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books & reading nightstand

Nightstand: November 2011

So it’s mere days before Thanksgiving, which is exciting in it’s own right, but it also means that it’s time for me to fill you in on my nightstand! Haven’t done this before? The fabulous ladies at 5 Minutes for Books ask us each month which books we are reading, read recently or plan to read soon – basically this amounts to “What’s on your nightstand right now?” Get it?

When we last nightstanded, I was reading The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent – the story of Martha Carrier, one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. (description from goodreads.com)

I have to say I really kind of adored that book, although it was slow reading at times, it really kept me hooked and the story was just fascinating, though heart breaking. I definitely recommend it!

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen SimonsonAfter finishing The Heretic’s Daughter, I had planned to read our November book club pick, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson. This is the story of Major Ernest Pettigrew, retired, of Edgecombe St. Mary, England, [who] is more than a little dismayed by the sloppy manners, narcissism, and materialism of modern society. The decline of gentility is evident everywhere, from tea bags, to designer sweaters, to racism masquerading as tolerance…

But after about three chapters (or 40 pages or so) I honestly couldn’t read anymore. It is not often that I will put down a book after only a few chapters, but lately I have been thinking that my time is too precious to read books I’m not enjoying. And I wasn’t enjoying this one at all. The book was intended, I think, to be a fairly light-hearted satire, but I found the main character so annoyingly cynical that I couldn’t read it without rolling my eyes at him. I don’t know if the book would have gotten better or if I was being too hard on it. I’d guess there are people who loved it and would enjoy it. But I honestly don’t think I was going to be one of them.

My only reason for reading the book would have been because it was a book club pick and normally I’d give myself a harder time and make myself read it anyway, but I decided to go easy on myself this once because my nightstand is kind of overwhelming me at the moment with books to read and truthfully? There was one book in particular beckoning to me. It’s been sitting there patiently for months, picked up in between books just long enough to read a chapter or so, giggle to myself and then move on to my next mandatory read. Well this month it said, “Um, Jen, knock it off and read me already. You’re gonna love it!”

Such a Pretty Fat by Jen LancasterAnd I totally am! What book am I finally digging into and adoring something fierce? Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster. It’s basically the funniest book about dieting that you’ll ever read and I think I especially love it because (especially when it comes to food and dieting) Jen Lancaster and I are kind of kindred spirits. It’s like reading my own thoughts on paper except then sometimes SHE goes to the gym or starts a diet or loses weight and I’m all, “Oh, hey, wait for me!”

I’m kind of hoping that this will be a book that motivates me to finally kick my ass and start eating better and exercising (I’m already trying) and that she doesn’t end the book with, “And then I gave up, who are we kidding, really?” We’ll see…. Either way, as far as book choices go, I’m glad I made this one because I now go to bed at night eager to read!!!!! Instead of “Oh yeah… that book….. Maybe I’m tired?”

So what am I going to read NEXT? Man, guys, I have no idea… There are kind of a million positions I’m being pulled in, but here are some of my ideas:

  • Attempting Wicked by Gregory Maguire again and then possibly reading the rest of the Oz series by him.
  • Little Bee by Chris Cleave which I keep hearing is some kind of fantastic
  • Some more funny books like Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin or Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
  • Unbearable Lightness by Portia De Rossi has also been waiting patiently for me for awhile…
  • Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde looks really good – I love his Thursday Next series.
  • And then let’s not even talk about all the OTHER books I own but haven’t read yet and guys, what about the books I WANT to buy? What if I get books for Christmas? If you don’t hear from me for awhile, you’ll know that my TBR pile finally fell over and buried me.

What are you reading right now?

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books & reading reviews

Children’s Classics: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

I wasn’t sure what I was going to blog about for this month’s Children’s Classics carnival @ 5 Minutes For Books. But as I finished reading The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe last night it occurred to me that it was both a children’s book and a classic – it was simply a slightly older read than the things I’m reading to my own son who is just two years old. Still it does qualify even if I haven’t been reading it with a child (just a child at heart). I do hope to read this to MM when he gets older and I hope he enjoys this story as much as I have.

