People choose to read books for any number of reasons: the description sounds interesting, a friend recommended it, they feel like it's a book they "should" read. I chose to read Sarah Strohmeyer's new novel, Sweet Love, for possibly the oddest reason I've ever chosen to read a book: it looked delicious. Well, that's not the only reason. I liked the description on the inside of the dust jacket. But the cupcake on the front is what drew me to the book. I would have overlooked it entirely otherwise.

Julie Mueller is a single mom in her mid-forties. As a field reporter for a news station in Boston, she has become the consummate career woman, desperate to avoid the fate of her mother: trapped in the kitchen, providing for a husband Julie doesn't believe appreciates her. Julie divorced her own husband when her daughter, now seventeen, was a baby. Since she was a small child, Julie has loved one man: her older brother's best friend, Michael Slayton. Julie declared her love to Michael when she was seventeen, and he turned her down. Now, years later, fate is giving them another chance as she struggles with career upheavals and struggles in her relationship with her mother.

I was expecting a kind of "chick-lit" type story, but this book was more than that. Julie's relationship with her mother is almost more at the core of this story than Julie's relationship with Michael. And I think the story is the better for it; the idea of the changing relationship between mother and daughter is a kind of universal theme. Julie doesn't always understand the things her mother does, and vice versa. It's something any daughter can relate to. I'm not at the stage of life where I fully understood everything Julie was experiencing, but as someone who doesn't always agree with or understand her mother, well, I could relate to the general feeling.

The big problem with the relationship between Julie and Michael is, I suspect, the big problem in relationships the world over: their communication isn't very good. Misunderstandings and a lack of communication have plagued their relationship for years, and in order to move forward, they must learn to lay it all out on the table- and actually listen to what the other person is saying. Again, this is something of a universal theme, as people are wont to only hear what they want to hear, and others don't always say what they mean.

I think the appeal of this book is that the problems facing the characters are problems anyone can relate to. None of these characters is anything special; they're all ordinary people (though Michael is a tad idealistic). But everyone has trouble communicating with other people, or not understanding the people most important to them. I think Strohmeyer's point is that it's important to take a few minutes to listen to someone (to the things both said and unsaid); it could go a long way toward improving your relationship with them before it's too late.

I definitely recommend this book.

Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 297
Publisher, ISBN: Dutton, 9780525950646
888 Category: Books Released in 2008

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: q-u, fiction, review, stars: 4, titles: q-u
Current Mood: pensive
Current Music: Muse - Time Is Running Out

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is one of those books that I've heard nothing but good things about. It had been on my radar for a year and a half, but it started getting a lot of attention in the Talk forums on Library Thing a few months ago. So I managed to snag a copy from BookMooch, and took my time reading it.

Ten year old Daniel is taken by his father to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, where he is allowed to adopt one book. The book he selects is The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. Completely enthralled by the book, he attempts to find more works by Carax, only to discover someone has been systematically finding and destroying every copy of Carax's novels. Daniel's is one of the few left in existence. Determined to find out why someone would go to the trouble of destroying the books, Daniel spends several years trying to discover what really happened to Carax, and to the novels. He is swept into a web of lies, deceit, and revenge that spans several decades.

I was expecting a thriller in this book, but I honestly didn't expect some of the characters to be so sinister. Some characters were clearly evil from the beginning, but others had sinister sides that didn't become clear until later. So many lies were told, it was hard to tell by the end of the novel what was the truth and what was a lie. But it was all worth it. Zafon is a powerful storyteller capable of weaving an intricate plot with compelling characters. I took my time reading this novel, not wanting to miss any of the subtleties of the book (though I'm sure I did). I found myself just as eager as Daniel to discover who was destroying the books, as well as why Julian Carax was such a mystery.

One of the things I did struggle with was keeping track of Daniel's age. It seemed to me that he jumped from being ten to being sixteen to being nineteen overnight. By the time I reached the end of the novel, I wasn't sure how old he was.

Also, did anyone else who read this actually wish they could read Carax's The Shadow of the Wind? I kind of wanted to know what all the fuss was about...

Anyway, I loved this book. Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 487
Publisher, ISBN: Penguin, 0143034901
888 Category: Books from the TBR pile

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: v-z, fiction, fiction: contemporary, fiction: mystery, review, stars: 4.5, titles: q-u

Now that she and the other knights of the Order of Rose and Grave have survived two attempts to destroy the society, Amy Haskel is looking forward to getting down to normal society business, and that means pranks with rival societies. But as she learns in Rites of Spring (Break), the third novel in the Ivy League series by Diana Peterfreund, destruction is the new normal. An attempted prank against a rival society goes awry, and Amy spend the first half of the semester wishing Spring Break would come already. She joins the other members of Rose and Grave at Cadavor Key, a private island off the coast of Florida. However, the current knights aren't the only Diggers in residence, and while some patriarchs are friendly, others aren't. The threats against the girls in the club continue, and culminate into the biggest threat to their personal safety they've faced yet. On top of it all, Amy's guilty of society incest again, this time with someone she never expects (those who have read the first two novels probably won't be as surprised as Amy was, though).

