Lisa's 2010 reading log (aka kiwiflowa)

Books read in 2010

January
The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates
The House of Paper by Carlos Maria Dominguez
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracey Chevalier

February
The Help by Kathryn Stockett

March
The Long Song by Andrea Levy
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Sparks
Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey to the Amish by Sue Bender
A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot
Let the Great World Spin Colum McCann
After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away by Joyce Carol Oates

April
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides
Identical by Ellen Hopkins
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
Lovey Green Eyes by Arnost Lustig
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelmen

May
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock
The Off Season by Catherine Murdock
Boy Toy by Barry Lyga
*stinker* Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr
Front and Center by Catherine Murdock
*stinker* Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, Book 1) by Richelle Mead
Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Arabella by Georgette Heyer
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
The Known World by Edgar P. Jones
Daughter of Time by Jospehine Tey

June
Lady Audley's Secret by May Braddon
Austenland by Shanon Hale
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris - 11 books unreviewed but love em!!

July
The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison (reviewed)
According to Queeny by Beryl Bainbridge (reviewed)
American Rust by Philipp Meyer (reviewed)
Montana 1948 by Larry Watson (reviewed)
Excellent Women - Barbara Pym

August
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ - Philip Pullman
A Month in the Country - J.L. Carr
The Buccaneers - Edith Wharton

Currently Reading:
The Night Watch - Sarah Waters

Lisa, may I ask which Georgette Heyer you tried (re: your post in what you're reading now)? It's quite possible you just started with the wrong one. I've had success stories with giving this exact advice before, so now I try to drag it into every conversation I can...

By the way, I hope you're not too disappointed with the Time Travellor's Wife - lots of people were, me included.

Mister Pip was quite good, but you should definitely put Hamlet on the top of your list!

Hi Cariola, Nice to see you, Happy New Year!

Mr Pip was given by a close friend whom I also work with so I get no end of flak for having not read it yet.
I think I might watch a movie adaption of Hamlet first and then read it. The movie will give me the over all plot then when I read it I can concentrate on the language.

Chocolate Muse (love your name - I have a fridge full of chocolate right now and how can one walk past the post-Christmas chocolate sales??), I got three out from the library: Friday's Child, Sprig Muslim and False Colours. I started Friday's Child. After that attempt a few days ago I returned the other two to the library but I must admit I still have Friday's Child so it must have hooked me in the teensiest bit. I decided to give them a go because I love the regency era. Any advice?

A quick summary of 2009 reading... I read according to my librarything catalogue 86 books in 2009

5 star books:
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
American Wife: a novel by Curtis Sittenfield
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Year of Wonders: A novel of the plague by Geraldine Brooks
Columbine by Dave Cullen
Teacher Man: a memoir by Frank McCourt
Prep: a novel by Curtis Sittenfield
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Duty and Desire: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman (Fitzwilliam Darcy Gentleman) by Pamela Aidan
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks
Plain Truth by Jodie Picoult
The Pact by Jodie Picoult
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
The Outlander by Gil Adamson
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
If I Stay by Gaye Forman
The March by E.L. Doctorow
The Hour I First Believed by Wally lamb
Twilight series - except the last one!

Close but no cigar - 4.5 star books
The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond

So over 1/3 of the books I read last year were pretty darn good! I hope 2010 will be the same.

>4 kiwiflowa: Good choice - if you don't love Friday's Child, then Heyer is definitely not for you. Try sticking to it until you've properly met George, Ferdie and Gil. This is a book where the main characters aren't as important as the loveable sidekicks.

Enjoy all that chocolate!

I have had a rough start to the year reading-wise. The week between Christmas and New Year was enforced reading for lack of anything better to do so I think I burnt out a little and haven't been able to settle down and read since. I have been enamored with cross stitch all of a sudden so as we speak I am looking at audio books and I'm going to try and stitch and listen to an audio book at the same time. My first audio book is The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman. I tried to read this back in 2008 and didn't get past 50 pages which is weird because I generally like that genre such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. I've never tried an audio book before I will report back how it goes.

In the process of not being able to settle down I have dipped (as the phrase here seems to be) into several books:

The Western Canon by Harold Bloom.
I by no means want to follow a planned reading list but what I liked about this one is that Bloom only really focused on 26 writers. Right at the very back there is a looong list of books (i.e. the canon) which apparently was in his first edition. I like the brief list because over the course of my reading life I'll be sure to give them all a go. Bloom says he's shortened the list because 'cultural wars', and that anarchy has taken over. He is quite strong in his views lol, I'm sure his detractors did not appreciate being called lemmings!
More Book Lust by Nancy Pearl - bought for 40% off yesterday and a flipped through it last night... It's a bit meh in my opinion. Books are listed by topic and get a mere sentence or two to describe them or why they are good.

I think I've been dipping into the above books to get more excited about reading in general.