First, to be honest, I didn’t love this book as much as I’d expected to – I read The Magician’s Nephew first and liked it more – but I think that is only because The Magician’s Nephew was a new read for me – The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe is a story I already knew well, and I’d seen the movie adaptations a couple times. I have a very hard time reading a book whose movie I’ve already seen, but I did read and enjoy this book. It is possible I liked the movie more though – but really, in a book this small, it was easier I think to give more details in the movie, something that rarely happens in a book-to-movie adaptation. The length of the movie and being able to see it all unfold in front of your eyes was magical and the recent movie especially was very well done. So while I did like the book, I think I handicapped my own enjoyment by seeing the movie first.

But I love C.S. Lewis’s writing style and the book is very well written and perfect for children. I think it will be a very fun book to read aloud to my own children someday and the story is truly a classic that anyone can enjoy. I recommend both the book and the movie.

For more reviews of children’s classics, head over to 5 Minutes For Books for a list of participants.

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books & reading reviews

Review: Home by Julie Andrews (A Memoir)

Grade: A +

I haven’t read many memoirs but every time I do, I typically think, “Memoirs are wonderful – I should read more of them.” But being non-fiction, somehow memoirs are harder for me to get through, even when I’m enjoying them – a good novel I can typically plow through in less than a week, given appropriate reading time. A good memoir will take me at least 2 weeks, probably more. I started reading Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews shortly after Christmas and finished it two days ago. Being sick with the stomach bug gave me more time for reading (when I wasn’t doing stomach bug things) but it still felt slow going even though it was good.

I’m often amazed reading a good memoir that all those remarkable things can actually have happened to one person. All the same elements of a great book are usually present – comedy, love, drama, tragedy – and it’s all miraculously true. Andrews delivers a powerful punch in her memoir, which tells not only the story of her childhood and first several years in theater, but also the stories of her parents, grandparents, great grandparents and aunts and uncles – not to mention back stories to several of her friends and acquaintances. Andrews reminds me a lot of my grandmother and my mother-in-law, in that she seems to have taken the time to truly know everybody she meets – a quality I greatly admire – and I think it really added something special to her story.

I loved learning so many things about Julie Andrews that I never expected, like about her time in World War II as a child, and her parent’s rocky marriage(s), about how early in her career she thought she’d never be good at acting at all and considered herself pretty unspectacular – a word I don’t think anybody would use to describe The Julie Andrews! She also includes a lot of factual tidbits about voice training, the theatre, history and even housework tips! This memoir really had it all and I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend it.

This was the first book I read this year for the In Their Shoes reading challenge. For more information on the challenge click here.

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books & reading

What Kind Of Reader Are You?

What Kind of Reader Are You?

Your Result: Literate Good Citizen

You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you’re not nerdy about it. You’ve read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Dedicated Reader
Book Snob
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz
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books & reading reviews

Books Read in 2008

I read 47 books this year which is an average of 3.9 books per month. Of those 47 books only 2 books were non-fiction. I’d really like to read more non-fiction in 2009 – consider that a goal. I gave up on 4 books in 2008 – one of which was a non-fiction book. I’m still currently reading 2 books, both non-fiction.

My reading goals for 2009 are

  1. read more non-fiction – no need to go crazy as it’s clearly not a genre I prefer but more than two for sure – I think biographies will be my best bet.
  2. Since I read 47 this year I want to read at least 50 next year – I hardly think that’s too much to strive for.
  3. I’ve got about 28 books that I own but haven’t read yet (but still want to read). Heck I probably have more but those are present and accounted for. I want to read at least half of them this year.

Read in 2008:

  1. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen – Finished January 4, 2008 – VERY GOOD!! One of the best books I’ve read in awhile. Couldn’t put it down!
  2. Fablehaven 2: Rise of the Evening Star by Brendan Mull – Finished January 9, 2008 – Better than the first book, definitely building an interesting series – I’m already impatient for book 3!
  3. I, Freddy by Dietlof Reiche – Finished on January, 20, 2008 – A very cute read, that took me far too long to finish (I’ve been reading it on and off for a year).
  4. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket – Finished January 27, 2008 – So much better than I’d even expected and that’s saying quite a bit!
  5. The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket – Finished January 31, 2008 – Soooo different from the movie, much more detailed, very enjoyable.
  6. The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket – finished February 2, 2008 – Read this very quickly, loved every minute. the movie leaves so much out of these books, it was a good movie but the books are so much better.
  7. The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket – finished February 4, 2008 – Finally, a plot I didn’t know at all! Just as good as the first three, and it was lovely to be surprised at every turn. Another gem.
  8. The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket – finished February 5, 2008 – Starting to get very curious about a great number of the mysteries throughout this book. So well written. My husband finally finished book one – we are both big fans now!
  9. The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket – Finished February 6, 2008 – Couldn’t put this one down – very suspenseful or anxiety ridden perhaps? Just as good as the others.
  10. The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket – Finished February 8, 2008 – Such an interesting book, I’m even more curious now and I just realized for the first time that all the titles have a repeating pattern (BB, RR, WW, MM, AA, EE, VV and now HH)
  11. The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket – Finished February 11, 2008 – Loved the whole “filing” thing, ridiculously true to life from my experience. The whole book was, again, terrific. I’m almost bored of talking about how terrific it is and what a wonderful job Snicket is doing. The whole mystery is really starting to amp itself up.
  12. The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket – Finished February 12, 2008 – So good I am almost disappointed that it is time to start reading my book club book, instead of continuing on with the series, especially after such a MAJOR cliff hanger!
  13. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray – Finished February 20, 2008 – It was a hard adjustment going from Lemony Snicket to this book and not because it wasn’t good, but because Snicket makes the reading easy and even in scary moments you somehow feel safe with the author always warning you of things and defining anything you may not have known. Libba Bray obviously does not feel the need to do this, and once I lost myself in the story, I was grateful for an opportunity to guess and imagine and experience this beautiful novel in the corners of my own mind. It is a very good debut to her series which I look forward to reading.
  14. The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket – Finished February 24, 2008 – So many things I want to gossip about in this book, and all of the things that led up to it, but in an effort not to “spoil” I’ll refrain. Of course it was fantastic with lots of ground breaking developments and long awaited revelations. And of course, more questions, more cliff hangers, and more suspense. Now to start Grim Grotto. I’ve officially finished all the books I borrowed from SIL, so once dh finishes the next 3 on his stack, we’ll be able to return them! Woohoo!
  15. The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket- Finished February 26, 2008 – I am dangerously close to finishing this series and more than a little worried that I might go into withdrawal when I do. It’s not very often that one has the pleasure of reading such a thrilling, well-written series – with such extreme attention to details, and always cautious of its audience, it is a real pleasure to read such an impressive work. “Snicket” has created something any good author should aspire to.
  16. The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket – Finished March 6, 2008 – Only one book left to read, which should mean that a lot of mysteries will be solved soon, right? And that Snicket won’t constantly continue to create loose ends that make the story even more intriguing and infuriating at the same time? Of course I loved it.
  17. The End by Lemony Snicket – Finished March 8, 2008 – Ok, finished the series late at night, almost morning with the words “Ah ha!” Because the last word of the book confirmed the suspicion I’d held for at least the second half of the series, but I won’t go any further. My husband guessed the same as well so maybe it’s not really that big of a revelation, but it was still exciting. Still not sure when I’ll get around to reading the unauthorized autobiography or Beatrice’s Letters, and for now it’s on to other, grown-up books but I really thoroughly enjoyed this series and would recommend it to just about anyone. – full review of series here –
  18. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philipa Gregory – Finished March 18, 2008 – This book was so amazingly good – better with every chapter, every added detail to this historical masterpiece. I am officially eager to read all her other works. – full review here –
  19. My Hamster by Peter Fritzsche – Finished March 26, 2008 – This book was pretty good on filling a new hamster owner in on the basics, but the author is definitely a naturalist and had me scared out of my mind by the end, worrying about every different way I could cause harm to my hamster. It was very well laid out and informative otherwise.
