1. A BOOK IN WHICH WEATHER PLAYS A ROLE - The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. It's not a book about weather, but a storm does play a small but pivotal role in the beginning. I'm so glad I gave this author another try after disliking The Mermaid Chair. I loved The Invention of Wings! These are the kinds of stories that made me fall in love with reading. I learned some new things about slavery in America. It was an epic, sweeping story, based on real life events. I adored the characters and the 2 person perspective. I'm going to recommend this one. Thank you to those who encouraged me to read it!
2. A BOOK BY A FOREIGN AUTHOR - The Lake House by Kate Morton. I have recommended her and will continue to recommend her as I thoroughly enjoyed this captivating read. Another grand, sweeping saga that spans generations, this story includes the ever present secrets, mysteries and family intrigue that I've loved in all her books. I was completely swept up in the lush setting, and I couldn't imagine how it was all going to play out. Loved it!
3. LISTEN TO AN AUDIO BOOK - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I loved this book when I read it last year so I figured my family would enjoy it on our recent road trip. While the book gets an A+, the narration only gets a C-. The guy has a good voice, but the lack of accents and different voices for dialogue was disappointing. He just reads the book. Also, some of the French and German name and place pronunciations were ghastly and inconsistent. Lame. Read this book if you haven't, it is so good! Or listen to it, but I would recommend reading.
4. A BOOK SET SOMEWHERE YOU'VE TRAVELED - The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian. Normally he's one of my favorite authors, but I can't recommend this one. It was an "in your face" look at sex slavery, so you can imagine that it was graphic and had explicit language. Besides that, the writing wasn't on par with his other books. (People don't really say "there, there," do they?) So skip this one and read The Double Bind or Midwives or Skeletons at the Feast or The Light in the Ruins instead.
5. A SELF HELP BOOK - The Collapse of Parenting by Leonard Sax. This book was brought to my attention after a couple of conversations with friends wondering 1. how our generation became such helicopter parents and 2. why our young adults are becoming more and more accomplished yet less and less capable. His basic premise is that we've given too much authority to our kids. They are not learning a culture of authority from us, so they're learning a culture of disrespect from their peers. The first half talks about the problems and the second half offers solutions, good, practical advice that I wish I had read when I was a younger mom. I think Mr. Sax is spot on correct and this is a very thought provoking and important read for today's young parents.
6. A COMEDY - Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart. I'm using this for a comedy, although I'm not sure how to really classify it. Is it a comedy? A mystery? Historical Fiction? It is a mish mash of all of the above and so much fun to read. It is about the first female deputy sheriff in 1915, and she and her sisters are a hoot! You'll want them for your new best friends. Strong female characters, an interesting story line, humor and heart, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I will be recommending it. Plus, a sequel is out soon! Thanks for the tip, Amy!
7. A BOOK OF SHORT STORIES - Reader, I Married Him compiled by Tracy Chevalier. I had a few quiet, rainy days that lent themselves nicely to getting some reading done. When I saw the title of this anthology, I knew it had to be my #7. I adore Jane Eyre, from which the title was taken. I should have known that these stories could never match the original, but that's my own fault in judgement. Twenty women writers were asked to use the inspiration of Jane Eyre's most famous line as a springboard for their own imagination. The stories were hit and miss, as I guess one would expect from a short story collection. Individually, hardly any of the stories were really appealing to me. As a collection, however, with the idea behind it, the stories were interesting because of the writing itself. What about this story is inspired by Jane? How do the stories compare to each other in their connection to the original? Did this writer even read Jane Eyre? (a few of them hadn't!) The stories were mostly unique and wouldn't have had anything to do with each other if I hadn't known that they were all inspired by Jane Eyre. Some writers were true to the original story, but took it further, or told it through a different character's eyes. Some merely took a simple element, location or image and ran with that. Most included the theme of love and marriage, in different forms. I'm glad I read it, if only for my desire to now pick up my well loved copy of Jane Eyre!