So far, this was my favorite book of the series (the fourth and final book is scheduled to be released next summer, and I can't wait). Peterfreund seems to have really hit her stride when it comes to the characters. She knows who they all are, and the readers have been given enough to feel like they know the characters as well (and as anyone who has read more than one of my reviews can tell you, I am a big fan of characters). Additionally, much of the infighting within Amy's tap class (though they're no longer taps) seems to have come to a halt in the face of preserving themselves against outside forces. Part of that is a result of the more divisive characters having a minimal role, I'm sure. And part of the reason I love this one is the previously mentioned relationship Amy begins. I admit, I saw it coming, and I think this person is a good match for her. I don't like books that are outright romance novels, but this series has a little bit of everything, so I enjoy bits of romance mixed in.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for light reading that's not too fluffy on substance.

Curious about the other books in the series? Check out my reviews of Secret Society Girl and Under the Rose

Rating: 3.5 stars
Pages: 354
Publisher, ISBN: Delta Trade, 9780385341936
888 Category: Released in 2008

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: l-p, fiction, fiction: contemporary, review, stars: 3.5, titles: q-u
Current Music: The Pierces - Lies

I found After Dark by Haruki Murakami on the "Buy One, Get One Half Off" table at Borders and flipped through it. I was instantly intrigued by the idea of following what happened in the hours between twilight and dawn in Japan; a reference to a late-night trip to Denny's in the opening pages hooked me (reminded me of some of my favorite high school memories). The story follows two sisters, Mari and Eri, through the night. One, Mari, is unable to sleep and has decided to spend the night in the city instead of at home. Eri, on the other hand, cannot wake up. She went to sleep one day and has essentially slept for two months, waking only occasionally to eat and shower. The story peeks in on her as she sleeps, noting the slight but sinister changes to the room in every visit. Most of the story revolves around Mari and the people she meets during the night: an old acquaintance of Eri's, Tetsuya Takahashi; the owner of a "love hotel," Kaoru; a Chinese prostitute who is beaten at the hotel; and an employee of the hotel, Korogi. The story also peeks in on a man named Shirakawa, who is responsible for the beating the prostitute received. The story ends as the sun rises and the city comes back to life.

This is the first Murakami I read, though I've owned The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle for a few months. It won't be my last Murakami, that's for sure. One of the things that struck me about the book was the sheer loneliness of the characters. Even when they were with other people, they all just seemed so alone. And while that could have made the book incredibly depressing, it wasn't depressing at all. Though I could hardly relate to the specific circumstances of the novel, I still felt a sense of "I've been there" as I read. There's a disconnect between the narrator and the loneliness. This is due in part to the fact that the narrator is not only omniscient, he's almost birdlike, floating in to each scene from above. And there were moments that were humorous, giving the novel a sense of lightness.

I really enjoyed it, and I won't hesitate to read anything by Murakami in the future. I highly recommend this novel.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 244
Publisher, ISBN: Vintage International, 9780307278739
888 Category: To Be Read
Also Reviewed at: Ramya's Bookshelf

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: l-p, fiction, fiction: contemporary, review, stars: 4.5, titles: a-f
Current Music: Imogen Heap - Shine

In Elizabeth Scott's novel, Stealing Heaven, eighteen year old Danielle has only ever known one thing: theft. She has been stealing things as long as she can remember, and her mother has trained her in the art of being a thief. When they arrive in the small, upscale beach resort town of Heaven, it is the same as every other town they've been to. But in Heaven, Danielle finds something she's never really known; she feels at home for the first time. It isn't long before she's made a friend, and she finds herself falling for a cute guy. However, her friend belongs to the family her mother has chosen to target, and the cute guy is a cop. Danielle must make a choice: her mother and the life she's always known, or the chance to step out on her own and create the life she's always wanted.

Elizabeth Scott is quickly rising to become one of my favorite young adult authors. I read Bloom last year and enjoyed it, and I recently read and reviewed Perfect You, and enjoyed it as well. One of the things I love best is her characters; there is something about each and every one of them that a reader can connect to. And though my life of crime was limited to stealing soccer ball stickers when I was four, I could definitely relate to Danielle. As a young adult, it's hard to figure out how to stand on your own feet when your goals for your life don't necessarily mesh with the goals your parents have set for you. I also thought the pacing of the book was just right. At some point, the warring forces in Danielle's life would have to come to a head, and I thought it happened at just the right time (though there was an interesting twist a little further beyond that as well).

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good story about growing up and trying to stand on your own.

