1) Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Fun and funny. I haven’t seen the movie, so I didn’t walk into this with any particular expectations – having just Googled it, I see that Michael Cera was cast to play Nick, and I can totally see that (although I think Nick in the book was a little cooler than Michael Cera would play him). I could only read this in short chunks though, because the drama and ridiculous self-absorption of being a teenager can get grating after a while.

2) Below the Equator by Anna Scott Falcon
This was another one of those that actually had some good ideas, but they were all poorly executed. I was more interested in the story told in the flashbacks, until we got to the end of the book and the flashback sequences had little to no effect on the present story being told. Lots of weird jumpy plot points, hateable/undeveloped characters, blargh. I wasted a lot of time on this one.

3) How To Fail by Aaron Goldfarb
Very funny, and really sad in places as well. The author calls this a “self-hurt guide” (as opposed to a self-help guide), using his own life’s adventures as examples for how NOT to live your own life. There are times when you get angry at him for continually fucking up (or maybe that’s just me?), but the stories are entertaining enough that it’s not something that gets in the way of enjoying the book.

4) Finding Financial Freedom by Kelly Crawford.
NO. Just no. I’m going to get financial advice from a woman who refuses to get a job, and then touts herself as “letting God be sovereign over my womb”? GTFO. This book is essentially Dave Ramsey regurgitation mixed with your standard stay-at-home-mom couponing bullshit. On the plus side, I only spent half an hour reading it, so at least I didn’t invest a lot of time. 2 weeks ago

1) Relative Malice by Marla Madison
A kidnapping with some weird (sometimes unnecessary) twists and turns. Another one of those mysteries where there’s lots of interesting detail in the investigation portion of the case, and then once they figure out whodunit, everything wraps up in a few pages. I suppose I prefer that to dragging it out with stupid fight scenes and car chases.

2) Wearing the Cape by Marion G. Harmon
LOVED this! Teenage girl discovers she has superpowers and joins up with the local superhumans who work for the city. Interesting plot line, fun characters, and the author did a nice job of thinking out some of the complications that would go along with being a working superhero at the age of 16. Oh, and when one of the main characters (and the love interest) died, HE STAYED DEAD. I think there are other books in the series; I may take a look at those too.

3) This Twentysomething Life by Jon Rance
I think this was an excerpt, as it was quite short. Some funny bits, but I think I’m far enough past my early 20s to no longer identify with a lot of the emotional and pseudointellectual nonsense inherent in relationships between two people who don’t have much relationship experience. Maybe the sequel, This Thirtysomething Life, would be more my speed. (Or perhaps not, since it probably involves the trials and tribulations of having children, which I also can’t identify with.) 3 weeks ago

1) The Seven Steps to Closure by Donna Joy Usher
Was rather liking this one until about 2/3 of the way through, when it deteriorated into talking heads and needless drama. About five chapters could have been pulled from the end to improve it. Predictable romance chick lit.

2) Next Year In Israel by Sarah Bridgeton
I suppose I get what I pay for, and this was a free Kindle book. SO. BAD. I will never get that three hours of my life back.

3) As a Decade Fades by Joshua Fields Millburn
Written by one of the guys behind the website The Minimalists (although this is a fiction work, rather than his normal essays that you see on the site). Many good moments, nice character development. He has some writing idiosyncrasies that I don’t mind in the infrequent essays he publishes on his site, but when they appear multiple times over the course of a book, they get annoying. The structure made it a bit hard to read as well – lots of jumping around through memories and such, making it difficult to follow any kind of timeline. 1 month ago

1) Bullets for a Ballot by Nik Morton
Short story, silly and predictable. Dislike being pandered to as a female (romance figures more heavily than plot).

2) Murder on the Mind by L.L. Bartlett
Thin plot, definitely could have done more with it. Much like a Philip K. Dick novel: good idea, not very well written.

3) The Geronimo Breach by Russell Blake
Political thriller, mostly interesting, could have done without a lot of the bullshit inter-character interplay that ultimately didn’t impact the story.

4) Death by Drowning 2 by Abigail Keam
Not as good as the first Josiah Reynolds book; seemed like several short stories cobbled together.

5) Simple Ways to Be More With Less by Courtney Carver
Ahem. VERY simple ways to be more with less. If you haven’t considered these already, then you are on a different planet than I am.

6) Whispers in Autumn (The Last Year, #1) by Trisha Leigh
Dug this one, may try to find the rest of the series.

7) Betrayed by Jeanette Windle
Would have enjoyed a lot more if it didn’t delve deeply into Jesus territory about halfway through the book. Good story though.

8) A Smudge of Gray by Jonathan Sturak
Really good up until the “twist” at the end, which I just typed as “twits” and really, that’s an appropriate description. Disappointed, to say the least.

9) Village Books by Craig McLay
Very funny, enjoyed all the characters immensely. 1 month ago

1) Bright Lights, Big Ass and Bitter is the New Black, both by Jen Lancaster

One of these books was written AFTER the author had found herself unemployed and living in a new area of the city. I preferred that one, because she was less of a terribly snarky bitch at that point. In the first book, she was whining about having to do things like give up their expensive penthouse apartment, or selling her designer label bags. I have a hard time feeling any empathy for someone whose value system is so totally different than mine.

