178 - A Walk in the Woods; Bill Bryson

Having fell in love with the audio version of Bryson's The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, I decided to give A Walk in the Woods a try. This audio is also read by the author.

Bill Bryson moved to Hanover, New Hampshire, and soon after realizes the the Appalachian Trail, at least part of it, is close by. After doing some reading about the trail, he thought it would be pretty cool to hike the trail which runs from Georgia to Maine. He solicits friends and family to join him, and even puts notes in his holiday cards inviting people to hike "the trail".

The only person to respond to his invitation was an old college buddy, that he never got along with too well...Steven Katz. The two of them are like the "odd couple". Bryson is very prepared, having shopped for all the essentials for the trip, and packed very well. Katz, is like Oscar with his duffle bag well packed with Snickers Bars and Little Debbie cakes, all the essentials he felt he'd need. When Katz' bag gets a little too heavy, he tosses the water bottle...who needs water on a hike in the South right?. Their hike began in Georgia, and last about 6 weeks or 500 miles.

The book was very amusing. In addition there is a bit of history about the Appalachian Trail, as well as environmental and ecological issues neatly laced into the story. Great travel Memoir.

RATING - 4/5 - STARTED 10/08 - COMPLETED - 11/08

177 - The Cellist of Sarajevo; Steven Galloway

The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway is a work of fiction that was inspired by an actual event that occurred in Sarajevo in 1992.

In the actual story a musician, by the name of Vedran Smailovic, witnessed 22 friends and family members die from mortar fire while they were waiting to buy bread. As a memorial to these individuals he sat at the site where those 22 people had died and played his cello for 22 days honoring these people.

This story itself involves four characters: the cellist who witnesses the bombing that kills 22 people; a female sniper named Arrow whose job is to protect the cellist, but soon begins to question what her job involves; a man named Dragan, a lonely man who has sent his family away so that they would be safe, and then there is Kenan, who travels regularily on dangerous terrain to gather water for his family and neighbor.

Although the cellist plays a small role in the story, people living there begin to bond together. They meet on street corners, food stands or water gathering locations to talk, to tell others that the cellist has survived one more day without being shot.

I must admit I knew very little about the actual details that occurred in Bosnia, before reading this book. It was sad to see the shattered lives of the people, and how they tried to maintain a little piece of dignity in the face of overwhelming despair.

I would have rated this book higher, however, I found some parts seemed to drag a bit, despite the fact that there were only 256 pages to the book. Still, this book is a worthwhile read.

RATING - 4/5 - COMPLETED - 11/3/08

176 - An Abundance of Katherines; John Green

This audio book was actually one from October that I forgot to post. I listened to it on my IPOD, so I didn't have the actual book around to remind this aging brain to blog about it LOL. It is a YA title that was recommended by a cyber-buddy. It was really a fun read.

About the book: Green's eccentric narrative follows the exploits of Colin Singleton, a fading prodigy whose hobbies include making anagrams, dating girls whose names are Katherine, and coming up with mathematical equations that explain why said Katherines have dumped him. After "Katherine the Nineteenth" breaks his heart, Colin and his best friend go on a road trip that lands them in Gutshot, Tennessee. Jeff Woodman delivers a solid narrative voice brimming with enthusiasm and energy. He embodies Colin by vocalizing his frustration and aimlessness while also executing great personalities and accents for the various characters Colin encounters. Woodman's smooth, animated tone produces an engaging atmosphere for this amusing novel.

This book, although a fun read, would be far more enjoyable to teens I am sure. Great narrative, memorable characters, but just not much of a story. It did make walking fun though, and any book that does that for me, can't be a bad book.

RATING - 4/5 - COMPLETED - Mid October-08

November Stack

Picked out my November stack yesterday. Funny how some of these same titles have appeared a few months in a row now.

• The Meaning of Night; Michael Cox - book group read Dec
• Pocketful of Names; Joe Coomer - love this author
• A Recipe for Bees; Dargatz
  
• The 19th Wife; Ebershoff - cuz I heard it was good
• The Gate House; DeMille (audio) - sequel to The Gold Coast - love this author- 2.5/5
  
• A Walk in the Woods; Bill Bryson (audio) - 4/5
• The Cellist of Sarajevo; Galloway - 4/5
  
• The Childrens Blizzard; Larson
• Lost and Found:Dogs, Cats and Everyday Heroes at Our Country Animal Shelter; Hess
  
• I See You Everywhere; Julia Glass - 2/5
  
• The Tenderness of Wolves; Penney
  
• Telex from Cuba; Kurshner
• We are Eternal; Brown (NF)
  
• Death With Interruptions; Saramago - left over from last month
• A View From Garden City; Baugh
  
• Black Swan Green; Mitchell - left over from last 2 months :)
• Certain Poor Shepherds; Thomas
• The Hour I First Believed; Wally Lamb - to be released on 11/11/08 - 4/5
  

175 - The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane; Kate DiCamillo

I was captivated by this gem of a book as I browsed the bookstore. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, is of course intended for children ages 4-8, but I cannot recommend it highly enough. Just over 225 pages, with large type and plenty of blank space on the pages, the story, and gorgeous illustrations are not to be missed.

