Reading Now :
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
March 2009
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
I can only give the book a 2.5 rating because I don't think I really understood it. There would be brief moments of clarity but they rarely lasted long. There are A LOT of things I liked about this book. Its written in the third person but broken up into segments devoted to the feelings of individual characters. Even though the author spends a section focusing on one character I still don't feel like I understand the characters as well as I would like to. They are very strange people to me, maybe that's why I can't grasp it. I should also add this is by far the most erotic book I've ever read... I'm not saying its indecent, but if words like groin, penis, and infidelity make you squirm you should avoid it. The story is about a man who loves to have many mistresses and the woman he marries and his favorite mistress. It takes place mostly in the Czeck Republic as it goes through an invasion from communist Russia. Its a diverse book that I am sure I would have gotten much more out of if I had read it as part of a college English class. I liked it, but its not very uplifting. It's not depressing, its just very true to the times and the situation at hand.
(2.5/5 stars)
February 2009
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
Another re-read. I liked this book a lot more the second time around. Knowing the characters better made it more enjoyable. Not to mention that now I understand the reason for the change in style.
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
I'm pretty sure this is the first classic I've read since high school. I really liked the book in the beginning, but towards the middle it got rather bleak. I know that what passes for a happy romance 150 years ago is different from what we expect today, but I don't remember being this dejected after reading Jane Eyre, which was written about the same time. This story is basically about one man who tries to destroy the lives of everyone around him because he lost the woman he loved. Personally I think he was excessively vindictive. However I really thought Heathcliff was a stunningly evil character... even worse than Voldemort. There is a lot of obscure language in this book, but I did pick up a lot of new useful words and reinforced my competence with many words I half knew. All in all its not a bad book, but its about as depressing as All Quiet on the Western Front... be warned.
(2.5/5 stars)
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
I just reread this book, and its still great. I plan to reread all of them, kinda a little break in between new books :) Does this count as one of the books I read?
Hope's Wish - Stuart and Shelby Stout
This is a true story about a 12 year old girl who died of a very rare and fast growing bone cancer. She met with the people from the make a wish foundation and she wished to grant the wishes of 155 other children in her state. So they raised 1 million dollars in her name. This story was very moving and painful. Its really heavy on Christianity as well, which might make some non-religious people uncomfortable, but I think it adds another dimension to the story. This story isn't just about watching a 12 year old girl die of cancer, but more than that its about watching how cancer effects her family. Her family struggles with the cancer and it really shakes their faith life, medicine, marriage, family and of course God. It very inspiring to watch them work through it. As I read this book I felt, if they can get through this and still be good people in the end then anyone can endure anything. Not only are they good people in the end, I think they are better people. They learn a lot about life and love and what is truly important and they aren't afraid to share their weaknesses and how they changed. This story really is making me consider being a hospice volunteer when I get back to the states... I'm not really sure if I can do it, but I figure if I can, then I could really help someone who needs it... and after reading this book I have a very small understanding of how important good hospice care is, and I believe I want to know more and help improve hospice care.
The Host - Stephanie Meyer
This was Stephanie Meyer's fifth book to appear on the top 100 best selling books of 2008 list. Its in a completely different world than the Twilight series. No Vampires! This is mild science fiction but its mostly, like her other books, about people and relationships and selflessness. I think I am noticing a trend here with her characters... an altruistic, meek female heroine and an understanding, patient, expressive male hero seems to be part of the recipe, and I like it! Basically this book starts off with the world almost completely conquered by parasite type aliens who implant themselves into the human brain and take over. One girl, Melanie, who has evaded capture for many years, was finally caught and an alien, Wanderer, who is very old and strong, was implanted into Melanie's brain. The strange thing is, Melanie's consciousness didn't fade. Melanie and Wanderer have to learn to live together, and they go off on a very dangerous mission... hijinks ensue! This book does not disappoint, and its nice to get some quality SF reading done :)
(4/5 stars)
Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariel
I started reading this book back in December, but I was reading so many other books that I couldn't concentrate on this... I'm going to do my best to stick to one book at a time now. One of my students was reading this book and he gave me a copy so we could talk about it in class, and I've finally finished it! Its actually a really interesting book, and I think most people will find much of it an eye opener. There was a lot of it where I wanted to say "well, yeah DUH!" And my student actually told me he thinks I am more rational than most people... can you believe it?! Someone actually thinks I'm a rational person! Bless his heart! My favorite parts in this book were the chapters on social vs. market norms and how too many options can reduce what we get out of life. My absolute favorite part about this book is that the authors conclusions are based on experiments... now not every experiment is perfect, but at least this isn't just based on anecdotal experiences, like so many books these days. The only reason I am giving this book a 3 is cause there were many places where I REALLY disagreed with the author.... so maybe I didn't really appreciate him as much as I should have. It is a well written, entertaining, and easy read.