  20. Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich – Finished March 25, 2008 – I don’t know what happened with her 12th book, but in lucky number thirteen, she manages to get back into her stride, at least as far as I’m concerned – this may have been her best Plum book to date. I love all of her current events references – the cable company charade as well as a million other things I can’t remember anymore were fantastic. It was very now, very current, very good. The Morelli / Ranger thing manages to continue without feeling stale – ah, I just can’t say enough. It was terrific. Can’t wait for fourteen!
  21. Extras by Scott Westerfeld – Finished March 30, 2008 – Just when I thought this series could not get any better, Westerfeld sucked me back in to prove me wrong! I adore his writing style, constantly find myself thinking (or talking) with his made up lingo – to put it mildly, this entire series is awe-making! 😛 It did take me a few chapters to embrace the main character, and get over Tally not being present (in the beginning), but to be honest, as much as Aya annoyed me, Tally was the same way in Uglies, and let’s face it Pretties and Specials, too. Something about being 25, trying to get back into the mindframe of a 15 year old can prove challenging I think. But I love it! I love the love stories, I love the way Westerfeld forces you to look more critically at our own society and all the ways we could be different – and all the ways those different societies could go horribly wrong, too. In short, Westerfeld is a genius and I ❤ him.
  22. The Virgin’s Lover by Philipa Gregory – Finished April 7, 2008 – While it was nowhere near as good as The Other Boelyn Girl, it did begin to capture my interest somewhere in the middle, much the same. The ending definitely surprised me, although I had suspected parts of it, and was left wondering a LOT and wishing I knew more of the history of this time period.
  23. So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld – Finished April 8, 2008 – This was soooo good – Westerfeld is truly a genius in his field – and unlike the Uglies series, this one is easily enjoyable by guys and gals alike – stepping back from “the whole world” this book focuses on marketing, consumerism and the elusive “cool” – and of course a bit of kissing thrown in for good fun. It definitely kept me guessing, proving that some authors at least are smarter than their readers (that’s a big compliment – I get so annoyed sometimes when I am always one leap ahead – sometimes it can be fun being smarter than the characters, but sometimes it’s painfully obvious and dull).  I just attempted to read the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson and it was such a miserable flop that I gave up, so this book was warmly welcomed and devoured in less than 24 hours.
  24. Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce – Finished April 16, 2008 – Another really good book – I’ve been hitting the jackpot lately. Despite a few strange things to get used to in this young adult fantasy book, I really liked this story, with illusions to Tudor England and a small bit of romance, there was little left to be desired. I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series.
  25. Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce – Finished April 27, 2008 – Just as good as the first book – it seemed to take forever to read, if only because of all the information to digest within each chapter – but I really did like it a lot! The world she creates is just amazing and the story is a GOOD one!
  26. Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz – Finished April 30, 2008 – Clearly, having gobbled up this book in three short days, I liked it a lot – this is a very promising new series and I’m not very happy to have to wait for the next installment to come out before learning more about this intriguing historical mystery – who was who when and who will they all be now? It’s exhilarating – and of course the romance had me glued to the edge of my seat. Fantastic.
  27. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray – Finished May 6, 2008 – This second installment was fantastic even if I did guess some major things awfully early on (and I didn’t want to be right, but I was). This book still amazes me in a lot of ways and it really is a terrific inspiring book for young women – it really shows you how privileged women are today and yet how some things are terribly the same. Which is I’m sure what she’s going for.
  28. Forever Lily by Beth Nonte Russell – Finished May 20, 2008 – It took me awhile to finish this but not because I couldn’t get into it, but rather it’s just a very intense book that I had to read in small chunks without overwhelming myself. It was beautifully written, such an amazing story that I am still a bit surprised at its non-fiction label – I’m not sure I buy into the whole past lives thing but it’s a deeply fascinating idea to me. I was especially moved by the scenes in the Chinese Orphanages – this book made me want to go out and adopt several Chinese daughters, just to play my part. 😛
  29. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde – Finished June 9, 2008 – This book was just fantastic in so many ways – the English major in me drooled and laughed my way through the entire book. It took me awhile to read it, just because the plot was a bit complicated – Fforde creates his own world within the confines of this great book, and it took me awhile to get used to the swing of things, but now I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in this series!
  30. Jane Austen in Scarsdale by Paula Marantz Cohen – finished June 19, 2008 – I’m kind of torn between 3 stars and 4 on this one. I did like it, and by the end I more than liked it, but it wasn’t one of those amazing books you just can’t put  down, so much as a book that grew better with age and really started to get REALLY good the more I read. The last 10 chapters were devoured in one afternoon. I think I’d read another of her books, but it certainly won’t take precedent. As far as light reading goes, however, it was exceptional.
  31. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray – Finished July 2, 2008 – This book broke my heart – which is not to say I didn’t like it, I loved it – I loved being wrong over and over and right over and over, I loved the small details thrown in to make me say, “Ah ha. I never thought of that.” A small part of me hates, hates, hates the ending and you will know what I mean, but I’ll accept it. It was brilliantly written. – full review here –
