Books, books and more books!

That's what I got this Christmas, thanks to my lovely friends and sister. Well, to be specific, I got gift cards to Barnes and Noble which I went out and spent (along with a little of my own money) on tons o' wonderful books.

I got lots of teen fiction (also thanks to Krissie who bought me four awesome books) and The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll. I am especially excited about that one because I have been wanting to read Through the Looking Glass again.

So...here's the list.

From Krissie:
Specials by Scott Westerfeld
Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Loser by Jerry Spinelli

From my gift cards:
The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede (the complete box set, she co-wrote Sorcery and Cecilia and I really liked the cover art so I thought I'd give it a try)
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Just because they were on sale for less than $5:
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
The Dictionary of Disagreeable English: A Curmudgeon's Compendium of Excruciatingly Correct Grammar by Robert Hartwell Fiske (it was $1.99 and I like reading about grammar misusage)
The Musee D'Orsay (which was 50% off and has beautiful pictures of the works of art from this museum in Paris, which was one of my favorites when we visited in the spring)

Okay, so I think that covers it. Actually I know I bought a couple more I just can't remember them at the moment. All in all, though, I am very pleased with my Christmas presents and tried to buy books that would last a long time and remind me of the people who made the buying of them possible. Hence the box set and the Works of Lewis Carroll. I am excited to start reading!!

Atonement by Ian McEwan

So, I finished this book last night. First and foremost, I LOVED it. It was a good read full of love and war and tragedy and lies. It had a "real" ending. Not the story-book ending I was furvently hoping for while reading the book, but a real life ending making the characters and events seem that much more plausible. For all we know, this is a true story. It isn't, but it could be. McEwan didn't compromise in this area and I like that a lot.

Secondly. I kind of fell in love with Robbie Turner. He's written so well. He makes mistakes - goofy, blind-in-love mistakes that every person has made, but the consequences of those mistakes are far more serious and disastrous than called for. Still, he never loses his faith in or his love for Cecilia. James McAvoy plays Robbie in the film and he said this about the role,

"I do really care about that character. I get angry about what happens to them in the way you would with a true story based on real events, y'know, and I have to remind myself it's made up and it actually didn't happen."

That pretty much sums it up for me. As I read, I knew what would happen (it's not a secret that Robbie Turner is falsely accused of rape) and I dreaded every moment leading up to it and the ease with which it was carried through. Then I was angry reading about the events following. They seemed like real things happening to real people. That's why McEwan is amazing.

Like I said, the romantic in me wanted the book to end differently, but I know it would have ruined the whole thing if it had. So overall, it was fantastic.

updates

I'll probably be messing with the organization of this blog and its layout. now that i have my laptop, i have the time to do so and it has been bugging me.

In book news, I've been reading Atonement and my earlier doubts have been erased. It is amazing so far and I cannot wait to finish it.

So Talk About Expanding Your Horizons...

I just finished reading The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan--the first book in the Wheel of Time series. Not something I thought I'd ever read, let's be honest. But the story is that Mike had just finished a book and needed something else to read, so I gave him The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, and when I did he thought hey! I'll give you a book to read too! He gave me two, actually, the other one Eragon by Christopher Paolini. I'm sure I'll get around to that one sometime but it's not really on my top list right now. So anyway, The Eye of the World. Surprisingly good. Granted, I did have to learn to ignore a lot of little things that normally annoy the crap out of me, and just keep an open mind about different styles of writing and all that. And there were a couple things that never quite stopped irritating me (like they way they use the word "light," for example, as both an expletive and a prayer). But the book was actually really good, and I like it enough that I'm starting the second one now, The Great Hunt. I'm excited because both Megan and Mike say they remember this one being amazing, and hey, amazing is always good. I told Mike from the beginning that I am making no commitments past the first three, because--well, really. The series is eleven GINORMOUS books long and the writer died without writing the twelfth and final book, so I actually picked quite a lame time to get into the series. I like them, though, so I'm afraid that I'll read the first three and want to keep going. I guess we'll see how that turns out. I may be setting myself up for a looooot of reading and reading with no fulfillment at the end. Meh. What're you gonna do?

In other news, I am finally reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. I was at Borders with Mike and saw a display with some really cool looking books, and this one was one of them. I've been meaning to read Lewis Carroll for a long time now, actually, and these were such a unique series that I figured it was a sign that it was about time for me to get the book and start reading. I already finished Alice in Wonderland in like a day--it's very quick reading, and only 102 pages long--and now I'm starting into the second one. Good times, and also Lewis Carroll was a very interesting man. :)

Holiday Reading

Although I am sad that my friend, Sheryl, will not be here during the month of December, I am looking forward to catching up on my reading.