(3/5 stars)
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
March 2009
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
I can only give the book a 2.5 rating because I don't think I really understood it. There would be brief moments of clarity but they rarely lasted long. There are A LOT of things I liked about this book. Its written in the third person but broken up into segments devoted to the feelings of individual characters. Even though the author spends a section focusing on one character I still don't feel like I understand the characters as well as I would like to. They are very strange people to me, maybe that's why I can't grasp it. I should also add this is by far the most erotic book I've ever read... I'm not saying its indecent, but if words like groin, penis, and infidelity make you squirm you should avoid it. The story is about a man who loves to have many mistresses and the woman he marries and his favorite mistress. It takes place mostly in the Czeck Republic as it goes through an invasion from communist Russia. Its a diverse book that I am sure I would have gotten much more out of if I had read it as part of a college English class. I liked it, but its not very uplifting. It's not depressing, its just very true to the times and the situation at hand.
(2.5/5 stars)
February 2009
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
Another re-read. I liked this book a lot more the second time around. Knowing the characters better made it more enjoyable. Not to mention that now I understand the reason for the change in style.
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
I'm pretty sure this is the first classic I've read since high school. I really liked the book in the beginning, but towards the middle it got rather bleak. I know that what passes for a happy romance 150 years ago is different from what we expect today, but I don't remember being this dejected after reading Jane Eyre, which was written about the same time. This story is basically about one man who tries to destroy the lives of everyone around him because he lost the woman he loved. Personally I think he was excessively vindictive. However I really thought Heathcliff was a stunningly evil character... even worse than Voldemort. There is a lot of obscure language in this book, but I did pick up a lot of new useful words and reinforced my competence with many words I half knew. All in all its not a bad book, but its about as depressing as All Quiet on the Western Front... be warned.
(2.5/5 stars)
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
I just reread this book, and its still great. I plan to reread all of them, kinda a little break in between new books :) Does this count as one of the books I read?
Hope's Wish - Stuart and Shelby Stout
This is a true story about a 12 year old girl who died of a very rare and fast growing bone cancer. She met with the people from the make a wish foundation and she wished to grant the wishes of 155 other children in her state. So they raised 1 million dollars in her name. This story was very moving and painful. Its really heavy on Christianity as well, which might make some non-religious people uncomfortable, but I think it adds another dimension to the story. This story isn't just about watching a 12 year old girl die of cancer, but more than that its about watching how cancer effects her family. Her family struggles with the cancer and it really shakes their faith life, medicine, marriage, family and of course God. It very inspiring to watch them work through it. As I read this book I felt, if they can get through this and still be good people in the end then anyone can endure anything. Not only are they good people in the end, I think they are better people. They learn a lot about life and love and what is truly important and they aren't afraid to share their weaknesses and how they changed. This story really is making me consider being a hospice volunteer when I get back to the states... I'm not really sure if I can do it, but I figure if I can, then I could really help someone who needs it... and after reading this book I have a very small understanding of how important good hospice care is, and I believe I want to know more and help improve hospice care.
The Host - Stephanie Meyer
This was Stephanie Meyer's fifth book to appear on the top 100 best selling books of 2008 list. Its in a completely different world than the Twilight series. No Vampires! This is mild science fiction but its mostly, like her other books, about people and relationships and selflessness. I think I am noticing a trend here with her characters... an altruistic, meek female heroine and an understanding, patient, expressive male hero seems to be part of the recipe, and I like it! Basically this book starts off with the world almost completely conquered by parasite type aliens who implant themselves into the human brain and take over. One girl, Melanie, who has evaded capture for many years, was finally caught and an alien, Wanderer, who is very old and strong, was implanted into Melanie's brain. The strange thing is, Melanie's consciousness didn't fade. Melanie and Wanderer have to learn to live together, and they go off on a very dangerous mission... hijinks ensue! This book does not disappoint, and its nice to get some quality SF reading done :)
(4/5 stars)
Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariel
I started reading this book back in December, but I was reading so many other books that I couldn't concentrate on this... I'm going to do my best to stick to one book at a time now. One of my students was reading this book and he gave me a copy so we could talk about it in class, and I've finally finished it! Its actually a really interesting book, and I think most people will find much of it an eye opener. There was a lot of it where I wanted to say "well, yeah DUH!" And my student actually told me he thinks I am more rational than most people... can you believe it?! Someone actually thinks I'm a rational person! Bless his heart! My favorite parts in this book were the chapters on social vs. market norms and how too many options can reduce what we get out of life. My absolute favorite part about this book is that the authors conclusions are based on experiments... now not every experiment is perfect, but at least this isn't just based on anecdotal experiences, like so many books these days. The only reason I am giving this book a 3 is cause there were many places where I REALLY disagreed with the author.... so maybe I didn't really appreciate him as much as I should have. It is a well written, entertaining, and easy read.