I attempted to read Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Didn't get past the first chapter. The dialogue was written as the Black Southern people spoke circa 1930 and I could not deal with it. I'm not saying it's a bad book, I will try it again it's just at that point of time I didn't have the patience.

Currently dipping into The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. I'm reading this for a discussion to take place on the 1001 books group in early Feb. I'm just reading a chapter once in a while before bed. I don't hate it or love it at this point. As my first Murakami I don't know what all the fuss is about with this author yet. Closer to the discussion date I expect I will start reading it in earnest.

Currently reading: The Grave Digger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates. A venti mocha and two cinnamon doughnuts for breakfast got me in the mood to finally sit down and read this morning!

The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates
5 stars - Highly Recommend. (I might buy this for Mum for Mother's Day)

I could roughly divide the books into three parts:
Rebecca's childhood: as the only daughter in a dysfunctional immigrant family her father is a grave digger in a small town in New York - a degrading position. Her Jewish family had fled Nazi Germany before WW2 started and each of them were never the same again. Rebecca was born on the ship in New York Harbour and didn't share their experience, essentially she is American, and this is ultimately what saves her.
Rebecca's first marriage: at 17 she falls pregnant to abusive Nigel Tignor and marries him. In this choice she gets what she has never had: a family. However Tignor becomes more abusive and unreliable and Rebecca flees.
Rebecca's New Identity: Rebecca becomes Hazel Jones, her son Niley jr Zach. As she flees her husband and creates her new life and identity for her and Zach she gains her independence of her own identity. She isn't what other people think of her, a 'Jew' and 'Gravediggers daughter' or ' Mrs Tignor', she can be who she wants. Hazel becomes involved with Chet Gallagher, of the wealthy Gallagher clan, and after a 10 year romance marries him. Along the way she becomes the perfect housewife with a beautiful and comfortable home, she becomes a loving and supportive mother to Zach a budding pianist genius. Hazel never tells Chet Gallagher about Rebecca.

This book was 592 pages long and took me two weeks to read. The length of the novel certainly contributed to the length of time I took to read it but I have also been very busy and unable to read as much as I would like. Normally this combination would have been fatal for finishing the book. Either the book would have been bad or I was just not in the right head space to enjoy it. However I enjoyed reading this book every time I picked it up. I didn't want it to end and it seemed like it never would! I normally have something to say about a book which I didn't like but in this case I can't think of anything. I even read reviews posted by LT members, in which surprisingly a lot of them didn't like the book, but their complaints weren't really solid. Mainly that they couldn't get into the book or it was slow and boring. The book starts abruptly and ends abruptly. There is loads of information and personal history/subplots however it's not one of those books where everything is tied up with a pretty bow at the end, there are loose ends but it's not frustrating ... it is what it is.

Of Joyce Carol Oates I have also read We Were the Mulvaneys which I enjoyed hugely. On the success of Gravedigger's Daughter I have recently gotten Them and Bellefleur out from the library - this author is good!

>8 kiwiflowa: Thanks for a great review. I've added this to my TBR, and because of it's length may buy it for my Kindle. I've downloaded a sample to try it.

Wow it's been a while! For the last three months I was really busy at work, our yearly peak time much like tax season (but it's not taxes) with lots of overtime, working in weekends (yuck!), etc. Over the time I read very little and often dipped into books and didn't stick with them.

These are the books I did read:

The House of Paperby Carlos María Domínguez
A short novelette. Literary detective story. A South American literary academic tries to discover who sent his dead colleague a novel officially to give the novel back and notify the person of her death but also out of nosiness. The search leads him to Chile to a story about a man who made a house out of his precious book collection.

I found the book short and sweet. Neither of the principal characters had a voice, their story was told by the narrative and people he found who knew them. I felt it was a light hearted joke at those who collect books and exaggeration of those piles of books I have around my house! 3 stars

The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
A lovely book about servant girl Griet and her role as servant in the great painter master's house Johannes Vermeer. Interwoven with her work life were tales about her upbringing and her family's present status in the town of Delft and her developing courtship with Pieter the butcher's son.

I had watched the movie a few years back but couldn't remember much. The book was a pleasant surprise. So much of the plot was missed in the movie but made the book so much better to read. The movie focused on the relationship between the Vermeer and Griet, the attraction and respect they had for each other. The book on the other hand was about a young girl, 15 years old, still under the authority of her parents but as a servant living away from home essentially an adult too having to make her own decisions. All aspects of her life cause worry and anxiety much like teenagers of today... Wanting to do well for her family, embarrassed by the attention of a local boy, even more embarrassed and helpless at the attention of her boss. 4 stars

The Help by Kathleen Stockett
Skeeter is a Southern Miss. Bought up by her black maid in Jackson, Mississippi, graduated from Ole Miss University Skeeter was expected to marry. In the meantime she busied herself with her friends, who had married and had children being bought up by their own black maids while they played bridge and shopped.