Rating: 4
Pages: 307
Publisher, ISBN: Harper Teen, 9780061122811
888 Category: Young Adult

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: q-u, fiction, fiction: young adult, review, stars: 4, titles: q-u
Current Music: Garbage - Use Me

After taking on some of the most powerful men in the country and coming out ahead, Amy Haskel and her fellow members of the Order of Rose and Grave are prepared to take full advantage of the benefits of being a Digger their senior year. However, in Under the Rose, Diana Peterfreund's sequel to Secret Society Girl, they learn that things can always go wrong. After one of their fellow knights turns down the tap on Straggler Initiation night, things quickly begin to dissipate. Someone launches a website purporting to share the secrets of the Diggers, and the girls begin receiving strange messages that indicate the society is on the verge of imploding. On top of it all, Amy begins a new fling with one of her society brothers that can't possibly end well. When a fellow knight goes missing, it's up to Amy to find her- and Amy must turn to an old adversary for help. At the end of the day, Amy is stunned by just how deep the society's problems run, and it seems as though the emails the girls received will come true.

So often, sequels fall flat. But I don't think this one did at all. Amy is just as funny and relatable a narrator as she was in the previous novel, and the supporting characters also continued to shine. Some of the characters annoyed me, but I don't blame Peterfreund. They're good characters; they were designed to annoy. And some of the characters got the chance to become a little more three-dimensional in this novel, which I thought was great in terms of progress for the series. And Peterfreund really upped the ante, at least in terms of action. In the first novel, the intrigue is kept within the members of the society, whether they were active knights or patriots. But Under the Rose raises the question: at what point does it become less about keeping the society's secrets and more about guaranteeing the personal safety of its members? It's a question Amy and her fellow knights must consider.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the first novel, as well as anyone who enjoys a bit of intrigue in their light reading.

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 352
Publisher, ISBN: Delta Trade Paperbacks, 9780385340038
888 Category: Re-reads

My review for Secret Society Girl can be found here.

Tags: 888, authors: l-p, fiction, fiction: contemporary, review, stars: 3, titles: q-u
Current Mood: happy
Current Music: The Beatles - Come Together

I hereby confess: I am a member of one of the most infamous secret societies in the world.

So begins Diana Peterfreund's debut novel, Secret Society Girl, a hilarious look at what happens when 176 years of society traditions are suddenly turned upside down.

Eli University junior Amy Haskel isn't surprised when she begins receiving mysterious phone calls instructing her to be in a certain place at a certain time; it's Spring, the time when the senior secret societies on campus begin tapping members for the next class. As editor-in-chief of the literary magazine, she is a shoo-in to be tapped by Quill and Ink, the literary society. Yet from the moment she arrives for her interview, she realizes something is not right; this is far too cloak-and-dagger for Quill and Ink. The truth comes out when Tap Night arrives: Amy has been selected to join Rose and Grave, the oldest and most elite of the societies- and the only one known to still accept only males. Amy is one of six women chosen to join Rose and Grave; yet no sooner is her tap class initiated, then problems arise between the tap class, the seniors who tapped them, and the patriarchs who feel that women should not be included in their society. Amy, never one to mince words, finds herself at odds with some of the most powerful men in the country- and living to tell the tale.

I read this book last year, but recently re-read it when the third book in the series was released. And I enjoyed it on the re-read just as much as I did the first time. Amy is hilarious as a narrator, and her realization that she was tapped not for Quill and Ink, but for Rose and Grave, is particularly humorous given some of the comments she makes during her pre-tap interview. And some of her assumptions about the society are a tad outrageous, many of them based on rumors she'd heard about the Diggers before she became one. And Amy herself is quite likable; she's smart (as is true of all Eli students, seeing as the name change is about the only difference between Eli and Yale University), and the implication is that she's pretty, but she also doesn't know when to shut up, and is something of a conspiracy theorist. As she says, she's pretty ordinary compared to some of the other taps; some of them only come along once in awhile. But she's also loyal to her friends and fellow taps, and occasionally, she manages to come through in a big way.

This is my favorite kind of "chick lit"- the kind with a bit of an adventure and mystery to go along with the girl-power. Amy is a fun character and narrator, and there's an interesting mix of stock characters and unexpected characters rounding out the rest of the cast (Amy's society big brother Malcolm, the misanthropic Poe, and socialite Clarissa make up some of my favorites). This was a fun summer read, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing summer read.

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 291
Publisher, ISBN: Delta Trade Paperbacks, 9780440243892
888 Category: Re-reads

Tags: 50 books 2007, 888, authors: l-p, fiction, fiction: contemporary, review, stars: 3, titles: q-u
Current Music: U2 - All I Want is You

I found Silk by Alessandro Baricco when browsing at the bookstore yesterday afternoon. I remembered seeing it on the 1001 books list, and bought it on a whim. It took me a little over an hour to read it, and it packed quite an emotional punch for a book so small.

In the 1860s, Herve Joncour is a French silk merchant who travels to Japan to retrieve silkworm eggs. While there, he becomes obsessed with a woman he meets- a concubine with Western features, who does not speak a word of French. On his second trip, she hands him a note written in Japanese, and on his return to France, he finds someone to translate the note for him. The message intrigues him, and he returns several more times, until he finds the village destroyed and the people on the move. He does not see her again, but he receives a note, again in Japanese, once he has returned to France and his wife, who has always been aware of his obsession with this woman. It is nearly ten years before he discovers the truth of the second note.

