2010 Books in Review

and my 2011 goal!

I can't believe that just a year ago I made the goal to read 12 books this year.  And the final count?  77!!  I still can't believe I read that many books, but I'm so glad that I was able to rediscover my love of reading.  And I look forward to all the books on my list for 2011!

I thought it would be fun to list some favorites.  And if you want to see a full list of all the books I read, with links to the reviews, click HERE.

First up, the books that I gave a 5-star rating to.  All of these books I would recommend 100%. 

To Kill a Mockingbird * The Help * Catching Fire * The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society * A Tree Grows in Brooklyn * Enna Burning * The Hunger Games * The Goose Girl * The Host

And since some of my favorites for the year were 4-star ratings, I had to give honorable mentions to some as well.  Some of these books are actually ones that hit me the hardest and have stuck with me the longest.  I really did read some great books this year!!

Hattie Big Sky * Little Women * The Book Thief * The House at Riverton * The Thirteenth Tale * The Day the Falls Stood Still * Winter Garden * Sarah: Women of Genesis * Princess Academy

And onto 2011!

I didn't want to put a number on how many books I read this year, but I did want to set some sort of reading goal.  I started thinking about a list of books that I saw on Facebook several months ago. I have no idea how this list was compiled, because while most are classics, there are some modern books on this list.  But just for the sake of a list to follow, I decided that I want to read 12 books off of this list that I haven't read before.  When the list started showing up, it said that the "BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here."  Luckily, I've read 13 of the 100, but it's still pretty bad - especially since many of the ones I've read are the non-classics on the list!  So this is my challenge, since the classics are harder for me to read.  12 of these books in 12 months - along with any other books I want to read!  (The bolded books are ones that I have read.)


1. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte (read Jan 2011)
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald (Read March 2011)
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostotebsky
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
34 Emma – Jane Austen
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis (Feb 2011)
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Berniere
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession – AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

2010 Books

List and links to reviews of books read in 2010

January 2010

The Little Lady Agency
The Host
Sarah:  Women of Genesis
The Goose Girl
Little Women
Dear John

February 2010

Confessions of a Shopaholic
The Hunger Games
Wicked
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Enna Burning
Shelter Me

March 2010

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Princess Academy
The Joy Luck Club
Twenties Girl
The Westing Game
Water For Elephants
Life of Pi
River Secrets

April 2010

Three Cups of Tea
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
City of Bones
Olive Kitteridge
Neverland
The Last Song

May 2010

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Eat Cake
The Thirteenth Tale
Tears of the Giraffe
Look Again
Catching Fire
The Book Thief
City of Ashes
Killing Floor

June 2010

The Catcher in the Rye
Astrid & Veronika
Forest Born
The House at Riverton
The Help
The Bean Trees
PS I Love You

July 2010

Light a Penny Candle
Uglies
The Lucky One
Lemon Tart
To Kill a Mockingbird
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind
City of Glass

August 2010

Pretties
The Dark Divine
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
My Sister's Keeper
Hattie Big Sky
The Hand That First Held Mine

September 2010

Winter Garden
The Actor and the Housewife
A Great and Terrible Beauty
Specials
Hearts in Hiding
Wondrous Strange

October 2010

Same Kind of Different as Me
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
A Girl Named Zippy
Shiver

November 2010

Hush, Hush
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Rebel Angels

December 2010

Mockingjay
Magyk
This Dog For Hire
Dirty Little Secrets
Flyte
The Day the Falls Stood Still
Made in the U.S.A.
Poison Study
The Sweet Far Thing

Book #76 - Poison Study

Poison Study

Maria V. Snyder

Blurb:  Yelena, convicted of murdering the son of a powerful general, awaits execution. But with only a few hours left, she is offered an incredible reprieve -- and agrees to become the new food taster for Commander Ambrose, the military leader of Ixia. Living in a palace and eating only the best meals is a dramatic change for Yelena, who spent the last year locked up in a rat-infested dungeon, eating gruel. But she soon realizes that she has more to worry about than ingesting potentially lethal poisons in the commander's meals. The general whose son she murdered has vowed bloody vengeance, and everyone in the commander's retinue look at Yelena as an untrustworthy criminal. The longer she stays alive, however, the more she begins to understand her own perplexing abilities -- all of which will be put to the test when cunning rebels plot to take control of Ixia. (from Goodreads)

Opening Sentence:  "Locked in darkness that surrounded me like a coffin, I had nothing to distract me from my memories."