8. A BOOK IN REALLY BAD CONDITION - Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. My tattered, stained, loved, original copy. This is probably my favorite book, definitely the one I've read the most, and certainly the one that invokes the most memories, still a masterpiece, still a classic.
9. A BOOK WITH SOMEONE'S NAME IN THE TITLE - Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly. This book was riveting, fascinating, and read like a thriller. I never knew there was so much going on behind the scenes of the assassination. My husband got the book for his b-day and I snatched it up first because I knew I had a category for it! Sorry honey, you can read it now. You'll love it!
10. A BOOK PUBLISHED THE YEAR OF YOUR BIRTH - Mustang Man by Louis L'Amour. Another L'Amour book for this category, and I liked it even more than the first one I read. It was a quick read with a few plot twists and surprising characters. I enjoyed it, even if this category reminds me that I'm coming up quickly on a big birthday!
11. A BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY - Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis. This is a book close to my daughter's heart. We own it but I haven't read it until now. Katie was an 18 year old Homecoming Queen from Tennessee when she first went to Uganda to volunteer in an orphanage. Roughly a year later, she made her home in Uganda, adopted 14 girls, taught Kindergarten, made school funds available to countless other children, and founded a ministry called Amazima. I love hearing about youth gone good, and hers is one inspiring story. I wish the book would have described her children and her experiences in Uganda with more specifics. There were a few stories about specific people, and she does describe the qualities of her children, but her experiences are drawn in broad strokes and a lot of her daily life seemed vague. The book is full of her journal entries and details her spiritual journey. She has some remarkable insights for such a young girl. I am amazed by her and want to give Amazima all my money after reading this! Update to the book: she got married last year to a fellow missionary who also grew up in Tennessee, but they didn't meet until they were both working in Uganda. That's a story I'd love to hear. Sequel, please!
12. A WORK OF SHAKESPEARE - The Merchant of Venice. I read this 1. because I found a copy in Clint's room with Mr Reeder's name inside, oops! I guess I'll return it now. And 2. because I love the Shakespearean comedies and I had never read this or seen it. Themes of justice and mercy, love, strong female characters, I found The Merchant of Venice actually more thought provoking than humorous, at least compared to other of his comedies I have read. I don't think this will go down as a favorite of mine, but it was good to stretch my brain again with some Shakespeare and be exposed to something new for me. Thanks, Mr. Reeder!
13. A BOOK WITH A CHARACTER WHO SHARES YOUR NAME - Return to Hole in the Rock by Lee Colvin and Tom Heal. Okay, it's a very very minor character, but her name is Michelle! This was a quick little book that my husband picked up on our recent trip to Escalante. It was interesting to read, as I had never heard of the 1963 horrific accident that killed 13 from a party of adults and boys headed on a Scout trip. It was written by two of the boys who survived and who later erected a monument in honor of those who were lost. Sad, yet inspirational too. Next time we go down there we want to visit Hole in the Rock, so we will be on the lookout for this monument.
14. THE BOOK VERSION OF A MOVIE YOU LOVED - Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. This is one of those rare occasions where I much prefer the movie. The book wasn't bad, it was just totally different in plot, tone and characterization. I found the movie version more subtle, with more depth and heart. The characters grew more and the story was sweeter. Robert Zemeckis films are some of my very favorites, and I am even more convinced of his genius now, that he could create such an endearing character and story from this very different book version. Not to mention Tom Hanks, who is brilliant in everything. (I just watched Bridge of Spies again.) And the movie soundtrack, one of the greatest ever, and I could go on and on, I love the film. It is probably completely unfair of me to compare the book version to a movie I adore. It was a really fun reading experience though, since I know the movie so well. It was interesting to read the outrageous situations Forrest found himself in that didn't make it into the movie. I won't NOT recommend the book, just fair warning, these are two very different works.