  32. Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot – Finished July 6, 2008 – Took awhile to get used to the “email” format of the book, but the story was a good one – very intriguing – I enjoyed it a lot.
  33. Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz – Finished July 15, 2008 – ::sigh:: I loved this a little too much – I read it a few pages at a time for what felt like forever and then devoured the last 3rd of the book in one giant day-long gulp-fest. I really hope this wasn’t the last installment, because Lisa Lutz, I’m here to tell you I need MORE. – full review here –
  34. Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich – Finished July 24, 2008 – Another Evanovich masterpiece – I think this one was even better than the last, with all the usual great antics and some new antics you never even thought to expect. Brilliant.
  35. Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde – Finished August 18, 2008 – This was the sequel to the Eyre Affair and definitely just as good – one of those books with a little bit of everything and more than a few surprises thrown in.
  36. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – Finished August 28, 2008 – The first half of this book bordered on dreadfully boring, the language seemed unnecessarily stale and verbose. I thought for quite some time I’d have to force myself to finish it. But then somewhere in the middle I fell in love and now even as I type this, I think I’ve been reading classic literature long enough because it is surely affecting my writing style. I plan to read Jane Eyre next and I’m looking forward to it, but first I have plans to read some more modern literature and hopefully my writing style will go back to normal. 🙂 In the end, I did like P&P a lot – and I’m not sure if my initial dislike of the book was the author’s fault or my own. Indeed, I may have been prejudiced against the book because of it’s “classic” style – and maybe too proud to admit my own shortcomings that were preventing me from liking it? But then ended up so in love with the book that you might equate the whole transition to Lizzy’s feelings towards Mr. Darcy. At first the book seemed unnecessarily dry and proud and boring – but by the end it was surely the warmest, most involved book I’ve read in awhile. I’m quite fancying myself in love with it. I might marry it. My family will be quite shocked, I’m sure. – full review here –
  37. Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce – Finished September 10, 2008 – This was another one of those books where the first half took forever (months) to read and the second half was finished in days. I’m hooked now though and definitely planning to read at least the rest of the books in the Alanna series.
  38. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer – Finished September 25, 2008 – This book was an amazing end for such a brilliant series. I felt like I could see some things coming from a mile away and had so much fun with my speculations but other things took me completely by surprise. I cannot for the life of me understand other people’s angst with this book. It was wonderful. – full review here –
  39. The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde – Finished October 25, 2008 – Another home run for Jasper Fforde. I really really enjoyed this book, like it may be my favorite in the series so far. I loved all the literary references and the whole world he creates for literature. Mr Fforde, I am officially in awe of you. – full review here –
  40. In The Hand of The Goddess by Tamora Pierce – Finished October 28, 2008 – I devoured this book. It’s a quick read but very addictive, especially now that I know the whole back story, having read the first book in the series, Alanna: The First Adventure awhile back. This book moves quickly but is packed with action. I will definitely be reading the third book soon.
  41. The Woman Who Rides Like A Man by Tamora Pierce – Finished October 30, 2008 – SO good. Clearly, since I again devoured this book. I’m really looking forward to reading the last in this quartet and considering reading a LOT of her other works now. But you know, get in line.
  42. Rumors by Anna Godbersen – Finished November 7, 2008 – Possibly better than the first, but it’s been awhile so that’s hard to say. I had a really hard time putting this book down once I got into the thick of it. Her newest book in the series, Envy, comes out in January of 2009 and you know I’ll be wanting to read that!
  43. Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult – Finished November 26, 2008 – This book was an incredible experience – Picoult is such a gifted writer, I couldn’t help but be in awe of her and loved the intricacies of this story – each piece woven into the next. Brilliant.
  44. Death: A Life by George Pendle – Finished December 4, 2008 – While I didn’t love this book, I did enjoy it – it was funny and well written and gave a very interesting perspective of life and death and all that other stuff in between.
  45. Boomtown by Nowen N. Particular – Finished December 13, 2008 – This story had the potential to be amazing – so many genius anecdotes and tales – but it fell flat and made it very hard to want to continue reading. – full review here –
  46. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart – Finished December 20, 2008 – This book combines everything which is great about the Harry Potter series and Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events, but still manages to be it’s own entity – a fresh, exciting new plot that keeps you guessing, with a new memorable set of characters that children will be able to relate to and cheer on. – full review here –
  47. The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis – Finished December 27, 2008 – I’m officially smitten with C.S. Lewis and the Narnia series. The writing style was wonderful and the story incredible. I loved reading about the creation of Narnia and all that comes before the lion, the witch and the wardrobe. – full review here –