This is a novella. Some chapters are little more than a sentence, and the longest chapters are two or three pages. There is a great deal of repetition. But in spite of all that, the story is breathtaking. It is easy to feel the depth of the emotions Herve Joncour feels- emotions that are never vocalized. There is quite a bit left unsaid in this novel, and yet the unsaid is as clear as the things that were said. So, too, are the emotions of his wife Helene. As she watches her husband continually return to Japan, ostensibly for business, she must struggle with the fact that she is not the woman who inspires such obsession. It is a keepsake from another woman that he always carries, and the reader can see that she fears she will lose him, even if he cannot.

Like most other American readers, I read this in translation from the original Italian, and have to marvel at the work of the translator, Ann Goldstein. She has kept intact the lyrical, rhythmic quality of the story. The use of language by both Baricco and Goldstein is beautiful and haunting; it is the reason the reader can share in the emotions of Herve and Helene.

In the end, I think I loved this book. It seems to be the kind of book I didn't know I was looking for until I found it. It was deeply emotional, and at the same time, it was subtle in all the right ways. I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 132
Publisher, ISBN: Vintage International, 9780307277978
888 Category: 1001 Books
Cross-Posted to: 1% Well Read, Library Thing

Tags: 1% well read, 50 books 2008, 888, authors: a-f, fiction, fiction: historical, review, stars: 4.5, titles: q-u
Current Music: U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler has been sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be read, for longer than I'd care to admit. I was curious about it from the beginning, as it came out within a year or so of my own love affair with Austen hitting it's full stride. I purchased the book when it came out in paperback, probably sometime in 2005, and promptly relegated it to the "I'll get there sooner or later" pile. Well, it turned out to be later rather than sooner. I watched the movie earlier this year (I know it's blasphemous to see a movie before you've read the book, particularly when you've owned the book for ages), and became interested in it all over again. It took a few months, but I finally got it off the shelf, and out of my to-be-read pile. And I read it. And I liked it.

Six very different people (five women, one man, and all neurotic in their own way) begin a book club devoted to reading the six major novels of Jane Austen. For some, Austen is an old friend. For others, she is a new experience. At the beginning of the novel, there is a good deal of actual discussion of Austen's works, intertwined with the life stories of the group members. However, by the time they meet to discuss the final novel, Persuasion, discussion of Austen's work has completely taken a backseat to the characters' stories (in two months, the months devoted to Mansfield Park and Pride and Prejudice, we don't even see the characters at their usual monthly meeting). We learn what brought Allegra, Bernadette, Grigg, Jocelyn, Prudie, and Sylvia to their respective points in life, and, at the end, Fowler gives them a little direction for the future. Following the conclusion of the Persuasion discussion, they meet once more to touch base, only to realize that no other author will provide the magic that Austen has provided for them, and they continue on their merry way.

I actually didn't enjoy the book as much as I expected to. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy, but I finished it feeling a little let down. I've come to realize that I'm a very character-driven reader. I can overlook plot holes in novels provided the characters are well-done. And in a novel like this, characters are almost more important to the success of the book than plot. Each of the characters had their moments, and in theory, they're well-designed. But there was nothing there to really endear any of them to me. Allegra and Prudie were both annoying and self-centered (designed, it seems, to illustrate how much younger than the others they were). Sylvia, Jocelyn and Bernadette were all kind of bland (Bernadette, in particular, could have been so much more interesting if only Fowler had given her a little bit of sass. Instead, Allegra got all the sass, but it was wasted on her because of how self-centered she was). Really, Grigg was the only one I didn't regard with complete and total indifference, and that's because I felt sorry for him. He opened himself up for a new experience, and embraced it, and the others regarded his efforts with a bemused condescencion. It seemed to get better as the novel went on, but even at the end, Fowler takes great pains to point out that "Grigg didn't get it." Maybe I'm reading too much into it. But I felt myself becoming indignant on his behalf throughout the novel.

I didn't hate the characters. I just felt that Fowler was trying so hard to make them normal, she actually made them too ordinary.

I do have to commend Fowler for her use of the Sacramento area as the setting for the novel. So often, books are set in the major cities (ie, L.A. and San Francisco) or in rural areas. But Sacramento has a kind of perfect "everytown" feeling that really works for this novel. And on a personal note, it was kind of neat to read a novel, see the author mention a place or peculiarity, and picture it perfectly (I've lived in the Sacramento area for the last twelve years).

So overall, I liked the book, but I don't think it merited the praise it received from some critics. It was a solid effort, and I wouldn't be opposed to reading more from her in the future. But I won't be moving her other works to the "must read now" pile, either.

