Read 20 books in 2009

Not sure whether I accomplished this goal or not, so I am going to give up on it. I didn’t do a good job of keeping track of the books I read to completion. I know there were a lot of books I started but didn’t finish because of certain life events happening and me forgetting about the books. I also have not been on this site for a long time. Ergo, I will try again this year 2011. Time to get on Good Reads now. ;-) 12 months ago

Most regrettably, I failed to complete reading twenty books in 2009. Truthfully, with a continuous stream of frenetic activity last year, it was a difficult endeavour to begin with. Anyhow, I’ve resolved to transfer this goal over to 2010! 23 months ago

13. Radiance Descending
14. Utopia

Starting this goal over for 2010….. 2 years ago

I only got through 13 whole books. I might as well put my psychology textbook in here too, or the one I’m currently reading…but it’s okay. I’ll try harder for 2010! 2 years ago

I only got through 9 Books in 2009. I will do better next year by keeping a book with me always and only reading books I’m interested in, rather than ‘I should read this’ books.

1. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
2. Groundswell, by Charlene Li
3. The Importance of Being Ernest, by Oscar Wilde
4. This Side of Paradise, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
5. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni
6. The Dip, by Seth Godin
7. The Olive Farm, by Carol Drinkwater
8. Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s, by Ray Kroc
9. Freakonomics 2 years ago

suite dreams by Rachel Hawthorne 2 years ago

I read this book in high school, and it’s just as sad and thought-provoking now as it was then. 2 years ago

I didn’t manage to do this in 2009 but I had fun trying and will have a similar, more attainable goal for 2010. 2 years ago

Along for the ride By Sarah Dessen

:D
really good ;) 2 years ago

Ah well…

Although I’m about to finish another, I have things to do.
I’m going to try to complete 20 books in a year in 2010. 2 years ago

Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich 2 years ago

140 more pages of book 19, then about 300 of book 20 ah. * Crosses fingers * 2 years ago

just finished my first semester at college. read a couple books and didn’t update this so…

8. Human Geography (Rubenstein)
-Ok, this is a text book so I kind of feel like this is cheating. But I really read most of this. We skipped a little at the end of my class because we ran out of time but I actually plan on reading it just for myself. I really enjoyed my class and this book is awesome. I usually hate reading text books and this one was actually really interesting to me. Maybe its just because I love the topic, but I really enjoyed this text book. I’m not even selling it back.

The next books I read for my history class: American Race and Ethnicity

9. Facing East from Indian Country
-Hated this book. Put me to sleep every time I opened it. I think the issues presented are very interesting but Richter presented these ideas in the most boring and confusing way possible.

10. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
-Interesting. Not something I would probably pick up on my own but it was interesting and our class discussions on the book were also interesting.

11. Breadgivers
- Definitely didn’t feel like college-level reading but I understand that it presented topics that were relevant in class. I wouldn’t recommend this book.

12. Farewell to Manzanar
- important story. I knew very little about Japanese internment camps before reading this book and I think a lot of the people I know are the same way. Everyone should know about this issue and this book is a first-hard account on the injustice. I think this book should be taught in high school.

13. Coming of Age in Mississippi
- really enjoyed this book. Beautiful story

I didn’t really have time to read outside of class this last semester so looks like I won’t reach my goal, but I’m okay with that. I had a lot of other reading (Bio text and about a billion different Academic papers for all of my classes) so it was hard to read more just for fun. Plus, I don’t like reading two different novels at once. I just started reading Push, which I have wanted to read for a long time and coincidentally the movie just came out. Next year I am really going to try to read more. 2 years ago

Read the sequel to Eleven. My daughter wants to read it and I read mixed reviews on the “appropriateness” of the book for tweens. I’m thinking she’s not quite ready for this book, but maybe when she’s in 6th grade. There’s a lot of changes happening between now and then. 2 years ago

Well, the goal was 25, but once again I didn’t quite make it. Still, I got to read a lot of good books this year.

1. The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories – Mark Twain
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J. K. Rowling
3. The Culture of Fear – Barry Glassner *
4. Down on Their Luck – David Snow and Leon Anderson *
5. Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
6. The Second Shift – Arlie Russell Hochschild *
7. Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki *
8. Unhealthy Societies – Richard Wilkinson *
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J. K. Rowling
10. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories – Franz Kafka
11. The Universe in a Nutshell – Stephen Hawking
12. The War of the Worlds – H. G. Wells
13. The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
14. The Planets – Dava Sobel
15. Freakonomics – Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
16. Sunquakes – J. B. Zirker
17. Trailer Park Fairy Tales – Matt Dinniman
18. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
19. The Merchant of Venice – William Shakespeare *
20. The Zionist Idea – Arthur Hertzberg (ed.) *
21. Daniel Deronda – George Eliot *
22. The Strange World of Quantum Mechanics – Daniel F. Styer *
23. The Eternal Husband – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

*for class

Reviews are here. 2 years ago

I am halfway through Sarah Dessen’s book, ‘along for the ride’ it is very good so far and I am just flying through it!

