Book 50 of 2009

Bowling Along: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
Robert D. Putnam

Started: November 6, 2009
Finished: In progress....

Book 49 of 2009

Under The Dome: A Novel
Stephen King

Started: November 10, 2009
Finished: In progress....

Book 48 of 2009

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Jeff Kinney

Started: November 5, 2009
<b?Finished:</b>November 9, 2009

These are just great, fun children's books that are funny and light-hearted. I recommend them for kids and adults alike.

Book 47 of 2009

The Titan's Curse
Rick Riordan

Started: November 3, 2009
Finished: November 10, 2009

I really enjoyed this book. The plot is really picking up here and kept me turning the pages. There were a few inconsistencies that bugged me a bit but still a good addition to a series that I have been so-so about.

Book 46 of 2009

Little Children
Tom Perotta

Started: October 21, 2009
Finished: November 2, 2009

This was an excellent book. The story was quick and easy flowing and they characters were very enjoyable to read about. The plot made for a good story but was just realistic enough to make you feel like it could happen anywhere/anytime. The emotions of the characters were very well expressed making you feel for them/against them extremely well. My only qualm is in the ending. It seemed a little abrupt and left me hanging for a bit more.

Book 45 of 2009

High Fidelity
Nick Hornby

Started:October 11, 2009
Finished:October 21, 2009

I, absolutely, loved this book. I found the plot to be enjoyable and the humor to be witty and funny. A great book. It is rare that I keep a book to read again sometime, but I am going to with this one.

Book 44 of 2009

Hannah's Dream
Diane Hammond

Started: October 4, 2009
Finished: October 10, 2009

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The story was very heartwarming at times and sad at times. It was a easy read as well that flowed quickly off the pages. The one thing I didn't like is that the characters always seemed to have the solutions to their problems but never knew it. They never had to work at anything in the end.

Book 43 of 2009

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Jeff Kinney

Started:September 30, 2009
Finished:October 3, 2009

A good series of books for children. A nice mix of real life with humor and good fun. My kids love em and I think they are pretty fun too. This book is no exception.

Book 42 of 2009

Earth Abides
George R. Stewart

Started: September 16, 2009
Finished: October 3, 2009

This was a pretty good book. It was a very analytical, very sociological look at the end of the world. I enjoyed it. The main character was likable and the plot was enjoyable.

Book 41 of 2009

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator
Lemony Snicket

Started: September 6, 2009
Finished: October 30, 2009

This is book 6 in the series, and although I have enjoyed the series so far, this one disappointed me. The author stretched my imagination too far with what the main characters are able to do and the plot was a stretch as well. I will continue on in the series but this book was a letdown.

Well, I did it! I made my goal of 40 books for the year. I didn't make it last year but it is only September of this year so we'll see how many extra I can read.

Book 40 of 2009

A Simple Plan
Scott Smith

Started: September 1, 2009
Finished: September 14, 2009

I extremely enjoyed this book. I found the plot to be very fast paced and it kept me turning pages. It is rare that I give a book 5 stars, but I definitely give 5 stars to this one. Great book!

Book 39 of 2009

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Austere Acadamy
Lemony Snicket

Started: August 21, 2009
Finished: September 5, 2009

Book 38 of 2009

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Miserable Mill
Lemony Snicket

Started: August 14, 2009
Finished: August 20, 2009

A good if not repetitive series to get into with your kids.

Book 37a of 2009

Bone Volume 8: Treasure Hunters
Jeff Smith

Started: August 8, 2009
Finished: August 11, 2009

Getting close to the end of the series with this one. The action picks up here and the book leaves you yearning to read the next and final book in the series.


Book 37b of 2009

Bone Volume 9: Crown of Horns
Jeff Smith

Started:
Finished: August 12, 2009

Overall this series was pretty enjoyable. A couple of the books seemed to draw the series longer than it needed to be and the ending (this book) I found to be rather anti-climactic.

(I combined these two books together because they are so short. I felt like I would be cheating my goal for the year.)

Book 36 of 2009

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Wide Window
Lemony Snicket

Started: July 31, 2009
Finished: August 8, 2009

This is yet another great book in the Lemony Snicket series. I really enjoy them and look forward to reading on. It's a great series for kids or to read to your kids.

Book 35 of 2009

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room
Lemony Snicket

Started: July 25, 2009
Finished: July 30, 2009

I really enjoy this series so far and can't wait to read on.

Book 34a of 2009

Bone Volume 6: Old Man's Cave
Jeff Smith

Started:July 20, 2009
Finished:July 24, 2009

The plot is really picking up here. A lot of key points have been unveiled in this one and I am very curious about how things are going to play out.

Book 34b of 2009

Bone Volume 7: Ghost Circles

Started:July 20, 2009
Finished:July 24, 2009

This volume was action packed and really had me worried about the characters as the climax draws nearer. As plot unfolds now, things are getting a little weird but enjoyable all the same.