Length: Medium - 409 pages

Notes:  I really liked this book.  It wasn't anything deep or mind blowing, but it was a good, entertaining book.  And it kept me drawn in - last night I stayed up until after midnight to finish it!  I thought it was a little bit predictable, but not entirely.  I'm curious to see where the series goes!

Random quote : "Everyone makes choices in life. Some bad, some Good. It's called living, and if you want to bow out, then go right ahead. But don't do it halfway. Don't linger in whiner's limbo."

Recommend:yes

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Book #75 - Made in the U.S.A.

Made in the U.S.A.

Billie Letts

Blurb:  Lutie McFee's history has taught her to avoid attachments...to people, to places, and to almost everything. With her mother long dead and her father long gone to find his fortune in Las Vegas, 15-year-old Lutie lives in the god-forsaken town of Spearfish, South Dakota with her twelve-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, the 300-pound ex-girlfriend of her father. While Lutie shoplifts for kicks, Fate spends most of his time reading, watching weird TV shows and worrying about global warming and the endangerment of pandas. As if their life is not dismal enough, one day, while shopping in their local Wal-Mart, Floy keels over and the two motherless kids are suddenly faced with the choice of becoming wards of the state or hightailing it out of town in Floy's old Pontiac. Choosing the latter, they head off to Las Vegas in search of a father who has no known address, no phone number and, clearly, no interest in the kids he left behind. (from Goodreads)

Opening Sentence:  "Lutie McFee struggled into the too tight red, sleeveless turtleneck, smoothed it across her ribs, then checked herself out in the mirror of the Wal-Mart dressing room."

Length: Medium - 355 pages

Notes:  Years ago, I read Where the Heart Is.  I remembered loving the book - before the movie even came out. I think that's how this book made it to my "to read" list, as it is by the same author.  Let's just say that this wasn't my favorite.  Not only was it downright depressing through most of the book, but the main character - Lutie - was not likable at all.  And there was some pretty R-rated content through the book.  I found it pretty predictable, and almost too cliche in parts.  

Random quote : "Lutie shook her head, then was struck by the knowledge that this woman, this stranger with everything she owned stuffed into a rusted grocery cart, had recognized her as homeless, too.  She realized that her own eyes had taken on the look of desperation that belonged to people who had no shelter, no job, no money.  People without hope."

Recommend: no

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Book #74 - The Day the Falls Stood Still

The Day the Falls Stood Still
Cathy Marie Buchanan

Blurb:  1915. The dawn of the hydroelectric power era in Niagara Falls. Seventeen-year-old Bess Heath has led a sheltered existence as the youngest daughter of the director of the Niagara Power Company. After graduation day at her boarding school, she is impatient to return to her picturesque family home near Niagara Falls. But when she arrives, nothing is as she had left it. Her father has lost his job at the power company, her mother is reduced to taking in sewing from the society ladies she once entertained, and Isabel, her vivacious older sister, is a shadow of her former self. She has shut herself in her bedroom, barely eating--and harboring a secret. The night of her return, Bess meets Tom Cole by chance on a trolley platform. She finds herself inexplicably drawn to him--against her family's strong objections. He is not from their world. Rough-hewn and fearless, he lives off what the river provides and has an uncanny ability to predict the whims of the falls. His daring river rescues render him a local hero and cast him as a threat to the power companies that seek to harness the power of the falls for themselves. As their lives become more fully entwined, Bess is forced to make a painful choice between what she wants and what is best for her family and her future. (From Goodreads)

Opening Sentence:  "The stone walls of Loretto Academy are so thick I can sit curled up on the windowsill, arms around knees tucked beneath my chin."