4 more days to read! :P 2 years ago

It’s amazing how many books I read in December. I think almost half of the books read were in this month, proving that I could easily read 50 again in one year…though I’m still aiming for 20 next year. One never knows what the year will bring. 20 is a good goal, I think. :)

This book was one I just picked up at the library, on the new releases tables. It was a different story that piqued by interest. Characters were well-developed and the story was engaging. An emotional tale about love, cheaters, and loss.

From Amazon.com

Review
Each character in this wry and beguiling book has a fresh take on love: how it tricks and blindsides us, makes us crazy, elated, sad; how we can t stop giving it; how it ennobles our lives. As Lucy and her husband s sweethearts reluctantly form a family as unlikely as it is beautiful, I found myself falling falling hard for every single one of them. Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Love Walked In and Belong to Me

Bridget Asher s pitch-perfect ear for language, sly wit, and compassionate understanding of what it is to be human and fallible make this novel an undiluted joy to read. My Husband s Sweethearts is a whip-smart, tender, and eccentric tale that chronicles all the ways forgiveness can come to us. Don t miss this ride. Joshilyn Jackson, bestselling author of gods in Alabama and Between, Georgia

The narrator of this wry and thoughtful novel observes her world with snappy, unsentimental eyes, and yet she finds a way to soothe every broken heart around her including her own with genuine tenderness. Katherine Center, author of The Bright Side of Disaster

“A gem of a story about love in its various forms, laced with biting wit and poignant moments…. Once you start, you won’t be able to put it down.” Newark Star-Ledger

Quirky and quick-moving…. Readers will probably fall in love with My Husband s Sweethearts. Associated Press

A parade of memorable women keep the pages turning. Publishers Weekly

Witty. Kirkus Reviews -. -This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition. 2 years ago

In my effort to read more books that are available to the school library, I have been reading more Juvenile Fiction and Young Adult books. This one was recommended by the school librarian. I enjoyed reading it and was reminded how “serious” labels of “best friend” are in elementary school…

From Amazon.com

Gr. 4-7. This light novel, which opens with an eleventh birthday and ends with a twelfth, recounts narrator Winnie’s year as she reluctantly grows apart from her best friend, Amanda, and grows closer to Dinah, a girl she previously pitied. Her disappointment when Amanda becomes occupied with fashion and boys and finds a new best friend is deftly portrayed, as is Winnie’s increasing respect for the awkward but kind Dinah. The stilted structure of covering one month per chapter, each with a main episode, creates a choppy pace that detracts from the effectiveness of an otherwise enjoyable read, but all three girls, and Winnie’s sulky older sister, come across as fully rounded characters that interact in believable ways. Kathleen Odean
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved—This text refers to the Hardcover edition. 2 years ago

Ahh it’s getting way too close to the end of the year, but I finished yet another…

Holly by Jude Deveraux.

hope I can finish this goal :P 2 years ago

1. The Secret Sharer- Joseph Conrad
2. The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. And Then There Were None- Agatha Christie
4. Kafka On The Shore- Haruki Murakami
5. The Death of Ivan Ilych- Leo Tolstoy
6. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll
7. Through the Looking Glass- Lewis Carroll
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings- Maya Angelou
9. Life of Pi- Yann Martel
10. A Confederacy of Dunces- John Kennedy Toole
11. Ghost World- Daniel Clowes
12. Cat’s Cradle- Kurt Vonnegut
13. Slaughterhouse-Five- Kurt Vonnegut
14. The Best American Comics (2007)
15. The Best American Comics (2008)
16. The Giver- Lois Lowry
17. The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain
18. The Metamorphosis- Franz Kafka
19. The Metamorphosis (graphic novel adaption)- Peter Kuper
20. To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee
21. Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Three Stories- Truman Capote
22. Daddy Was a Number Runner- Louise Meriwether 2 years ago

A Young Adult Fiction novel worth the read.

From Amazon.com
Annabel Greene seemingly had everything: cool friends, close family, good grades, and a part-time modeling career in town. But it all came crashing down, and Annabel has spent the summer in shaky, self-imposed exile. She finds herself dreading the new school term and facing, well, everyone again. The last thing she wants to do is revisit old friendships while the losses are painful, the secrets behind the rifts are almost unbearable. Her solid family seems fragile, too. What happened to cause the stiff silences and palpable resentments between her two older sisters? Why is no one in her loving but determinedly cheerful family talking about her middle sister’s eating disorder? Annabel’s devastating secret is revealed in bits and snatches, as readers see her go to amazing lengths to avoid confrontation. Caught between wanting to protect her family and her own struggles to face a devastating experience, Annabel finds comfort in an unlikely friendship with the school’s most notorious loner. Owen has his own issues with anger, but has learned to control it and helps her realize the dangers of holding in her emotions. Dessen explores the interior and exterior lives of her characters and shows their flaws, humanity, struggles, and incremental successes. This is young adult fiction at its best, delving into the minds of complex, believable teens, bringing them to life, and making readers want to know more about them with each turn of the page. Roxanne Myers Spencer, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 2 years ago

Two for the Dough

I’m enjoying the Stephanie Plum novels. 2 years ago

5/5
I absolutely loved it. It does have it’s slow moments but overall it was awesome. I started reading it and had to force myself to put it down to study for my finals, but I was always itching to read it. 2 years ago

(Young Adult Fiction – I work in a school library and am trying to get more acquainted with the books offered to middle schoolers.)