Skeeter thought nothing of this until she noticed the racism her friend showed her black maid Aibleen. Skeeter began to ask questions and then decided to interview the black maids of Jackson, get them tell her their stories both good and bad of their white mistresses past and present.Sounds easy but it wasn't - a lot of convincing and bravery was needed for these women to tell their stories in the heart of the south and the Civil Rights movement.

I read this book during the busiest time of the year and is a testament to how enthralling this book was. I'm going to give this one as a birthday gift to a few people this year. I also think it would make a fantastic movie. 5 stars

The Long Song by Andrea Levy
A tale of slavery in Jamaica in the 1830's and the years after freedom was granted. It is the tale of Miss July of Amity Plantation. Born to a field slave and chosen at the age of 8 on the side of the road to be a maid to the sister of the master July was taken from her mother and bought up as a house slave and her name changed to Marguerite as it "sounded nicer around the house".

This book reminded me of the book Roots by Alex Haley but not as long. It was interesting because the book was about Jamaica which was British controlled, most of the focus has been on the the Southern States and the American Civil War but slavery was also prevalent in the English and Spanish settlements in the America's. I also think Andrea Levy writes well and her main character and narrator July was original. 4 stars

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
This book is about a teacher, Jean Brodie, and her time at Marcia Blaine School for Girls which she believed to be 'her prime' her best years. She had a select group of girls, chosen by the parents least likely to complain of her methods, which she influenced right through their school years from 11 to 17/18. Introducing the girls to art, culture and history and dismissing silly things such as the set curriculum the book was a fun read. At first Jean Brodie seemed to be eccentric and silly but by the end of the book I had to ask, who was the adult here?

It had the qualities of British women's writing pre WW2 (such as Nancy Mitford and Daphne Du Maurier) but didn't live up to them. I didn't appreciate the book very much and wouldn't recommend as a good read to others. However I felt that way about The Scarlet Letter and I still remember and think about Hester Prynne and odd aspects of that novel at odd moments two years on - maybe this will be the same? Appreciated over time? 2 1/2 stars

Plain and Simple: A woman's Journey to the Amish by Sue Bender
Published in 1989 I'm not sure if it's around still. I got this out from my library. It's a non-fiction tale about the author's journey to find sense in her life. It's a slim little book, very easy to read in an afternoon - a little gem of a book!

In the 80's Bender had it all, from upper-middle class family she had to graduate qualifications, a family and late in life discovered her creative side and became a successful artist. A life full of success Bender felt unhappy - too much to do with too little time - her life was a mess. Attracted first to their quilts and then their faceless dolls Bender decided she wanted to live with the Amish for a while and discover the simple life. She did it... and then went back and lived with them again and finally she felt she had learned what she needed to.

Bender has written this book of her quest and adventures and also explains in an un-sensational manner the Amish families that she stayed with and their ways. Throughout are nuggets of Amish wisdom that really almost make me wish I was Amish. Bender never put forward that the Amish way was the right way. Her message was that there was no right or wrong but there are always options and to consider all options and choose the best option for yourself (or family). Bender did not return to live an Amish life she returned knowing who she was and what she wanted and how to live it. 4 stars

My goal is to at some point read the 300 or so books in my house.. that I own... rather than library books. We'll see...

A Very Long Engagement: A Novel by Sebastien Japrisot (French) Translated by Linda Coverdale.

This was recommended to me by my sister who loved the epistolary style of the book much like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

This book is about Mathilde a young French girl who lost her fiance in WW1. Out of the blue an old soldier requests to see her (he's not actually old - in his 40's but the war made him old). He tells her something most shocking. Her fiance didn't die in action as reported, he came under court martial, and with 5 other men they were given an unspeakable punishment - to be bound and thrown over the top of the trenches, into no-mans land.

Rather than focus on the unspeakable punishment or what crime may have prompted the punishment Mathilde focuses on this: all are presumed dead, but no one saw what happened to the 5 men, is it false hope to hope that they could have survived and be in hiding all these years after the war has ended?

And so Mathilde becomes a detective, writing letters, advertising in the paper, piecing together the mystery and out comes the story of these 5 men.

I like my sister enjoyed the epistolary style of the book. I also enjoyed that it was about WW1 and from the French p.o.v. it made a refreshing change from the Anglo side of things and WW1 tends to be over shadowed by WW2.

Mathilde as a character was unlikeable. Her privileged and snotty attitude marred what was otherwise a pleasing book.

My goal is to at some point read the 300 or so books in my house.. that I own... rather than library books.

11> I tried doing that, except my goal was to stop buying new books and ordering new swap books. But those darn authors keep coming out with great new books!

>8 kiwiflowa: Glad you liked The Gravedigger's Daughter, and that's a nice summary of the book. I also thought it excellent. You might like her newest novel, Little Bird of Heaven.