Right now I am finishing up the Goose Girl "series" by Shannon Hale. The book is called River Secrets and so far it is great. It's interesting to see how she writes a main MALE character and to see how much more I like him (Razo) now that he is the main character and is gaining some dimension.

By the way, Enna Burning (the second book in the lineup) was fantastic. Enna is so different from Isi. It's a great read.

Megan's unfailing faith in Ian McEwan's Atonement has renewed my desire to finish it and I'm hoping I will have the time to discover just what Megan loves about it. Don't get me wrong, the writing is fantastic, it's just a little slow moving at times and my patience level is never really all that high.

I still also have The Lovely Bones, I Capture the Castle, and tons of other books I haven't even purchased yet to get through. I am hoping and wishing for a Barnes and Noble gift card for Christmas so I can add to my lovely bookshelf.

I finished Atonement, and it was amazing. Definitely worth pushing through to the end. I also read The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine - very cute. I'm currently reading Enter Three Witches by Caroline B. Cooney - lots of fun, a play on Macbeth. That is all I feel like posting at the mo.

nataliedee.com

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

This book has been mentioned on this blog now several times. Well, I finished it last night...mostly because I want my life to be difficult and thought finishing this book would be worth only getting four hours of sleep. I was wrong.

Now, it wasn't a bad book. It was well written and it was keeping me happy far past the point of no return (ie: that ominous chapter just past the middle of a book where if you reach it you HAVE to finish reading no matter how you actually feel about the book. Sometimes reaching this point is worth your while, other times it leads to you feeling hollow and frustrated). However, once I surpassed the point of no return things went down hill from my perspective. Here are some of my questions/concerns:

1. WHY was it okay for Stargirl to become Susan? I know she changed back but not for the right reason; not because Leo wanted her to.

2. WHY didn't Leo ever SAY ANYTHING?! If he really loved her or even just liked her and if he was happy hanging out with her WHY did he not only allow, but encourage her to be Susan? WHY didn't he take her to the ball? I know he was only 16, but frankly, he's a coward and I really liked him before all that. I kept expecting him to turn around and stand up for Stargirl; stand up for himself even! Especially after the oratorical contest. She was SO excited and had a right to be and he was SO proud of her UNTIL they arrived home. I kept thinking "do something, Leo!" "say something, LEO!". Maybe this just isn't that type of book.

I loved the character of Stargirl with her pet rat and sunflower bag - even when she was trying to be "normal" she was great. The idea that such a person could exist is uplifting - even if she only exists in the world of fiction. So, overall I liked this book...not LOVED, just liked. I wanted Leo to be a better person, but such is life. The book is worth it, though, if only for the part when Leo realizes he loves Stargirl. It's sweet and real and funny.

just a thought...

as I was renewing my train wreck of a social life last night I came upon a strange realization and I am wondering if I am the only one who feels this way.

let me elaborate. this summer I worked a lot. it's pretty much all i did. i was in a social rut, among other things, and didn't really have anyone around to get me out of it. so i read books. lots of them. HP7, Eclipse, Just Listen, Hitchhikers Guide..., etc. i went home at night and i read. there was nothing on TV to distract me and most of the time i needed the quiet and relaxation reading affords. now, as i find that my times for reading are fewer and farther between, when i am out doing things i think i MISS my books. i am reading three great books right now (with three more on the back burner and an ever growing list of "must reads") but can't seem to find the time to lay back and finish one.

does anyone else find that they miss the characters they are being introduced to when they are away from a book?

do you go out with a tinge of lingering regret because you REALLY want to know what happens next?

do you get home, too tired to even go through your pre-bedtime rituals, and still find yourself considering a late-night rendezvous with some fictional characters?

well, that is what is happening to me. hopefully my upcoming trip to Utah will get me over this hump and I will be able to finish at least one of the books I am currently reading. wish me luck!

