Jenni's comments

Jenni's comments from the The Book Challenge group.

Note: Jenni is no longer a member of this group.

Guilty Pleasures

Fun, quick read. I love the snarky/sarcastic humor that Hamilton gives Anita Blake. It's so perfectly awesome. I found myself rereading paragraphs just to read the snarky comment at the end of the paragraph.

Body of Knowledge

I enjoyed this book immensely, and finished it in under 48 hours, which is quite a feat when one works full time and has two young children. I can't quite pinpoint exactly why this book is so good - it just is. I love how it's a book full of facts turned into a story.

Reading the book really made me wonder exactly where the non-fiction life of the author ended, and the fiction parts of the book took over.

I loved the analogies that were used! I think my favorite was the lazy eye theory. This idea has really stuck with me, and I've been thinking about it most of the day. (A useful theory/idea for me since I'm currently raising two children!)

All in all, it's a beautiful story, and one that I would recommend to just about everyone. :)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A Novel

I enjoyed this book very much. I would recommend this book to all of my friends!

Handle with Care

Hmmm.... I enjoyed most of the book. I'm not sold on the ending, it reminded me too much of My Sister's Keeper, but with different medical issues.

The Lucky One

Fun, fast. :)

Little Heathens Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression

My grandmother grew up as a "Free-range child" on an Iowa farm during the depression, so I'm pretty familiar with the time, area, story, etc. This book is a nice memoir, and I know that my grandmother loves this book since she could have been Milly.

I loved parts of the book, these parts were worth at least four stars. Then during other parts I felt like the author was telling me that because I wasn't alive during the depression I was inferior. I also felt like I was being told that because my children don't live on a farm that they are inferior and will never have the quality of life that they should have.

The recipes scattered throughout the book sound great, and there are quite a few that I've written down and look forward to trying! I think I'm going to make mashed turnips and carrots for my grandparents this summer and see what they think! :)

Gone With The Wind

Wow!

Gone With the Wind has been one of those books that I've always been ashamed to admit that I haven't read, until now. What a story of survival! My heart went out to Scarlet, and I was always hoping that she would come out on top.

This book is so amazing, it's no wonder that so many people read this book over and over. It's not a book that one can fully comprehend in one reading. I know that I'll be coming back to it to read it again with new eyes and more understanding of the characters.

Thanks to Pamela and Sonja for the wonderful recommendation to read this book. I look forward to rereading it, and one day giving it to my daughter to let her read. :)

A-Z Author Challenge


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A-Z Titles


A- The Art of Science
B- Body of Knowledge
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D-
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G- Gone With The Wind
- Guilty Pleasures
H- Handle with Care
- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A Novel
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L- Little Heathens Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression
- The Lucky One
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S- Something Borrowed
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7 Classics
1. Gone With The Wind

My goal is to read at least 50 books from May 2009-May 2010:

1. The Lucky One - May 2009
2. Gone With The Wind - May 2009
3. Handle with Care - May 2009
4. The Art of Science - May 2009
5. Little Heathens Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression - May 2009
6. Something Borrowed - June 2009
7. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A Novel - May 2009
8. Body of Knowledge - May 2009
9. Guilty Pleasures - June 2009
10. The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #2) - June 2009
11. Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #3) - June 2009
12. The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #4) - currently reading

Out

This is the first crime fiction book that I've read in quite a while, and it's the first Japanese crime fiction book that I've ever read. I want to give the book five stars as it is really well written, and quite interesting. I'm giving it three stars as I'm not a big fan of reading books that include rape scenes, though I do understand why it was included. I must say that I love how the book ended! :)

The Book Thief

This book was amazing! It is so neat to read a fictional story set in Nazi Germany that isn't told from the perspective of a Jewish person. The story is well written, engrossing, addictive, and so many other things. :) My daughter will be encouraged to read this book when she's old enough.

My only questions is why is this book is considered young adult?

The Count of Monte Cristo

I loved this book! I do wish I would have had time to read more than just a few pages at a time. The best book I've read so far this year!