Length: Short - 298 pages

Notes: I loved this book.  I can't really pin-point exactly why, but I felt so connected to the characters of this book.  Maybe it's because it was so realistic, and so much of what I've been reading lately is not real life at all.  But these characters are ones that stuck with me.  It was one of those books that I was sad when it was over, because I just wanted to make it last.  I only gave it 4 stars on Goodreads, (instead of 5), but only because there is a tiny amount of sexual material that might be offensive to some.  But this is a book that I'm going to remember.

Random quote : "Tonight there was great comfort in his gaze lifting to meet mine when the barking began, in knowing his fear and later his relief matched my own.  Yes, sorrow, misfortune, or worry split in two is more easily borne."

Recommend: yes 

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Book #73 - Flyte

 Flyte (Septimus Heap #2)
Angie Sage

 
Blurb:  Following the events of Magyk, Septimus Heap continues his apprenticeship with ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand, and Jenna is enjoying her new life as a princess. But something seems amiss; does the Darke Magyk still linger in this royal preserve? This installment of the exciting adventure series features a few new characters, including a memorable dragon. (From Goodreads)

Opening Sentence:  "It is night on the Marram Marshes; a full moon shines down on the black waters and illuminates the nighttime things who are going about their business."

Length: Long - 532 pages

Notes: What can I say - I'm really enjoying this series!  The books are super long, but the reading goes really fast.  They are definitely junior books, but they are keeping me entertained, nonetheless!  Off to book #3!

Random quote : "Oh dear," said Sarah anxiously, "I do wish he wouldn't do these silly things."
I'm sure we all wish that, Sarah," said Marcia sternly. "But unfortunately he has progressed rather further than the silly stage. Evil-minded-scheming stage is more what I would call it."

Recommend: yes 

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Book #72 - Dirty Little Secrets

Dirty Little Secrets
CJ Omololu

Blurb:  Everyone has a secret. But Lucy's is bigger and dirtier than most. It's one she's been hiding for years—that her mom's out-of-control hoarding has turned their lives into a world of garbage and shame. Tackling an increasingly discussed topic that is both fascinating and disturbing, C. J. Omololu weaves an hour-by-hour account of Lucy's desperate attempt to save her family. Readers join Lucy on a path from which there is no return, and the impact of hoarding on one teen's life will have them completely hooked. (from Goodreads)

Opening Sentence:  "Everyone has secrets.  Some are just bigger and dirtier than others."

Length: Short - 210 pages

Notes: I first heard of this book in a Goodreads newsletter.  Josh and I will often watch the show "Hoarders" on A&E, so I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this book.  (And if you haven't watched Hoarders before, just one episode is enough to make me want to get rid of everything in my house and live with very little!!)  This is a short book, and I read it in a day, but the story is actually quite interesting.  I have mixed emotions on how I feel about it.  In one way, I totally understand the main character and I understand the choices that she made.  But on the other hand, I realize that the choices she made aren't the best for her in the long run.  But really, she's 16 - she's not thinking about how things are going to affect her in the future.  This is another one of those books that I would love to sit down and discuss with someone!!

Random quote : "How dare she have dreams while making all of us live like this?  She was the parent - she could have done something about it.  She was the one with the power to make our lives like the people in the notebook, but instead she buried us all under tons of filth and shame."