2) Stranger in Town, Cheryl Bradshaw

A mystery that would have been way more interesting without the stupid love story that looked like it was added at the last minute to appeal to female readers. I wish they had gone deeper into the process of actually retrieving the lost children, because it seemed like once they found out who the kidnapper was, everything wrapped up really nicely and neatly.

3) Black Flagged, Steven Konkoly

Entertaining read, even though I felt that many of the fight sequences were unnecessarily detailed. I liked the inside-mole angle that the author took with a few of the characters.

4) Progressive Dinner Deadly, Elizabeth Spann Craig

I’ve read one of this series before and enjoyed it, and this one was fun as well. It’s meant to be light reading, and I like that the author doesn’t take herself or her characters too seriously. Also, no stupid romantic interests getting in the way of the actual plot line.

5) Prison Nation, Jenni Merritt

Storyline revolving around dystopian universe where most of the nation is incarcerated, including their offspring. The first part of the book, inside the prison, was pretty well written and I liked it. I lost interest a bit after she got outside, because it seemed like the main conflict point had disappeared (and I got the feeling the author wasn’t quite sure where to go after that). 1 month ago

by Luanne Rice – March

This book made me yearn for the kind of friendship the 2 main characters share, the kind that carries you through the most terrible of life’s storms – a philandering partner, a passionless marriage, broken trust, ‘friends’ who betray you, even tragic death.

Truly a beautiful read. 2 months ago

Since I started this goal, I’ve blown through a couple of Kindle books (despite the fact that I’ve had very little free time).

1) Bloody Mary (J.A. Konrath): enjoyed this one, a little different than your average murder mystery. More along the lines of a psych thriller.

2) Shot of Tequila (J.A. Konrath): liked the characters, entertaining plot line, bored to death by many many many descriptions of fights which of course the hero won.

3) The Second Amendment #1 (John Matthews): Mildly entertaining, mostly contrived, annoyed that it ended right when things were getting interesting. Not going to pay money for the second book.

4) The Stranger Beside You (William Casey): Fun, if a bit long, and relatively well told. A couple of plot twists I hadn’t guessed.

5) Don’t Let Me Go (Catherine Ryan Hynde): I don’t know if it’s just because the story centered around performing and teaching, but I really liked this one. The two main stories being told (Billy and Grace) were characters I found really interesting. I could have done without the whole-building-makes-friends feel-good portion of the whole thing, and I thought it wrapped up kind of hastily, but definitely an enjoyable read.

6) A Day in the Life of a Minimalist (Joshua Fields Millburn): authored by one of the two driving forces behind the website The Minimalists. The writer has some quirks in his style that bug me, but most of the essays were well thought out and refrained from regurgitating the same information that you’ll get in most decluttering books. Rather than giving you a how-to, JFM gives you WHY-to (or rather, Why-I-Did), which is nice. 2 months ago

The Swan Kingdom
by Zoë Marriott

Interesting story but the writing style was not very enjoyable for me 3 months ago

The main charachter has severe memory loss and can’t remember anything from day to day (her memory is erased every night). I’ve just started the book and I’m really enjoying the journey as she tries to figure out her life as a married 40-something. So far, everything is a mystery and it’s not certain who is trustworthy. It seems like a cross between 50 First Dates and Memento. 11 months ago

I use shelfari.com—it’s great! 11 months ago

Another Scandinavian (Swedish) crime novel and I’m loving it. 11 months ago

Overall, I loved these books. One little line near the end of this one really bothered me. I’m looking forward to the movies of the last 2 books. 12 months ago

I loved The Hunger Games so I had to continue into the second of the trilogy! 12 months ago

I am reading this book because I’ve heard many many people rave about it and I really want to read it before I see the movie (which is out any second now). So far, I’m enjoying the book. 14 months ago

I stumbled upon this book in the library and think it might be interesting. I don’t know a lot about the Brontës as people (only as authors) and am a bit leery of reading a novel that combines fact and fiction but I would like to have an idea of them. 14 months ago

Follows five families with interrelated stories – one American, one Russian, one German, one English and one Welsh – through the First World War and the Russian Revolution [adapted from Follet’s webpage].

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the other 2 in this series – the only problem is that they aren’t yet written!! 14 months ago

I really enjoyed it. It was so well-written. I hope someday I can read it in the original French.

This is what Amazon Canada says about the novel: “The Tin Flute, Gabrielle Roy’s first novel, is sadly one of those books that is more often encountered in the classroom as a “milestone of Quebec literature” than read for its own considerable merits. A big novel, full of the misery of poverty and disenfranchisement and approaching melodrama in its litany of misfortune, it is also a captivating and humane tale of Montreal at the outbreak of the Second World War.”

That’s all true, but I think it makes it sound rather dreary. Really it is quite a lively story! 16 months ago

I read “Of Crimes and Punishments” by Cesare Beccaria. It was written in 1764 but it is still fresh today. I really enjoyed it! 17 months ago

I read “A Visit from the Goon Squad” by Jennifer Egan. I enjoyed it but didn’t love it. 17 months ago

I’ve liked Ruth Rendell for many years and have read many of her mysteries but had never read this one, published in 1965 and her second novel. I enjoyed it a bit but found it less engrossing than some of her other books. 17 months ago

I read “Freedom” by Jonathan Franzen. I didn’t like it as much as his earlier novel “The Corrections” but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. 17 months ago

I read “The Imaginary Invalid” by Moliere. I found it very amusing. It’s hard to believe it was written in the 17th century since the humor still works so well. 17 months ago