Edward Tulane is a vain, self-absorbed three-foot-tall china rabbit from France who appears to have all he could want: fabulous clothes, a tiny gold pocket watch and a little girl, Abilene, who loves him. Then it all vanishes. When the family goes off on an ocean voyage trouble begins. He too falls from grace and ends up in the water. He experiences his first emotion fear.

His emotional journey through life encompasses several transformations as several owners adopt him. When a fisherman saves him from the sea, his wife calls him Susanna and puts a dress on him. But their nasty grown daughter tosses him in the trash. A hobo, retrieves Edward from the garbage dump and names him Malone. Then he loses him. A crabby old woman uses him as a scarecrow in her cornfield until Bryce, an abused boy, rescues Edward for his poor little sister, Sarah Ruth. She christens him Jangles, and Bryce strings up the toy like a marionette to dance for money. Finally in a doll shop sitting on a shelf for over a year, Edward is unexpectedly discovered by someone who has always loved him.

This story was so satisfying and does have a happy ending, however, parents of very young children should be aware that there are some sensitive issues addressed in this book: poverty, homelessness, even death.

RATING - 5/5 - COMPLETED - 11/1/08

2009 Pub Challenge

Michele at One More Chapter is hosting this 2009 Pub Challenge

Here are the 2009 rules:

1)Read a minimum of 9 books first published in 2009. You don’t have to buy these. Library books, unabridged audios, or ARCs are all acceptable. To qualify as being first published in 2009, it must be the first time that the book is published in your own country. For example, if a book was published in Australia, England, or Canada in 2008, and then published in the USA in 2009, it counts (if you live in the USA). Newly published trade paperbacks and mass market paperbacks do not count if there has been a hardcover/trade published before 2009. Any questions on what qualifies? Just leave a comment here, and I’ll respond with the answer.
2)No children’s/YA titles allowed, since we’re at the ‘pub.’
3)At least 5 titles must be fiction.
4)Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
5)You can add your titles as you go, and they may be changed at any time.

I plan to read:

1. Never Tell a Lie; Hallie Ephron - 4/5
   
2. True Colors; Kristin Hannah - 2.5/5 (audio)
   
3. Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts; Benedict - 4/5
   
4. Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - 4.5/5
   
5. The Seance; Harwood - 4/5
   
6. Beat the Reaper; Josh Bazell - 4.5/5
7. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County; Baker - 5/5
8. The Spare Room; Garner - 4/5
9. The Help; Stockett - 5/5
   