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 250
Publisher, ISBN: Plume Books, 0452286530
888 Category: Austen Addiction

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: a-f, fiction, fiction: contemporary, review, stars: 3, titles: g-k
Current Music: Muse - Ruled by Secrecy

I'm actually a bit tardy in writing this review, considering I completed the book a month ago. But I'm trying to get caught up with my reviews, and this one is particularly important, considering it's one of the novels I've read for the 1% Well Read challenge.

When I began A Room with a View by E.M. Forster, I wasn't sure what to expect. It's not a long book- less than 200 pages- but I got stuck about one hundred pages into Howard's End four years ago and never completed it. So in late May, I began reading it. It took me nearly a month and a half to complete it, making the story feel much longer than it actually was. I couldn't quite suss out the relationship between Lucy and Charlotte, or exactly why Charlotte found Mr. Emerson and his son so objectionable. I struggled with the rhythm of the novel nearly the whole time they were in Italy. But then they returned to England, and I finally got a feel for Lucy and the rhythm of the story, and in the end, I really enjoyed it.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about this novel is that Forster accurately reflects the changes of society and the novel at the time. The conflict between old Victorian proprieties and modern sensibilities and equalities plays out in its pages much the way it did in real life. The upper classes (as well as those who aspired to the upper class, in Charlotte's case) tried to retain their old social values, while the working classes sought progress. And though he never says it explicitly, Forster suggests that those touting progress and reform were more sensible than those who clung to the old ways. This is especially clear in the depictions of Cecil Vyse and George Emerson; Cecil is portrayed as being boorish and lazy, and nearly opposite of George Emerson, whose quiet strength ultimately wins Lucy's heart.

Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 196
Publisher, ISBN: Penguin Classics, 0141183292
888 Category: British Classics
Cross-Posted to: 1% Well Read, Library Thing

Tags: 1% well read, 50 books 2008, 888, authors: a-f, fiction, fiction: classics, review, stars: 4, titles: q-u
Current Music: Muse - Stockholm Syndrome

As is the case with many others, I have been anticipating the release of Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer since reading the final pages of Eclipse last August. And like others, I eagerly devoted hours last weekend to finishing the series I've so enjoyed to this point. And like others, I was a bit disappointed with Breaking Dawn. However, I am not as vehemently disappointed as other readers. I've read reviews that have talked about letdowns and missed opportunities on Meyer's part. And I would agree that it doesn't quite work the way I thought it would. But when everything is said and done, I still liked the story. And I don't think it's as big a drop off from the other novels in the series as some have said.

This review will contain spoilers. I wanted to avoid them, but they're out there as it is, and there are a few specific things I want to address. If you're not interested in being spoiled, read no further.



Contrary to many other reviews, I don't find Bella's behavior and actions to be inconsistent with the previous novels. Bella behaves impulsively in the previous novels. This is particularly true of New Moon when she deliberately does dangerous things (speeding a motorcycle she purchased on a whim, jumping off a cliff, etc.) in the hopes of hearing what she believes is Edward's voice. Additionally, Bella's desire to protect her baby is not out of character either. Though she hadn't shown any interest previously in having children, she is something of a natural caregiver; she provides an almost parental care to her own parents- providing stability for her mother, cooking and keeping house for her father. It doesn't surprise me that, once she does become pregnant, she gives in to her maternal instincts. Nor does it surprise me that she is able to project the shield of her mind onto others around her. It's consistent with the fact that vampires with the ability to read minds were unable to read hers as a human.

That's not to say I don't find fault with some aspects of this book. Bella's pregnancy was nearly impossible to believe (and I know many others had this problem as well). I didn't necessarily care for the section told from Jacob's point of view. It just didn't sit too well with me. I can see why she did it, but I thought it would have provided a little more insight into the initial reaction of the Cullens to Bella's pregnancy, as well as Rosalie and Bella finally bonding and finding a connection. Also, like many others, I didn't care for Jacob's imprinting on the baby at all. I'm not denying that Jacob has the right to be happy and in love the way Bella and Edward are, but it seemed too odd to me. And I didn't at all believe that Bella was capable of adapting to a vampire lifestyle so quickly. Even with everything she had been told to prepare her for the change, there's no way she should have been able to overcome her basic instincts so quickly. But then, perhaps that was Meyer's way of showing Bella coming into her own. Beyond that, the final confrontation was a let-down: as a good friend of mine said, Bella should have had to fight. She and Edward should have been forced to defend their unconventional little family; it's what Emmett would have wanted (Emmett is a character that I think was deeply under-used throughout the series).

I wish the humans of Forks had received a little more mention: Angela and Ben were good friends to Bella, for example, as was Mike, and they achieved little more than a brief acknowledgement at the beginning of the novel. I understand that this is predominantly about Bella, Edward, and Jacob, but it just seems like Meyer could have found a little more room for them in the 754 pages. In spite of my dislike of Jacob as a narrator at a crucial point of the story, I thought the development of the relationship between Jacob, Seth, and Leah was great. I find Leah to be fascinating, to tell the truth. She comes across as a bit of a whiner, but I think it's understandable, all things considered. She just may be the strongest female of the bunch, in more ways than one.

