Jen's Reading List

[Jen]

1. The Vampire Lestat (Finished 4/11/09)
2. The Queen of the Damned
3. Emma
4. Atonement
5. Dracula
6. To Kill a Mockingbird
7. The Handmaid's Tale (finished 6/5/09)
8. The Time Traveler's Wife(finished 5/20/09)
9. Skeleton Crew
10. Marlfox
11. The Long Patrol
12. The Pearls of Lutra
13. Outcast of Redwall
14. The Bellmaker
15. Martin the Warrior
16. The Chronicles of Narnia
17. Salamandastron(finished 6/29/09)
18. The Call of the Wild & White Fang(finished 4/30/09)
19. Secret Window, Secret Garden Two Past Midnight
20. I Am Legend(finished 5/12/09)
21. The Other Boleyn Girl
22. The City of Ember(finished 5/4/09)
23. The People of Sparks (finished 5/22/09)
24. The Prophet of Yonwood(finished 6/3/09)
25. The Diamond of Darkhold(finished 6/5/09)
26. The Green Mile Book Box Set
27. One for the Money
28. Two for the Dough
29. Three To Get Deadly
30. Hearts in Atlantis

[Megan]

To Kill a Mockingbird will always be in my top ten, also loved White Fang and the Chronicles of Narnia.

[Jen]

Does anyone have any other suggestions on what I should read? I read every kind of book and am not real picky. I'm looking to read 50.

[Jen]

31. The Glass Castle A Memoir(Finished 5/27/09)

[Samantha McNulty]

I suggest

Pride and Prejudice
The Lightning Thief

I'll add more in time :)

[Jen]

I've read Pride and Prejudice it is an all time favorite of mine! I will look into the Lightning Thief. It sounds really good!

[Cindy]

Have you read The Gargoyle? I thought it was really good!

[Jen]

No I haven't read that one. I will check it out

[Jack]

I should really try reading Atonement. I have the book, but never get around reading it for some odd reason...

[Jen]

It is on my list but I keep getting different reviews. I know some people that say it is not that good and the movie is a lot better and some others that say it was good. I'm not sure yet that I want to go out an buy it or go to the library for it.

[Christina]

I didn't really like it. I haven't seen the movie either. Because it seems to be a love-or-hate type of book, I would get it from the library.

[Christina]

Btw what did you think of Time Traveler's Wife overall? Did your opinion change by the end?

[Christina]

Oh AND P.S. you have The Handmaid's Tale twice on your list - don't know if you'd want to change that.

[Jen]

Time Traveler's Wife was really good. I just have to wonder if some of her experiences and decisions would have been different if she didn't know who she was going to end up with in the end. I mean she wasn't completely innocent when she met Henry like I was thinking that she was, but would she have had a little more fun then she did if she didn't know. I just wonder if she would have been happier if she didn't know her future Henry before she met her present Henry. She knew who he was going to be eventually and that took away from who he was when they met.

[Jen]

32. Standing Still A Novel(finished 5/28/09)

[Christina]

Are you still reading "The Glass Castle"? I couldn't remember if you said you were reading that yet.

[Jen]

I finished it yesterday. I loved it! I couldn't put it down! I couldn't get over everything those kids had to overcome. I just wish they would have had more about Maureen in the end of the book. I want to know what happened to her when she went to California. Did she find anyone to take care of her like they say she was looking for. Unlike a lot of people that didn't like the book I can understand why she didn't talk about how things made her feel. I mean she seems like she wasn't allowed to have feelings growing up because it made the adults in her life feel bad for what they are doing to them. Maybe that is something that stuck with her over the years.

[Christina]

Yay I'm so glad you liked it!!! I had the same experience, I just could not put it down. I didn't have a problem with her not being all sentimental and sad about it either. Some of those reviews were pretty harsh and undeserved. I'm really glad you liked it as much as I did!

[Jen]

I completely agree with you about the reviews. They just didn't get her and what she was feeling. I mean even if that isn't something that stuck with her over the years she was trying to show what it was like then for her. She couldn't show that she was hungry, scared or mad so when she is writing about that time frame why would she show those emotions.

[Christina]

I think if she had gone into all her subjective thoughts at the time I wouldn't have liked it as much. Instead, I felt it was a more honest, factual portrayal of what happened. If all memoirs were sappy and went into emotions I wouldn't read them.

It's almost like she left us, the readers, to experience those emotions, which I'm she she no doubt was feeling at the time too.

[Jen]

I know what you mean. I mean I liked that I was feeling everything for her. A scared little girl that had no one to go to. She couldn't go to any of the adults in her life without feeling bad about hurting them or getting yelled at for being hungry or scared.

[Jen]

32.The Book of Lost Things(Finished 6/15/09)

[Eric]

I really enjoyed The Book of Lost Things. I hope you do to.

[Jen]

I'm almost done and so far I love it. Snow White was so funny! I loved to Dwarfs even though I had no idea what they were talking about!

[Jen]

33. Dead Until Dark (finished 6/17/09)
34. My Sister's Keeper (finished 6/30/09)

[Carol]

awwww Dead Until Dark >.< I really need to buy this book lol

[Jen]

It is really good so far, but it makes me wonder about Twilight. I don't know if I believe that she hasn't read any vampire book because these are really similar at least the idea of them

[Jen]

35. Living Dead in Dallas (finished 6/16/09)

[Beti]

i've just finished the handmaid's tale and it unnerved me. it was excellent. i'm thinking of renting the old '91 film.

[Jen]

I know what you mean Beti....it was so disturbing! Just think that that is what they thought was going to happen at the time. It was a really good book that kept your interest but when you let yourself really think about it it makes you wonder what the world would be like. I mean how could they think that would make everything (anything) better? The only people that could make happy is the men and I don't even think they seemed happy (at least not most of them).

[Jen]

36. Club Dead (finished 6/18/09)
35. Dead to the World (finished 6/23/09)
36. The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy A Novel (finished 7/1/09)
37. Aesop's Fables (reading)

[Jen]

38. Illegal (finished 6/25/09)

[Beti]

and the horrible thing was the way it happened was so insidious. like, it was so appalling but so slow that it kept everyone from rebelling outright.

[Jen]

I hated how when they changed Handmaids the new one had the same name as the last one. I just wish I knew what happened to her. Was she safe? Where was her daughter? Did they ever see each other again? Was it really her daughter in the picture?

[Jen]

39. West Side Story (finished 7/1/09)