> Cariola: exactly! I read an article about new books, or a new long list is announced for a book award and I'm done in. Since I feel too guilty about the books in pretty much every corner of my house I look online and see if my library has them, 9 times out of 10 they do and in they go into the request cart and within a week a two I get a loads of emails saying they are ready to pick up.

>Avaland I like to concentrate on an author or theme (or at least try to) I've pretty much decided that Joyce Carol Oates is gonna be a focus for me. I mean her books are. I read an article/interview by JCO and she said if it was her choice of her books she would want readers to read Them and then Blonde - have you read those two?

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

I can't remember why I wanted to read this book... I think it was mentioned in an article about good books to look forward to in 2010.

I'm not sure what the intended message of this book was supposed to be but for me upon finishing it I was thinking about the theory/urban myth of 6 degrees of separation otherwise known of as the human web or 'it's a small world after all'.

On August 7, 1974 Philippe Petit walked on a tightrope between the two WTC towers - he didn't just walk, he danced - to the astonishment of the few who stopped and watched in wonder.

Let the Great World Spin isn't about Petit it's a series of stories or vignettes about number of people, mostly in New York, mostly about that day. This book is all about character and not much plot. It starts off with two Irish brothers, one a priest. The prostitutes in his neighborhood, the women he likes, a judge, a mother of a dead Vietnam soldier, a kid who admires graffiti, another who specialises in hacking computers, and more.

At the end of the book pretty much everyone is connected in one way or another.

I found the book to be a bit cold. Because it jumped around a lot there wasn't really a protagonist, someone to like and to root for. It was a bit clinical. Like I already said this book was big on character development and not much on plot. It was ok for a change but I wouldn't want to read another like it and I would be hesitant to recommend it to a friend.

After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away by Joyce Carol Oates

I'm always curious about authors who decide to write a teenage fiction book... it almost never happens vice versa... I wonder what motivates them to change their target audience?

After the wreck is definitely a teen book. It's about Jenna who survives a terrible car accident, her mother dies. Immediately after the crash Jenna has to deal with her mothers death, survivors guilt, serious injuries, her estranged father, a new town, school and friends.

Along the way Jenna looses her identity and then control. It's only when she starts to take back control she starts to find her way.

This is story doesn't really break the mold. It has the typical angsty teen stuff but not quite as sweet as a Sarah Dessen novel. I would highly recommend it to teen reader though - it's well written.

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

This is another book I heard about via a review and liked the sound of. When I got the book from my library the edition I had listed about 5 nominations/awards it had received which surprised me because it was also a slim novel.

This book starts in 1950's Ireland which is not economically promising for the young. Many are leaving. Eilis' three brothers already have left and are working in England. Eilis herself while qualified at book keeping can't find a job. Neither are her social prospects (husband hunting) too good. On the advice of her older sister and Father Flood (a visiting priest from Brooklyn) she emigrates to Brooklyn, America. When she arrives Eilis gets a job as a sales clerk in a big department store and starts taking classes in American book keeping at a local college. She lives in a boarding house with other Irish girls and is kept an eye on by her landlady and ever present Father Flood.

This book is an easy read the only real talking point in my opinion is the end which if course would spoil it for people that haven't read it so I won't say anything. Throughout the book I was half expecting something bad to happen... for the other shoe to drop. Everything that happened was so pleasant. I was entertained satisfactorily but I wouldn't read it again and I would understand if someone said they were bored by it. On the otehr hand it was so easy and quick to read I would recommend it to friends and family.

edited because I forgot to mention time period

Lisa, did you by any chance like Friday's Child?

Enjoying your thread.

I, too, liked but was not overly impressed with Brooklyn, and I suspect we had the same reaction to the ending!

Chocolate Muse - I have just read 2 Georgette Heyer books and will probably read more. I think I have to be in the right mood and when I am I can't put them down!

Cariola - I felt that the book was a sweet story, a delayed coming of age tale, I just don't get why it is so acclaimed and winning awards etc.

20> I was really getting to dislike Eilis near the end of the book. Overall, it was good but not extraordinary--as you say, not quite worth all the high praise.

The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne
Also wrote: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Historical novel. In England an elderly man, Georgy Jachmenev, reflects upon his life after his wife dies. He began as a serf in a small Russian village. His life changes when he rescues the Grand Duke from assassination. Or is it when he meets the love of his life?

There are two parts of the book and it jumps from one to the other: An insiders view of the extravagance of the Imperial Russian family and their fall from power. The other is his love for his wife in their lives as immigrants through the changing times of the 20th century.

Not a serious historical novel, quite 'soft'. I quickly thought this book would be a waste of time but became interested in Georgy's story despite myself. The obvious identity of his wife is what disappointed me and their is a 'coincidence' that was cringe worthy and should have been edited out. But otherwise an ok book. I would recommend getting this one from the library rather then buying it.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
This book was much talked about when it was first released a few years back. I wasn't however tempted to read it until I saw it sitting on the shelf at the library - when there is no effort or money involved why not?