And One More Thing

I've bought a few books lately that I'm kind of excited about, and here's why: I never buy books on sight. This has changed recently, but the way I used to be, I'd go to Barnes and Noble like five or six times and look at a book before I'd buy it. Then I'd go home and look it up online, to find out if I'd like it. This, I think, goes back to when I was little, and my parents wouldn't buy me books because they said I finished them too fast. So I went to the library all the time and became paranoid about spending money on a book if I wasn't sure I'd like it. This is no longer the case. This book, called Plain Language, was just sitting in the bargain books section of the bookstore. It was three dollars, I thought it looked interesting-- so I bought it. End of story.
But the book I'm the most excited about is called A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass. I was first attracted to it by the cover, so I picked it up and read the first chapter. I had to buy it. It's about a girl who sees things like numbers, letters, and sounds in color, and so far that's all I really know. I'm excited to read the rest of it, and look at that cover! Doesn't it just make you want to read it? Also snuggle a cat. An orange cat. Which is deceiving, since the cat in the book is actually gray. But he has orange eyes, and an orange aura to Mia (the main character). Also, more points for the book-- recommended by both Meg Cabot and Judy Blume.
I use the word also a lot. Have you noticed this? I don't think I made clear in that last post HOW MUCH I love The Truth About Forever. It's so good. I'm almost finished with it and I'm sad but can't put it down either. I'm going to have to read more Sarah Dessen after this to get my fix, although I'm a little sad because according to Megan the rest of the books won't be QUITE this amazing. But I'll find something else, right? I mean, that's why we love reading so much. No matter how much we read, there's always something else.
Okay that's all. I love all of you. The end.

Things, Things, and More Things

Preliminaries
1. Lindsey, you are hilarious. I love sharing a blog with you because you say things like "get thee to a library. Seriously." Vair vair amusant.
2. I think, being the blog creator, you're the only one who can do the currently reading list the way you have it. We (or at least I) have only posting privileges, which do not extend to editing the format of the blog, and I don't know if you have the power to give us said formatting privileges. Probably the best we can do is post our lists, and if you wanted to you could get them that way and put them on the blog yourself. But they probably change so often that it would be more a pain in the butt than anything.

Meatloaf
Here's the adolescent lit scoop. I read Loser by Jerry Spinelli and I loved it. I also read Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen. I loved this one. I am now reading The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, and I think I like it even more than Just Listen. I LOVED Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Loved it. I also read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, and Holes by Louis Sachar. Stargirl was great, very happy hugging-bunnies kind of feeling. Holes wasn't as amazing a story, but I really liked the way it was written. It goes back and forth between Stanley, the main character, and his "dirty, rotten pig-stealing great-grandfather," and at first the stories seem kind of random but then as the book goes on you start to see the connections and eventually they come together at the end. Really cool.

I was going to write about some other things I've been reading but it turns out I have to leave the SWKT now (where I've obviously been working hard) so I will probably leave it here. Moral of the story: adolescent lit is way cooler than homework. The end.

changes (UPDATED)

in an attempt to get this blog looking like i want it to look, i have again changed the right side lists.

you'll see no more book shelf as i am too lazy to sign into shelfari to change what i am reading. it is much easier and nicer looking just to keep the short list via blogger. feel free to add your "currently reading" list as well.

**actually I will keep a general "currently reading" list on the right. if i notice or if you tell me you are currently reading something new, I will change it. this list probably won't change too often as i tend to read several books at a time, some faster than others, but at least there will be an easier short list to look at if you want something new to read as opposed to browsing through the genre lists.

you'll also notice i started making genre lists. they are small and random as i was just putting things on there to see how i liked the look of the blog as a whole. please also feel free to add to these lists via new posts (since Miri informed me of contributor privileges) and i will put them in the corresponding genre. i will do my best to label books correctly, but please don't hate me should i get something wrong. just let me know and i'll fix it in a jiff.

i'm not altogether sold on keeping the lists and links and such on the right side of the page...it seems kind of squished. i might be changing templates soon. what do you all think?

remember, i'm just trying to get an idea of what works best so things will probably change around for a little while till i hit on whatever is best. :)

Children's Book Friday - now with more Tuesday!

This week's (or last week's rather) book is The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. An oldie, but a goodie. I was addicted to Dr. Seuss as a child. I did a report on Theodore Geisel in elementary school. I also created a shadow box based on The Lorax. It got me a spot on a local public access show where the girl who spoke before me licked the mic, making me extremely aware of germs and therefore reluctant to hold the mic anywhere near my mouth when it was my turn. But really, what's better than a rhyming book full of silly things that also teaches you about the dangers of technology, taking care of the planet and appreciating the world around us? Nothing. Well, maybe chocolate.

So, if it's been a while, pick it up. It's still entertaining, I promise.

Shannon Hale

If you haven't read a book by Shannon Hale, get thee to a library. Seriously.