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel

I'm not sure what to think of the book yet. I read a review of a fellow Goodreads member who said that they were torn between giving the book a five star rating and a one star rating. I'm much the same for the same reasons. Parts of the book are so great and so perfectly written. Other parts of the book (like the ending) felt rushed and completely opposite from what they should have been. The ending left me hanging and felt very unfinished.

The Agency

It took about the first 100 pages to really get involved in the story, but once I hit page 100, I was hooked and couldn't put the book down. Tess is such an incredibly strange but lovable person, I couldn't help but root for her. The villains were partially predictable. I knew that the fur coat was going to be used against her, but I have to admit I wasn't sure how until it actually happened.

A Pebble To Polish

I actually put aside other books to read this one. The story of Cassie and her autistic son, Brian, is a wonderfully easy read. At the same time, the reader learns a lot about autism through Cassie's interaction with Brian's doctors and the support group that she joins. The story has shown me a new way to cherish the two wonderful children that I've been blessed with. :)

Darkly Dreaming Dexter

I have to say that I found out about the TV series and fell in love with it before I read the book. The book is even better than the TV series. A great question is raised in this book - is Dexter a bad guy if the only people he kills are killers themselves?

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

An interesting read. Covey's book contains common sense habits to live by to be more effective in family and work life. The stories and examples contained in the book help make it real.

Twilight, New Moon

I read both books in just a few days. While it was a nice change of pace, I need a break before continuing with the last two books. I must say, I would love to meet Edward! I am going to have to go see the movie, but my husband would never go with me...

A Lion Among Men: Volume Three in the Wicked Years

Near the end the book really starts to get good and becomes hard to put down. Working up to the last 100 pages took a little motivation. I'm curious to see if Maguire will write any more Oz books.

Seven Classics

1. Dracula
2. Jane Eyre
3. Gone With the Wind
4. Wuthering Heights
5. At the Mountains of Madness
6. The Count of Monte Cristo - 2/09
7. Oliver Twist
8. Anna Karenina

That's more than seven, but I can't resist. :)

A-Z Title Challenge (October 2008 - October 2009)

A - Autobiography of a Yogi - 10/08
-American Rifle: A Biography - 10/08
- The Agency - 12/08
- Anna Karenina - currently reading
B - Brisingr - 10/08
-The Book Thief - 2/09
C - The Count of Monte Cristo - 2/09
D - Darkly Dreaming Dexter - 12/08
- Dracula
E - Ender's Game
F - FireDrakes - 1/09
- Fahrenheit 451 or Fanny Hill
G - The Gargoyle - currently reading
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - currently reading
- Gone With the Wind
H - House of Leaves - 10/08
- Heaven's Net Is Wide - 11/08
I - In the Woods
J - Jane Eyre
K - The Kite Runner
L - A Lion Among Men: Volume Three in the Wicked Years - 11/08
M - The Mermaid Chair
N - New Moon - 11/08
- The Neverending Story
O - Out - 2/09
- Oliver Twist
P - A Pebble To Polish - 12/08
- The Princess Bride
Q - Quicksilver (ideas welcome!)
R - Ruins Metropolis (collection of short stories) - 10/08
- The Red Siren Charles Towne Belle Series, Book 1 - 2/09
S - The Secret Life of Bees - 11/08
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - 11/08
- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel - 1/09
- Set Phasers to Stun
T - A Thousand Splendid Suns - 11/08
- Twilight - 11/08
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard - currently reading
U - Undead and Unwed (other ideas welcome!)
V - Voices Under Berlin: The Tale of a Monterey Mary - 11/08
- Veronika Decides to Die
W - Wuthering Heights
X - Xenocide
Y - Yakuza Diary (or The Yiddish Policeman's Union)
Z - The Zookeepers Wife or Zeno's Conscience (other ideas welcome!)

I've read or am currently reading the book if it links to the Goodreads page for the book. :) There's also a date next to the book if I've read it. :)