Let's see (I read this a month ago) a book that largely focuses on one family in Salem. At first Towner Whitney returns to Salem because her great Aunt, a renowned witch / lace reader, of an old family in Salem, has gone missing. Towner back in her home town faces her demons, her past, and learns to become comfortable in who she is. A mainstream mystery/feel good novel. Nothing really memorable.

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose
I loved this book. I began reading The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs and somehow heard of this book probablt via LT.

Roose worked as Jacobs' intern and during that time visited Liberty University. He tried to talk to a few students that were hanging around and was astonished at how uncomfortable and foreign the experience was considering he was also a college student, but at the very liberal Brown University. Roose decides to transfer to Liberty college for a semester undercover as a evangelical Christian and compares the forthcoming experiment to studying abroad.

Liberty University was founded by Jerry Falwell a famous and once politically powerful right-wing fundamentalist evangelical Christian. They have a code of honour called the 'liberty way' (the university has of course it's own website with this info if you were as interested as I was) there are fines and points system for doing 'wrong things' like owning an R rated movie. Compulsory core courses all students must take are on subjects such as creationism. To get the full experience Roose confessed to a counselor that he thought he was Gay and signed up to spend spring break in Florida proselytizing in the streets.

It was very entertaining to read, a real eye opener to think that students, young 18 - 24 year olds, were voluntarily signing up for this life 24/7. However it wasn't just an exposé of a fringe group to shock and awe. Roose did his best to understand and fit in and was sensitive to the people he met and became friends with; he even learned to like prayer.

Highly recommend.

Hate List by Jennifer Brown
A Y/A book recently receiving attention and is clearly based on the Columbine School shooting.

At the end of the school year Valerie's boyfriend Nick shot several students in the cafeteria then committed suicide. Valerie was with him at the time but had no idea what he was going to do... but together over the past year they had created a hate list of everyone that had ever picked on them. The book starts with the summer ended and Valerie has to go back to school, the same school, and almost everyone believes she's just as guilty as Nick.

Clearly this is about Columbine high school but it's an interesting point of view, the friend of the killer. Columbine by Dave Cullen is a much better book but it's non-fiction while Hate List puts it into an easier fictional format for teens. I don't think it was written as well as it could have been... There was a point in the first few pages I almost put the book down in disgust - I think it was because of a sentence that didn't make sense. There were a few superfluous characters that could have been cut and none would be the wiser. The ending was also disappointing and a bit of a cop out. However in saying that Valerie's sessions with her psychologist were interesting as was the reaction of her parents given that their lives were also forever changed.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

What can I say that hasn't already been said? A wonderful book I highly recommend it. I think it's timeless and will be well worth reading 20 years from now. I also think it's a book for any age 14+ up. I gave it to my 30 year old sister for her birthday and I think my Mum will also be reading it pretty soon.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
My first graphic novel!

It's autobiographical about Marjane's life in Iran when as a 9 year old child a new fundamentalist regime took power. The first half is fantastic. I for one really didn't know about the history of Iran and this book simply and clearly lays out the basic time line. It also tells how prohibitive and dangerous it was for women in Iran, especially if they are modern and liberal like Marjane's family was. Once the war began with Iraq Marjane was sent as a young teen to Europe to fend for herself and go to school which becomes the second part. Marjane's alienation as an immigrant and homesickness, a fish out water, and then not really fitting in once she comes home as an adult either.

The risks taken were terrifying to read about yet were simply a way of life. There is a sadness too that is poignant as Marjane doesn't really get a happily ever after ending - such is life...

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides

This books is a family of 5 daughters who each commit suicide. Told by one of the locals who was an infatuated schoolboy at the time of the deaths, as all the local school boys were, infatuated with the mystery of the 5 Lisbon girls who are portrayed as modern "princesses in a tower" heroines - only they didn't wait for the knights in shining armor to save them.

The story was kind of neat as it was told with an air of local gossip that the reader as a new inhabitant of the town was being initiated to the legend. Lots of 'Mr so-in-so recalls that on that day the Lisbons..." etc. However at the core of story, 5 daughters who off themselves - it's a bit weird.

Identical and Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Y/A a novels in verse.

Crank is actually the first verse novel by Hopkins and is based on her own daughter's decline after she gets hooked on 'crank' an addictive drug. Identical has the same elements but is based on parental abuse and the psychological affects this can have.

Because they are written in verse it's hard hitting. It boils the story down to the core with no fluff or padding. Not explicit as it's written for teens and it's oddly beautiful. Crank I think is very special in that she is talking about her own daughter it's so sad. Hopkins is very talented.