10. While My Sister Sleeps; Delinsky - 4.5/5
11. The Piano Teacher; Lee - 4/5
    
12. Handle With Care; Picoult - 5/5
13. Honolulu; Brennert - 4/5
14. Still Life; Fielding - 4/5
15. The Weight of Heaven; Umrigar - 5/5
16. In Hovering Flight; Hinnefield - 4/5
17. Dog On It; Quinn - 4/5
18. The Cradle; Somerville - 3/5
19. The Pursuit; Robards - 4/5
20. The Daily Coyote; Stockett 4/5
21. Almost Home; Jenoff - 4/5
22. The Simplest Acts and Other Stories; Haney - 4/5
23. Apologize, Apoligize; Kelly - 2/5
24. Shanghai Girls; See - 4.5/5
25. Happy for No Reason; Shimoff - 4/5
26. Prayers for Sale; Dallas - 4.5/5
27. The Visibles; Shepard - 4/5
28. Life Without Summer; Griffin - 5/5
29. Dark Places; Flynn - 4/5
30. Home Safe; Berg - 2/5
31. Blue Notebook; Levine - 5/5
32. Who Do You Think You Are; Myers - 4.5/5
33. Black Girl Next Door; Bazisle - 4/5
34. Burnt Shadows; Shamsie - 3.5/5
35. Water, Stone, Heart; North - 4/5
36. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie; Bradley - 5/5
37. The Chosen One; Williams - 4.5/5
38. Broken; Jones - 4/5
39. Disobedient Girl; Freeman - 3.5/5
40. Perfection; Metz - 4/5
41. Die For You; Unger - 4/5
42. A Short History of Women; Walbert - 4/5
43. Labor Day; Maynard - 5/5
44. The Bride's Farewell; Roseoff - 3.5/5
45. My Abandonment; Rock - 4/5
46. So Happy Together; McFadden - 4/5
47. Dismantled; McMahon - 4/5
48. A Happy Marriage; Ygelasis - 4.5/5
49. The Magicians; Grossman - 5/5
50. God of War; Silver - 5/5
51. Strangers; Brookner - 5/5
52. Sima's Undergarments for Women; Stager Ross - 5/5
53. When the Sun Goes Down - 4/5
54. The Boneman's Daughter; Dekker - 4/5
55. The Calligrapher's Daughter; Kim - 5/5
56. Benny and Shrimp; Mazetti - 4/5
57. The House on Sugar Beach; Cooper - 4.5/5
58. The Promise of Wolves; Hearst - 4.5/5
59. The Song of Renewal; Harvey - 4/5
60. The Idea of Love; Dean - 4/5
61. The Day the Falls Stood Still; Buchanan - 4.5/5
62. That Old Cape Magic; Russo - 5/5
63. Heroic Measures; Ciment - 4.5/5
64. Homer's Odyssey; Cooper - 4.5/5
65. After You; Buxtbaum - 4/5
66. The Woodstock Story; Levine - 4.5/5
67. The Neighbor; Gardner - 4.5/5
68. Dragon House; Shors - 4/5
69. The Shimmer; Morrell - 3/5
70. The Hidden Life of Deer; 3/5
71. Brooklyn; Toibin - 4/5
72. Bird in Hard; Kline - 4/5
73. Homer and Langley; Doctorow - 3/5
74. Saving Sammy; Mahoney - 4/5
75. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind - 4.5/5
76. Day After Night; Diamant - 4/5
77. Yes My Darling Daughter; Leroy - 4/5
78. The Sari Shop Widow; Bantwal - 4/5
79. The Broken Window; Deaver - 4/5
80. A Change of Altitude; Shreve - 3/5
81. No Time to Wave Goodbye; Mitchard - 4/5
82. A Brutal Telling; Penny - 4.5/5
83. The Magician's Elephant; DiCamillio - 5/5
84. Evil at Heart; Cain - 4.5/5
85. Mathilda Savitch; Lodato - 4/5
86. Baking Cakes in Kigali; Parkin - 4/5
87. Solace; Temes - 4/5
88. A Duty to the Dead; Todd - 4.5/5
89. Runaway Mummy; Rex - 4.5/5
90. Miss Smith and the Haunted Library; Gaylord - 4.5/5
91. Sworn to Silence; Castillo - 4/5
92. Cutting for Stone; Verghese - 5/5
93. The Time of My Life; Swayze and Neimi - 5/5
94. The Recipe Club; Israel and Garfinkel - 4/5;
95. The Christmas Cookie Club ; Pearlman - 3/5
96. Picking Bones From Ash; Mockett - 4.5/5
97. Physick Book of Deliverance Dane; Howe - 4/5
98. Traveling With Pmegranates; Kidd Monk - 1/5
99. Have a Little Faith; Albom - 4.5/5
100. The Humbling; Roth - 3/5
101. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much; Bartlett - 4.5/5
102. The Christmas Dog; Carlson - 4.5/5
103. Her Fearful Symmetry; Niffinegger - 4/5
104. Await Your Reply; Chaon - 4.5/5
105. The Christmas List; Evans - 5/5
106. Wishin and Hopin; Lamb - 4.5/5
107. Half Broke Horses; Walls - 5/5
108. Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas - 4.5/5
109. Holiday Grind; Coyle - 4/5
110. The Girl on Legare Street; White - 4/5
111. Finding Grace; VanLiere - 4/5
112. Amen, Amen, Amen; Sher - 4/5
113. New World Monkeys; Mauro - 3/5
114. Nubs; Dennis and Nethery - 5/5
115. The Lovers; Connolly - 4/5
     
116. Rainwater; Sandra Brown - 5/5
     
117. Alice I Have Been; M Benjamin - 4.5/5
118. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt; Hoffman - 5/5
119. Mean Mother; P. Streep - 4/5
120. American Rebel: Life of Clint Eastwood; Eliot - 4/5
121. Frommer's Costa Rica 2010; Greenspan - 4.5/5
     

completed - 3/2009

Winter Holiday Reading Challenge - Nov. 1 - Jan 31, 2009

Completed - December - 2008


The Winter Holiday Reading Challenge is being hosted by Book in Hand, and it will last from November 1, 2008 to January 31, 2009.

The theme for this challenge is Winter Holidays. The books that you choose to read must have a storyline that includes celebrating a winter holiday, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year's, etc. (However, the holidays are not limited to just these examples.)

You choose the number of books you wish to read.

I hope to read (5). My list consists of:

1. The Christmas Sweater; Beck - 5/5
   
2. A Cedar Cove Christmas; Macomber - 2/5
   
3. A Virgin River Christmas; Robyn Carr - 4/5
   
4. A Dog Named Christmas; Kincaid - 4/5
   
5. The Spy Who Came for Christmas; Morrell - 4/5
   
6. The Paper Bag Christmas; Milne
7. Santa Clawed; Brown
   

I've already read : Grace; Evans - loved it and Holidays on Ice; Sedaris - very funny