Recommend: yes 

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Book #71 - This Dog For Hire

Blurb: She gets top billing.  But he's the real teeth of the operation.  In the search for a killer, they make the perfect team....She's thirty-eight, too independent for most men's taste, and too suspicious for her own good.  In her back-alley Greenwich Village cottage, private investigator Rachel Alexander has one ace in the hole: Dash, the devoted, barrel-chested pit bull terrier she once saved from certain death, and who is now about to return the favor.
Dash and Rachel are looking for a missing barkless champion basenji named Magritte, and for a killer.  The basenji belonged to a struggling artist found dead on a downtown pier near a sign that said "don't be caught alone."  As Rachel pursues a string of clues that take her from the SoHo art scene to the world of Manhattan's homeless to the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, those words echo in her mind.  For in an urban landscape where good friends are hard to come by and true lovers even harder, Rachel soon discovers how dangerous it can be to trust the wrong person.  Unless, of course, that person is a dog... (from Goodreads)

Opening Sentence: "Greenwich Village is a place full of secrets, back cottages hidden from view behind wrought-iron gates and down long brick passageways and little Edens way up high, secret gardens growing not on the ground but on the roof, retreats concealed from the prying eyes of strangers."

Length: Medium - 293 pages

Notes:  Ok, so I didn't hate this book, but I definitely didn't love it.  I don't remember how it made my "to read" list, but I do know that I won't be reading any more in the series.  It's a murder mystery book, which usually I really enjoy, but this was missing the "I gotta keep reading" factor that I usually love about this kind of book.  And there is some pretty foul language, which I never like.  I never really felt connected to any of the characters.  I really thought the dog would make me love this - and fall in love with the dog - but I really felt like I never got to know the dog.  I think the only reason I got through this book so quickly is because I have so many other books sitting next to my bed, begging to be read!  Just an ok book, but definitely not one I'd recommend!

Random quote :"Dog training is a lot easier.  At least you know who the criminal is.  Okay, sometimes it's the dog, but usually it only seems as if it's the dog.  More often than not it's the owner, the so-called intelligent partner who thought it was cutesy-poo when little Killer growled for six months before he actually started putting his teeth into it."

Recommend: no

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Book #70 - Magyk

Magyk

Angie Sage

Blurb:  The seventh son of the seventh son, aptly named Septimus Heap, is stolen the night he is born by a midwife who pronounces him dead. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across a bundle in the snow containing a new born girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take this helpless newborn into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus? (from Goodreads)

Opening Sentence:  "Silas Heap pulled his cloak tightly around him against the snow."

Length: Long - 564 pages

Notes:  I know I said I was going to steer clear of the YA books for a little bit, so instead of reading teen books, I'm reading junior books!!!  Really though, this is another that I'm not sure how it made it to my "to read" list, but I'm glad it did.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit how much I liked it!  A lot of reviews that I read compared it to Harry Potter, but besides the fact that they both have magic in them, I really didn't see any resemblance.  One review I read complained that they thought the author was talking down to them, but hey - it's a book for 10 year olds. It is a huge book - over 500 pages, but reads super fast.  I've already checked out the second book in the series to read!!  (Oh, and I just saw a movie version is planned to be released in 2012!)

Random quote : "Things do have a habit of working out. Eventually."

Recommend: yes 

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Book #69 - Mockingjay

Mockingjay
Suzanne Collins

Blurb:  Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Kattnis, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12.  Book #3 in the Hunger Games series.

Opening Sentence:  "I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles on the worn leather."

Length: Medium - 390 pages

Notes:  I have eagerly been awaiting this final book in the Hunger Games series.  And when I started it, I really had no preconceptions or ideas of how it was going to end.  And really, even when I thought about it, I couldn't think of a way to end the series that would be a really good ending.  All in all, I was ok with the ending.  There were things that I didn't see coming, so that was a nice surprise.  I thought this book was a lot more graphic than the first 2 books - it is still a little crazy that this whole series is aimed towards teens.  And this is one of those book where I wish I was in a book group to discuss various things about it!  But I really enjoyed the whole series and am sad that it's over.

Random quote : "It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart."

Recommend: yes - for the whole series!

