false 23 166 138 true 5675423 read 1 true 226481 currently-reading 27 true 226480 to-read 11 false 229007 bookgroupreads 8 false 7010448 parenting 1 false 2643092 refuse http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1612701 Life of Pi (Mass Market Paperback) by Yann Martel
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73046357 to: The Secret Life of Bees (Paperback) by Sue Monk Kidd
This book came to me highly recommended by several friends with great taste in books: I had enormous expectations.

It starts off quite slowly, and very simply. I was antsy, almost bored, waiting for something. Halfway through I was still very skeptical that there was any real substance or draw. But oh boy did it deliver! Once I gathered the wide breadth, I was nervous that Kidd was reaching too far. But her writing was just incredible - I even enjoyed the religious/mystical elements, which so often grate on me.

This book was a gently delivered commentary on lots of human things - parenting, ethnicity, teen angst, love, religion, and of course, beekeeping. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77582036 Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash (Paperback) by Susan Strasser
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75294826 to: Shannon: A Novel (Hardcover) by Frank Delaney
This was an accidental read, so I didn't start out with any expectations, except it seemed to be about Ireland from the cover :). I didn't particularly enjoy reading it - there were a few wonderful scenes with local characters telling stories that I enjoyed, and some satisfying traveling and physical exertion descriptions. But <mild spoiler alert> the book was about a man during a recovery from PTSD, and the trouble was that as a reader, as the book wore on were exposed to descriptions of horrible graphic violence and threats, so as the main character was being refreshed by many of his experiences, I had a growing horror and was angry to have these images in my mind. There was too much contrast between his real-time experience and a reader's viewpoint. Perhaps that was the author's intent, but I did not enjoy it. <real spoiler alert> I think it most particularly detracted from the joy in the final scene.

There were also a few snags in the story line, where the author would change speeds or skip time in a confusing way, and I felt that he didn't take enough time to get the reader attached to the main character at the outset. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76596859 The Scarlet Letter (Paperback) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75900092 Growth of the Soil (Paperback) by Knut Hamsun
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73046357 Djuna's review of The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd

I plan to!! I really need to start pulling up goodreads at the library, I always blank on what I meant to pick up.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75136417 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Paperback) by Seth Grahame-Smith
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73046140 to: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (Paperback) by Marc Weissbluth
bookshelves: parenting
I was somewhat disappointed with this book. It had excellent charts and actual test data (which is refreshing in a book about children), but it was organized poorly and difficult to make practical use of as a result. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73045887 to: Super Baby Food (Paperback) by Ruth Yaron
bookshelves: parenting
This book has a LOT of information in it. I think there are several places that gave me pause cautioning parents about things and fear-mongering, but oh boy does the density of info make up for it, if you're not the worrying type. ]]>