight series, some of Sookie Stackhouse, and some of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series, all of which need reviews!
Series books can be a comfort in that you already know the characters, but there’s also a danger sometimes, of the series going on too long and becoming dull. For instance, even though Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective series has 10 books, I’m not tired of them yet. I love them and have not tired of them in the least. I’m pretty sure I won’t complete the Sookie Stackhouse series, though, and I haven’t made up my mind yet on The Inspector Gamache series. Usually I can tell by the third book or so if I’ll continue or not. Of course, much of anyone’s delight in a series is simply a matter of a reader’s taste as well. Every reader and book blogger is so different, but that’s also what makes reading books (and blogs) exciting. When I find a book blogger that has very similar tastes to my own, I definitely take notice, but I also enjoy reading those blogs whose owners have different tastes from mine, so that I can at least be knowledgeable about what’s out there.
Book Blogger Appreciation Week is this week, and though I haven’t been able to spend as much time commenting on my favorite blogs as I’d like to, mostly because of lack of internet access, I hope you know that I do appreciate the book blogging community very much.
“[A psalm of David.] The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
Snowflower and the Secret Fan tied (along with The Book Thief by Markus Zusak) for my top book of 2007, so I was very anxious to read the latest book by Lisa See. It did not disappoint. In fact, I am now fairly certain I will want to read most, if not all, of Lisa See’s works. Though I didn’t feel it was as good as Snowflower, I still thought it was excellent and will definitely be reading the sequel.
I read Eclipse pretty much straight through in one sitting the day after finishing New Moon. These books are addicting, if nothing else. I liked these two books the best of the four, and I couldn’t read fast enough. Since so many have already read the book, this post will contain spoilers.
Finally! After a month, I finally have my background back. I COULD NOT figure out why my middle section of my blog wouldn’t stay white instead of showing through to my books background. I tried everything. Finally today I just realized I was missing the ‘#’. My code read ‘background: ffffff;’ instead of ‘background: #ffffff;’
I’m now winding down my time here at my ’summer home’ in Kentucky and will be heading back to Iowa soon. I’ve enjoyed it — even all the work painting and getting this house ready to sell (again), but I have missed having internet access and being able to visit blogs and comment on them. I’ve gone to the library for my own blog postings, but just haven’t had much time for other book blog community activity. I HAVE had time to listen to lots of audio CDs while working and I’ve devoured some print books as well, most notably the Twilight series, some of Sookie Stackhouse, and some of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series, all of which need reviews!
