Sonja's comments (member since Nov 11, 2008)

Sonja's comments from the Pick-a-Shelf group.

I've read both Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as well as Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book this month and really enjoyed both of them.

I agree that the zombies worked pretty well for the story, surprisingly so, and I also thought that we got a more obvious explanation of the Elizabeth/Darcy connection. (Austen leaves more to the reader whereas P&P&Z states emotions more plainly.)

The Graveyard Book is a sweet look at life from a different perspective. I really liked the feeling that the story was broken up into episodes in Bod's life and the way the whole graveyard came together to raise him.

I have read A Walk in the Woods a couple of years ago so I'll be reading In a Sunburned Country for this month's read. I love Bryson's style and travel books are always so much fun! Great shelf choice.

3 Willows by Ann Brashares, 3 *'s

This book was like an add on to Brashares' Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, which I had neither read nor seen the movies of, but it didn't matter much to this plot. It deals with a group of girls going from Middle School to High School and trying to reconcile their friendship from when they were in Elementary School. I appreciated that the problems they were facing were really and the plot didn't feel overdone at any point.

I liked the book overall but I don't think its something I would read again or pursue as a series...

Finished 3 Willows which I switched for This Side of Paradise. I'm also using it as a YA book for January...

Sunflower - I'm all in for the support group!

So I've got a bunch of these lined up... some sitting over from the Xmas Day challenge...

Currently I really want to read The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing and The Looking Glass Wars. Plus, I've had 3 Willows sitting in my TBR pile for a while... didn't realize it was YA. OOOO, also really want to read The Book Thief.

Finished The Silver Pigs a while ago and I really liked that one. Now I'm reading This Side of Paradise and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh simultaneously because I'm having some trouble getting into either one...

That was a quick read! On to Silver Pigs...

Just finished my R book - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Now plowing ahead with I - It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken.

Lynlee4 - You can get the whole series in one volume -> The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy which is the form that I've seen the books in more frequently. Only Hitchhiker's is sold separately nowadays...

Lynlee4 - I'm reading The Restaurant at the End of the Universe! Another fun read in the same series... Although I'm also realizing that the movie version of Hitchhiker's is a combination of multiple books...

Ann - I highly recommend Holidays on Ice although some of the essays are a bit off color. The book is totally hilarious and has the added bonus of being very short...

I just finished Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris and I'll give it a solid 4 *'s. I absolutely LOVED some of the stories (generally the more personal ones like SantaLand Diaries and Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol) but others were a little too weird for me.

I'd highly recommend this book to someone looking for an irreverent laugh at some holiday oddities.

I've finished A Christmas Carol and Holidays on Ice. Now I'm reading The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. I had a tough time initially with CC because I simply wasn't in the mood to read Dickens. So I read a bit of HoI which cheered me up tons! Then I finished CC in a snap!

The Scarlet Pimpernel is AWESOME! I also had no clue that it was part of a series until quite recently. The Elusive Pimpernel is another one but I haven't read it yet...

Thanks Suzie! That quote is my mantra of the moment. "Your life is not a yard sale." Definitely a thought to live by.

Here's another overdue review but I couldn't help throwing my hat in the ring...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder and Strawberry Shortcake Murder 3.5 *'s each

These are the two first books in Joanne Fluke's Hanna Swensen mysteries series. I picked them up because I needed something happy with a little substance to it. The books are very cute and light, and where they aren't light, the seem cartoony or implausible enough to make distancing from the story easy. This allows them to be an enjoyable read without a whole lot of tense drama.

Hannah Swensen has many of the usual problems of a young woman on her own: she owns her own business, her mother is constantly on her case to get married, and she is completely addicted to chocolate. On the other hand Hannah's business is called The Cookie Jar, she has two very different men vying for her attentions, and she keeps finding dead people all over her small Minnesota home town.

I think the motives are a little farfetched in these murders but Hannah is a completely lovable character with plenty of voice and a level approach to almost every situation. On top of this, the books are riddled with RECIPES for the desserts she makes in the story. I have yet to try any of them but a couple sound really excellent. (As an added benefit, the recipes come with tips on HOW to make them just perfect instead of making the reader go through trial and error.)

So overall, these are not fabulous literature by any stretch but are great for some light reading and, potentially, some cold weather baking as well.

Hey Kathryn. I'd say from previous experience (with this ex) if your friend isn't absolutely sure she wants to get back with this guy don't do it. If he did something before to make her believe he wasn't right for her, he'll more than likely do it again, or do something similar. As they say in the book: Your life is not a yard sale. Don't let yourself go for discounted rates...

Thanks for all the support you guys. I'm happy to say that I'm not really so much sad as angry at the whole situation. The book is really good (I couldn't help reading a couple pages) so far and it should definitely be better than ice cream...

Okay, I've got a last minute change to make to my list. Instead of reading The Importance of Being Earnest I'm going to read It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken. I just broke up with my boyfriend of 3 years so I'm thinking this book is a better idea.