Read 24 Books in 2008

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Flesh and Blood by Michael Cunningham

Yeah didn’t accomplish this one. Maybe the depression is to blame, since I couldn’t read anything when I was on my worst days.

I found this one at a church book sale, and since the author was familiar (I’ve read A Virtuous Woman), I thought I’d give it a go and make it 2008’s last book. It focuses on the life of a young girl who has a spunk and energy to her that you wouldn’t expect from someone who endures so much. Her mother dies in bed with her, her father is an alcoholic, and she’s dealing with personal race issues. It was another quick read, but a very touching novel nonetheless.

Extremely interesting… about a woman who has been raised in a community that believes in polygamy and doesn’t believe women or children have rights. It’s extremely hard to escape and if a woman can escape she is usually hunted down and forced to come back. Carolyn had to go through so much abuse and watch her children be abused by her “sister wives” as well as her husband, Merril. She flees one day with all of her children and it’s a battle and a pain in the ass to gain full custody of her children and to have enough money to support everyone and as well to hide from people from the community, including her husband… It’s a very interesting story and it’s crazy that women have to live like this in some places.

Not as good as the first 2 Dexter books… introducing a supernatural element to this series in this book was a bad idea… it is just not needed and makes it cheesier when it is supposed to be about Dexter’s psychological issues as a result of childhood trauma. I had to read it anyway to see what I thought of it. It still kind of kept my interest.

3/5 stars…

I know that in a previous entry I said it was rare for a book to make me cry, but there were pretty much tears throughout this entire novel. The Dogs of Babel centers around Paul Iverson, whose wife has just been found dead under their apple tree. The only witness to what happened is Lorelei, the couple’s dog. Paul attempts to teach the dog to communicate so he can catch a glimpse of what happened that day. You discover some haunting details about the dog’s life before coming to live with Paul and Lexy and the story of how Paul met his wife and their marriage is beautiful – truly touching. This is one of those books that you need someone to talk about it with afterwards. It’s so intense and thought-provoking. It just might be the best I’ve read in 2008.

This was such a short read, but it was a good one too. Told from the point of view of a poor son who lives with his father, Gary Paulsen’s The Tent covers the adventures and experiences the two have while trying to get rich using Christianity. They preach out a tent and learn as they go, but redeem themselves shortly after.

It’s pretty rare that a book will make me cry, but Tony Johnston’s Bone by Bone by Bone definitely did. It’s the sweet story of a young boy, David, whose best friend is black. David’s father is a doctor with ties to the Klan who strictly enforces rules regarding black people and his son. It’s definitely a quick read with a lot of heart.

I’m just reaching my fourth month of pregnancy and am fairly certain that everything everyone has told me has been either was too vague or way too over the top. I went in search of some honesty and humor, and found the perfect book. Jenny McCarthy’s Belly Laughs really made me laugh out loud. I’m not normally a big fan of Jenny McCarthy; she’s usually way over the top and a little gross for my taste, but what is pregnancy if not a little over the top and gross? It was a refreshing dose of honesty and humor.

The Meaning of Life and Dear Mom Thank You For Everything by Bradley Trevor Greive

Read both in a little over an hour while at my doctor’s waiting room. The pictures are just extremely cute. In the Meaning of Life, Greive is right to the point in conveying his message, which differs from all those self-help books that have more stuffing to them than anything.
Mom Thank You for Everything is beautiful, and it almost brought tears to my eyes. They are both good-humored and fun little books.
Not the kind I usually like, I despise self-help books of any kind, but their simplicity and the pictures got me.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

15th book in English

Will write a review soon.

4.5 out of 5