(I combined these two books together because they are so short. I felt like I would be cheating my goal for the year.)

Book 33 of 2009

The Living Dead
John Joseph Adams

Started:July 20, 2009
Finished:August 31, 2009

I really really really wanted to like this collection of short stories. I mean, I really wanted to. I love zombies and zombie stories and movies but, in the end I only found a few to be enjoyable and the rest to be mediocre or just plain boring. A couple of the stories such as "Almost the Last Story by Almost the Last Man" and "This Year's Class Picture" are definitely worth checking out but, they are so few and far between that it would be hard to justify a purchase.....even if you are a zombie lover like me.

Book 32 of 2009

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Jeff Kinney

Started: July 17, 2009
Finished: July 20, 2009

This is a fun, cute little series that is a lot of fun to read. Both my kids and I think this Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is funny and great for the whole family. Definitely pick it up, if you have kids, and read it for yourself before turning it over to them.

Book 31 of 2009

Dearly Devoted Dexter
Jeff Lindsay

Started: July 12, 2009
Finished: July 19, 2009

Another excellent book in the Dexter series, but not quite as good as the first one. I hope the series recovers in the third one. Overall, still a wonderful book, though and a great series to get into.

Book 30 of 2009

Coraline
Neil Gaiman

Started: July 9, 2009
Finished: July 11, 2009

I liked this book quite a bit. I would never read it to my children for I think it would scare them silly, but I enjoyed it for sure. It is just an excellent and very creepy book. Coraline is an excellent main character and handles herself under pressure, and the antagonist and all that they do is just darn creepy.

Book 29 of 2009

Crank
Ellen Hopkins

Started: June 27, 2009
Finished: July 14, 2009

Just not my type of book. The creative word layouts seemed pointless and give the impression of being poetic when they are not. The book drolls on and on and the ending makes reading the first half of the book seem pointless.

Book 28 of 2009

The Sea of Monsters
Rick Riordan

Started: June 27, 2009
Finished: July 9, 2009

After reading the first book in the series, I was conflicted. I really enjoyed parts of it, especially all of the mythology and mythological characters sprinkled through the book. But, there were things that I didn't like, as well. This being, mainly, the authors writing style and the main characters personality and such.

I was very torn as to whether I should continue with the series and decided to read the second book in the series (this one) to get a better feel and sway me to one side or the other. After reading this book, I still remain conflicted. Very much like the first one, I feel this book is scattered with good and bad. I guess, after much contemplation, I will continue on with the series, but it, definitely, won't call it the greatest series I have ever read or anything.

Book 27 of 2009

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning
Lemony Snicket

Started: June 22, 2009
Finished: June 26, 2009

I was a little leary going into this book, but I quickly fell in love with the concept and the writing style and look forward to reading on in the series. The kids in the book and all their unfortunate events easily capture your heart and it is hard not to want to know what happens to them.

Book 26 of 2009

Fuzzy Navel
J.A. Konrath

Started: June 22, 2009
Finished: June 26, 2009

Another great action-packed, funny, mystery novel following Jack Daniels and her friends. This one was a super fast read with a great ending.

Book 25 of 2009

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Jeff Kinney

Started: June 5, 2009
Finished: June 20, 2009

This was a cute little book, in the form of a diary, about a boy and his happenings through life and school. My daughter read it, and for some reason the little parts that I read over her shoulder pulled at me and I had to read it too. In the end, it is a fun, light, light hearted romp through 1 year of this kids middle school years. Don't run out and buy it but if your child has it laying around, grab it up and read it.

Book 24 of 2009

Patient Zero
Jonathan Maberry

Started: June 1, 2009
Finished: June 21, 2009

Not a bad book. Overall, the book was fun to read zombie survival thriller. The character was fighting an outbreak of a virus that caused people to turn to zombies and frequently was about the containment and extermination of the zombies to prevent outbreak into the US. At times the book was too descriptive, at times the author was a bit wordy, at times the author was a bit too focused on techniques and tactics, but at times this book was very fun and very fast paced and action packed. If you like zombies, I'd check this one out for sure.

Book 23 of 2009

Zombie Blondes
Brian James

Started: May 27
Finished: May 31

This was an interesting book. I liked it so-so. It was very very targeted at teens/young adults with themes running through the book of school popularity and drama with jocks, nerds, preps, whatever. The build-up to the climax was, literally, 7/8th of the book with the final 1/8th of the book going really fast. Too fast, I think. It felt like the author got sick of writing at right about the climax and seemed to really rush the end. The end was very cliched, and very quick and not very detailed, which is very unlike the first half of the book which was very drawn out and precise.

