false 33 115 103 true 5638179 read 2 true 2708687 currently-reading 10 true 2708686 to-read 14 false 3993123 childrens 12 false 2709548 favorites 10 false 2709540 book-clubs 6 false 5185634 so-interesting- http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80991671 The Uncollected Wodehouse (Paperback) by P.G. Wodehouse
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80758453 Liz's review of The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour (The Red Blazer Girls)
by Michael D. Beil

Well, the language I thought was pretty typical for kids that age who aren't Mormon kids like us! I loved that they weren't crude or mean spirited at all - it didn't really drive me that crazy as a result. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80824814 Stephanie's review of The Sound and the Fury
by William Faulkner

What I remember - which is not much - is one chapter where a character writes "My mother is a fish". At least I THINK that was in the book. hehe. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79529729 to: The Godfather (Paperback) by Mario Puzo
I have been meaning to read this for ages and finally have. I liked it a lot. It's a great book, and yet the whole time I was reading it I just kept thinking "Man, this is such a great movie!". I'm not sure I'd love the book as much without the movie.
What I liked about this book was how much you cared about the Corleone family and their side of things, even though they are gangsters. Vito is this classy character who always speaks so subtly and in terms of friendship - sometimes I even forgot he was a bad guy, and was wishing I was his friend. Sonny is the hot headed one, and probably the least sympathetic but you are still on his side when he goes down and gives it to Carlo for smacking Connie around. I love how Puzo's characters don't often have a lot to say, but it's the way they say it that makes them so powerful.
The characters were drawn so well, and the story kept me reading even when it was after midnight and I already knew the ending. There were some parts I just didn't care about at all - there is fairly long story arc involving Johnny Fontaine and one about Lucy Mancini (that bridesmaid Sonny likes) which I just sort of thought were boring. I didn't care too much about them. Although reading Fontaine's backstory sure did reinforce the idea to me that this guy is based on Frank Sinatra.

I can't say I'd recommend this book to a lot of people just because it can get somewhat graphic in parts (...like when they finally explain why Luca Brasi is such a scary guy -blech) but I still liked it. If you like the movie then it's fun to read. If you haven't seen the movie...why not? It's a classic. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79642217 Sarah's review of Northanger Abbey
by Jane Austen

Something about this book just appeals to me so much! Have you seen the Masterpiece Theater new version? It's good. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78813438 to: The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour (The Red Blazer Girls) by Michael D. Beil
I still haven't found a good groove at the new library we are forced to patronize. Our real library is closed for a 2 year renovation and we miss it badly. I haven't found any recommend books at this new library that I've cared about at all.

Except this one. I found it in the kids section because I had to stay there while the little girl I was with searched out her books. If left alone I can hear her using a threatening voice to other kids saying "that's MY book", so I stick close. And I found this little book. It's a mystery that 3 girls who live in NYC and attend a Catholic prep school get involved with. The girls dialogue is fun and the characters really endearing. I loved the idea of 3 seventh graders looking for a treasure in an old cathedral. Man, I would have killed to have done that as a kid. Heck - even now.

Anyway, a surprise find that I really rather liked from a library I'm just not feeling the love for.

]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78813160 to: Cowboy and Octopus (Hardcover) by Jon Scieszka
This is my 5 year old's favorite book. If she's having a sad moment all we have to do is get this out. Cowboy and Octopus become friends in this short book, and each chapter is about a different scenario. The kid loves the chapter about Cowboy making baked beans for Octopus, which he doesn't really like but still tries (licks one bean and says "Whoa. I am so full!" - it kills her).

We love Jon Scieska and this book especially.

]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78115676 to: The Lost Chalice: The Epic Hunt for a Priceless Masterpiece (Hardcover) by Vernon Silver
Well, this started off pretty good, with a bunch of Italian tomb robbers digging in the middle of the night to find an Etruscan tomb. And a large kylix is found and passed around through shady art world dealers until it ends up at the Met in New York.

Then it gets boring. The author really knows his subject, and perhaps a little too well. He describes every single flight that the art dealers take, and once even goes into what they ordered at dinner. It was so painful. No one cares Mr. Silver!

I sort of gave up about 70 pages from the end and skimmed the rest. It was really interesting about how antiquities have been stolen from their original countries, and before a statute was issued on it, no one really cared. Museums snapped up what they could and didn't ask questions. Today pieces need a clear provenance and the lengths that shady dealers will go to to establish those provenances are complicated.

I wish that Edward Dolnick had written this book. His books on other art thefts were wonderful. This one was just too full of details I just didn't want to know. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78468397 Maren's review of The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time, #12; A Memory of Light, #1)
by Robert Jordan

Brian loves these books too! ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78142650 Maren's review of The Fury (The Vampire Diaries, #3)
by L.J. Smith

hee hee - I totally read these in, like 7th grade. THe cover is still the same! ]]>