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Book #68 - Rebel Angels

Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle #2)
Libba Bray


Blurb:  Ah, Christmas! Gemma Doyle is looking forward to a holiday from Spence Academy, spending time with her friends in the city, attending ritzy balls, and on a somber note, tending to her ailing father. As she prepares to ring in the New Year, 1896, a handsome young man, Lord Denby, has set his sights on Gemma, or so it seems. Yet amidst the distractions of London, Gemma’s visions intensify–visions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened, something only the realms can explain. . . . The lure is strong, and before long, Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are turning flowers into butterflies in the enchanted world of the realms that Gemma alone can bring them to. To the girls’ great joy, their beloved Pippa is there as well, eager to complete their circle of friendship. But all is not well in the realms–or out. The mysterious Kartik has reappeared, telling Gemma she must find the Temple and bind the magic, else great disaster will befall her. Gemma’s willing to do his intrusive bidding, despite the dangers it brings, for it means she will meet up with her mother’s greatest friend–and now her foe, Circe. Until Circe is destroyed, Gemma cannot live out her destiny. But finding Circe proves a most perilous task.

Length: Long - 548 pages

Notes:  I listened to the first book in this series, and I remember thinking that I probably would have liked it better if I had read it instead of listening to it.  So I decided to go with the book version for #2.  In some ways, I'm glad I listened to the first one now, just because I now know how to say everything, and it was easy to get that English accent in my head while reading!!  And I don't know if it's because I read this and listened to the first book, but I liked this second book a lot more than the first.  It's a long book - at almost 550 pages, but it kept me interested enough that it took me just about a week to read.  (Which is good, considering the last book I read took almost 3 weeks!)  I can't wait to read the third book now!

Random quote : "Sometimes we seek that which we are not yet ready to find."

Recommend:yes

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Book #67 - The Memory Keeper's Daughter

The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Kim Edwards

Blurb:
On a winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy. Yet when his daughter is born, he sees immediately that she has Down's Syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split-second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret.
But Caroline, the nurse, cannot leave the infant. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over a quarter of a century in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by the fateful decision made that long-ago winter night.

Length:  Medium - 397 pages

Notes:  Well, I can usually get through a book in about a week. Sometimes a little bit longer, sometimes a little bit less.  This one took me almost 3 weeks.  Now, I don't know if it's because I'm pregnant and get so tired every night I lay down in my bed to read, or if it was this book.  I have to admit - it didn't totally grab me.  The first few chapters were great - they had me wondering what was going to happen and wanting to see where the story went.  And then it kind of just - flatlined.  I thought the writing was good, the story just didn't have a whole lot in the middle that kept it afloat.  I almost felt like it would have been better if the author would have condensed the middle chapters way down.  It wasn't a bad book, but I am glad to be done with it!

Random quote : "You can't stop time; you can't capture light. You can only turn your face up and let it rain down."

Recommend: ehhh, I'm not sure on this one...

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Book #66 - Hush, Hush

Hush, Hush
by Becca Fitzpatrick

Blurb:For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

Length:  Medium - 391 pages

Notes:It's kind of funny, because the last book of this genre that I read, I just about thought I was finished with these teen books for awhile.  But guess what - I liked this one!!  It once again, had some of the things that kind of bother me with these teen novels - too much focus on the "physical" attraction and feelings, but I liked the story line of this book.  I think what I really liked was that it kept me guessing.  I knew there were the bad guys and the good guys, but I couldn't quite figure out who was who and what roles they were all playing.  It really kept me guessing.  A lot of reviews have compared this to Twilight, but even though there are some things similar, I still think this one holds it's own!

Random quote :  "Keep in mind that people change, but the past doesn't."

Recommend: yes

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Book #65 - Shiver

Shiver
Maggie Stiefvater


Blurb:
the cold.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future. (from Goodreads)

 

Length:  Medium - 392 pages

Notes: I don't know if I had just read too many teenage supernatural books at this point, or if there were just things in the book that bothered me.  I'll admit - I sometimes get caught up in the romance of these books, and then I take a step back and realize that these characters are teenagers - some just 15 and 16.  How realistic are these love stories, really?  This one was really a lot about the romance.  Mostly about the romance.  And this one especially bothered me because - BEWARE, SMALL SPOILER ALERT - there is teenage sex in it.  Not graphic by any means, but just the fact that it is there bothers me. I'm debating whether or not I want to continue the series.  I liked it, not loved it, and I liked the whole wolf thing instead of vampires or faeries, but I guess we'll see...