When everything is said and done, I don't think this is the best novel of the series (Twilight and Eclipse are the superior books of the series, in my opinion). But I don't think it's as bad as critics and reviewers have made it out to be (Entertainment Weekly was pretty harsh in its review, for example). As I have said many times before, Meyer's books will never be high literature. But she is still a quality storyteller, and at the end of the day, the books are what they are: young adult romances with supernatural elements that tip the scales into fantasy. And while I'm not a fan of romance or fantasy as a general rule, this hybrid series intrigued me from start to finish.

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 754
Publisher, ISBN: Little, Brown, 9780316067928
888 Category: Books Released in 2008

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: l-p, fiction, fiction: young adult, review, stars: 3, titles: a-f
Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: Nightwish - For the Heart I Once Had

Sophomore year is not going particularly well for sixteen year old Kate Brown. Her father quit his job to sell infomercial vitamins at the mall, and has turned it into a family business (and not a successful one). Her best friend Anna quit talking to her at the beginning of the school year after undergoing a transformation, and she now pretends that Kate doesn't exist- unless she is laughing at her. And she can't quite figure out why Will Miller, player and jackass, is so interested in talking to her... and why she can't seem to stop thinking about him. Over the course of the novel, Kate is forced to come to some realizations about herself and the people in her life, from her family, to Anna and Will.

There are many points throughout the novel where Kate comes across as being quite selfish, but she's sixteen, and it's easy to see where she gets it from, as her father and older brother are quite selfish as well. She's also a bit of a doormat; no matter how poorly Anna and her new friends treat her, she still wants nothing more than to be friends with Anna again. And sometimes, she is just plain mean, particularly in the way she treats Will. But all of her behavior points to one thing: she is a teenage girl whose life is rapidly changing, and she's struggling to deal with these changes. And there lies Scott's talent: she has accurately depicted the very real emotions teenagers experience, without trapping them in material objects and concerns. Overall, I thought this was a great read, and would recommend it to anyone interested in reading realistic young adult novels.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Pages: 321
Publisher, ISBN: Simon Pulse, 9781416953555
888 Category: Young Adult Novels
Review Cross-Posted To: Library Thing

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: q-u, fiction, fiction: young adult, review, stars: 3.5, titles: l-p
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Sara Bareilles- Gravity

I discovered The Dark Lantern through a post on Salon, recommending some historical fiction for the summer. All four of the books were intriguing, but The Dark Lantern was the first I read. In 1893, Jane Wilbred moves from her position as a maid to a clergyman's family in the country to join the staff of the Bentley family in London. Jane quickly learns that the family has many secrets, and she has secrets of her own to protect. It is, of course, only a matter of time until the webs of secrets and deceit are untangled into the conclusion.

I enjoyed the book, but I didn't love it. I felt like the element of mystery was too forced. And in a lot of ways, it had some similar themes to Fingersmith... and The Dark Lantern doesn't really stand up to the comparison. The climax didn't match the build-up to it. It was as though Brightwell expended much of her energy early on and ran out of steam when it came time to unveil the secrets. And no one was truly punished for their deceit. But it was a well-written book, and if I hadn't read Fingersmith just a few months ago, I probably would have enjoyed this book a lot more. And I look forward to Brightwell's future offerings; there is quite a bit of potential in her work.

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 321
888 Category: Books Released in 2008*
Review Cross-Posted To: Library Thing

*- subject to change

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: a-f, fiction, fiction: historical, review, stars: 3, titles: a-f
Current Mood: discontent
Current Music: Sara Bareilles - Love Song

In the span of a month, I've made quite a few changes to my plans for the 888 challenge I'm participating in on Library Thing. I've changed two categories altogether, and I'm still mulling over what I'm going to do with a third category.

I've gotten rid of two categories, the ones previously known as "Books By Authors Who Are New to Me" and "Non-fiction." I'd only completed one book in each category. I've replaced them with "Austen Addiction" and "Re-Reads." Austen Addiction is for books based on people reacting to Jane Austen's novels, such as The Jane Austen Book Club, and sequels, such as At An Assembly Such as This. Generally, Austen sequels make me cringe, but I know that Assembly isn't the smut-fest some of the other "sequels" are. The Re-Reads category is extremely self-explanatory; I decided to include it after I re-read the first three books in the Twilight saga this week. I won't be including those in my 50 books challenge, though, since it's not really that challenging to re-read books you've already read once.

The category I'm still mulling over is the British classics category; I've made zero progress on it, except that I'm a little over halfway through A Room With a View, and I've started Middlemarch. I hate to get rid of it, but I don't have anything to replace it with, yet. I should just see how my reading shakes down for the rest of the year and see how it goes from there.

Anyway, here are the categories, and the books I've completed for each category. The rest of the spaces will be filled in as I complete the books (though if a book is in progress, I've included it, and it's noted.