Gave Up On in 2008:

  • Maximum Ride series by James Patterson
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  • Redwall by Brian Jaques
  • Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick

Still Reading As 2009 Approaches:

  • Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews
  • The No-Cry Potty Training Solution by Elizabeth Pantley
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books & reading reviews

Review: The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

Which Chronicles of Narnia Character are you?
Susan Pevensie

Susan Pevensie
You are Susan. Very practical and no-nonsense, though you can become less so with persuasion. Incredibly smart, you like to boast your smarts sometimes and others get annoyed. Inside though, you are just a carefree girl who wants so much to get away from the responsibilities you have grown so accustomed to and the mother role you have sort of taken on.

myYearbook.com

I’ve finally decided to set about reading The Chronicles of Narnia. I’ve thought of reading this series on and off for years since seeing the original movie as a child, then seeing the new Narnia movies in recent years. When my husband also expressed an interest in reading them I decided now was the time. Using some handy gift cards that we received at Christmas this year I picked up a box set of the paperbacks at our local Borders. Last week I read The Magician’s Nephew, which was originally the 6th book written in the series, but as it tells the story of the creation of Narnia and all that comes before The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe it has since become considered the first book.

I was very happy to find that the hype of Narnia is well deserved. Apart from being an amazing story (on an even larger scale than you could know from having just seen TLTWATW) it is amazingly well written. Lewis’s writing style is flawless and reading this book was a delight. I loved that the story could be so timeless and not feel antiquated reading it sixty years after it was written – possibly because even when he wrote it, he set the story before the 1950s, saying quite plainly that it took place long before you. So it’s always been a story of before, quite fitting I think especially for a story that takes begins before Narnia even exists.

I don’t want to go into too much detail, because I really enjoyed reading it with no expectations of what it would be – just opening the book to find out for myself was thrilling and I was very pleased with what I found. So if you haven’t read this series yet, take a chance, it’s GOOD. I am anxiously looking forward to reading Book 2 (formerly Book 1) The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.

Grade: A++

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books & reading

What’s On MY Nightstand: December

It’s the 4th Tuesday in November – you know what that means! It’s TIME TO build a word show you what’s on my nightstand. First I’ll show you the books I’m currently reading and have slated to read, then I’ll show you the books that Santa can feel free to leave under the tree for me this year (the ones I wouldn’t kick out of my nightstand, so to speak). So here’s what I’m reading right now or planning to read very soon:

  • The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis: This book is either the 6th in the series or the 1st depending on how you look at it – it wasn’t written first, but it is supposed to be the story of the dawn of Narnia, how it all began, etc. I’ve decided to read this one first even though it says BOOK SIX in huge letters, the back of the book assures me I can read these books in any order. So there. I’ve read two chapters before and already I’m loving the writing style and the plot. I think I’m really going to enjoy this series.
  • Home: A Memoir Of My Early Years by Julie Andrews: I’ve been wanting to read this since before it came out, so last night when the dh let me take myself to the library I searched the racks in the basement biographies section of the library and THERE IT WAS. I was so excited and I’m looking forward to starting this soon.
  • The Host by Stephenie Meyer: I bought this with a gift card my mother sent me for my birthday and I am definitely looking forward to reading it, but I keep putting it down and saying, “Not yet.” I think it’s the knowledge that it’s currently the only book she’s written that I haven’t read – so once I read it, I’m screwed until she writes something new – does that make sense? So I put it down and went to the library to get The Magician’s Nephew and Home and I’ll read this just as soon as I’m brave enough!
  • The No Cry Potty Training Solution by Elizabeth Pantley: I am mostly including this to maybe encourage myself to pick it up and start reading it – it does sound like a great book and probably perfect, but like my son, I’m in denial about the whole potty training thing and it kind of feels like homework, which never encourages me to want to read anything. But there you have it.

Now for the books that I’d most like to find waiting for me on Christmas morning – the ones I’d bake Santa TWO batches of homemade cookies for!

What’s on your nightstand this month?

