read 15 books in 2009

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I love Neil Gaiman. I think he has an amazing imagination and reading his books make me feel like a girl reading fairytales. Only these are much more developed and interesting. The Graveyard Book is a fairytale using ghosts instead of fairies. It was exciting and kept you wanting more. Bod is a good leading character, and he guides you through the story as if you are the boyliving in the graveyard. The only complaint I have is with the weakly shaped reason he was orphaned in the first place. It seemed a bit forced and unexciting.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is a great book about the sufferings of the German people during WWII. It is very well written. Of course it is sad, but it’s very touching and there is something about it that is uplifting as well. I really enjoyed the narrator being Death and would recommend this book.

A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel

I love reading these humorous memoirs of someone’s past. Childhood is such a specific time in your life when you see the world how you believe it to be true. You explain things with false logic so that they make sense to you. This book was an excellent example of how children think and feel. It is honest, funny, and makes you think about your own childhood adventures. This is definitely a fun book anyone can enjoy.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

I’m surprised I haven’t already read this, since I have owned it for years. I think it’s excellent: surprising and entertaining. I’m really into everything space related right now, fiction and nonfiction, so this was a good choice. I recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction or fantasy. Plus I loved their technology and some of it was so similar to what we have now, which is fascinating because this was written a while ago.

Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Authors Famous and Obscure, edited by SMITH magazine.

Fun, interesting concept for a memoir. Carefully chosen words really tell a great story. I think this is something that everyone can contribute to at various points in their lives. I’m going to try to do this once a year, just to see what I’m thinking at each point.

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

This was my first graphic novel and I didn’t particularly like the format. I wouldn’t say I won’t read another one, but I can say that I won’t read another JUST because it is a graphic novel. I’m not sure whether I liked the book or not. I don’t think I did. The ending doesn’t seem right to me at all. Maybe I missed the point of the story, but I don’t think the beginning story led up to the end very well, it sorta just came out of the blue. I can’t really say much more about it because I’m still unsure.

Do What You Are by Paul D. Tieger (kindle for iPhone edition)

I’d heard of Personality Type before, in fact I’d even taken tests online and read about what I came out as, but never as in depth as this before. I had forgotten my type, but after I determined what it was from this book, I looked it up online and had come up with the same Type that I had before. Reading about my Type was very enlightening and made me finally understand why I had acted one way in certain situations that I’d never understood before. I have a bit of resistance to my Type and I certainly understand my weaknesses and will work on them. As far as a career goes, it didn’t help me all that much, because I had pretty much figured out most of what this book told me. The job search section, however, was quite helpful and I’m going to get started today.

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella

This is the sequel to Confessions of a Shopaholic which I read about 3 years ago. I don’t remember enjoying that one as much as I did this one. In fact, I couldn’t put this down. I read it in two days of airplane travel. Yes, it’s trivial, but it’s fun and silly. I’m impressed by Rebecca’s habit of not paying attention and yet still seeming to understand what is going on around her. It’s a funny book and I would definitely consider reading the next one in the series.

Ruby by Francesca Lia Block and Carmen Staton

This was pretty good. I actually think I liked it better than the Dangerous Angels book. It has that fantasy element, but is not totally random like some of Block’s other stories. The way the story was written with past and present mixing took a bit of time getting used to, but was very enjoyable after that.