(3/5 stars)
January 2009
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
This book was suggested to my by one of my students here in Korea. She said she rereads this book any time she needs to be reminded how lucky she is and how good her life is. I think this is something we all need to be reminded of rather frequently... that no matter how bad things are they can always be worse... and even if life is terrible, like it is for Ivan, then we can still have a great day. I'm sure you might not think Ivan's day is a good one, but just ask him how he feels and I'm sure his perspective will be different than yours.
(3.5/5 stars)
Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
This is definitely the most suspenseful of the four novels. I always had a feeling I knew how things would turn out (for the most part) but I had no idea how Meyer was going to pull it off without it seeming unbelievable. She did pull a few unexpected things out of nowhere... but then again this is a world a mythical creatures, so I guess that is to be expected. I liked this book because she shifts narrators in the middle of the book, from one main character to another. This way we can see two different perspectives and get to know another character better. I don't want to say too much about this book because it would spoil the plot of the other three. But I am also pretty impressed that there don't seem to be any gaping plot holes. I plan on reading the saga again, since it only took me three weeks to read all four books the first time... but it was a great read, I didn't want it to end. I really hope she publishes Midnight Sun, I think it would be a great read.
(5/5 stars)
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
As I mentioned in this entry I have become rather obsessed with this series. I don't even feel like I can say ANYTHING about this book except that I love it! If I say anything else it would give something away, and I really don't want to do that. This book is however, more predictable than the first two... but just because I felt like I knew what was going to happen before the characters figured it out, I still had no idea what they were going to decide to do about the problems when they figured it out. There are so many times in this series that the characters do something I totally cannot understand. They are way more complex than me, and MUCH better about expressing their feelings and thoughts that I will ever be! I envy Meyer's ability to express herself so well through her characters... she is a master in the making. I'm reading these books too fast, I have to start over! I totally understand how my mom feels now!
(5/5 stars)
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
It only took me about 2.5 days to read this second book in the Twilight series and it was quite a ride. I have to be honest I wasn't soooo in love with how the book started out... as a matter of fact I HATED the way the author tried to make references to everything of importance that happened in the first book... it just felt so unnatural... like on TV when you hear "Previously on Battlestar Galactica..." well... you probably hear a different show name, but you know what I mean... but then the story got ... downright painful! Wow, its not common to watch an author beat the living cr@p out of her characters, but Meyer is REALLY good at that. She doesn't handle them delicately, she pushes them, and I love that. This book is totally different from the first, it even leaves a different taste in your mouth! There are new characters and old characters who behave in new ways! Its a great story and filled with lots of great emotion and action! A wonderful sequel.
(5/5 stars)
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
AWESOME book!!! I honestly don't know what came over me as I read this book. I seriously couldn't stop thinking about it. This is a book about the irresistible temptation to be with someone who you know is very very bad for you. But love isn't about what you know, its about what you feel, and this book really plays on that theme. I think the author is a master at writing about uncomfortable emotions. Its almost gut wrenching at times... gut wrenching in a very good way though. I am pretty sure this will be the first book in a LONG time that I will read twice, and probably the first book EVER that I will read three times. I had to force myself to leave it home today, or else I would have already started to read it again!
(6/5 stars!)
Sandman Vol. 1 - Neil Gaiman and others
Great story, interesting art, I cant wait to read the rest of them. I really like the characters, but I had no idea this took place in the DC universe so I was a little confused for a while, and its good to know something about the comics before you read..
Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett
I started this book back in 2008, but I'm listing it in 2009... I hope that's not cheating! Anyway, this was a great book. It was mostly light and comical, and the ending gave a really good message about caring for the Earth and each other. Also it points out that even if you think you were built for something you can choose to be something else. You might not understand that without reading a book... but any kid who was pushed by their parents to be something they didn't want to be will relate to it (not that that is my situation at all!) Anyway, its a book about Armageddon and an angel and Devil who are trying to stop it cause they have really started to enjoy life on Earth over the last several thousand years :) cute.