Categories
books & reading

Fall Into Reading 2008: The End

The calendar tells us that fall is over (looking out the window at snow falling onto an already ridiculously deep bed of snow, with no plans of stopping soon – that also tells me fall is over, but you know, details shmetails). That means that the Fall into Reading 2008 Challenge hosted by Kat @ Callapidder Days is also over. How’d you do with your reading lists? I’d say I did not bad – I didn’t finish all of the books on my list, but I did read OTHER books that weren’t on my list (which is silly, because I could have edited the list to include them, but I didn’t because I like to be overly difficult to myself). Anyway, here’s the list I wrote up in September:

So I read three of the books, attempted but didn’t finish two and haven’t gotten to three others yet. But like I said earlier, I did read other books during the fall – here are the non-challenege books that I read when I could have been reading challenge books:

  • The Woman Who Rides Like A Man by Tamora Pierce – Finished October 30, 2008 – SO good. Clearly, since I again devoured this book. I’m really looking forward to reading the last in this quartet and considering reading a LOT of her other works now. But you know, get in line.
  • Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult – Finished November 26, 2008 – This book was an incredible experience – Picoult is such a gifted writer, I couldn’t help but be in awe of her and loved the intricacies of this story – each piece woven into the next. Brilliant.
  • Death: A Life by George Pendle – Finished December 4, 2008 – While I didn’t love this book, I did enjoy it – it was funny and well written and gave a very interesting perspective of life and death and all that other stuff in between.
  • Boomtown by Nowen N. Particular – Finished December 13, 2008 – This story had the potential to be amazing – so many genius anecdotes and tales – but it fell flat and made it very hard to want to continue reading.

And right now I’m reading The Mysterious Benedict Society – which I might have finished had I given into my urge to stay up late last night reading until I passed out – unfortunately I’m pregnant and sleep was inevitable and probably necessary. So that’s an extra four, almost five books on top of the three that I finished for the challenge – so that’s not terrible, right?

Of the books that I read for the challenge, I think Rumors by Anna Godberson was probably my favorite – I loved the first book and the second was possibly even better, although the ending seemed horribly unfair and I kind of wanted to kick things, still I’m looking forward to the next book, Envy, which is due to come out in January I believe. My least favorite was a Jane Eyre, obviously as I didn’t finish it – I know some people love this book, I’m still not sure why. I thought it was awful and depressing and ridiculous to boot.

I think it’s interesting that I read more non-challenge books than the challenge ones – I think my brain doesn’t like reading lists – like it almost feels like homework, because these were books I CHOSE and I still seemed to abandon them in favor of spontaneous reading. I’m not sure what this says – I still like the idea of keeping a running tab of books to read, I have several methods of doing that already, especially with goodreads.com, but I guess for me, this was one step too far in the planning route?

I am still thinking of joining the Spring Reading Challenge, if only to see if lightning strikes twice, you know? I’ll certainly still be reading – that’s for sure! Perhaps if the goal were simply to read x number of books I’d have done better – I did read 7 books this fall which is fairly impressive, don’t you think?

So that’s all folks – hello Winter, good bye Fall Into Reading 2008.

Categories
books & reading reviews

Review: Boomtown by Nowen N. Particular

Grade: D

I’m a details person. When I buy a product that has clever packaging, little gems in every nook and cranny, it makes me love the product more – putting in that extra effort, to me, says you care about your product. So when a copy of Boomtown: Chang’s Famous Fireworks Factory by Nowen N. Particular was sent to me from the Thomas Nelson book review bloggers program, I was immediately impressed by the little details. The author’s pseudonym reminded me of Lemony Snicket. The concept of a warm and caring Utopian society who just happen to be obsessed with blowing things up – it all sounded terrific. I couldn’t wait to devour it.

Boomtown is the story of reverend Arthur Button, who moves his family to Boomtown after accepting a job with Boomtown Church. His wife and three children are all funny and clever – the kids are always getting into trouble but escaping unscathed. These four do very well in Boomtown and hearing the story from any of their perspectives might have been a treat. But this story is told from the point of view of Arthur, who is the most boring stick in the mud you will ever meet.

I think most people would love to live in Boomtown. But Arthur Button does not. And since we are reading from his perspective, the whole thing feels boring and stuffy. Button almost dies 6 times in this story and I don’t think I cared once.

What disappoints me the most was the sheer amount of potential this book had – if it hadn’t been narrated by Arthur, it might have been great. Why was this a children’s book? I can’t imagine any kid who would want to read a story told from the perspective of their father. Most kids would rather read a story from another kid’s perspective.

Supposedly there will be a second book – I won’t be reading it. But hopefully my negative review (and others I’ve seen on the review page for Boomtown) will yield a positive result for Nowen N. Particular – you had a good idea, you just mucked it up royally. Next time, try writing from the perspective of someone we can care about.