15. A BOOK THAT MAKES YOU THINK - Out Of My Mind by Sharon Draper. Melody is an 11 year old girl with severe physical limitations. She has never spoken a word, yet her mind is brilliant. The story is told completely through Melody's eyes. It caused me to think about how we view each other and the misconceptions we have when we see someone with obvious disabilities. I think this would be an important book to read with your elementary aged children. It wasn't without its writing flaws however. Some of the characters were flat. The verb tenses changed all the time which is one of my pet peeves. There was one glaring inconsistency that bugged me, although it was a tiny thing. I also didn't like the 2 "big events" that happened toward the end. They seemed contrived. I much preferred just reading about Melody's thoughts and her everyday life. I don't think there needed to be a big event to shove a point down my throat. But overall, these are ticky little things compared to the sweet voice of Melody, aptly named. You'll ache for her, root for her, and fall in love with her. See if this one doesn't make you think as well.
16. A RANDOM LIBRARY PICK - Identical by Scott Turow. I picked this for my husband and then decided to read it because I liked the cover. I was disappointed. Too many characters and too much useless information bogged down the pace.
17. RE-READ A BOOK YOU LOVED AS A KID - Charlotte's Web by EB White, still delightful even after all these years. Re-reading it this time made me aware of how many morals there are in this story, things like friendship, loyalty, compassion, people will live up to your expectations, not judging someone based on first impressions, love, loss, and the value of small things. When I read this aloud to my kids, I don't think we talked enough about all of those life lessons. But maybe you don't need to over analyze it with kids, it's all right there. This book is a gem!
18. READ A BOOK OUT LOUD TO SOMEONE - Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. Sweet Pea and I read this for #18. The Kevin Henkes books were some of our favorite read alouds when our kids were little, especially Chrysanthemum, who is "absolutely perfect!"
19. A BOOK BY A CELEBRITY AUTHOR - Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe. Well color me surprised! Never a Rob Lowe fan, barely having seen any of his movies, I picked this up at the DI because I needed a celebrity author. It was truly a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed it. I found it well written and engaging. Since Rob is close to my age, I recognized all of the pop culture references. Being the movie nerd that I am, I enjoyed the descriptions of movie making experiences. I hope Rob is just like he comes across in these pages, self deprecating, honest, intelligent and hard working. He is as matter of fact about his mistakes as about his successes, although going into less detail, but who can blame him for that? He had some remarkable chance encounters with celebrities as a young boy with an eye toward acting. He drops a lot of names, but never in a dishy way, always respectfully. He clearly adores his wife and sons. It seems he has worked just as hard at reversing some childhood family dynamics to create a loving, mature family life for himself. There is a bit too much language for my taste, but overall I really loved this reading experience and I think I'm a new fan!
20. A BOOK YOUR FRIEND DIDN'T LIKE - The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman. Apologies to everyone who loved this book, but my review is mixed.
Here are some things I LIKED about it:
1. The second half picked up the pace and became more of a page turner. At this point, I could see the story going many different directions, which I like in a book. Though it's a pretty depressing story, I was satisfied by the way it ended, especially the epilogue.
2. It was very thought provoking about choices and consequences, particularly wrong choices. What do you do if you know you've made a wrong choice? It would make a great book club discussion.
3. The plot made me angry at various points throughout, so I liked that it brought out emotion in me.
Here are some things I DISLIKED about it:
1. The entire first half was so boring I wanted to put it down. I only kept going because I needed it for this category, and I had heard others who loved it.
2. It was very plot driven, not so much character driven. There was just something hollow about these characters, like I had a lot of information about them, but still didn't feel like I really knew them. Plus I guess I just didn't like them or connect with them. It was even hard to feel sorry for them because of the poor choices they made, and yeah, that's the point of the book, but I still didn't even like these characters, not any of them.
3. The writing was clunky in spots, some cheesy dialogue. Plus one of my huge pet peeves is when an author inexplicably changes from past tense to present tense with no apparent reason. Drives me crazy, ugh! But maybe chalk these up to a first time author.