Lovely Green Eyes by Arnost Lustig

Skinny is a 15 year old Jewish girl in Auschwitz-Birkenau towards the end of the war, she has lost all her family. A stroke of luck finds her pretending to be an Aryan girl and volunteers to work in a field brothel. It sounds absolutely horrible (and it is) but Skinny worked in the 'hospital' at Auschwitz-Birkenau and has already seen the worst she is quite simply in survival mode and death is present at every moment. To find herself in the brothel as an Aryan is indeed lucky.

Skinny is her nickname at the brothel. This book isn't about the quite obvious physical side - sex - to her life as an army whore. It is philosophical in nature as she describes two important clients of the hundreds she had to service. One an officer, a family man, doing his duty for his country, simply wishing and hoping for the best for his wife and family. He quite desperately wants to be recognised by Skinny to be a 'nice guy' not imagining for a second he is trying to convince a Jewish girl who's escaped a concentration camp.

The other is quite terrifying. He belongs to a special force of the SS. He grew up in Hitler's shadow, brainwashed and soulless he alone has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. Self important and arrogant he actually takes a shine to Skinny while she is terrified beyond belief if he should discover who she is.

I think the choice of these two characters is the two camps the Germans of that era could be placed in.

The story moves on to their retreat as the Russians advance and interspersed amongst this whole story is her survival after the war. The shifting time lapses are confusing, the conversations with fellow survivors alien as only those who have survived can understand.

I feel like this book deserves re-reading and I missed half of it.

This is a much better review: http://www.mostlyfiction.com/history/lustig.htm

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelmen
My second graphic novel!

After reading The Book Thief and Lovely Green Eyes I decided it was time to read Maus. I had never been keen on graphic novels but reading Persepolis completely changed changed my mind.

I knew it was about the holocaust but I didn't realise how complete the story was it felt like watching Schindler's List again. It's an amazing story of survival, of Spiegelmen's father's experience of the holocaust tempered with the bittersweet reality of what his father was like in his old age. I guess the lesson here is patience and respect. It would have been incredibly easy for Spiegelmen to never have asked his father to tell him given their rocky relationship or got too frustrated with his father and the story would have been lost.

Yay I've caught up to May at least!!

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
It has the same concept of the movie Groundhog Day - living the same day over and over. Quite good.

Samantha is a senior, in the popular crowd at school, not a care in world. Well no on this particular day, cupids day, she's worried about her first sexual experience and finally loosing her virginity that night to her popular boyfriend. She's quite a typical teenager self centered and even a little mean but nothing unforgivable right? She's also incredibly stupid and hops into a car with a drunk driver and dies in a car crash.... then the morning alarm rings and it's cupids day again.

Living the same day over and over, changing what she does each day, her motivations and still the same conclusion. It becomes apparent she is going through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and then... acceptance.

Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi
Another graphic novel. Set like an afternoon tea with the women of her life the women get personal with the mysteries of female life. Divorce, heartache, faking ones virginity on the wedding night... brief and amusing but nothing to write home about.

Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock
The Off Season by Catherine Murdock
Front and Center by Catherine Murdock

a YA series which I would have loved to read when I was 15 - 16.

Dairy Queen is the first and best of the series.

Take the average jock, great at sport, not too hot at school. Finds it hard to talk, to express feelings. And on top of this is running the family farm while Dad is recovering from a hip operation. This description brings to mind a young man right? Wrong. This is D.J. Schwenke a teenage girl with a heck of a journey before her. Definitely a 'girl power' series.

Each of these books are a guilty pleasure, read within a few hours each, and very very sweet. The first book was best in terms of a fresh and original story etc but D.J. did project herself to be too much of a hick and stupid to be believed, the line was crossed. But Murdock lightened up on her in the following two books.

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

The book starts when Josh is seventeen and in his last semester of high school. He can't wait to leave town. When he was 12 he learned how to please a woman (his words) and was found out. It was a famous local court case and even though his name wasn't allowed to be printed in the press everyone knows who the boy was. Josh can't wait to leave town and go to college. Josh is struggling trying to have normal relationships with girls his own age and failing. Has he been ruined forever? On top of which his molester has been released after only 5 years and he knows she's out there, somewhere.

The book then rewinds back to what happened, how it happened.

Finally he confronts her and finds out... the truth...

When I got this book I didn't know what it was about, the cover just alluded to a horrible past. It was a surprise and also an interesting issue - molestation of a male student by a female teacher. Lyga also presents a well rounded story, baseball, parents, best friends it's all in there and quite compelling.

this is just a test post to see what it's like writing a message using a notebook vs laptop vs PC....

Oh, oh! What's the difference between a notebook computer and a laptop computer? I bet I've missed something again.

Robert

Well first I must explain that I have zero experience with laptops etc. I had to be taught how to use a touchpad...

I have a pc and am looking for something portable. My boyfriend has talked me out of an i-pad. Last night I was trying out a 9" or 10" notebook. Tonight I will be trying out a 12-13" laptop. I was concerned about usability and whether I would get annoyed by the teeny-tiny notebook but I actually thought it was really fun.