Random quote : "Some days seem to fit together like a stained glass window. A hundred little pieces of different color and mood that, when combined, create a complete picture."

Recommend: yes-ish

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Book #62 - Same Kind of Different As Me

Same Kind of Different As Me
Ron Hall & Denver Moore
Listened to the audo version

Blurb: Meet Denver, a man raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana in the 1960s; a man who escaped, hopping a train to wander, homeless, for eighteen years on the streets of Dallas, Texas. No longer a slave, Denver's life was still hopeless-until God moved. First came a godly woman who prayed, listened, and obeyed. And then came her husband, Ron, an international arts dealer at home in a world of Armani-suited millionaires. And then they all came together.

But slavery takes many forms. Deborah discovers that she has cancer. In the face of possible death, she charges her husband to rescue Denver. Who will be saved, and who will be lost? What is the future for these unlikely three? What is God doing?

Same Kind of Different As Me is the emotional story of their story: a telling of pain and laughter, doubt and tears, dug out between the bondages of this earth and the free possibility of heaven. No reader will ever forget it.  (from Goodreads)

Length:  Short:  224 pages

Notes:   I really liked this book.  Really did.  It is a true story of how the lives of two very different men came together.  It makes you laugh, it makes you cry.  And it makes you want to be a better person.  This is a very religious book, which I didn't know going into it.  A lot of the criticisms I read online were because of the Christian messages, so if you don't want Bible references quoted or any kind of reference to God, I guess I can see why you wouldn't like this book.  But since I am a religious person, I really enjoyed it.  A feel good book!

Random Quote:  "I knew Denver was sincere when he told me that he would not want to trade places with me for even one day. His convictions became clear to me when I laid my key ring on the table between us at one of our earlier meetings for coffee.  Denver smiled a bit and sidled up to a cautious question. 'I know it ain't none of my business, but does you own somethin' that each one of those keys fits?'  I glanced at the keys; there were about ten of them. 'I suppose,' I replied, not really ever having thought about it.  'Are you sure you own them, or does they own you?'  That wisdom stuck to my brain like duct tape. The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced we'd enjoy life a whole lot more if we owned a whole lot less."

"The truth about it is, whether we is rich or poor or somethin in between, this earth ain't no final restin place. So in a way, we is all homeless--just working our way toward home."

Recommend:Yes

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Book #61 - Wondrous Strange

Wondrous Strange
Lesley Livingston

Blurb: 17 year-old Kelley Winslow doesn’t believe in Faeries. Not unless they’re the kind that you find in a theatre, spouting Shakespeare—the kind that Kelley so desperately wishes she could be: onstage, under lights, with a pair of sparkly wings strapped to her shoulders. But as the understudy in a two-bit, hopelessly off-off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, wishing is probably the closest she’s going to get to becoming a Faerie Queen. At least, that’s what she thinks... In this fun, urban fantasy, Kelley's off-stage life suddenly becomes as complicated as one of Shakespeare’s plot twists when a nighttime trip to Central Park holds more than meets the mortal eye.  (from Goodreads)

 

Length:  Medium - 336 pages

Notes:  There must be a lot about mythical creatures that has been written that I don't know about, because I'll think that one author made something up just to read something similar in a different book by a different author.  This book is another filled with mythical creatures from another world - I can't believe how many of these I've read this year!!  And really, I guess I can say the same thing about most of them - they are good books.  I'm not going to say it was the best book I've read this year, but it definitely had it's moments and kept me reading.  Once again, a little bit predictable, but the ending was not quite as I predicted.  I know there is a sequel, and maybe more than that?  But I do plan on reading the sequel!

Random quote : "Believe me, Kelley. If I’m not…it’s because I’m already dead.” He stroked her hair, and she could feel his breath warm on her forehead, like a kiss. “Because anyone that would seek to hurt you would have to kill me first."

