Liz's comments (member since Jul 28, 2008)

Liz's comments from the The Next Best Book Club group.

Wow I haven't been on here in a while. I think I have been working too much. Especially since I haven't really been reading.

260 Sex and the Single Vampire - Katie MacAlister
261 *The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean Auel
262 What You Can do Right Now to Help your Child with Autism
263 Blood Promise - Richelle Mead
264 *The Valley of the Horses - Jean Auel
265 Ink Exchange - Melissa Marr
266 *The Mammoth Hunters - Jean M. Auel
267 White Witch, Black Curse - Kim Harrison
268 Big Bad Wolf - Christine Warren
269 Plains of Passage - Jean M. Auel
270 Unwind - Neal Shusterman
271 Frostbitten - Kelley Armstrong
272 The Shelters of Stone - Jean M. Auel
273 Witchcraft - Caitlin Kittredge
274 Dark Calling - Darren Shan
275 Dead Man Talking - Casey Daniels
276 The Girl on the Dock - G. Norman Lippet
277 Dragon Moon - Rebecca York
278 Magic in the Shadows - Devon Monk
279 On the Edge - Ilona Andrews
280 Tempted - P.C. Cast
281 Grave Secret - Charlaine Harris
282 Eating the Dinosaur - Chuck Klosterman
283 Bound to Shadows - Keri Arthur

95158 pages so far

22 books to goal

I have no new shelves to add. I've been so busy with work (starting a new career) this month. All of my reading has been either work-related or at the top of my typical TBR. It's been fun, but I don't know if I'll get any further in this challenge. Good Luck everyone!

Liz NJ

313 shelves
46 books

Liz NJ

Ok - I went back to the book sale once on Sat, and once today.

From the second trip yesterday:
35. Bulfinch's Mythology
36. Demian - Hermann Hesse
37. Zorba the Greek - Nikos Kazantzakis
38. Peace Breaks out - John Knowles
39. Blood and Chocolate - Annette Curtis Klause
40. A Swiftly Tilting Planet - Madeleine L'Engle
41. Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis
42. Out of the Silent Planet - C.S.Lewis
43. Perelandra - C.S. Lewis
44. That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis
45. Love in the Time of Choldera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
46. Child of the Prophecy - Juliet Marillier
47. Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas - Tom Robbins
48. For the Good of the Cause - Alexander Solzhenitsyn
49. T.H. White - The Once and Future King

and from today:
50. The Norse Myths - Kevin Crossley-Holland
51. Prozac Nation - Elizabeth Wurtzel
52. Howl - Allen Ginsburg
53. Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami
54. The Road - Cormac McCarthy
55. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
56. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
57. You Suck: A Love Story - Christopher Moore
58. Daughter of the Forest - Juliet Marillier
59. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
60. Island of the Sequined Love Nun - Christopher Moore
61. The Rebel - Albert Camus
62. The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
63. The Prince in Waiting - John Christopher
64. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
65. The Oedipius Plays of Sophocles
66. My World and Welcome to it - James Thurber
67. The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel
68. The Valley of the Horses - Jean M. Auel
69. The Mammoth Hunters - Jean M. Auel
70. Knit to Fit - Ida Riley Duncan
71. Yoga for Wimps

I also got 7 kids books for work.

The best part - I only spend 81.50! The worst part? All the outside book shopping has helped me realize just HOW allergic I am to NJ mosquitoes in comparison to the MN ones.

I probably should start all the work I brought home so I can start reading later without too much guilt.

No, I brought 2 large reusable shopping bags. One for each hand. I think that carrying them several blocks to my car should count as both aerobic exercise and weight lifting for the week.

I have a feeling my tbr pile is going to get even bigger when I go back to the sale tomorrow.

Liz NJ

43 books
308 shelves

Lori wrote: "Liz, those are some cool books you landed. Ive read quite a few and have some others. The two "amusing" titles, I have those too!!!! Well, Minatour is on its way to me soon :)"


Have you read Penguin Island, and if so, how was it? I have a thing for penguins that caused the purchase, but I'll read it if it's worth my time.

231 Killing Yourself to Live - Chuck Klosterman
232 Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis
233 Pretties - Scott Westerfeld
234 In the Forests of the Night - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
235 The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
236 *The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis
237 Mona Lisa Darkening - Sunny
238 Specials - Scott Westerfeld
239 Drop Dead Blonde - Nancy Martin
240 Vanished - Kat Richardson
241 Got Fangs - Katie Maxwell
242 Dreamfever - Karen Marie Moning
243 Mercy Thompson Homecoming - Patricia Briggs
244 Unclean Spirits - M.L.N. Hanover
245 When You are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris
246 I am the Messenger - Markus Zusak
247 Cape Storm - Rachel Caine
248 Extras - Scott Westerfeld
249 Destined for an Early Grave - Jeaniene Frost
250 Speak of the Devil - Jenna Black
251 Circus of the Darned - Katie Maxwell
252 Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
253 Doom with a View - Victoria Laurie
254 *Cry Wolf - Patricia Briggs
255 Hunting Ground - Patricia Briggs
256 Dark Slayer - Christine Feehan
257 Dark Visions - L.J. Smith
258 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
259 Bonk - Mary Roach

85687 pages so far


259 books so far this year, and the 49 books I added to my physical tbr plie today are still making me feel a little intimidated.