Caution! Most of the touchpads are out to get you. Do not turn your back on them. My worst one was on an expensive Hewlett Packard laptop until I got the Dell I'm using now.

I think Zoe uses the little one for everything. I couldn't, but I am using a 17" laptop with integral numeric keypad for everything. If I were serious about photo editing or academic research I would go for a desk top with a huge screen and something portable to take to a library.

Have fun,

Robert

Yup - my boyfriend would go on for hours about how awful they are if I let him... we will be getting a wireless mouse to go with whatever we get.

Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Braddon

I read this for the Monthly Author Read group

This book focuses on Robert Audley and his quest to discover the fate of his friend George Talboys (who has a tragic past) and has disapeared suddenly. During his investigations he comes up against his new aunt, the beautiful, young, former governess now Lady Audley.

This book was first published as a serial in a weekly magazine in the 1860's. Fantastically gothic (Bradden was a contemporary of Wilkie Collins) and the mystery deliciously drawn out. Highly recommended especially to fans on Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.

Austenland by Shannon Hale

This book was quick and pointless to read so I'll make my review the same.

Jane Hayes is 30+ and single in NYC. She has an embarrasing fatuation with regency men found in Austen's books particularly Mr Darcy of P&P BBC fame. An elderly aunt who has learnt of this dies and leaves in her will a trip, to go to England and live in the Regency world for a few weeks.

Jane goes and is enchanted with the regency rules of decorum and the stunning young men (in costume) but is uncomfortable with the fake actors etc.

I will leave it there. It's under 300 pages and is a quick and fun read. However I for one could not get past the ick factor of having actors being paid to be nice to me and flirt and compliment me.It just seems totally wrong to know about it but still be mostly comfortable with it?!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

This is a book I've read for the first time at 25 and I wonder why I hadn't found it earlier?

I think this is considered an American classic, a must read for American children, similar in status to To Kill A Mockingbird but for a Kiwi this book is unheard of.

This is about Frances Nolan growing up in Brooklyn in poverty but rich in experience and family love. This kid knows she belongs. Every family member is a strong character and so is Frances. Her mother fiercly wants her kids to have more than she has ended up, with much like her own mother. What is the answer she asks? Education and Frances wants it even more.

This book doesn't really have a plot, it doesn't go from point A to B but is fascinating and inspiring to read. This is right up there with Anne of Green Gables, Little House on the Prairie, Little Women and of course To Kill a Mockingbird.

The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison (published 2009)

I first became aware of this book when it was selected for the 2010 Orange Award longlist and then the shortlist.

This book is about young Anna Sands, an only child of a middle class London family. It's 1939 and Britain is on the brink of war. Her father has already enlisted and Anna is evacuated to the country, as many children in London are, in anticipation of bombing raids. Anna ends up at Ashton Estate. The Ashton's, a childless couple of the landed gentry, have decided to turn their Big House into a boarding school for a large number of evacuees.

Anna is the central figure but the plot is dominated by the adults in her life. The childless Ashtons, her teacher, her mother - they are all, it seems, out of love with their spouses and are in love with someone unsuitable.

Alison was able to balance the innocence of the 9 year old Anna and her p.o.v. and with the adult p.o.v.'s which change frequently and who also look back to earlier times. The story flows well and isn't confusing at all which is an achievment for all that she packed in, in a short 300 pages.

The only real criticism I have for this book is Alison's fixation on eye contact. As a shy person myself looking someone in the eye can be difficult for me if they are a complete stranger. I was also a bit shy of looking at my boyfriend in the eye when we first met I liked him that much (7 long years ago!) so at first I was delighted that Alison wrote this into the developing love story but after more than a year of eye contact avoidance I had reached my limit!

Overall: I'm glad this book was shortlisted for the Orange award as I think this author deserves the attention. Her writing style and plot development is clever and precise. However the story itself didn't bowl me over, it was good but not great.

It may not have bowled you over, but your description has me adding it to my wishlist.

>14 kiwiflowa: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back in here! In answer to your question, I have not read Them or Blonde, although I think the latter is thought to be one of her best works. I have collected a lot of her books and just read what interests me at the moment and that has made for an interesting mix. I just finished A Bloodsmoor Romance and loved it. It's another one of her "American Gothics" set in 19th century America. Eventually, I write something about it on my thread (I am waaaay behind on comments/reviews).

According to Queeney by Beryl Bainbridge (Published 2002)

I'll admit now that I'm a fan of the Guardian 1000 list and the 1001 Books you must read before you die list. I first heard of this book via the Guardian list, listed under comedy.

This book is about Samuel Johnson and specifically his retirement as a permanent house guest of the Thrales in his last decades of his life. The Thrales were very wealthy and from the commerce class. Nonetheless they provided the much acclaimed but poor Johnson with a comfortable household to live in. The story is based on Queeney, the Thrales eldest daughter, her childhood and recollections via letter as an adult. Even though she was a child she spent a lot of time in the company of her parents and their friends. It is through her that we learn that Johnson was an enigmatic man, with strange behaviour (that today would be diagnosed as Tourette Syndrom) but ultimately very selfish... as is her mother.