Book 22 of 2009

Vox
Nicholson Baker

Started: May 25
Finished: June 8, 2009

Vox was a very interesting book. It follows an anonymous phone conversation between a man and a woman as they discuss life, sex, and much more. The book has adult situations but is not necessarily focused on them, which was strange and refreshing. The conversation between the two characters was so real, so thought out, I could swear it was an actual transcribed conversation (maybe it is?) It really held my interest to see what they would say next and it's worth a read.

Book 21a of 2009

Summer Blonde
Adrian Tomine

Started: May 11, 2009
Finished: May 15, 2009

This is a very interesting little book containing 4 short stories. Each story is a sliver in 4 different peoples lives with thing happening to the people before the stories begin and after the stories end. It can be a little jarring to jump abruptly into each story only to have it end just as abruptly in the middle of the climax or even before the climax. Although abrupt, this method does invoke your imagination to finish the story and, in a way, I found it refreshing. Each story are very much real life stories, dealing with love, depression, and fitting in and kind of brought me back to high school. Esquire magazine claimed this book was one of the Top 20 must read graphic novels. I don't think I would go as far as to back that up, but if you have a minute and a few extra bucks, go ahead and check this one out.

Book 21b of 2009

Bone: Volume 5 Rock Jaw
Jeff Smith

Started: May 18, 2009
Finished: May 21, 2009

If you are reading this review, you probably have read the previous 4 books and don't need me to tell you the reasons to read this one.

(I combined these two books together because they are so short. I felt like I would be cheating my goal for the year.)

Book 20a of 2009

Bone: Volume 3 Eyes of the Storm
Jeff Smith

Started: April 28, 2009
Finished: May 2, 2009

It's a fun, light-hearted series. I really look forward to continuing on with it.

Book 20b of 2009

Dark Tower: Treachery
Robin Furth

Started: May 2, 2009
Finished: May 6, 2009

Hmm...as the third book in the series, it is the best so far. The first two while entertaining and fairly faithful to the books were a little wordy and drawn out to me. Now that things are starting to happen the pace is picking up and has me hooked in all over again. I look forward to the next collection. But...I still do and always will hate the artwork in this series.

Book 20c of 2009

Bone: Volume 4 The Dragonslayer
Jeff Smith

Started: May 6, 2009
Finished: May 10, 2009

Another great volume. The series really starts to pick up here.

(I combined these all together as one book because they are so short.)

Book 19 of 2009

People of the Book
Geraldine Brooks

Started: May 1, 2009
Finished: May 26,2009

I was torn as to what I should give this book because it has more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. On one hand, I hated the main character and some of the side stories about the book. On the other hand, some of the history of the book and most of the main story were pretty interesting. So, I guess, 3 stars it is.

Book 18 of 2009

Snuff
Chuck Palahniuk

Started: April 25, 2009
Finished: May 4, 2009

An interesting little book. A strange combination of true facts, humor, and drama wrapped around a story of a snuff film in progress.

Book 17 of 2009

Everything is Illuminated
Jonathan Safron Foer

Started: April 21, 2009
Finished: April 30, 2009

Although the book had descriptive serious and/or entertaining events that were great to read, the parts around these event were huge and very boring. Essentially the book is 3 stories that are spread throughout the book. Story 1 was horrible to read; Story 2 was so-so; Story 3 was just OK to read. Unfortunately, to get Story 3 you have to drag through the other two stories as they come. ...To sum this up, I Hated this Book.

Book 16 of 2009

Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Jeff Lindsay

Started: April 14, 2009
Finished: April 20, 2009

After hearing that a bunch of people like the show but did not like the book, I was skeptical. I was pleasantly surprised. The book moved quickly and the character really has some charm to him. I was always interested in what was gonna happen next, although it was a bit predictable. I look forward to continuing the series.

Book 15 of 2009

Watchmen
Alan Moore

Started: April 2, 2009
Finished: April 20, 2009

I don't know what to say. Everyone loves this novel. Reviewers, critics, comic lovers, casual readers all seem to love this book. I, just, didn't get it. Hate me or not, I just found this to be wordy and drawn out and I barely dragged through reading it. I did not like Watchmen.

Book 13 and 14 of 2009

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
---13. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
---14. The Restaurant and the End of the Universe
Douglas Adams

Started: March 29, 2009
Finished: April 14, 2009

This book is a collection of the 5 Hitchhiker's Guide books. I read the first two of the five books and enjoyed them a lot. They were good enough that I plan to read the other three as well. I found the first two books to be super funny but, both books are definitely lacking in plot.

Book 12a of 2009

Harry Potter: The Tales of Beedle the Bard
J.K. Rowlings

Started: March 29, 2009
Finished: March 29, 2009

After coming off of the great story work in Harry Potter, I was very disappointed with this book. This is, essentially, a collection of fairy tales from the Harry Potter world and they all seemed rushed and poorly written. The commentary from Dumbledore seemed to drag on and on and was clearly filler to make the book longer. Lastly, there were only about 5 very short stories/fairy tales in the book making the 13 dollar price tag a bit outrageous.

