Ann A’s Comments (group member since Apr 18, 2010)

Ann A’s comments from the Challenge: 50 Books group.

Naomi wrote: "57 The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt



4 stars

The Sisters Brothers is a book that I wouldn’t normally read. A “cowboy” book, set during the Califo..."

This is on my TBR since it won The Tournament of Books in March of this year (The Morning News). Good to see you liked it.

#89-Bleachers
Enjoyable, but the town's idolatry of the football coach was a bit over the top. 3*

#90-The Fifth Witness
Love Mickey Haller. 4 1/2*

#91-Dreams of Joy
The historical part concerning The Great Leap Forward was interesting, but that didn't make up for my frustration with Joy and for unbelievable plot elements. 2 1/2*

#87-Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Very entertaining read, although I did not find Strayed particularly likable. 4*

#88-V is for Vengeance
Grafton has not lost her touch. I'm anxiously awaiting "W is for..."! 4 1/2*

I read "Bel Canto" several years ago and loved it. I don't think it's too unusual for some type of bonding to form between captors and captives (i.e, the Stockholm Syndrome). I have to say I have been disappointed in Patchett's other novels. "Run" was o.k, but I didn't like "The Magician's Assistant" or "State of Wonder".

#81-The Devil All the Time
Well-written, but too dark and gritty for my tastes. 2 1/2*

#82-The Girls
Good novel about conjoined twins. A couple of plot elements took it down 1/2 star, but I'd read more by this author. 3 1/2*

#83-The Marriage Bureau for Rich People
Alexander McCall Smith-ish with an Indian twist. 3 1/2*

#84-Jude the Obscure
Thomas Hardy is one of my favorite writers. This one did not disappoint. 4*

#85-Smoky the Cowhorse
Newberry Medal winner of 1927. Liked the first half, hated the second. 2*

#86-Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner
I was totally engrossed in the first half of the book. In the second half, he started to annoy me a little with his obsession, but still a very interesting read. 4*

#78-Dark Star
Furst's attention to historical and character detail are very impressive. I enjoyed the book, but had a little trouble keeping track of everything. 3 1/2*

#79-The Black Ice
Another solid Michael Connelly novel. I do like Harry Bosch. 4*

#80-Qb VII
Engrossing and disturbing. 4*

#76-The Obama Hate Machine: The Lies, Distortions, and Personal Attacks on the President---and Who Is Behind Them
I wish there were more books like this to counter all the right-wing propaganda out there. The chapter on the Koch brothers is truly disturbing. 4*

#77-We Are What We Ate: 24 Memories of Food, A Share Our Strength Book 3 1/2*
Entertaining collection of essays on food and memories of growing up.

#73-The Wind in the Willows 3*
Fun children's classic I've always wanted to read.

#74-The Guide 3*
Entertaining novel of a corrupt Indian "guide" - comical, but with philosophical lessons along the way.

#75-The Big Four 3*
Another solid mystery from Christie.

#69-Three Men in a Boat:
Delightful! 5*

#70-The Great Gatsby
Not one of my favorite high school re-reads. 3*

#71-Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War
Fascinating. 5*

#72-Beloved
I can't dispute Morrison's talent - just didn't enjoy the book. 2*

#64-The Careful Use of Compliments
I always enjoy A.M. Smith. 3 1/2*

#65-Ginger Pye
Cute dog story. Still working on my goal to read all the Newberry winners. 3*

#66-Mary Stuart
I enjoyed this play, which I read prior to seeing a live performance. 3*

#67-The Scent of Rain and Lightning
Annoying. 2*

#68-Night Soldiers
Furst is impressive in the "historical spy fiction" genre. 4*

#56-The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
I always enjoy this series. 4*

#57-A Thread of Grace
Loved it. Writers like Russell are the reason historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. 4 1/2*

#58-The Time Machine
Entertaining, but I was expecting more somehow. 3*

#59-A Prayer for Owen Meany
Unique and well-crated. A real work of art. 4 1/2*

#60-In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
It's truly sad how the American Indians have been treated. Matthiessen makes a strong case for the innocence of Leonard Peltier, who has been in prison since 1977. 4*

#61-The Return of the King
Well-written, of course, but I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first two. 3 1/2*

#62-Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
Fun fluff + cookie recipes! 3*

#63-Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series
Now I finally know where the phrase, "Say it ain't so, Joe!" comes from. Very detailed, but I like that in my nonfiction. 3 1/2*

I need to update here more often!