Ok how to review this book? First off initially I didn't know who Samuel Johnson was. If it was a pub quiz question I would have said he was a Founder i.e. of American Revolution - his name seemed familiar but I didn't know why. I searched on wikipedia before reading the book and discovered he was one of the first lexigraphers, wrote one of the first editions of the English Dictionary and thus was vastly influential in literature (and for other works too).

According to Queeney is very short, a mere 260 pages. Yet it was not rushed, it was satisfying to read and the language style pleasing. Almost everything that is mentioned on his wikipedia page is mentioned in the book one way or another which made me regret referring to Wikipedia. It would have been nicer discovering the little details via the book.

But was it really worthy of reading? Hmmm yes. I learned a lot about Samuel Johnson (how could I not having known nothing initially) and I would recommend this book to others because it was a simple pleasure to read! Just don't ask me what the point of it is. You really won't read or learn about anyone or anything else except Samuel Johnson and his friendship with the Thrales.

I will deffinitely read more of Bainbridge's books in the future. I have since discovered that she died at the beginning of this month! May she rest in peace.

#45 - RidgewayGirl - I'm glad! It's not a book I can rave about and tell people they will love... it was an understated quiet enjoyment kind of book.

#46 Avaland - The latest JCO I read was Poe Posthumous from her short story collection Wild Nights. When my boyfriend was in surgery just last week (minor surgery but still surgery you know?) I was a bit restless during the wait so I read Poe Posthumous, I had no idea what it was a about (I randomly grabbed the book on my way) and it was the perfect choice to read at that time. I can't wait to read the rest.

>48 kiwiflowa: Oh, Wild Nights!, there's another book that belies her sort of wry, dark humor. They are certainly amusing if one is familiar with the authors (and written in those author's styles), but decidedly creepy. She certainly doesn't romanticize Mark Twain (he has a decidedly one night stand with one of our youngish Zinn daughters in Bloodsmoor).

American Rust by Philipp Meyer (published 2009)

Another book recommended to me principaly because it's on the 1001 lists but even before then it was on the *hot* shelf at the library (which is $5 to borrow for 1 week which I almost never indulge in) which always arouses my curiosity so when I saw it on the regular shelves for the first time I nabbed it.

A book about friendship. Two young men, post high school, set off to leave town. Before they even get beyond town an incident occurs. The reader knows who did it but who is responsible? Who 'derserves' to be punished? What does it mean to be a friend? Not to squeal on a mate? To turn oneself in? To do time for a crime not committed?

They both finished school at the top of their fields, Billy a football star had scholarship offers to colleges and Isaac has an impressive IQ a genius really. So what were they doing skipping town? Ah, well this is no ordinary town, this is Buell Pennsylvannia a steel mill town. In the 70's it boomed, in the 80's there were lay offs. In the 90's permanent closures and dismantling of plants... in the 21st Century... nothing. All facets of society are affected right down to the dwindling law enforcement, empty shops, empty houses - neighborhoods! Drugs, bums, rising crime, no jobs above minimum wage.

I can't describe this book properly. The characters were so compelling, the story at once focused on a particular incident and it's consequences yet also painted a picture of the whole region, it's history and how it happened.

American Rust was so satisfying to read. I highly recommend it. However I was surprised to see so many lukewarm/negative reviews? A complaint seems to be that it was depressing. Now it isn't a 'happy' story but I certainly didn't want to slit my wrists or anything. I wonder if it's the topic that's sensitive? Being in NZ I can't imagine whole towns, whole blocks of shops empty due to economic recession, we are too small I think for such a drastic flight from a whole region. But maybe the people who wrote those reviews have seen it first hand? Fear it? Have felt it's effects? I don't know...

Montana 1948 by Larry Watson (Published 1993)

This is the book Richardderus bought 32 copies to give to family and friends he liked it so much. With such a commendation who wouldn't want to read it?

David Heyden grew up in a small town in Montana. His grandfather a ranch owner was also sheriff of the town for many years, a position of power in the small community, he handed the job to his son, David's father who was also a lawyer. David's uncle was a celebrated war hero and town doctor. The name Heyden in short was a significant name in this town.

In David's 12th year his Sioux housekeeper/sitter became ill and revealed a secret about one of the Heydens that his father as sheriff couldn't ignore. Through David's eyes as an innocent yet inquisitive child we witness the fall of the Heydens, the rift between brother and brother, father and son, white and Indian, neighbor and neighbor.

A short novel of less than 200 pages Montana 1948 tells a powerful story, the skeleton in the closet so to speak of David Heyden's family. How far do you go to protect family? For justice? To live with oneself and what one knows?