The first book I read by her was Austenland (thanks to Megs). It's about a woman who immerses herself in the world of Jane Austen in order to break away from her addiction to Mr. Darcy. It's a quick, fun read. Not really something I would call a classic, but entertaining nonetheless.

Then it was onto Goose Girl and The Princess Academy. These two books were amazing. Books I want my little girls to grow up reading and fall in love with. They are sort of fairy tales I suppose. But they are both written so well. Also, the main character in Princess Academy is named Miri which gives that book 10 extra points.

Now I am reading Enna Burning. This isn't exactly a sequel to Goose Girl more than it is another story about a character introduced in the first book, Enna. I got in bed last night and said, "I'll just read the first chapter." Five chapters later, I had to force the book closed and get some sleep.

There are two more books (Megan mentioned one in the previous post), River Secrets and Book of a Thousand Days. I can't wait to read these two. I know they will both be great.

So there's a newish author for you. Amy, I am sure you would love these books especially.

books I want to read after my trip to the bookstore today . . .

If you read my post on my blog today, you'll know there were several books I wanted to buy at the BYU bookstore today. I thought I would post them here so we can all think about how awesome they are.
First, the one I bought:

I'm super excited about this book. Annie Dillard has the most amazing prose - it makes me want to be more awesome.
Next, the books I didn't buy, but wanted to:





Since I'm still in the middle of Atonement and I'm trying to read Dracula for the Papercuts, I couldn't quite bring myself to buy anything new besides the essay book (and I was being good) but these all look so exciting to me!

This is Halloween, This is Halloween.

I found this list on a book reading site on Megan's blog. There are more lists if you go there and click on her "Papercuts" link. (hopefully it's okay that I'm including all of that here).

A LIST from which to choose October worthy reading material.


Tis the season, right? Not only is it time to watch your scary movies and organize your Halloween parties, it's time to read some spooky tales. Think of it as a way to prolong the Halloween experience. I included the list because tastes can differ quite drastically in this genre...so better to give people a choice than to choose for them. Whatever you choose, enjoy it now while the season is upon us.

Pigeons and Mo

Did you know how many other amazing-looking books there are by this guy? I just discovered these the other day, and I am super excited to find and read and buy them.








Hurray hurray. Also, I just noticed this last one has a foreword by Dave Barry. How can you go wrong?

Hear ye! Hear ye!

Since I've got a gagillion children's books on my Shelfari list (and I'm not even done adding to it) and to commemorate the news that I'm getting a new nephew, I'm instituting Children's Book Fridays.

That means there will be a post every Friday featuring a different Children's book. And what better book to start off with?? Yup.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.

If you haven't discovered this book yet, you will thank me after you read it. I would say it's mostly reminiscent of There's a Monster at the End of this Book...you know, with Grover. Only, this book has a saucy little pigeon who wants to drive a bus. I own a copy (thanks to Miricakes and Co.) and I don't even have children yet. I love it.

So, enjoy. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll pay more attention to your driver the next time you get on a bus.

Bookshelves

I believe Megan already has this, but for anyone else who would like to keep a book list here's the link to Shelfari.

I added my bookshelf showing the books I am currently reading. My other lists of favorites and books I want to read are too long to really fit. You can add a bookshelf as well, just make sure to put your name in the title.



I will probably start compiling lists from what I have read and from other sources so start looking for those soon.

To get us started....

This list is the one I started on my blog. I am in the middle of Atonement right now, and since I know that Megan has read this and Miri will probably read it soon, any posts regarding it are welcome.

As a side note, I think it's interesting that even though Miri and Megan live thousands of miles away from me - we still end up reading the same books around the same time without coordination. Pretty much, we rock.

a sampling of books i want to read:

• A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
• Look Me in the Eye
• Love in the Time of Cholera
• The Dangerous Book for Boys
  
• Apathy and Other Small Victories
• Pretties
• Uglies
• Specials
• Nine Stories
• Wuthering Heights (reread)

a view of some of the books i love:

• The Chronicles of Narnia
• The Shipping News
• The Bell Jar
• Pride and Prejudice
• The Catcher in the Rye
• Franny and Zooey
• A Wrinkle in Time
• The Great Gatsby
• Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
• The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother

Here you have it.

I've invited some to contribute - others that wish to be added so that you can create your own posts and not be limited to comments only, let me know. We'll see how this goes.

Feel free to create book list posts - I will try to place them into categories and keep them listed to the right. Also, comment on books you are reading or have read recently.

I think this could be fun, especially since we are all spread out over the country.