Recommend: yes

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Book #57 - The Actor & The Housewife

The Actor and the Housewife

Shannon Hale

Blurb: What if you were to meet the number-one person on your laminated list—you know, that list you joke about with your significant other about which five celebrities you’d be allowed to run off with if ever given the chance? And of course since it’ll never happen it doesn’t matter…
Mormon housewife Becky Jack is seven months pregnant with her fourth child when she meets celebrity heartthrob Felix Callahan. Twelve hours, one elevator ride, and one alcohol-free dinner later, something has happened…though nothing has happened. It isn’t sexual. It isn’t even quite love. But a month later Felix shows up in Salt Lake City to visit and before they know what’s hit them, Felix and Becky are best friends. Really. Becky’s husband is pretty cool about it. Her children roll their eyes. Her neighbors gossip endlessly. But Felix and Becky have something special…something unusual, something completely impossible to sustain. Or is it? A magical story, The Actor and the Housewife explores what could happen when your not-so-secret celebrity crush walks right into real life and changes everything.(From Goodreads)

Length: Medium - 339 pages

Notes: I'm kind of torn on this book. I love Shannon Hale, although this book is completely different from her Books of Bayern series. Let's start with what I didn't love... First up, the cheesy Mormon stereotypes. I'm sure she was just trying to be funny, but at times, they made me cringe. But my biggest problem with this story is the whole relationship between Becky and Felix. I don't know about you, but I would have a huge problem if my husband came home to say that he met some famous supermodel, they really hit it off, and now they want to be best friends and talk on the phone every day. And I know that this issue is addressed in the book, but I had a hard time getting past how much the whole situation just bothered me. But I did like the book, and it was another tear-jerker - and I really felt like I knew the characters by the end of the book, even though the book covered a time period of over 10 years. I think I would have really liked the book if the whole best-friends-with-a-member-of-the-opposite-sex-when-you-are-grown-and-have-a-family-and-4-kids issue didn't bother me... But the story was entertaining and flowed really well and kept me reading to the end.

Random quote : "I'm not bossy--I just happen to be more capable than most everyone else."

Recommend: Yes, but be prepared for the issues I listed above.

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Book #56 - Winter Garden

Winter Garden

Kristin Hannah

Blurb: Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard: the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time - and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are. (From Goodreads)

Length: Medium - 391 pages

Notes: Oh, I don't even know what to say about this book. It would have been a 5 star book for me, but the first half kind of dragged and was hard to get into. But once you got into the meat of the story - wow. I don't even remember how this book made it onto my "to read" list, but I'm glad it did. It is one of those books about WWII that is heart wrenching and sad, yet shows such spirit. This is definitely one of those books that is going to stay with me for a very long time. I loved The Book Thief, but I think that this one affected me even more. I cried so hard that it wasn't just tears running down my face, but the out-loud, shake your body kind of cry. That's how real it felt to me. I read a few reviews of this book online, and reviews tend to be all over the place. A lot of people complained that there wasn't good character development. I disagree with that. I wouldn't necessarily say that the characters are loveable, but after reading the story, I don't think it would have been successful as a book if the characters were loveable and perfect.

Random quote : "'I don't know what's going to happen. I think maybe love can just....dissolve."

'No, it does not.'
'So how do---'

'You hang on. Until your hands are bleeding, and still you do not let go.'"

Recommend: Yes, definitely - but be prepared to cry!

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Book #55 - The Hand that First Held Mine

The Hand That First Held Mine
Maggie O'Farrell

Blurb: Lexie Sinclair is plotting an extraordinary life for herself.

Hedged in by her parents' genteel country life, she plans her escape to London. There, she takes up with Innes Kent, a magazine editor who wears duck-egg blue ties and introduces her to the thrilling, underground world of bohemian, post-war Soho. She learns to be a reporter, to know art and artists, to embrace her life fully and with a deep love at the center of it. She creates many lives--all of them unconventional. And when she finds herself pregnant, she doesn't hesitate to have the baby on her own.