1. 1001 Books (You Must Read Before You Die)
2. Books from the TBR Pile
3. British Classics
4. Books Released in 2008
5. Austen Addiction
6. Young Adult Novels
7. Historical Fiction
8. Re-Reads

( 1001 Books )

( Books from the TBR Pile )

( British Classics )

( Books Released in 2008 )

( Austen Addiction )

( Young Adult Novels )

( Historical Fiction )

( Re-Reads )

I will probably update this list on a monthly basis for the rest of the year; it just seems easier to do it monthly rather than every time I finish a book. If you're interested in following my progress more closely, I update my thread on Library Thing each time I complete a book or make changes.

Tags: 888, challenges
Current Mood: mellow

Recently relocated to Long Island after her father's marriage (to the titular wicked stepmother), Lucy is connecting with every last bit of the Cinderella fairy tale. A quick lunchtime exchange brings her to the attention of popular senior Connor, and when Jessica and Madison become her well-dressed fairy godmothers, Lucy believes she has found her Prince Charming. After a series of adventures and misadventures, the action culminates in the prom, where Lucy finds her true "happily ever after."

This book is a charming, if somewhat predictable and formulaic, take on the high school experience. As heroines go, Lucy is sweet and likable, and believable as a high school sophomore, and I knew characters like her schoolmates in my own high school experience. At some points, I felt that the author was trying a little too hard to force the story to fit the Cinderella framework, but on the whole, the story was not negatively affected.

This book was a quick read, and a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 283
888 Category: Young Adult Novels
Review cross-posted to: Library Thing

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: l-p, fiction, fiction: young adult, review, stars: 3, titles: g-k
Current Mood: bored
Current Music: Muse- Time is Running Out

To tell the truth, I almost hesitate to review this book; it's one that has to be reviewed carefully at any rate. I knew little about the plot prior to beginning the book, and I think it's for the best.

As children, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy were among the students at an elite school, Hailsham. They were constantly told how special they were; Hailsham's elite reputation is enforced early in the novel, when, as an adult, Kathy is asked constantly about her education at Hailsham. As the novel, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, continues, both the students and the reader learn why it is that Hailsham and its students are so special.

It took me a few days to get into this novel; the beginning was confusing to me, and I just didn't connect. But as Ishiguro begins to reveal more of the past and the whole story, it became impossible to put the book down. And while it was engrossing, there was a sense throughout that there was just something more than I couldn't quite put my finger on. As I read, there was a vague feeling of being uncomfortable. But it was a good thing, if that makes sense. The discomfort was what kept me reading.

I've seen this novel tagged as being science fiction, and it certainly has an element that's almost science-fictional in nature, but I would hesitate to label it that. The science fiction aspect is such a small part of the story; this is a novel more about the relationships between the Hailsham students, as well as their relationships with those outside Hailsham. I've also seen the label "dystopia" used, and I think that might be more appropriate, but it's still not quite an adequate label. The Hailsham students might exist in a kind of dystopia, but I don't know that the rest of the world is dystopian at that point. In any case, it's a novel that is extremely well-written and beautiful. I found myself relating to Kathy as she struggled to feel at home even among her friends. I highly recommend this book.


Rating: 5 Stars
Pages: 288
888 Category: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
Review cross-posted to: 1% Well Read, Library Thing
Other reviews of Never Let Me Go: Care, Trish's Reading Nook

Tags: 1% well read, 50 books 2008, 888, authors: g-k, fiction, fiction: contemporary, review, stars: 5, titles: l-p
Current Mood: indescribable
Current Music: Muse- Showbiz

Written in the tradition of early Greek tragedies, The Alcestiad tells the story of Admetus, King of Thessaly (rich in horses), his wife Alcestis, and the triumphs and tragedies they endure as favorites of the god Apollo. Every major event in their marriage is a direct result of the interference of Apollo, though this is not made clear in The Alcestiad. Rather, the extent of Apollo’s involvement is made clear in the accompanying satyr play, The Drunken Sisters.

These plays were a very quick read, and though there are elements of tragedy, they lack the heavy seriousness of the Greek tragedies. A good deal of levity is provided by Teiresias, introduced in the first act as being a representative of Apollo. He is quite old, and constantly confuses Admetus and Alcestis with other figures from Greek tragedy (such as the Sophocles characters Oedipus and Antigone) with no apologies. The Drunken Sisters of the satyr play, the Fates Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, also provide comic relief with their desire to be as beautiful as Aphrodite.

In the edition I have, Mr. Wilder’s sister Isabel discusses the lifetime labor of love that The Alcestiad was for her brother, beginning at the age of seven or eight when he first heard the story of Alcestis, the princess who was beloved by Apollo. It is clear throughout the play that Wilder loves Alcestis nearly as much as Apollo did, which I think helps make this easy and enjoyable to read. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys the early Greek tragedies, as well as those who simply enjoy well-written dramas.

Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 157
888 Category: Books from my TBR Pile
Review Cross-Posted to: Library Thing

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: v-z, drama, review, stars: 4, titles: a-f
Current Mood: cranky
Current Music: Muse - Butterflies and Hurricanes

Since posting my initial entry regarding the 888 challenge in April, I've finished some books and made some changes. The most significant change is the change in categories: I will no longer be trying to complete the Shakespeare category, and have since relabeled it as Books from my TBR Pile." I was making zero progress with the Shakespeare, and so I think this was a good change.

I need to make a lot more progress overall, though. I've only completed thirteen books toward this challenge, and that leaves me with 51 to go! For now, I've decided to kind of clear out the books I *haven't* read, so that it gives me a little more leeway when it comes to filling in the blanks and deciding what I'm going to read next.

Anyway, my updated list of categories is as follows:

1. 1001 Books (You Must Read Before You Die)
2. Books from the TBR Pile
3. British Classics
4. Books Released in 2008
5. Books by Authors I've Never Read Before
6. Young Adult Novels
7. Historical Fiction
8. Non-Fiction

( 1001 Books )

( Books from the TBR Pile )

( British Classics )

( Books Released in 2008 )

( Books by Authors I've Never Read Before )

( Young Adult Novels )

( Historical Fiction )

( Non-Fiction )

Wish me luck on all this. I'm thinking of amending a couple categories to include a few books I've read this year but didn't include in the challenge. There are three such books, and I may need them if I ever think I'm going to reach 64 (or even 56, if I take advantage of the ability to use 8 books in two categories each).

Tags: 888, challenges, librarything

During World War II in London, writer Maurice Bendrix carries on an affair with the very married Sarah Miles, who lives across the Common from his flat. It is this affair that is at the heart of The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. Near the end of the war, Sarah has ended the affair, and Bendrix is confused and angry, believing she has left him for another man. Throughout the novel, we learn why Sarah has chosen to end the affair, and watch as the characters struggle to reconcile their personal lack of belief in God and religion with the inevitable pull they feel toward God.

I found this book to be interesting and enjoyable. It is clear that the struggles with God and faith exhibited by the characters, particularly Sarah, are the struggles that Greene himself struggled with during his life. And that gave it a realistic feel. But I don't love this book the way other people do. When it comes to books, I'm a big fan of characters. I have to be engaged by the characters in order to enjoy a book. I don't have to love them, so long as I feel *something* about them. And I didn't really have that with any of the characters in this book. At times, I felt a little bad for each of the three main characters, but it was never more than a passing blip of sympathy before I continued on to being indifferent where they were concerned. When it came down to it, I never believed that Maurice was ever in love with Sarah. Obsessed with her, yes, but it just didn't seem to me that he really loved her.

Rating: 3.5 Stars
Pages: 160
888 Category: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
Review cross-posted to: 1% Well Read

Tags: 1% well read, 50 books 2008, 888, authors: g-k, fiction, fiction: classics, review, stars: 3.5, titles: a-f
Current Music: Coldplay - Clocks

In the past, it has been my practice to post reviews in the order I read the books. However, I think that's impacting the rate at which reviews get posted. So now I'm going to just try posting reviews as I write them. I have some written for the books I read at the beginning of the year, but I think they need to be cleaned up a bit before I actually post them for the world to read. My first review? Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen.

What is family? That is the question posed to seventeen year old Ruby Cooper on her first day at the exclusive Perkins Day School. Sent to live with her estranged older sister and her husband after it is discovered her mother disappeared two months earlier, Ruby’s life is turned upside down. Ruby has lived an almost transient lifestyle with her mother, believing that her older sister, Cora, abandoned her without a second glance ten years earlier. Now that she has been reunited with Cora, Ruby is forced to face some truths about their past and their biological family. Along the way, she also learns that a person can have many families over time.

At the heart of nearly every Sarah Dessen novel is the story of a girl and a boy, and in Lock and Key, that boy is Nate Cross. Nate is the next-door neighbor of Cora and her husband Jamie, and the night that Ruby moves in, Nate hides the fact that Ruby was trying to run away from Jamie. As the novel develops, so does the relationship between Nate and Ruby, though Dessen shares the emotional connection rather than the physical. And while Nate rescues Ruby a few times at the beginning of the novel, his life falls apart while hers begins to come together. In the end, it is Ruby and Cora who must rescue Nate.

It is not plot, but characters, that drive Dessen’s novels. Her gift is in creating characters that the reader can identify with. This is certainly true of Ruby, who feels out of place in the perfect life her sister has created, and more at home in the large, anonymous crowds at her previous high school. Teens struggling to find their place in the world will relate to Ruby’s desire to control even one aspect of her life. On the whole, I found this to be a satisfying, engaging read, with the quality Dessen fans have come to expect.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 422
888 Category: Books Released in 2008
Review also posted at: LibraryThing and Amazon

Tags: 50 books 2008, 888, authors: a-f, fiction, fiction: young adult, review, stars: 4.5, titles: l-p
Current Mood: complacent
Current Music: Tristan Prettyman - In Bloom