#50-The Funny Thing Is...
Not hilarious throughout, but still pretty funny. I'm upping my 3 1/2* to 4* just because it's ELLEN!

#51-Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation
Required summer reading for freshmen at my daughter's university. Very good book about the importance of inter-faith youth movements to counter growing religious extremism. 4*

#52-Seriously...I'm Kidding
Recommend the audiobook for this one. 4*

#53-A Great Deliverance
I definitely plan to read more Elizabeth George, but I subtracted 1/2* for the overly melodramatic ending of this one. 3 1/2*

#54-A Caribbean Mystery
Christie is always entertaining, even though this isn't one of my favorites. 3*

#55-Ice Station Zebra
Great adventure story. A lot of the technical stuff was over my head, but it was still interesting and made me respect MacLean's research. 4*

#46-Shen of The Sea: Chinese Stories for Children Newberry winner-1926. Charming Chinese folk tales. 3*

#47-Ready Player One Enjoyed this more than I thought I would - loved the 80's references. 4*

#48-The Marriage Plot Good writing - plan to read more by Eugenides, but I stopped caring much what happened to these characters. 3*

#49-The New New Rules: A Funny Look At How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass - Crude, but funny and smart. 4*

#39-A Game of Thrones
Entertaining enough, but I don't enjoy the genre enough to read the other long books in the series. 3*

#40-Shanghai Girls
I enjoyed the story of these two sisters and learning more about the Chinese immigrant experience, although a few plot elements were not quite believable. 3 1/2*

#41-The Two Towers
I'm a big fan of Tolkien's writing, if not the fantasy genre. 4*

#42-The Art of Fielding
Very impressive first novel. There have not been too many books where I became so engrossed, I wasn't aware of time passing - this was one of them. 4*

#43-The Piano Teacher
It was interesting learning about life in Hong Kong during and just after WWII. The characters weren't terribly likeable. 3 1/2*

#44-A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism
I really like the Unitarian philosophy. 4 1/2*

#45-The Tenth Circle
Too soap opera-ish. 2 1/2*

In high school I read a lot of the books mentioned here, and have re-read many of them since. Without fail, I have enjoyed them more the second time around, when I wasn't FORCED to read and analyze them to death. One of my all-time favorites is "To Kill a Mockingbird".

One memory that has really stuck with me was reading a short story called "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. It scared the heck out of me!

#35-One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich:
Classic about one day in the life of a Siberian camp prisoner. 3 1/2*

#36-The Beekeeper's Apprentice
Very entertaining, but with a few minor irritations that made me drop it 1/2*. 3 1/2*

#37-The Dovekeepers
Stellar writing. A bit too much religion and magical realism for me, but still have to give it 4*.

#38-Divergent 2 1/2*
Just couldn't get into it. YA Dystopian adventure is not my favorite genre.

I like the idea of keeping it "local" - having a guidebook of some kind and a novel by a local author.

Wow - I'm impressed. Both The Arabian Nights and Pilgrim's Progress! I hope to get to those "one of these days" (sigh...) And, yes that is funny about streaming movies not being "feasible". Ain't technology grand?!

#31-Anne of Avonlea 4*

#32-The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
Amazing writing and research. David Mitchell is a rare talent. 4*

#33-The Lovely Bones
Don't understand why this was such a huge hit. 2*

#34-The Reversal
Really like these Mickey Haller/Harry Bosch novels! 4*

#27-Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Wonderful book - loved it! 5*

#28-Tales From Silver Lands
Newberry winner-1925. Entertaining book of folk tales from South America - probably would have enjoyed it more as a child. 3*

#29-State of Wonder
Very unsatisfying ending. 2 1/2*

#30-The Real Romney
I read this because I was curious to know more about Romney. I will be voting for Obama. 3*