Later, in present-day London, a young painter named Elina dizzily navigates the first weeks of motherhood. She doesn't recognize herself: she finds herself walking outside with no shoes; she goes to the restaurant for lunch at nine in the morning; she can't recall the small matter of giving birth. But for her boyfriend, Ted, fatherhood is calling up lost memories, with images he cannot place.

As Ted's memories become more disconcerting and more frequent, it seems that something might connect these two stories-- these two women-- something that becomes all the more heartbreaking and beautiful as they all hurtle toward its revelation. (from BookBrowse)

Length: Medium - 341 pages

Notes: This is one of those books that I neither loved nor hated. The story was a good one, but it wasn't a book I just wanted to read all the time. There were some great motherhood moments that I could really relate to, and I liked how it took 2 separate stories, in 2 different times, and wove them together. There were many things that were predictable to me, but there were also some big surprises. It's not a book that I think I wasted my time on, but not one that I'd jump to recommend to anyone.

Random quote : "'Well.' She considers what to say. Should she mention the nights spent awake, the number of times she must wash her hands in a day, the endless drying and folding of tiny clothes, the packing and unpacking of bags containing clothes, nappies, wipes, the scar across her abdomen, crooked and leering, the utter loneliness of it all, the hours she spends kneeling on the floor, a rattle or bell or a fabric block in her hands, that she sometimes gets the urge to stop older women in the street and say, how did you do it, how did you live through it? Or she could mention that she had been unprepared for this fierce spring in her, this feeling that isn't covered by the word 'love', which is far too small for it, that sometimes she thinks she might faint with the urgency of her feeling for him, that sometimes she misses him so desperately even when he is right there, that it's like a form of madness, of possession, that often she has to creep into the room when he has fallen asleep just to look at him, to check, to whisper to him."

Recommend: Hmm, I'm middle of the road on this one...

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Book #54 - Hattie Big Sky

Hattie Big Sky
Kirby Larson

Blurb: For years, sixteen-year-old Hattie's been shuttled between relatives. Tired of being Hattie Here-and-There, she courageously leaves Iowa to prove up on her late uncle's homestead claim near Vida, Montana. With a stubborn stick-to-itiveness, Hattie faces frost, drought and blizzards. Despite many hardships, Hattie forges ahead, sharing her adventures with her friends--especially Charlie, fighting in France--through letters and articles for her hometown paper. Her backbreaking quest for a home is lightened by her neighbors, the Muellers. But she feels threatened by pressure to be a "Loyal" American, forbidding friendships with folks of German descent. Despite everything, Hattie's determined to stay until a tragedy causes her to discover the true meaning of home. (From Goodreads)

Length: Medium - 289 pages

Notes: I loved this book!! From the beginning, I fell in love with Hattie and what a strong and determined young woman she was. I can't imagine being so grown up at 16, but this story is very believable. It might have to do with the fact that when reading about the author, she was inspired to write this book after learning that her great-grandmother was a homesteader in Montana. This book made me want to pack up and move to Montana and try my hand at building a farm! I had a hard time rating this on Goodreads - you can rate from 1 to 5 stars. I struggled between a 4 and 5 - I ended up going with 4 just because there is a lot that is left up in the air at the end of the book and you want to know more about how the story really ends. And the ending is not a pretty package - all tied up with a bow, but I am starting to really appreciate books that aren't always "happily ever after", but give a more realistic approach to what really happens in life. I'm so glad I came across a recommendation for this book, though, because I truly loved it!

Random quote : " 'My mama always said piecing quilts is like making friends.' She kept her eyes on the scissors as she cut up a piece of blue ticking. 'Sometimes the more different fabrics - and people - are,' she said, 'the stronger the pattern.'

I looked up at her. She smiled a sad, sweet smile at me. I felt as if she'd looked right into my heart and seen all my warts and flaws, and held her own heart out to me anyway. I swallowed hard at the lump that had gathered in my throat."

Recommend: Yes!

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