Cait wrote: "And yes, go back! If you're already breaking all of your book buying rules, you might as well go for it with reckless abandon...."

yeah.. I went back today. I now am the proud owner of 19 more books, bringing the day's grand total up to 53.

I'm currently justifying the second trip because I got near the kids tables, and 4 of the books were for my autism spectrum classrooms.

That's kind of what I was thinking... Did I mention that the average cost was $1 each?

So, instead of working on the pile of paperwork I brought home, cleaning the house, doing laundry, or reading one of the four books I'm currently working on, I decided to get up early this morning and go to the Library book sale. Almost all of the books were donated so I didn't even have to deal with the stigma of ex-lib books. I left before I required the services of a pack mule or Sherpa.

What did I buy?

1. On Writing by Stephen King
2. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
3. Turbulent Seas - Christine Feehan
4. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle
5. Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry
6. Sophie's World - Jostein Gaardner
7. The Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan
8. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
9. The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullman
10. The Subtle Knife - Phillip Pullman
11. The Amber Spyglass - Phillip Pullman
12. Surfacing - Margaret Atwood
13. The Tomb and other tales - H.P. Lovecraft
14. Destined for an Early Grave - Jeaniene Frost
15. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
16. Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
17. Narcissus and Goldmund - Hermann Hesse
18. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
19. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
20. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein
21. Mona Lisa Overdrive - William Gibson
22. Dark Time - Dakota Banks
23. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
24. The Lake of Dead Languages - Carol Goodman
25. The Children of Hurin - J.R.R. Tolkein
26. Son of the Shadows - Juliet Marillier
27. White Teeth - Zadie Smith
28. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt
29. Jailbird - Kurt Vonnegut
30. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
31. Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson
32. A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libby Bray

and finally, purchased simply because the titles amused me -
33. Penguin Island - Anatole France
34. The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break - Steven Sherrill

I believe that I have now broken every book buying rule I have (especially considering my not-to-be-mentioned foray in to B & N earlier this week). I must consider the following - I was informed that new and different books will be put out tomorrow... the real question is - do I go back?

Lydia wrote: "Liz, read Jo's Boys and you really get a great feel for the relationship with Laurie! "

I've read both books many times. I wasn't really referring to the events beyond Little Women. Jo and Laurie were friends and the problem wasn't clashing personalities. I do believe that while accepting Jo's decision not to marry Laurie would be part of Mrs. March's character, something needed to be rationalized toward the greater culture of the time.

Liz NJ

302 Shelves
41 Books

Cathy wrote: "I am new to the group and was very excited about the my first group read. I had read a lot of postive reviews of the book and was excited to read it.

For me the first 100 pages were torture. I..."

(all opinions are based on 3+ years of bookstore employment)
I've really found that dark fantasy books, like Gaiman's are directed at a specific audience. All the feedback I've gotten has been either an absolute love or an absolute hate, with very little middle ground. Although this genre of books is one of my favorites, it is one that I very rarely would recommend (based on customer input about their previous favorites).

I also think that Gaiman left the ending open ended intentionally. He typically gives basic closure to the story at hand, but does not write anything that resembles an epilogue. I love this because it give the reader so many possibilities about what could happen to the character in the future, and if they get sucked back into the world in the book or continue with their descent back to normalcy.

Liz NJ

37 books
292 Shelves

This one shelf per book may just kill me. Unlike Sara I don't really need a theological textbook, but I might have to start searching for a french cookbook that discusses women with relationship problems and takes place in Africa. It would also be great if it were a comic book and had a how-to section.

LaTrica wrote: I could believe that Jo just didn't love him in that manner. So I was a little confused when her mother tried to make it into a problem of personalities clashing..."

I've read this book many times over the years, and I never really questioned why Jo and Laurie never became a couple. I always thought of their relationship as more brother and sisterly, rather than romantic.

As far as her mother taking the view of clashing personalities, I think it is a reflection of the culture at the time. Women were still expected to marry for wealth and position, rather than love. The comment about clashing personalities, may have been away to show how the family rationalized Jo's decision and accepted it, rather than forcing her to marry into wealth and status.

Another welcome from a South Jersey neighbor

Liz NJ

291 shelves
36 Books

Liz NJ update:

34 books
283 shelves