read 52 books in 52 weeks

I’m not going to stop reading. It’s hard to make the time to read a very lengthy book within one week. I don’t want to feel rushed. This is a great goal but it’s just not practical for me at this point. I’m going to focus on my other goal ‘read every book I own’ instead. But good luck to all who are working on this goal. :-)

“The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown

4 out of 4

A very good read. Lots of twists and turns in the plot. An awesome story. Well written. Before I read this book I thought I would have to know a lot about Christianity (which I do not, I just know the very basics, if even) to understand it which was not the case. I was not confused…I was entertained! Loved this book.

“DK Pockets: REPTILES”

4 out of 4

Yes it’s a pocket sized book but it’s has tons of information all about reptiles. I learned a lot from this little book. It’s very well laid out and easy to read. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to learn the basics about reptiles.

“Get Anyone to do Anything”- David J. Lieberman, PH.D.

4 out of 4

Very to the point tips on how to influence different situations. I would definetly recommend this to people. The tips are very effective and I’ve tried many of them myself.

“Tropic of Cancer”- Henry Miller

3 out of 4

Very well written and has lots of depth. The “bad” language at first was a little hard to adjust to at first but it’s what makes the story so different. I had never read a book like this. Some parts of the book I just wanted to jump up and say YEAH. He brings up points I’ve thought of here and there and articulates it beautifully. It’s a very controversial book but in the end it was worth reading.

“Promise of Grace”- Bonnie K. Winn

2.5 out of 4

Somewhat predictable but the story itself is really good. She captures human behavior very well and shows it in an artistic way. The kind of writing where when you read it you can really see it happening. I gave it a 2.5 because it’s sort of a slow book, but then again the character is examining her life. I think I just like more action or adventure in fiction.

“Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Teens”- Richard Carlson

3 out of 4

In my opinion this is a must read for all teens. Of course it’s good to read it with an open mind. Several times I had to reread over some parts because I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind and I was disagreeing with the writer. All the advice is good. They are all suggestions and not really rules you have to live by. I really liked this book and 95% of the advice is very practical and doable.

“Eight Tales of Terror”- Edgar Allen Poe

Rating: 3 out of 4

My favorite stories were “Hop-Frog” and “Imp of the Perverse”. All of the stories were good but I especially liked those. Eventhough “The Fall of the House of Usher” is one of Poe’s most famous short stories I really don’t like it much. Too long and drawn out for me, I kept on wanting to skip to the end (I’ve read it before so I was anxiously awaiting it). This was a good collection of Poe’s but it didn’t include the stories (I can’t remember the titles though) “Quothe the Raven…” or the one where the character hacks up someone and puts them in the floorboards. Oh well I’ll find those some other time.

“Momentary Marriage”- Annette Broadrick

3 out of 4

I loved this book for different reasons. The book kept you guessing what would happen all the way up through the end. I really liked the “voice” the narrator took on because it helped with the flow of the book. I might actually read this book again.

Just for my own referance (and anyone else who wants to know) I’m going to type the title and author of the books I read and give it a number rating out of 4. Also I will go over things I liked/disliked about the book.

1) The Negotiator- By Dee Henderson
Rating: 2 out of 4

I liked the flow of the dialog. The plot did thicken. It could have been written to be more exciting. Some of the characters dialog seemed too grammatically correct and the voice for each character sounded the same. In other words if you were just reading parts of what they said without knowing who was talking you could easily mix up the characters. The characters could have been developed more. The potential for more depth to the characters was definetly there but the writer didn’t hone in on it.