I am glad I read it, since I've heard so much about it and always wondered about the story. I am wondering how the movie version compares.
21. A GENRE YOU'VE NEVER READ BEFORE - Conagher by Louis L'Amour. I chose to read Louis L'Amour's Conagher, since I never read Western Lit. I tease my husband about his Louis L'Amour novels that he reads over and over. They are dog eared and well worn and loved. He picked Conagher for me because it has a strong female lead character. I don't know what I expected from these Louis L'Amour books that I've never read, but certainly not a sweet romance. I enjoyed this quick, simple read. I felt like I could picture the rough piece of land described. The characters and their dialogue were believable, at least to my perception of what the old west was like. I did get tired of being told how lonely Evie was and how her husband hadn't really cherished her, and what a cantankerous loner Conagher was. I got it already. Other than that, it was a nice story and I really liked how it ended. You romance readers would appreciate this one.
22. A BOOK THAT IS OVER 100 YEARS OLD - Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this ultimate gothic novel, and maybe even more, I enjoyed reading through the reviews on Goodreads! Here are a few of my favorites:
I think it is about as romantic as a poke in the eye.
A book so dark, it is probably best read in Braille.
The Shakespeare Critic: Much Ado About Nothing.
Dinnertime has always been the perfect slot for gossip.
If only the Catherines had read The Feminine Mystique.
It's one long protracted retaliation masquerading as passion.
People come and go, but the moors abide.
Vile people are mean to one another. The end.
I think it is about as romantic as a poke in the eye.
A book so dark, it is probably best read in Braille.
The Shakespeare Critic: Much Ado About Nothing.
Dinnertime has always been the perfect slot for gossip.
If only the Catherines had read The Feminine Mystique.
It's one long protracted retaliation masquerading as passion.
People come and go, but the moors abide.
Vile people are mean to one another. The end.
23. A BOOK WITH FOOD ON THE COVER - Traveling With Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor. A memoir, Sue is turning 50 and pondering the back half of her life, Ann is discouraged about not being accepted to grad school. They alternately write their thoughts as they travel through Greece together. I started this book thinking that I would relate, since my daughter and I are in similar stages of life. I soon became bored by their "woe is me, life is so hard" attitude as they whine their way through a fabulous trip. What is intended to be introspective and thought provoking comes across as self absorbed and ungrateful. Admittedly, I'm not a deep thinker like these two, but really? Must you over analyze everything to death? Can't you see how fortunate you are that you have the means to travel for months on end? How about appreciating the supportive men in your lives? Can't you just enjoy being together? Quit being so glum, everything is not all about you anyway. I was so irritated by this book that I ended up skimming the last half. It didn't get any better. Still, don't those pomegranates look delicious???
24. A CHRISTMAS BOOK - Christmas Bliss by Mary Kay Andrews. I bought this at DI for this category because I liked the cover. Light, breezy, cutesy, with quirky characters, I wish I had liked it more. It is part of a series with these characters which I didn't know going in. It didn't matter that much though as neither character was that well drawn. The chapters alternate between the character's points of view, but neither had a distinct voice. It all sounded the same. I kept having to remind myself which character was speaking. Maybe the other books in the series are better.
25. A BOOK YOU LEARNED ABOUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA - Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. I had seen it on Goodreads. I didn't like it, although it came with rave reviews. It was on a ton of "best books" lists. I think someone else might really like it, but it just wasn't for me.
26. A BOOK WITH AN ANIMAL AS A MAIN CHARACTER - Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand. A remarkable story of underdogs and second chances, broken hearts and lost souls. Beautifully written, very uplifting and inspirational.
Well, there you have it. I have so enjoyed these past 2 years of reading by category! It really amped up my reading and I learned a lot from books I may never have otherwise picked up. I joined a book club this year, so I think I am now going to concentrate on that and other books I want to read for pleasure. But a new category list still may be in my future sometime. I still find myself thinking of something that would make a great book category!
No comments:
Post a Comment