http://www.goodreads.com/user/updates_rss/175709 en-US Sun, 04 May 2008 19:28:42 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 24091695 Sun, 04 May 2008 19:28:42 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21602389 The Lily Brand (Mass Market Paperback)
by Sandra Schwab
bookshelves: to-read
]]> 24089317 Sun, 04 May 2008 19:01:13 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21600549 to: Kristin Lavransdatter I: The Wreath (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
by Sigrid Undset
bookshelves: currently-reading, hiatus
]]> 23780291 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:20:41 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21186989 Laura's review of Kristin Lavransdatter I: The Wreath (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
by Sigrid Undset

OMG - I just bought this!! Its next in the TBR :) ]]> 23244386 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:30:32 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20959426 to: Forgetfulness (Paperback)
by Ward Just
bookshelves: favorites, recent-reads
]]> 23030920 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:11:31 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20800305 to: The Alchemist (Plus)
by Paulo Coelho
bookshelves: dnf
So far I'm pretty "meh" on this book. The narrative style is pedantic in the extreme.

Can anyone convince me it's worth continuing? ]]> 21963422 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:10:23 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19993371 to: Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife (Hardcover)
by Irene Spencer
bookshelves: favorites, recent-reads
I really enjoyed this memoir. Knowing very little about the fundamentalist Mormon church, I found Spencer's candor and honesty about being a polygamist's wife refreshing, heartbreaking, and informative. Spencer never stoops to the level of pathos or moralizing. She tells her story straight-up and to the point, detailing how she falls in love with her brother-in-law and becomes his second wife, the abject poverty she lived in for much of her life, bearing 13 children, and more often than not, caring for 20+ children.

The end, which details her eventual conversion to Christianity, got a little too "God-heavy" for my personal tastes, but I respect her description of learning to love a more benevolent God as represented by the Christian faith, rather than the punishing and angry God as represented by the fundamentalist Mormon faith.

All that being said, though, what I liked most about the book is that for all the crap that Spencer lived through, she never once "bad-mouths" the fundamentalist Mormon faith. She points out the flaws of polygamy and the belief structure, but she never gets dirty and starts pointing fingers. I appreciated her honesty and forthrightness in telling what must have been a difficult story to tell.

Highly, highly recommended! ]]> 21142344 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 06:28:43 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19360102 to: The Deception of the Emerald Ring (Hardcover)
by Lauren Willig
bookshelves: recent-reads, romance
I just love Lauren Willig's books. They're light, frothy, and sweet, just like that fancy coffee you treat yourself to at the end of a long week. Though I read a lot of romance novels, I confess to being stumped by this one. I just couldn't see how the two protagonists were going to get over their respective hurdles. That Willig pulled it off in a wholly believable manner is a testament to her writing skills.

"Crimson Rose" is on order from the Cambridge Public Library and I can't wait to take it on the airplane with me to Pittsburgh, PA! ]]> 21262434 Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:31:38 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/ Abby read and liked Sherri's review of The Deception of the Emerald Ring:

"I really enjoyed listening to this book. I love historical fiction and it really fit the bill. The book would go from the French Revolution times to the modern day, which kept the book very interest"   ...read more » ]]> 20312208 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:57:09 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18200231 Stephanie's review of Someone to Run With: A Novel
by David Grossman

This is my FAVORITE Grossman book. Can't wait to hear how you like it! It's on my To ReRead list -- it's that good! ]]> 20311523 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:49:50 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18555108 Alison's review of Reading "Lolita" in Tehran
by Azar Nafisi

Hmmm .... let me know what you think. I couldn't finish it. ]]>