(4/5 stars)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
This book was suggested to my by one of my students here in Korea. She said she rereads this book any time she needs to be reminded how lucky she is and how good her life is. I think this is something we all need to be reminded of rather frequently... that no matter how bad things are they can always be worse... and even if life is terrible, like it is for Ivan, then we can still have a great day. I'm sure you might not think Ivan's day is a good one, but just ask him how he feels and I'm sure his perspective will be different than yours.
(3.5/5 stars)
Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
This is definitely the most suspenseful of the four novels. I always had a feeling I knew how things would turn out (for the most part) but I had no idea how Meyer was going to pull it off without it seeming unbelievable. She did pull a few unexpected things out of nowhere... but then again this is a world a mythical creatures, so I guess that is to be expected. I liked this book because she shifts narrators in the middle of the book, from one main character to another. This way we can see two different perspectives and get to know another character better. I don't want to say too much about this book because it would spoil the plot of the other three. But I am also pretty impressed that there don't seem to be any gaping plot holes. I plan on reading the saga again, since it only took me three weeks to read all four books the first time... but it was a great read, I didn't want it to end. I really hope she publishes Midnight Sun, I think it would be a great read.
(5/5 stars)
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
As I mentioned in this entry I have become rather obsessed with this series. I don't even feel like I can say ANYTHING about this book except that I love it! If I say anything else it would give something away, and I really don't want to do that. This book is however, more predictable than the first two... but just because I felt like I knew what was going to happen before the characters figured it out, I still had no idea what they were going to decide to do about the problems when they figured it out. There are so many times in this series that the characters do something I totally cannot understand. They are way more complex than me, and MUCH better about expressing their feelings and thoughts that I will ever be! I envy Meyer's ability to express herself so well through her characters... she is a master in the making. I'm reading these books too fast, I have to start over! I totally understand how my mom feels now!
(5/5 stars)
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
It only took me about 2.5 days to read this second book in the Twilight series and it was quite a ride. I have to be honest I wasn't soooo in love with how the book started out... as a matter of fact I HATED the way the author tried to make references to everything of importance that happened in the first book... it just felt so unnatural... like on TV when you hear "Previously on Battlestar Galactica..." well... you probably hear a different show name, but you know what I mean... but then the story got ... downright painful! Wow, its not common to watch an author beat the living cr@p out of her characters, but Meyer is REALLY good at that. She doesn't handle them delicately, she pushes them, and I love that. This book is totally different from the first, it even leaves a different taste in your mouth! There are new characters and old characters who behave in new ways! Its a great story and filled with lots of great emotion and action! A wonderful sequel.
(5/5 stars)
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
AWESOME book!!! I honestly don't know what came over me as I read this book. I seriously couldn't stop thinking about it. This is a book about the irresistible temptation to be with someone who you know is very very bad for you. But love isn't about what you know, its about what you feel, and this book really plays on that theme. I think the author is a master at writing about uncomfortable emotions. Its almost gut wrenching at times... gut wrenching in a very good way though. I am pretty sure this will be the first book in a LONG time that I will read twice, and probably the first book EVER that I will read three times. I had to force myself to leave it home today, or else I would have already started to read it again!
(6/5 stars!)
Sandman Vol. 1 - Neil Gaiman and others
Great story, interesting art, I cant wait to read the rest of them. I really like the characters, but I had no idea this took place in the DC universe so I was a little confused for a while, and its good to know something about the comics before you read..
Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett
I started this book back in 2008, but I'm listing it in 2009... I hope that's not cheating! Anyway, this was a great book. It was mostly light and comical, and the ending gave a really good message about caring for the Earth and each other. Also it points out that even if you think you were built for something you can choose to be something else. You might not understand that without reading a book... but any kid who was pushed by their parents to be something they didn't want to be will relate to it (not that that is my situation at all!) Anyway, its a book about Armageddon and an angel and Devil who are trying to stop it cause they have really started to enjoy life on Earth over the last several thousand years :) cute.
(4/5 stars)
Previous Year's Reviews
2008
Books I want to read
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Norwegian Wood
His Majesty's Dragon
A Short History of Nearly Everything
A People's History
Galileo's Daughter
(Still need to buy)
Before the Fallout
(Left these ones in America)
The Time Traveler's Wife
Night
Fahrenheit 451
Lord of the Flies
The Dragonriders of Pern
The Corrections
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