Amazon.com review
Fat, clumsy Simon Glass is a textbook geek, and all three of Rob’s posse hates him, each for his own reasons. But Rob is driven by the need to prove his power, and so he decrees that they will take on the seemingly impossible task of making Simon popular. They take him shopping for a better look, get his hair styled, teach him how to behave. Rob extracts painful sacrifices and uneasy moral compromises to achieve the goal, but each of his followers has a hidden empty place and a related secret that holds them in bondage to his manipulations. Soon Simon is on his reluctant way to becoming Class Favorite, but then he begins to show a dark, cruel side, and an ability to do what the others can’t-defy Rob. The complex interlocking motivations of these five move the story inexorably to a startling bloody catharsis.
In an enthralling first novel that evokes William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War, Gail Giles’s Shattering Glass employs a brilliantly original structure to layer present and future in an exploration of the consequences of following a charismatic but amoral leader. (Ages 12 and older) -Patty Campbell -This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. 2 years ago

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian 2 years ago

From Amazon.com
(Young Adult Fiction)
Frances is hoping to save some money for art school. To do this she works the late shift at a convenience store on the edge of town. There, she meets loner/artist/new guy Devin. Unfortunately, he is severely disturbed and begins an imaginary romance with her that threatens her relationship with her boyfriend, her job, and her personal safety. This is an intense, plot-driven book that hits many familiar yet upsetting notes. The tension is meted out in a deliberate manner. The spare text makes it a strong choice for reluctant readers.–Amy Patrick, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. —This text refers to the Paperback edition. 2 years ago

Something Girl
Info from Amazon.com
Sophie, 15, comes from an abusive family. Her mother is a depressive alcoholic. Her father appears to be an upstanding member of the community, but in reality he is a savagely violent man. Without any provocation, he has beaten Sophie many times. She has no real friends, her boyfriend has just dumped her, and she is on probation for petty theft. Her only ally is 12-year-old JuJube, her former babysitting charge. After a particularly brutal attack, Sophie is hospitalized and it is JuJube who forces her to tell the truth. The ending is happy yet bittersweet. The novel deals with mature themes in a quick and easy-to-read manner. However, it has all the hallmarks of a message book and is not the most subtle piece of literature. Still, it could help teens with severe issues.–Amy Patrick, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -This text refers to the Paperback edition. 2 years ago

A wonderful story about two Chinese sisters, their love and loyalty to one another, their struggles, and their ability to overcome what seems like the impossible at times.

Amazon.com Review
Book Description
For readers of the phenomenal bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love—a stunning new novel from Lisa See about two sisters who leave Shanghai to find new lives in 1930s Los Angeles.

May and Pearl, two sisters living in Shanghai in the mid-1930s, are beautiful, sophisticated, and well-educated, but their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. Hoping to improve their social standing, May and Pearl’s parents arrange for their daughters to marry “Gold Mountain men” who have come from Los Angeles to find brides.

But when the sisters leave China and arrive at Angel’s Island (the Ellis Island of the West)-where they are detained, interrogated, and humiliated for months-they feel the harsh reality of leaving home. And when May discovers she’s pregnant the situation becomes even more desperate. The sisters make a pact that no one can ever know.

A novel about two sisters, two cultures, and the struggle to find a new life in America while bound to the old, Shanghai Girls is a fresh, fascinating adventure from beloved and bestselling author Lisa See. 2 years ago

Another Young Adult Fiction book…

From amazon.com
After setting his seven-year-old neighbor in Alaska on fire, Kip McFarland spends four years in a facility for violent juvenile offenders. When he is released at the age of 14, he, his father, and his new stepmother move to Indiana, with new names. For a while, Wade enjoys a normal life. Eventually, however, despite the warnings of his therapist, he sabotages his happiness in a drunken fit of rage. After he reveals his identity, the town turns on him and his family. Now, a coastal Texas town is their final shot at starting over. The cozy community appears to be a perfect haven, but Wade feels compelled to reveal his past to Sam, the beautiful and mysterious neighbor who is winning his heart—and has a story of her own. Will she still accept him once she finds out he is a murderer? This quick read has a compelling story line, but the characters, especially the adults, are at times one-dimensional, with voices that are somewhat indistinguishable from one another. Reluctant readers will be drawn to the story’s accessibility, and many teens will be pulled in by the larger questions the novel poses about innocence and acceptance. Despite its flaws, this book will be a hit with Giles’s fans.—Lynn Rashid, Marriots Ridge High School, Marriotsville, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. —This text refers to the Hardcover edition. 2 years ago

16 – The Joy Luck Club 2 years ago