Book 12b of 2009

Liberty Meadows: Summer of Love
Frank Cho

Started: March 28, 2009
Finished: March 31, 2009

I've always been a fan of Liberty Meadows and this volume did not let me down. The strips are funny and sarcastic and they hit my funny bone every time.

(I combined these together as one book because they are so short.)

Book 11a of 2009

The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home
Peter David

Started: March 18, 2009
Finished: March 21, 2009

The story is good and seems faithful to the original books other than, the creator took the story and put it in order. I don't like the art style at all, but this is still a good read.


Book 11b of 2009

Bone: Volume 1: Out From Boneville
Jeff Smith

Started: March 21, 2009
Finished: March 25, 2009

A fun little graphic novel. I liked the story and really liked the art and I look forward to reading on in the series.

Book 11c of 2009

Bone: Volume 2: The Great Cow Race
Jeff Smith

Started: March 21, 2009
Finished: March 29, 2009

I really am enjoying these books so far. This one was not as good as the first one but still an enjoyable read. I really like the art and the humor is up my alley as well. Fone Bone is a very likable character and I look forward to continuing the series.

(I combined all these books together because they were so short.)

Book 10 of 2009

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
J.K. Rowlings

Started: March 18, 2009
Finished: March 29, 2009

What can I say? This was yet another great Harry Potter book and a great conclusion to the series. Going into the series, I did not think I would care for it. In the end, the whole series caught me off guard and grabbed me from beginning to end. J.K. Rowling did a great job of engaging the reader, even if fantasy in not your first choice in genre. I, recommend, everyone to read the series and enjoy it as I did; this book included!

Book 9 of 2009

Salem's Lot
By: Stephen King

Started: March 6, 2009
Finished: March 18, 2009

Not a bad Stephen King book. King definitely seemed to get side tracked into back stories and side stories and unrelated stories a lot in this book, but still managed to bring it home in the end.

Book 8 of 2009

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
By: J.K. Rowling

Started: February 22, 2009
Finished: March 5, 2009

Another amazing telling of part of the tale of Harry Potter. This book was one of the better of the seven so far. I look forward to the next one very much.

Book 7 of 2009

The Reader
By: Bernhard Schlink

Started: February 21, 2009
Finished: February 22, 2009

The story was pretty good and fairly engaging throughout, but the draw is in what the main character, Michael, is feeling. The author does a great job at conveying the emotions of the book and makes you feel those emotions as well. Although I found the main story a little lackluster, it was the underlying romance that kept me reading and coming back to see what happens next.

Book 6 of 2009

Pet Sematary
By: Stephen King

Started: February 4, 2009
Finished: February 20, 2009

This was not as good as I thought it would be. King seemed to ramble on and on more than usual in this book turning a 100 page short story into a 375 page book instead. A lot of the book could have been left unsaid and still had the same if not more of a dramatic effect.

Book 5 of 2009

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
By: J.K. Rowling

Started: January 21, 2009
Finished: February 4, 2009

Another great Harry Potter book. If you haven't read the others then don't start with this one. But, go read the others. Go now.

Book 4 of 2009

Slaughterhouse-Five
By: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Started: January 16, 2009
Finished: January 20, 2009

I don't really know how to express this book. It was strange but still intriguing enough to keep reading. The main character seemed flawed, at times, because he frequently changes levels of awareness. A lot of the times you can't tell how aware he really is to what is going on which pulled me out from the story some. But overall, the story keeps you reading. I say read it. You will at least think it is ok, if not better than ok.

On a sidenote, if you like the show LOST you will identify with this book some. The main character from the book, Billy, is very much like Desmond from lost as both have similar experiences.

Book 3 of 2009

The Catcher in the Rye
By: J.D. Salinger

Started: January 12, 2009
Finished: January 15, 2009

This was a very pleasing and easy read but the story just seemed very anticlimactic and left you wanting more.

Book 2 of 2009

Three Men in a Boat: to Say Nothing of the Dog!
By: Jerome K. Jerome

Started: January 7th, 2009
Finished: January 12, 2009

This is the best book about nothing that you could ever read. I found it funny and the authors stories to be engaging and light-hearted. I recommend it. It is short and to the point and worth a read.

Book 1 of 2009

The Book of Lost Things: A Novel
By: John Connolly

Started: January 1st, 2009
Finished: January 7th, 2009

I, fully, enjoyed this book. I found it to be well written and the story to be very engaging and easy to read. Following the character, David, after his mother died through his tale was pleasant and fun. The people he meets were full of life and the authors tie-ins to fairy tales were well done. You must check out this easy to read tale. Five stars.